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LAST YEARS RECORD:112-50 (Durocher Award Winner) (Division Winner)
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: I predicted the Black Bears would not win another World Series because my team would beat them. And they did not win it, but not due to my team beating them. In fact the Black Bears kicked my ass this year in the regular season (Note To self: Don't piss off the Bears). Olemiss's team did win the division with 111 games (Best Record) and were the favorites to win the Series again. In the playoffs the Black Bears beat the Moose in 4 and were upset by the Muskellunges in 5. In the off-season Olemiss let Hartman, Montgomery, Bennett go to free agency and signed free agent Broxton. Olemiss and his Angry Bears are gonna be out for blood after not winning the Series.They are a great team and should win the division. Another World Series Title is probable.PREDICTION:105-57(Division Winner)
OUT: Floyd McAnaney , Mac Patrick , Gerald O'Neil , Ricky Sonnanstine , Oswaldo Veras
IN: Miguel James , Sam Price , Chad Patrick
PREVIEW: Olemiss's Black Bears won 112 games and the division with the best pitching staff in Wrigleyville. The 3.08 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and the 520 runs allowed, were the lowest in our league and it's why they dominated the regular season. In the playoffs, usually, great pitching trumps great hitting but Jackson bearly got by the Moose in the DCS. Then lost again to the high powered Muskellunge Offense in the N L Championship Series.It was a carbon copy of last years playoffs where they beat the Moose but couldn't get past Madison. In the off-season Olemiss let McAnaney , Patrick, O'neil and Sonnanstine go to free agency and traded away Veras. The trade brought in Price and Patrick, then he promoted James. The Black Bears still have 3 roster spots open and we may see Esmailyn Campos and Julio Macias get the call-up after 20 some games. This team is already stacked with super talent and they will keep on winning no matter who gets on the M L roster. It's a easy call to say the Black Bears will win the division. And they are my pick as NL Champs and World Series Winners. PREDICTION:107-55 (Division winner) (World Series Champs)
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LAST YEARS RECORD:100-62 (Wildcard)
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Wishlist's Juggernauts exceeded my expectations and won 90 games. Then to rub my nose in it, they went into the playoffs as a #6 seed and beat my Zoids in the first round. But then they lost a game 5 on the road to this years N L Champs. In the off-season Wish let Towers go to free agency and signed free agent Eovaldi. The Lone Stars are a power house team and with last years N L MVP Zip Madson.........well....They will be hard to beat.Texas will be in the playoffs as a wild-card.PREDICTION:92-70(Wild Card)
OUT: Jerome Cochrane , Wiki Ordonez , Damaso Gardel
IN: Bum Morgan
PREVIEW: Wish's Lone Stars did get a wildcard and won 8 more games than my prediction finishing with a 100 win season. This team was the best all-around team in the N L ,ranked 2nd in hitting (.268 BA), 3rd in pitching(3.88 ERA) and 2nd in defense(.988 FPct). It wasn't enough in the post-season when they were bounced in the first round by the Moose. In the off-season Wish let Cochrane go to free agency , released Ordonez. He traded away Gardel to Austin and got Morgan . Pretty much the same team as last year with a better defensive RF'er at a fraction of the cost. The results will be the same as last year , a strong wildcard berth unless the Black Bears hibernate. PREDICTION:96-66 (Wildcard)
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LAST YEARS RECORD:73-89
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It was a long way down when that limb broke off at the All-Star break. Now that all the contusions have healed. I look back at my brash prediction of a .500 season and wonder why I predicted what I predicted. Must of been the Bourbon,everything looks better after a couple shots, I guess. The Rays only won 59 games last year but did add some nice prospects. He picked up Chin-Feng Vanguri , Damian Ishikawain the International market and Chad Bard , Benny Porter in the draft. In the off-season Svick let Ma, Chang, Sandoval, Tabaka, Adams, Corpas, Cortez go to free agency. He released Estrada, Lane, Sanders, Robinson and Osoria and traded away Lombardi. With most the team gone Svick claimed Romero and Trevino off the waiver wire and signed free agents Barker, Castillo, Collins and Smart. He promoted Barmes, Bailes, Erdos, Suarez and traded for Leon and Davis. Well.....That was a complete dismantling of a team. Svick brought in so many players I will have to look at the Franchise standings to see how this team will play.The starting line-up defensively will be pretty good but the offense is near the bottom of the N L in most categories. The starting rotation will walk many a batter but are average in most categories. The Bullpen is below average for the N L. Looks like another long season in Tampa Bay.PREDICTION:70-92
OUT: Esteban Campos , Julian Mitchell , Thumper Smart , Felix Ming , Tony Romero , Yuniesky Trevino , Dan Long , Alex Suarez , Danny Barker
IN: Albie Vazquez , Derrek O'Brien , Geovany Aguilar , Thom Shave , Eduardo Camacho , Ismael Lorenzo , Eddie Rain , Lyle Alexander
PREVIEW: I didn't climb on the .500 limb and Svick's Rays finished close to my 70 win prediction.But I was still drinking when I worked on last years preview so I can no longer blame that as a scapegoat for erroneous predictions. The only surprise last year was the pitching. They finished with a respectable ERA of 4.00 and a 1.30 WHIP. The defense was near the bottom with the hitting not far behind. Svick did pick up Mule Wesson with the 2nd pick in the draft and added Joseph Kobayashi and Livan Valdez from the IFA market. They will help the Rays shine in a couple years. In the off-season Svick let Campos , Mitchell go to free agency and released Smart, Ming, Romero, Trevino and Long. He traded away Suarez and Barker to Philly for Wang and Masaoka. With some gaps to fill he claimed Vasquez off the wire and signed free agents O'Brien and Aguilar. Svick promoted Shave, Camacho and Lorenzo and picked up Rain and Alexander in the R-5. The trade will save some cap money but lower the overall talent.The promotions on the other hand increase the talent. The two free agent pitchers are solid so it looks like the Rays are a better team this year. But still not in the league with Jackson and Texas. PREDICTION:81-81
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LAST YEARS RECORD:65-97
LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Whether it's Yoda or Forrest Gump talking , last years City limits underwhelmed. And we knew at last years All-Star break that this team was not going to get to the playoffs. Wylie did add some tasty prospects like Bernard Hollandsworth , Michael Sparks , Pete MacDougal, Wyatt Spencer so last year wasn't a total bust. In the off-season Wylie let Brohawn and Rasmussen go to free agency and signed free agents Ma and O'Donnell. Wylie is getting discouraged with the way his team has performed. He still has high hopes for the City Limits and maybe this will be his year. There is the talent there to win but they have to show me some sign of life before I pick them to make the playoffs.PREDICTION:82-80
OUT: Hideki Ma
IN: Pinky Realmuto , Pablo Arias , Damaso Gardel
PREVIEW: Wylie seems to be chasing his tail trying to get the City Limits on the right track. They finished way below my preview prediction and far below Wylie's hopes and aspirations. You don't have to look far for the biggest problem. The hitting was at the bottom of the N L with a batting average of .243 with only 641 runs scored. Austin did swipe a shitload of bases with 190 bags stolen, so it's not all Anvils on the head. Wylie picked up Artie Freeman in last years draft and he looks like a good one. In the off-season Wylie put Ma on the waiver wire and she was claimed. How can you do that to your Ma?? He signed free agents Realmuto and Arias and traded for Gardel. Wylie went out and got some bats for his struggling offense. Gardel should help out nicely and Realmuto and Arias can hit as well. Will it get Austin to the playoffs? Not in this division but it's a step in the right direction.PREDICTION: 78-84
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