1/4 Post Review:   NL North

Last season we saw a 63 game difference between 1 & 4, so how are things going this season?

1.  Tacoma:  24-15, .615%, expected:  .610
  A.   Well, what can you say, Sandberg's juggernaut continues to dominate and they're playing right where you'd expect them, from the lead.
  B.  The Toyotas are built on pitching, having allowed just 150 runs and just enough offense to give them breathing room.  Currently they're at a +41 advantatge in runs scored.  With a team WHIP of 1.26 & ERA at 3.43, it's pretty easy to see why they've been so successful.  They have two elite SP's in Sergei Roskos and Matt Person and just enough depth in the rotation, coupled with a dynamite pen to withstand the terrible injury of Nick Scott, who was on his way to perhaps being the best pitcher on the squad.  Albert Izturis has been outstanding as a setup fireman type.  Davey Portugal leads the offense and should be an All-Star.  I think I'd also give him the Barry Bonds treatment and just walk him all the time.  The Toyotas, despite a decent .983 team FP, seem to be out to prove that defense is optional, as they have committed 18 - plays already, against just 2 + ones.  Based on past results, they sure have something figured out.
  C.  Well, I'd expect them to finish right where they are now, in first.  I think their pitching, despite the FA losses and injuries, remains a strong point.  I also think their hitting will come around a bit more, making for a very dangerous club.

2.  Milwaukee:  20-19, .513%, expected: .523
  A.  The Sturgeon are also playing about where you'd expect them.
  B.  The Sturgeon are built on offense, having scored 215 runs already.  Only two other NL clubs have scored more.  Their pitching remains suspect though, as only three NL teams have allowed more runs.  They are a power team, having homered 66 times and featuring a team Slug % of .456.  There really are no easy outs with the Surgeon, as their primary 8 either hit for average or power.  Sometimes both, as in the case of Jung Masaoka.  Their 1 & 2 SP's are pretty good, but 3 - 5 need to pick it up.  The BP is kind of the same, some real nice arms, but also some guys who need to get it going.  Milwaukee also not a great defensive team , with 14 - plays against 5 + one's, and a .983 FP .     C. Last season they played .500 ball and so far they're outpacing that by just a bit.  I think the key issue they face is the pitching depth.  If some of those arms can begin to contribute, they could then challenge for a WC spot.

3.    Toledo:  19-20, .487, expected:  .541
  A.  They're about two wins below expectations.
  B.  We saw Toledo as an 86 win team in Detroit last season.  So far, the move has been tough as they've under performed.   An ok offense pairs with solid pitching & a really porous defense.  19 - plays to 1 + play so far.  Despite that, their pitching has really excelled so far, with a 1.31 WHIP & and a very good 3.63 team ERA.  This is a staff that can show off two potential All-Stars in Jacob Matsuzaka and David Villalona.  A 3rd SP, Brandon Giolito could push for an All-Star berth if he gets hot.  I may kill for their BP (kidding).  They really have four arms down there that could be legit All-Stars, including three with sub 1 WHIP's.  Toledo seems to be following the current trend in baseball - just get the game to the pen around the 6th with a lead and it's over.  Jayson Perez and Andy Fischer drive the offense as both play key defensive positions as well.
  C.  Did I say I really like their pitching?  That alone should keep Toledo hanging around as a threat.  The key to me is the defense.  If they can make enough plays to support that pitching, then I think Toledo's in the WC hunt.  If not, then I think they'll fade down the stretch.

4.  Chicago:  18-21, .462, expected:  .429
  A.  About 1 win better right now.  Either way it's a fantastic improvement over last season's .296.
  B.  They played for the top draft spot last season and an ownership change gets to reap those rewards.  While improved, they have a ways to go to get back to the top.  They can score a bit and pitch a bit, but neither are reliable.  Their defense excels though, which may be why they're playing slightly better than expected.  15 + plays against 6 - ones, and a team FP of .990.  Pretty strong.  They're led by Tommy Simms, Jesus Rodriquez, and Darren Rauch on offense.  SP's Tommy Loaiza, Yunesky Ethier, and Sam Stickland make for a really nice 1-3.  Dante Suzuki's been great out of the pen.
  C.  They're moving in the right direction and with a few more pieces, could challenge for the WC.

Overall:  This is Tacoma's division.  Everyone else is playing for a possible WC.  That 2-4 placement is also much closer than last season as any of these three teams could finish 2cd, and contend for that WC.  The Sturgeon have the offense and and bash, but not much pitching depth.  Toledo's pitching is fantastic and should keep them around.  Chicago is much improved and is heading in the right direction.  Should be a really interesting division.

Tomorrow:  AL East! 
 

1/4 Post Review:  

Well, I didn't exactly get the preseason team reviews up, really that was a lot more work than I anticipated, but I thought I'd at least get a first quarter review posted.  So, please enjoy!

AL North:

1.  Fargo - 19-17 .528%, expected .460
  A.   Playing much better than the expected
  B.   Fargo is pretty well built on SP.  All five SP's should be pretty good by season's end with a couple of them showing as early All-Star contenders.  Those are Benji Machado and Trenidad Diaz.  The closer is solid, but the rest of the pen is a mess.  The defense is strong at some spots, weak in others.  Hector Pena is the only position player that warrants All-Star consideration at this time. 
  C.  Overall, Fargo has the SP to keep them in most games, but the offense will struggle to keep up at times.  They may have a lot of 5-4 or 4-3 type games so the defense and pen can't let them down late.  If they do, look for the rest of the division of take advantage.

2.  Toronto - 18-18  .500%, expected .464
  A.  The Thunderbolts are outpacing their expected win % as well
  B.  Toronto is built on pitching.  The team WHIP is 1.23 and team ERA is 4.03, both very respectable #'s.  They currently have 3 SP's who could demand All-Star considerations as well as the big FA signing,  Alex Olivares,  at closer.  Defense is pretty solid as well, currently with a .983 FP and 8 + plays to just 2 - ones.  Like Fargo, they'll need to get some help from the offense to make a push.
  C.  Overall I really like their pitching and defense and I think it's good enough to keep them in the race all season. 

3.  Cincinnati - 17-19 .472, expected - .488
  A.  The Consuls are playing pretty close to expected. 
  B.  Their offense is currently the best of the division, averaging 5.53 runs/game.  They've scored 40 more runs than anyone else in the division.  They're paced by a couple of potential All-Stars in DH Dick Sadler and young SS Charley Litsch, playing in just his 3rd season.  So, what's the problem?  Well, it does seem to be pitching, as they've allowed 35 more runs than anyone else.  Team ERA is 5.42 & only 2 pitchers have ERA's < 4.5.   Their defense is fine.  Team FP is .988 & they've made 12 + plays thus far.  They've also kicked it around for 8 - plays, a team high.
  C.  Overall, the Consuls are playing a different game than their division mates, who appear to be more built on pitching.  Considering they play in a hitter's park, it's pretty good strategy to attempt to bash the rest of the division into submission.

4.  Philadelphia - 16-20, .444, expected - .477
  A.  The Cream Cheese are under performing  so far
  B.  Like most of the division, they appear to be reliant on the team pitching and do not have much offense, but they are 2cd in the division in runs scored.    Defense is a calling card, 17+ plays already against 5 - ones.  FP is .987, so the Cream Cheese won't give many games away.  Team ERA is > 4.5, but I'd expect that come down.  SP Patrick Field is a potential All-Star as is Clinton Lilly, if he can get some run support to offset that 1-4 record, despite a 3.21 ERA.  There's some good arms in the pen, but right now the closer's a bit of a mess.  He needs to get on track if the Cream Cheese hope to make a run.  There's a couple of potential All-Stars on the offense - most notably Kevin Gruber and Jimmie Mijares.
  C.  The Cream Cheese really needs their pitching to come around if they're going to make a run.

Overall - this is anyone's division.  Just three games separate top to bottom and any of the four could pull away with it.  You've got three teams that kind of mirror each other than you have Cincinnati who tries to out club everyone.  Last season saw just a six game difference between the top three teams.  I expect the division to play out this way, tight all the way.  We'll revisit them at the All-Star break!

Tomorrow, stay tuned for the NL North! 

Durocher Award S35 Winner...

For the second year in a row, we have a tie!  Everyone, please give a round of applause to the S35 Durocher Award winners, Sandberg10 and Thunderdonky!!!!

S35's ballot brought in 19 owner votes and it was very close throughout, but Sandberg10's 111 wins and three straight division titles coupled with Thunderdonky's remarkable 26 game improvement in wins was enough to propel these two franchise owners into the shared top spot.  Well done guys!!

Voting Breakdown:
1.  Sandberg10 & Thunderdonky with five votes
3.  Wylie715 picked up four votes
3.  Rbedwell also checked in with four votes
5.  Mdymond comes up with 1

San Juan takes 3rd in a row!

Despite winning 10 fewer games and showing some possible cracks, Rbedwell's San Juan Crabbers really turned it on when they had to, winning their 3rd straight World Series title and fourth in five years.  They've proved to be a true dynasty in Wrigleyville.  S35 also saw the Crabbers win their 8th consecutive division title as well, something only the Braves could boast of doing.  Of course they only won one WS title during their run, so the Crabbers can lay claim as the best.  Congrats to them!!

Great!

That seemed to work.  I'm planning on getting the blog going again.  Special thanks to Madmuldoon who did a fantastic job with the blog.  I've got big shoes to fill so hopefully I can keep it going half as well as he did.  

If anyone has ideas or would like to contribute, send me a TC or sitemail and we'll get going on it!  Some of the past postings included season previews, team rankings,  playoff predictions, and more.  So, let's get some ideas out there. 

Season 34 Durocher Winner!!!

For the first time in the history of the Durocher we have co-winners as rbedwell and mdymond are this years Durocher Award winners!!! Congrats gentlemen, it is well deserved!

As for the voting, 21 of 32 owners voted, which is better than previous years and going in the right direction! I'll continue to hope for 90% next year, although I really hope we can get to 32 for 32 some year. If there are any suggestions, to improve voting or the award, please let me know!

Here is how the voting broke down:

1. rbedwell (6)- wishlist, carsneau, madmuldoon, jahu, pat, rugby

1. mdymond (6)- kujayhawk, sandberg, pbsilver, bkevin, sonofodin, donmossi

3. hawkeye (4)- hoopcoach, hacker, redsfan, detsports

4. svick (3)- ressda, aaronwayne, wylie

5. sonofodin (1)- jmuhtoff

As you can see there are 20 votes above, but I said 21. That is because rebwell abstained form the vote because he wanted to vote for himself, but chose not vote instead of doing so.

Congrats to everyone who was nominated, you are all great owners.

MWR Penalty Voting Results

Voting has closed for the MWR penalty issue. We had a good turn out but not everyone chose to vote. 27 of 32 owners voted, and in the end the league decided to NOT add a penalty to an owner who missed the MWR for two seasons and is voted to stay. The final tally was 16 NO votes and 11 YES votes. Here's the breakdown:

NO (16)- Hoopcoach, carseneau, ajaxx, detsports, reds, zmoty, nosirrommij, jmuhtoff, pat, wylie, rbedwell, madmuldoon, hawkeye, rlb, kujhawker, hacker

YES (11)- Hatton, ressda, aaronwayne, wishlist, fence, jahu, bkevin, donmossi, sandberg, rugby, leotrex

Thank you to all the owners who took the time to vote. Also, thanks to those who debated each side of the issue and did so in a civil way. It was very much appreciated.

Now that the issue have been decided upon, I will say that voting on whether an owner should stay or go should be looked at more closely. As someone said in the chat or TC (sorry your name eludes me at the moment) we should look very closely at the owner in question. As hard as it may be, we need to put all personal feelings aside for an owner when we cast a vote. We need to vote soley on how the owner ran their team, not whether he's been a long time owner, is an awesome guy, or that it's hard to fill open positions.

This I will say though, I don't think tanking is really worth it anymore nor do owners in any league really try to tank as much as they used to because of the fact that the draft and international prospects are such a crap shoot these days with the changes made by WIS.

Lastly, while I know some will be disappointed by this result, I hope everyone will accept it and we can move forward as a league. Again. thank you to everyone who voted.