N L EAST SEASON 18 PREVIEW

San Juan Santurce Crabbers (NL) rbedwell View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:110-52

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:107-55  This bunch of Crabbers did win it all. And it could be trouble for the rest of us, as this team is in their prime. Rbedwell also was the Durocher award winner and you could say it was a dream season for him. With the same 127 million dollar group returning . It could be curtains for the rest of us. This team could easily repeat.

OUT: Steven Tartabull , Vicente Rodriguez

IN: Darren Holmes

RALPH'S PREVIEW:  the skinny on the Crabbers is that they feeling renewed hunger after losing the trophy in a WS most of the players feel they should have won.Aging with a bit of decline starting to creep in, the team is still one of the most talented in this world and feels like they need to win now.The only loss was Steven Tartabull, who had age catch up to him and was a seldom-used reserve last season anyway. Key addition is GG SS Darren Holmes, who should provide excellent jack-of-all-trades depth off the bench.

PREVIEW: The Crabbers tore thru the regular season like Oprah in a Twinkie factory. Then in the post season he won the NL pennant and lost game 7 in the series to the Shock Squad. The Crabbers are a tough bunch. No matter how much you shave and scrub they just keep coming back. You all know what I mean!Rbedwll went into the offseason and let Tartabull and Rodriguez go to free agency. Then he traded for Holmes to shore up the defense. Ralph also extended the contracts of Che Cho and Sam Gray and still has two more slots open. This is the smae ol Crabs that we know and lament. They will continue to be the bane of our existence. PREDICTION:105-57

Burlington Coat Factory (NL) ehull11 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:101-61

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:90-72  The Coat factories finished second in the division. But they battled in the playoffs as a wild card. And made it all the way to the NLCS only to lose a game 7 to the......you guessed it. Crabbers!!. But the fans in Burlington are proud of their team and they could be heard in the pubs across the land." We'll be RID of them crabs soon!!"After clearing some cap space ,Ehull blew the whole wad on Pineiro. I for one have never paid a player a max contract (20 mil a year). I just don't like putting all my budget eggs in one player. But we shall see if this is what it takes to get rid of the Crabs dominance. It's gonna be real ineresting in the N L

EHULL'S PREVIEW: Apparently after two tantalizingly seasons that came up short, Coat Factory ownership went stark-raving mad. Simply put, they have been unable to conquer Ralph's Crabbers and his dreaded island breeze. So instead of relying on a young team to improve, the Factory started making it rain like a drunk stock broker at a strip club. After handing Pineiro a max deal last year, they turned around gave another one to Don Nelson. Then they traded for aging uber-closer Appolo West. No doubt about it, the Coat Factory (slogan: Outlet stores AND baseball!) is all in. They can taste the title. But will they end up tasting bitter defeat? (Answer: probably)

OUT: Thomas Anderson , Alex Tarasco , Will Byrdak , Eddie Locke , Jason Ransom , Buck Jodie

IN:  Don Nelson , Glenallen Brower , Apollo West

PREVIEW: The Coat Factories have a Crab problem . As do we all. Ehull has the unenviable position of playing in the same division as Ralph and his Rum drinking Crabs. But the Coat Factories had a great year winning 101 games and I would be kicking up my heels with that success. I think Ehull needs a tweak or two and this team will be aCrab Free team. In the offseason Ehull let Anderson,Tarasco,Byrdak,Locke go to free agency and released Ransom.Then Jodie was claimed off the waiver wire. With just a couple holes in the lineup, Ehull signed big time free agent Nelson to a Max contract. Then he Traded for Brower and West to help the bullpen.Looks like the Coat Factories Are going for it.The Talent level has risen in Burlington and this may get rid of them pesky Crabs! Its gonna be a Battle in the N L East. If they dont win the division they will surly be a wild card. And pitching always is a premium in the post season.The Coats are Sporty! PREDICTION:105-57

Cincinnati Red Light District (NL) jeff2106 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:78-84

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:85-77  Thank god I laid off the Whiskey when I wrote last years preview. The Peachfuzz finished right at .500 and they never caught fire. I know how they feel playing in a tough division . But they have talent, so they could make a run anytime. Desanders is making some good moves bringing in some pitching and bats. Turner concerns me a tad but in all, they have improved. It's not easy playing in this division.

OUT:  Edgar Santos , Albert Coleridge , Johnny Goldman , Jose Bonilla , Vance Schilling , Julio Fuentes , Rico Martinez , Rheal Scott , Zach Goodwin , David Pineda

IN:  Carson Bailey , Edgardo Rivera , Buster O'Connor , Melky Barrios , Michel Diaz , Claudio Schmidt , Ernie Cannon , Raul Lima , Willie Alonso , Kris Karros

PREVIEW: You would think the Peachfuzz would have the best chance to get Rid of the Crabs. But you would be wrong. They took a step back and finished with only 78 wins and that was all it took for desanders. He snuck out in the dead of night and hasn't been seen since. It's rumored he joined Chaz Bonos Dancing Dikes and is touring the U.S."He got dem Happy Feet". Jeff2106 was picked by Mark3313 to take over the abandoned Peachfuzz. "Choosy commish's Choose Jeff!" Jeff  the Peanut Butter kid  moved the team to Cincinnati's Red Light District. So he could walk across the street to What If Sports headquarters and rap them on the skull whenever one of his superstars gets injured.In the offseason Jeff2106 let Santos,Coleridge,Goldman head to free agency and he released Bonilla,Schilling,Fuentes and Martinez.Finally he traded away Scott,Goodwin and Pineda. With half his team to fill Jeff first signed free agents Bailey,Rivera,O'Conner and Barrios.Then he promoted Diaz,Schmidt and traded for Cannon,Lima,Alonso and Karros.You know I really like this team now. They have a ton of talent and the Coaching staff is good except for a weak fielding coach.If this team wasn't in such a tough division I would say they were a shoe in to make the playoffs. But getting thru the Crabs and Coat Factories will be a challenge. This is my Dark horse pick.I have a penchant for whorehouses. It could be 3 teams from the N L East in the post season.PREDICTION:93-69

Syracuse Moose (NL) rugby1 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:71-91

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:85-77  Rugby and the Moose took a step back and is in the reload mode.It was a disapointing year for him and with 17 million of cap room . He could sign some left over free agents or make a couple trades for firesale players. As of writing this, the Moose have yet to promote young studs Jorge Fernandez and Jair Arias .Who are waiting in AAA with others. When they are added to the bigs( which should be this year) this team will be better.Right now its hard to predict but they will be about .500 or above.

OUT: Santiago Martinez , Tsuyoshi Hujimoto , Ramon Lo , Tony Duncan , Vic Martin , Milt Hutton , Rick Gwynn

IN:  Julian Stern

PREVIEW: The Moose were the dominate team in this division of death for many,many moons. I thought the Moose would make 500 even though they are re-tooling. But they finished well below 500. Last season the Moose did promote Jorge Fernandez and Jair Arias but also added Dude Long. Which should help them this season after last years lack of Runs Scored (626). In the offseason Rugby had a bunch of guys clamoring for money. He re-signed Curtis Hutchinson , Mike Malloy and Ignacio Herrera to extensions.Then he let Martinez ,Hujimoto,Lo,Duncan and Martin go to free agency. Finally he released Hutton and Gwynn to complete the exodus. With a couple gaps in his roster, Rugby signed free agent Stern. This leaves a couple spots open on his M L roster and he could fill them with several AAA prospects that are ready. (Davey Gomez , Jose Sanchez). Or with a 12 million dollar surplus he could choose some late free agent signings. Either way the Re-tooling is close to completion and the Moose are about ready to get back to them winning ways. PREDICTION:81-81 

N L SOUTH SEASON 18 PREVIEW

Durham BullShippers (NL) wishlist3677 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:77-85

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:92-70  The Sergeis Did exactly as predicted. They surged past the falling Stars and grabbed their first division Pennant. In the playoffs the Sergeis lost in the DCS to the Champs. They have come a long way from a perennial loser.The Sergeis lost a little talent but brought in some nice veteran players. This division is still theirs to lose .

OUT: Rico Morales , Brandon Thomson , Victor Quixote , Clarence Christiansen , Alex Mateo , R.J. Lima , Glenallen Brower , Miguel Piedra , Apollo West

IN:  Jimmie James , Mo Andrelczyk , Eddie Locke , Jose Bonilla , Don Hyzdu , Cristobal Beltran , Walt Lieberthal

PREVIEW: Its better to be a big fish in a small pond. Right! Sergei didn't cotton to that notion so he bailed on Sante Fe .Though they won the division with a sub 500 record.The Sergeis almost upset the Coat Factoties in the opening round of the playoffs. This team gets a new owner in Wishlist3677. He bought the team for 20,000 drachma's and 2 Carnival cruise boarding passes. Wishlist went into his first offseason and re-signed Albert Brito .Then he let Morales,Thomson,Quixote,Christiansen and Mateo go to free agency.Finally he traded away Lima,Brower,Piedra and West to complete the house cleaning.With most of his team to rebuild, Wishlist signed free agents James,Andrelczyk,Locke and Bonilla and traded for Hyzdu,Beltran and Lieberthal. Even with a full roster, Wishlist also grabbed 9 players in the R-5 draft and who knows where he'll put them.Last year this team was the best defensive team but that didn't help them overcome the lack of Runs scored. Maybe Hyzdu will help with that and he brought in some good bullpen help to replace the departing West. But with a AAA coaching staff this team is in trouble. Not sure who will win this weakest of divisions. Thsi team looks like it may slug it out with Austin to be another sub-500 playoff team. PREDICTION:79-83

Austin City Limits (NL) wylie715 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:74-88

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:86-76  Man!! what happened?? I'm like Wylie WTF??. I'm at a loss why these guys laid a big turd.This bunch has talent to burn. Perhaps it's their youth that hurt them. They are a very young bunch with only 2 players above 30.I just hope Wylie doesn't panic and blow this team up. This Team is Very,Very young and that may be why they are so streaky. But after a down year the odds are they will be good this year.

OUT: Pablo Vega , Vic Armas

IN:  Stan Knight , David Pineda

WYLIES PREVIEW:  the City Limits roster is pretty much set with AllStar Ryan Olshan doing the bulk of the catching, newcomer David Pineda at 1st base, Mt Herndon holding down 2nd base while Jackson Reed and Michael gardner fight it out for 3rd base.Two timer Luis Quintanilla holds down SS. Hector Ruth and JP Mendez hold down the corner outfield spots while Don Nunnally holds down CF. The starting rotation is made up of younger pitchers who hopefully should be hitting their prime. The bullpen is the one area the Limits are looking to improve (send in your trade offers).Management hopes this is the year the young talent breaks out and we can at least content for a division title.


PREVIEW:  One thing you can say about Wylie. He bucks the Odds. He Buck near had a winning season with 74 wins and he Buck near won the division. But his City Limits Bucked him in the end. OUCH thats gonna leave a mark! Cheer up Buckaroo , Its a new season and this could be Austins year. So Wylie let Vega go to free agency and released Armas. He then designated  Christopher Beimel for assignment. With just a couple of roster slots open. Wylie picked up Knight in the R-5 and traded for Pineda. The City Limits had the same problem I had last year. No Scoring!! And I dont know if Wylies guys are gonna overcome a rookie Fielding coach. Thats right ...This guy has never Coached at any level....Never. Thats what I call Bucking the Odds! Could win the division with a 500 or below record. PREDICTION:75-87

Tampa Bay Stars (NL) neilg View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:74-88

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:81-81   It was a step back year for the falling Stars. but the news isn't all bad for sophmore owner nelig. He picked up a ton of talent in last years draft and has several picks in the first round this year. I was a little optomistic in last years prediction, so I think the Stars will finish about .500 this year.

OUT: Mo Andrelczyk , Tom Hutton , R.A. Ward , Charlie Holt , Ronnie Jones , Hector Benitez , Felix Gao , R.J. Padilla , Grant Richardson

IN:  Charles Ramsey , Harry Aguilera , Jerome Aumont , Oswaldo Johnson

PREVIEW: They were close to 500 again but this isn't the real news about Tampa Bay. Nelig added 4 more first round prospects to go with the 6 last year. And now this season he has 3 more first round picks.This team is being built thru the draft while still fielding a competative team. Well done Nelig. In the offseason Nelig re-signed Tarrik Francis and let Andrelczyk,Hutton,Ward,Holt,Jones and Benitez head to free agency.Then he released Gao outright and designated Padilla and Richardson for assignment. With some holes to fill ,Nelig signed free agents Ramsey and Aguilera.Then he picked up Aumont and Johnson in R-5 draft.This team is still a couple of seasons away from the youngsters reaching their projections. Look for Nelig to add some draft prospects with a few IFA's. But there is no hurry to win right now when the future looks bright.has a chance of winning this division. PREDICTION:75-87

Jackson Black Bears (NL) olemiss33 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:49-113

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:62-100  It was predicted that olemiss33 would have a rough first year. And they did. They continue to collect nice prospects so it won't be bad for long. If I could give him one bit of advice...Don't skimp on the training. Your prospects need a high training budget to meet their projections. It's obvious with the ousting of top talent that the Black Bears are freeing up money for prospects.Looks like a rebuild in progress here.

OUT: Quinton Sauer , Derrin Price , John Daniels , Dicky Wilson , Omar Perez , Geraldo Mercado , Bobby Shaw , Otis Mateo , Albert Delgado , Shayne Janish

IN: Tony Duncan , Mack Manning , Ricardo Hernandez , Freddy Weiss , Fernando Santiago

PREVIEW:  Olemiss won the Draft sweepstakes and will pick #1 overall. Olemiss picked up some nice draft propspects and also some Nice IFA's. Theres lots of money to bid on IFA's with a 25 million dollar payroll. With no minimum win rule, this is a good way to build a winner. In the offseason Olemiss re-signed Oscar Li and let Sauer,Price,Daniels,Wilson and Perez file for free agency. He then released Mercado,Shaw,Mateo,Delgado and traded away Janish.With a ton of holes to plug, Olemiss signed free agents Duncan,Manning,Hernandez,Weiss and picked up Santiago in the R-5 draft.No mystery here. The Black Bears will ride out the season at the bottom and pick up another high draft pick. PREDICTION:62-100

N L WEST SEASON 18 PREVIEW

San Francisco Kickapoos (NL) mark3313 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:109-53

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:108-58  Marks guys had a great regular season as expected . But they were upset by a very good Burlington team in the post season. This bunch of superstars can hear the clock ticking but they have only a couple of more great years left. As of this writing the Kickapoos have 4 open roster spots. They have 2 R-5's yet assigned and about 4 million in cap space. Looks like Mark will either go after a few bullpen pitchers and some bench help when free agent prices fall.Or promote some Nice AAA prospects. But its still the same core bunch of super stars. This team will definitely win the division and go far in the playoffs.

OUT: Al Harding , Don Nelson , Macbeth Lofton

IN: Fred Lee , Jarrod Mann , David Vazquez

PREVIEW: It was a no brainer when I predicted the Kickapoos to win the division. And they did prove me right when they went to the NLCS and lost game 7. Mark has stated that this team is growing gray and are in the twilight of their run. Yeah..Right!  In the offseason Mark let Harding,Nelson and Lofton go to free agency but he did re-sign Neifi Ordaz. To fill some gaps he signed free agents Lee,Mann and Vazquez. When you have a great team and win alot. It's inevitable that your players want to get big bucks. So Mark lost Nelson to a max contract but did retain the services of Ordaz and brought in some decent players to fill the gaps. The loss of Nelson is just a minor chink in the Kickapoo armour. But it may be the start of the decline. Right now they are still the best in this division and will go far in the playoffs. PREDICTION:101-61

Wichita Wind (NL) hoopcoach07 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:79-83

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:68-94  The great Witchita rebuild continues . And while the play on the diamond reeks of Chimp poo for the 3rd consecutive year. The prospects are piling up and that is a great deodorant for losing.That means the Wind fans can take the clothspins off their noses and stand down wind again. This team definatly got better with the promotions and the luck of landing Romero.But the Wind needs pitching badly. Until they address that problem they will finish in the basemaent. But if they make a trade or two for some good pitching .Add 20 wins to my prediction.

OUT: Mark Phillips , Louis Woods , Fernando Rijo

IN: Tony Pena , Vic Sardinha

PREVIEW:  Last season was actually a good year for the rebuilt Witchita Wind. They almost reached .500 but they gave up to many runs (810 RA) for the offense (788 RS) to overcome . But still it was a great showing for a 55 million dollar team. In the offseason he let Phillips go to free agency and released Woods and Rijo. Last season Kyle Romero was promoted and he helped win some games for the Wind. Look for Hoopcoach to promote Terry Jordan or Bo Mercedes and bring in a backup Catcher to complete his squad.The Wind have some serious talent and are young. But last year they allowed to many runs to cross the plate (810). They also were the worst defensive team in Wrigleyville with 145 errors and a Feilding pct of .976.With a Fielding coach that should be back in the minors its unlikely this will improve. PREDICTION:75-87

Vancouver Totems (NL) madmuldoon View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:74-88

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:85-77  My youngsters did well last season and got my team back in the post season after a long drought. It was probably due to a down year in the NL. No way a 83 win team wins a wild card in seasons past. I'm excited about the additions of Rolando and Peter. They will add some pop to my anemic lineup. Hopfully they will start out strong.

OUT:  Eli Fernandez , Karim Paniagua , Bernie Castillo

IN: Thomas Anderson

PREVIEW: I was disappointed winning only 74 games last season. But Peter Okajima won the ROY and Rolando Valenzuela didn't perform up to my expectations. But lets be realistic here, There is only 1 player older than 30 and youngsters are unpredictable. So I may have been overly optimistic last year. In the offseason I resigned free agent Billy Ray Griffiths , let Fernandez and Paniagua go to free agency and released Castillo. I had one slot open at the catcher position so I filled it with free agent Anderson. Late last year I brought in Antone Teagarden , Kid Sanders and Rob McNamara so my team is even younger. I increased my training budget and brought in a new hitting coach and fielding coach. I'm still optimistic ,this team should at least play 500 ball. PREDICTION:81-81

Colorado Springs Bandits (NL) ressda View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:72-90

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:81-81  The Brownsox finished about the same as last year. Soxfan probably is scratching his noggin trying to get his guys to play like a 84 million dollar team.Nothing is more frustrating than signing guys and they play like crap. On the upside Soxfan9 did pick up some nice prospects in the draft. So as of this writing the Brown sox have 1 roster spot open. This is a very young team with talent. Will they get on a roll?? Only time will tell.

OUT: Sidney Tresh , David Vazquez , Kevin Martin , Stephen Hayes , Ben Borland , Harry Aguilera , Louie Bottenfield

IN:  Scot Beltre , Rick Surkamp , Lucas Myers , Walt Barfield , Placido Cruz , Harry Paz , Junior Izturis , Sherman Harris , Ossie McMillan

PREVIEW: Speaking of dissapointment. Brownsox was so deflated he picked up his bat and balls and left town. He did leave behind his Blow up plastic girlfriend Polly Esther. She keeps asking "Why dont he Write??". After Brownsox blew town ressda stepped up to the plate and took over the team and Polly. Brown sox left behind more than his main squeeze. He also left the farm system in fine shape with all his draft prospects intact. Thats good news for ressda. In the offseason ressda let Tresh,Vasquez and Martin head to the free agent market. He then released Hayes,Borland,Aguilera and Bottenfield. With alot of holes to fill ,ressda first claimed Beltre off the waiver wire and signed free agents Surkamp,Myers,Barfield,Cruz and Paz. Then he promoted a super DH in Izturis and picked up Harris and McMillan in the R-5 draft.Looks like ressda lowered the payroll by 14.6 million and still kept this team together. They have good coaching and a revamped bullpen. But their catching concerns me. Both are great hitters but not much defensivly. Looks like teams will be stealing the bases when playing the Bandits. Turn around is fair play!! PREDICTION:81-81 

SCOTTSDALE SHOCK SQUAD ARE THE CHAMPS!!

Now the best kept secret is out. The Scottsdale Shock Squad are a very good team. They just polished off the defendin9 Champs in the 17th Wrigleyville World Series. Game 7 came down to the top of the 9th with the Santurce Crabbers up by the score of 4-3. When Nicholas Jamison beat out a double play and then scored on Corey Rodgers double to tie the game.Then in the 10th Ricky Mann hit a three run homer and the bullpen closed out San Juan to seal the Series.
This was one of the most entertaining World Series in Wrigleyville History. And I look forward to next season. Perhaps Coach34 and his SSS will repeat? The rest of us will do everything in our power to keep that from happening. Congratulations to Coach34 and the Scottsdale Shock Squad on their Championship.

THIS YEARS DUROCHER GOES TO COACH34

It was a no brainer that Coach34 was voted as the Coach of the year. His Scottsdale Shock Squad tore thru the season winning 105 games and the tough A L WEST. That is a great accomplishment and Coach should be proud no matter how the series turns out. In my dealings with Coach he has been a cosumate profesional and has been engaging in the world chat. We are very fortunate indeed to have him as a owner in Wrigleyville and look forward to many more seasons playing against him. Congrats Coach !!

WHAT IN THE WILD WILD WORLD IS GOING ON?

Simmy Been Downloaden

Editors Note: This article appeared on my other Blog in McCabe World. I thought you my readers in Wrigleyville needed to be informed of the crazy stuff going on.


Hello everyone I.B.Lyon here reporting on the strange stats and skewed records of some players. After several reputable owners and some not so. Complained about a few players with outragous records at the start of this season. Madmuldoon contacted me and urged me with a cookie of Crack Cocaine, to look into the strange going ons. After several puffs for energy I started at the source of all that we are. Yes thats right, What If Sports headquarters in beautiful Cincinatti Ohio.


I sauntered up to the front doors and was instantly met by 2 burly security guards who shook me down for drugs and money. Then after a painful taseing session I was handcuffed and ignored. Several owners have complained of this treatment when contacting customer support so I was not suprised. After a day passed I was stashed in the corner to be dealt with at the convenience of WIS customer service. It was then I noticed a new employee sneaking around the servers. I let out a rather loud Crack fart , he was startled and turned to see where the commotion and stench came from. People, I dont mind telling you that the blood I had left after my weekly donation to buy crack, ran cold. I was staring into the face of known Cyber-terrorist, Osimmy-Been-Downloaden.

Thats right my brothers. His little beady eyes and rat like facial features were staring at me like Whitney Houston at a Crack pipe. With the spiddle leaking out of the corner of his rat mouth he smiled and said. "Mr Lyons I presume. Looks like your caught in the quagmire of WIS customer service.And theres nothing you can do to stop me!" With that he slithered out of my site and even though I screamed for WIS staff to stop him. They added more cotton to their ears and ignored my pleas for help.

After what seemed like days the janitorial crew threw me out accidentaly and I was freed by a fellow dumpster diver. As you can see my fellow HBD'ers. We are under attack by the worst Cyber Villian to roam the halls of WIS and theres nothing we can do.He's one of them! So just pay your $25.00 and hang on. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Frosted Shock Squad Charms, they're magically delicious!

Shooter: Moonbats eat pieces of shit like Yorvit Delgado for breakfast!!!

Happy: Moonbats eat pieces of shit for breakfast?!?

Shooter: (after pregnant pause) NO!!!

Thanks for keeping the series exciting, Byung Hung Kim, errr... Yorvit Delgado. Salud!