N L WEST PREVIEW SEASON 27

Scottsdale Schizoids (NL) madmuldoon View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:96-66

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: I was happy where my team finished even though I wanted to win the division. I rested my Big fellas down the stretch when I clinched a wild-card spot and my odds of catching the Utes were low. My guys won 92 games and a wild-card spot with great hitting (3rd  in the NL) and good pitching (5th in the NL)and defense (4th  in the NL). We were the #6 seed in the playoffs but that didn't matter to my guys. We beat the #3 seeded Red Light Districts in 4 ,then got by the #2 seeded Muskellunges in 4. But in the National League Championships we met the #1 seeded Black Bears and it proved to big a hill to climb. My Schizoids lost in 6 games and I went on a 6 day drinking binge. In the off-season I re-signed Santo Prieto and  Chad Krause  and I released Reese when he wanted too much money in Arbitration. I replaced him with a R-5 pick-up that may or may not be with the team by the All-Star break. Same exact team as last year hopefully We will make the Series this year.PREDICTION:93-69(Wild-Card)

OUT: Santo Prieto

IN:  Pascual Cabrera

PREVIEW: My boys surprised me in the regular season and won the division. It was a miracle with my 2 best set-up guys on the 60 day DL. We went into the playoffs as the #3 seed and lost game 5 at home to the Juggernauts. I sure could have used Mariano Rivera and Steven Daniels in my bullpen for the post-season. In the off-season I re-signed Chad Krause and let Prieto go to free agency and promoted Cabrera. This is the same team as last year. Late last year I brought up Daryl Schmidt and I hope he gives my rotation some wins. I promoted Cabrera this year because he hit over 400 in S/T and has been hitting .300+ in AAA and deserves a shot at the bigs. Gonna try and win the division but my goal is getting back to the playoffs with my bullpen intact.PREDICTION:96-66 (Division Winner)

Salt Lake City Utes (NL) hoopcoach07 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:92-70

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Last year I called a division win for the Utes with my head, but my heart wish's it wasn't so. Hoop has a young team coming into their prime and they did their Pappa proud. Pappa Hoop's team won the division with great pitching (3rd in the NL) and good defense (7th in the NL), coupled with timely hitting (8th in the NL) . They went into the playoffs as the #4 seed and lost to the up and coming Moose. With both the Utes and Moose coming of age...Pappa Hoop may get another crack at them soon.In the off-season Rodriguez went to free agency and Hoop released Williams and McBride after they were caught playing tiddly-winks in the team hot-tub after hours. With only two open spots on this year M L roster, Hoop promoted Clark and Limon. This is the same good team as last year and the 2 newbies didn't weaken them at all. It's going to be hard for any of us to beat him for the division. I think this team will go farther in the post-season this year.PREDICTION:100-62(Division Winner)

OUT: Manuel Jose , Willie Alonso , Terry Jordan , Pedro Owen

IN: Ken Flair , Angel Hernandez

HOOPCOACH'S PREVIEW: The Utes are coming into a year where they are looking for the young pieces they collected during their losing seasons to step up and produce like I dreamed of on a nightly basis when they were youngins. We didn't do must in free agency, we only acquired one player, and that was Ken Flair, who looks to help our late inning bullpen: a weakness last year. We lost Terry Jordan, an MVP candidate and one of my favorite Utes of all time. We groomed him since he was a pup, but he asked for more than we could afford, plus he broke off his engagement to my sister, so he had to leave. We, also, said good bye to Willie Alonso, who hit some big home runs for us since we traded for him. Also, let go of Pedro Owen who never lived up to his hype and was asking for Lebron James money in arbitration. 

Offensively, we looking for young guns, Sandy Millwood and Jon Coleman, to add some pop to the lineup. Chris Burke who has been great, is looking for an MVP type season. Alex Black, Hector Limon and the other looks who take the offense to championship levels. 

Jeff Boyd leads our pitching again, but he's coming off his worst season as a Ute. Not that a 16-10 3.04 era is a bad year. Eduardo Villa is looking to have another Cy Young contending season. Outside of Boyd and Villa, Brandon Foxx, Jose Martinez, and Phil Koh look to be more consistent and healthy. Foxx has all the potential in the world, but health and inconsistency issues have him always on the trading block. We're looking for Bobby Ray Vance to take the next step in his 2nd full ML season. If we can get 2-3 of those guys to perform to their potential then this rotation could be deadly. The bullpen is carry but the quite Harry Megias, who continues to get the job done as closer. The rest of the pen knows the hot arm will pitch, but this franchise ends a couple arms to step up and prove they ar top setup men if we're going contend with the big boys. 

The talent is there, we just need to take the next step. Just making the playoffs is no longer acceptable. We need to contend to division, league and world championships. If my Utes don't get off to a good start, look for some of the names above to be in different cities, as we will be looking for guys who can get the job done now.

PREVIEW: Hoop was in the division race all season long and never let me rest my guys. He did come up a little short on the division race but did grab a wild-card spot.In the playoffs his team was bested in the first round by the Moose in 4. In the off-season Hoop let Jose, Alonso , Jordan go to free agency and released Owen. He signed free agent Flair and picked up Hernandez in the R-5. The N L West is getting tougher with the Mariners showing signs of improving. It's going to be tough but the Utes should at least get a wild-card.PREDICTION:94-68(Wild Card)

Seattle Mariners (NL) bbwinksdaddy View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:82-80

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It's a sad day in Wrigleyville . Mark3313 our long time commish and one of the best people in HBD, retired. Word has it he got a position in San Juan testing the effects of Rum on scantily clad women. I'd leave Wrigleyville for that!! Now that a legend is gone ,BBwinksdaddy is the new owner and moved the team to Seattle. I've been told he plans on freeing Willy so look out ladies!! Come to Daddy ,,,Wink...Wink!With many open roster spots, BBwinks signed free agents Wall, Rapp, Flores, Anaral, Maxwell and Nathan and promoted Hernandez. Hernandez will be a monster closer and will probably win a few FOY's in the future . With last years promotion of Reid Merritt and Brad Slocumb the Mariners are on there way to respectability. They should get near .500 this year but Bbwinks still has many blue-chip prospects in the pipeline. When they get the call-up in 1-2 years. Lookout. PREDICTION:75-87

OUT: Steve Teahen , Billy Brock , Bernard Wilson , Kevin Sheffield , William Resop , Danny Jones

IN: Andrew Halter , Vernon Nickle , Vic Espinoza , Harry Ordonez , Gaby Ramirez

PREVIEW: BBwinks had his Mariners playing good baseball all season long. And with a 47-44 record at the break they were making Hoop and myself nervous nellies. Seattle's draft didn't go well when his 1st round pick (#3 overall) didn't sign, but he will get this years #5 pick overall as compensation. And to rub salt in the wound ,they lost out on the IFA bidding. No real significant IFA's were signed.Ouch! In the off-season Bbwinks re-signed Rex Maxwell and Shawn Terry .He let Teahen, Brock, Wilson , Sheffield go to free agency and released Resop and Jones. He signed free agents Halter, Nickle and Espinoza. Finally he promoted Ordonez and picked up Ramirez in the R-5. Seattle is a good young team and when BBwinks promotes Don Hamilton and Jeanmar Estrella from AAA they will be even better. Whats scares me more is he has even better talent in AA. It's just a matter of time before they win this division .They will battle for a wild-card and could get one.PREDICTION:86-76

Colorado Springs Bandits (NL) ressda View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:76-86

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: Ressda's Bandits are another young team (avg age 27.8) and they finally broke the .500 mark. They won 83 games with the #4 hitting team in the NL. The fielding (11th in the NL) and pitching (14th in the NL) let them down but like I said, they are young! In the off-season Mrs O'Leary and her Cow, Rios, Walter, Molina and Maduro went to free agency. Ressda signed free agents Cruz, Hartman, Molina and Battle. At the time of this writing the Bandits still had a roster spot open. Ressda's signed a couple good pitchers and a couple good hitters. If he starts Hartman in CF my guys will be aiming to hit it there. So far in S/T he has played in RF.... he doesn't have the range for RF but it might not kill the defense. If Patsy stays outa CF and the free agent pitchers pitch like they should. Colorado Springs will give me a run for the wild-card.PREDICTION:87-75

OUT: Juan Marmol ,

IN: Taylor Towers , Don Collins , Justin Lowry

PREVIEW: I thought Ressda's Bandits would take the next step after surpassing the 500 mark in season 25. But they slid back to a sub-500 team. Ressda did load up on the prospects when he grabbed Art Ashley , Keenyn Yearwood , Matthew Green and Houston Price in the draft. In the off-season Ressda re-signed Patsy Hartman and let Mamol go to free agency. He signed free agent Towers and promoted Collins and picked up Lowery in the R-5. Collins has arrived to be the ace of the Bandit staff and the Colorado Springs Bandits will try to make another push to get above .500 and beyond.Can they do it? Anything is possible but this division is tough. PREDICTION:82-80

A L WEST PREVIEW SEASON 27

Vancouver Blitz (AL) blitziscomin View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:99-63(WORLD SERIES CHAMPS)

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Blitz were the surprise team from last year. I predicted a 92 win wild-card team but we got a 105 win division champ.They did this with the best pitching team in the AL and the # 4 defensive team. The hitting was ranked 5th in the AL. All in all, nice job Blitz and the Fans of Vancouver are behind your team 100 percent.They went into the playoffs as the # 1 seed and disappointed the fans when they lost in 5 to their division foe Salmonbellies. Vancouver is for real and everybody is on notice. It's going to be a 2 team race with Salem but you have to go with who won it last year.PREDICTION:100-62(Division Winner)

OUT: Juan Guerrero , Len Hawkins , Al Toca , Louis Rekar

IN: Rick Surkamp , Rodrigo Mota

PREVIEW: Blitziscomin did what I failed to do. Win a World Series in Vancouver. I knew the Blitz had a good enough team to win about 100 games but I didn't see a Championship. Congrats to Blitziscomin and his team , Great season! In the off-season Blitz re-signed Victor Paulino and let Guerrero, Hawkins, Toca and Rekar go to free agency. He signed free agent Surkamp and picked up Mota in the R-5. Vancouver lost a couple bullpen guys and Hawkins will be missed , but Surkamp looks like a good replacement. Toca's bat is also gonna leave a hole but Alex Santana is ready to fill in as the everyday SS. The Blitz are a comin folks and they are the favorites to win the division.And don't count them out in the playoffs... PREDICTION:100-62(Division Winner)

Salem Salmonbellies (AL) mdymond View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:90-72

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: I picked Mdymonds Salmonbellies to win the division and they would have but for the Vancouver win explosion. They did win 100 games and got a wild-card berth with 2nd best pitching and defensive units in the American League. Salem also had the # 3 hitting unit and as you can see, they are a solid team. They proved it in the playoffs by beating the sub-500 Revolutionaries, then got revenge on the division winning Blitz. In the American League Championship game he ousted the # 2 seeded Bruins in 5. Mdymond found himself in the World Series up against last years Champ. They had a tough time of it and lost in 5 games, but still it was a great season for the Salem Salmonbellies.As usual Mdymond keeps me guessing. His roster is still 5 men short and makes a prediction pretty much impossible. But I will say that this team winning the American League was no fluke. They are solid in all 3 facets of the game and can hit em out of the park. The safe bet is Mdymond will get them in the playoffs again. PREDICTION: 88 + Roll the Dice (Wild-card)

OUT: Alex Gamel , Al James , Yorvit Campos , Ahmad Forster , Luis Vizcaino

IN: Mack Hines

PREVIEW: The Salmonbellies are a good team in a tough division. They did get the final wild-card berth with a 90 win season. They played the 83 win Bruins in the first round but came out on the short end in 4 games. In the off-season Mdymond let Gamel and James go to free agency. He released Campos then Forster and Vizcaino was claimed off the wire. Mdymond promoted Hines to fill 1 of the remaining 4 open roster spots. Salem has lowest cap and one of the lowest overall payrolls. Mdymond gets more bang for his buck and his team should make it back to the playoffs. PREDICTION:92-70(Wild Card)

Arizona Cobras (AL) swishnev23 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:84-78

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:  I waffled whether to predict a total re-build year and a re-tool year. I picked the latter and was wrong,wrong and wrong! The Cobras are in a complete re-build, Swish said as much in last years All-Star break post : 
"Pretty interesting first half for the Cobras as we've continued to make some trades to get younger while also beginning to integrate younger players onto the major league roster in Stockton and Sugawara. The prospects in the minors keep improving so the future still remains bright. Possibly the only negative, outside of the ML W/L record, is that we swung hard at some tough to sign elite SP's in the draft and were unable to sign them. This was part of the reason why Javier Lopez was traded to bolster the SP prospect package in the minors. We'll pick up compensation picks in the S26 draft though."
Looks like the Ship be a in Dry Dock but he did pick up Victor Roque in the IFA Market.Swish added some really nice player thru free agency and promotions. I don't think they are in the running for the division but with some luck they will break the .500 mark. Right now they are the second youngest team in the A L(Avg Age 26.6).Soon they will be spitting venom.PREDICTION:82-80

OUT: Bernie Richard , Graeme Quinn , Phillip Pryce

IN: Sidney Martin , Bryan Lombardi

PREVIEW:  At the All-Star break it looked like Swish's Cobras were on their way to the playoffs with a 53-38 record. But they faded down the stretch and ended up with 84 wins, 6 games behind for the final Wild-card spot. In the off-season Swish let Richard, Quinn and Pryce go to free agency. He signed free agent Martin and traded for Lombardi.Arizona still has a young team averaging 26.8 years per player. That also keeps salaries low at 1.9 per player. Swish has 40 million in cap space and has upped his international and HS scouting budget. This makes me lean towards a year where the Cobras ride out the season and pick up some more prospects. They will be back on top in a year or two.PREDICTION:82-80

Cheyenne Bagwell Bashers (AL) carseneau View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:61-101

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Bagwell Bashers are about where we thought they would be. They were more inclined to pick up some good prospects for the future . They found Ismael Espinosa in the IFA market and grabbed  Rabbit Paulino and Jason Lesher in the draft.This is the youngest team in Wrigleyville with a average age of 26.1. They also have hardly any M L experience (1.6 avg M L years). There still is a ton of talent on the Farm but  are not ready for the Bigs. Right now Cheyenne will grow the youngsters and finish below .500 . PREDICTION:70-92

OUT: Thomas Dingman , Robinson King , Vladimir Gonzales , Bobby Collins , Pedro Javier , Beamer Tekotte

IN: Gene Larish , Geovany Johnson , Matty Tabaka , Eduardo Delgado , Wily Mo Miller , Terry Jordan , Yonder Acosta , Yorvit Diaz , Benj Beimel , Quentin Hermansen

PREVIEW: No surprise last year for the Bagwell Bashers. They are re-building and will get the 4th pick in this years draft, just like last year. Jim Hartley was the player Carseneau added with the pick .He also added Fausto Castillo , Yamaico Kim and Damaso Vidal in the International Market.In the off-season Carseneau released Dingman, King, Gonzales, Collins and Javier. He lost Tekotte off the waiver wire to Madison.He put a claim in for Larish, Johnson and Tabaka and added them to this years roster.He signed free agents Delgado, Miller, Jordan, Acosta and Diaz. Finally he picked up Beimel and Hermansen in the R-5 draft.With Ned Coleman and Cesar Limon  as the future core of this franchise. Carseneau went out and spent 39 million on free agents to build around them. He still has some talent in the farm system, some ready, some not. I think this team is on it's upward swing to respectability.But they are still a year or 2 from the post-season.PREDICTION:72-90

A L NORTH PREVIEW SEASON 27

New Britain Bruins (AL) dodgersgale View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:83-79

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Bruins did win the division but the misfits and P-dogs weren't even close. Dodgers guys won 91 games with the #1 defensive team and the #3  pitching team in the American League. Imagine how good they would be if the hitting (10th in the A L) was improved. They took their great pitching and defensive team into the playoffs as the #2 seed. Where after a first round bye, they beat a good Charlotte team in 4 . In the American League Championship, the Bruins were surprised by the 100 win wild-card Salmonbellies. After Dodger blew his wad on Blanco he had about 10 million left to fill the holes. He signed one free agent and filled the rest with R-5's. So Dodger got his guy but can he overcome some of the other talent he lost with R-5 pick-ups? With the other teams in the division not doing very well last year he will eke out a division win. But this team will be a under dog in the post-season.PREDICTION: 89-73(Division Winner)

OUT: Gerardo Martinez , Jeremy George , Jeremy DeHaan , Yorman Velazquez

IN:

PREVIEW: Dodgers team did win the division but it wasn't easy. As predicted they did get challenged from the other teams in the division but finished 4 games ahead of the P-dogs. I also predicted they would be under-dogs in the playoffs and I was dog-gone wrong. The Bruins beat the 90 win Salmonbellies in the first round then surprised the 96 win Tabaky Farmers in the DCS. Dodger found himself in the ALCS and took the eventual Champs to a 7th game. All in all my prediction of a bad playoffs for the Bruins was colder than a 3 dog night! In the off-season Dodger re-signed Johnny Stone and let Martinez, George and DeHaan go to free agency and released Velazquez. This is pretty much the same team as last year and Dodger still has a roster spot open. They should win about 85-90 games and are always dangerous in the post-season.PREDICTION:88-74(Division Winner)

Fargo Prairie Dogs (AL) aaronwayne View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:79-83

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The P-Dogs were another team that relies on the bats (8th in the AL) to overcome the holes in the pitching (12th in the AL) and defense (9th in the AL). And they did improve the defense from the year before ,but in the end they could only muster 73 wins. At The Break Aaron was throwing in the towel and looking to move players. This was my All-Star post: 

The P-Dogs have crawled in their holes and refuse to come out. They are on pace to win about 65-70 games. Right now Fargo is giving up more runs than they are scoring and will be lucky to reach my prediction of 81 wins. 

That may be why Aaron is throwing in the towel on this year . he posted:

I'm open to trading just about everyone on the roster. I've got two, nicely priced power bats, some solid defensive players, no pitching, but there's something out there for everyone

See ya next year P-Dogs . Then they may come out in the sunshine.

That post about says it all about last years season.This is pretty much the same team as last year with a slugger(Lansing) and a good speedy defensive 2nd baseman(Galvez) added. With pitching still the problem in Fargo the P-dogs will stay in their holes.PREDICTION:80-82

OUT: Kevin Leonard , Al Vincente , Ivan Henriquez , Kirby Blair , Rob Dean , Albie Romo

IN: Pedro Javier , Davey Gomez , Alex Gamel , Pascual Vargas , Rafael Pimentel

PREVIEW: Aarons P-Dogs finished close to where I thought they would. Even so, they just about won the division, but giving up 870 runs and 229 long-balls is hard to overcome.But help is on the way,Aaron picked up some pitching in the draft and they will help in 1-2 years (Curtis Nelson , Harvey Romero). In the off-season Aaron let Leonard, Vincente, Henriquez , Blair go to free agency and released Dean and Romo. he signed free agents Javier, Gomez, Gamel,Vargas, Pimentel to fill the holes. Aaron spent 24 million on free agents and they are all solid players.His starting rotation is good and the bullpen will be great against RH hitters.The starting line-up defensively is poor but they are very good offensively. All in All I think the P-dogs will play better, and in this weak division, they could easily win it.PREDICTION:87-75

Hartford Insurance (AL) pbsilver11 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:78-84

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:  Pbsilver was tearing out his hair and gnashing his teeth last year. And my prediction of a 94 win Wild card team was way,way off. I knew by the All-star break last year that the Misfits were Misfiring when I wrote this in my "At The Break" Post: 

We have been discussing the fall of the Misfits on the chat. I have been scratching my head at the Misfits downward slide. One owner pointed out the hole in the 2nd/ Cf/ Rf defense and that could be the cause. But this years Misfits score 1.2 runs less per game and that is hard to overcome. PB made a trade and brought in slugger Javier Lopez ,who may help drive in more runs. Right now Minnesota is on track to win about 70 games and miss the playoffs. So much for my prediction.

Pb's Team did win more than 70 games in the end with 78 wins. The bright spot was that they had a good defense that was ranked 5th in the A L . So after ordering a new rug to hide the bald spots on his scalp, PB moved the team to Hartford. Maybe a change of scenery will help??The new park in Hartford is a hitters park compared to the neutral Humphrey dome in Minnesota. It's a great move and they will score more runs and the pitching is good enough to keep them in games. Look for good times with Hartford battling for the division. They could win it but may have to settle for a wild-card. PREDICTION:88-74

OUT: Rick Surkamp , Olmedo Franco , Jose Pena

IN: Sandy Mullins , Benjamin Terrell , Paul West

PREVIEW: PB's Team has me pulling on whats left of my hair. I thought they would be in the running for a wild card ,but this was not so. The Insurances are stuck at 78 wins , at least they're consistent, and with a weak division they only finished 5 games back of the Bruins. In the off-season PB re-signed Pasqual Perez and let Surkamp, Franco, Pena go to free agency. He signed free agent Mullens,  picked up Terrell in the R-5 and traded for West. Mullins and Terrell will improve an already stout defensive squad. And West will improve last years team .267 BA. Hartford will make it a 3 team fight for the division.PREDICTION:84-78

Chicago Black Hawks (AL) hacker7 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:67-95

LAST YEARS PREVIEW:  Hacker changed the name of his team to the Black Hawks after failing to reach the .500 mark. I predicted they would win 82 games but they only won 77. This team is one of the better hitting teams in the AL ,ranked #2. It's the pitching ( Last in the A L) and the defense (13th in the AL) that held them back last year.It was to big a hill to climb!In the off-season Hacker let Hayes, Reimold and Martin go to free agency and released Granger. he only had a couple roster spots open and filled them with free agents Crawford and Palmer. Chicago is on the right track by bringing in 2 good pitchers but will it be enough? I think they will win 6-8 more games but with a weak division they have a good a shot as anybody for the division crown.PREDICTION:83-79

OUT: Jimmie Sosa , Gene Larish

IN: Cristobal Fernandez , Paul Tomko

PREVIEW: The Black Hawks went the other way. Instead of winning 6-8 more games than last year, they lost 10 more.In the words of our governor here in the great state of Texas.........Whoops!! Last year wasn't a total loss, Hacker picked up Sam Sheridan in the draft. In the off-season Hacker released Sosa and lost Larish on the waiver wire. He signed free agent Fernandez and picked up Tomko in the R-5 draft.Same guys as last year with a couple new guys in the bullpen. Maybe they will win a couple more games but not enough to get to the .500 mark. PREDICTION:75-87

N L NORTH PREVIEW SEASON 27

Madison Muskellunges (NL) daddiothree View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:98-64(N L Champs)

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It's amazing how Daddio can lose Type-A players to free agency and still win over 100 games. That's how strong his team is and they did win the division easily with the best hitting team in the National League. The Pitching (7th in the N L) and Defense (9th in the N L) was about average but when you can score runs (967 runs-Best in Wrigleyville) like the Muskies...well...you will win 104 games. In the playoffs ,Daddio's team had a 1st round bye as the #2 seed but for some unknown reason they lost to my Zoids in the DCS.The core of the Muskies are still here with some good free agents added. The N L North is a small pond and Daddio's Muskies are the BIG FISH , they should win it again. Don't know if I could get by them in the playoffs again,but I hope we get to go a second time around.PREDICTION:99-63(Division Winner)

OUT: Charley Tenbrink , Andres Ferrer , Esteban Guzman , Sammy Sanchez , Michael Henry , Wandy Matos , Aurelio Mercado , Gill Laffey , Sandy Mullins

IN: Beamer Tekotte , Alcides Gil , Tony Wood , Clinton Goodwin , Max Prieto , Albert Cabeza , Gene Weston , Diego Arredondo , Steve Davis

PREVIEW: The Muskies are a very good team and they finished close to my prediction and won the division. They had a 15 game lead on the rest of the N L West around roster expansion and coasted to the playoffs.They went into the post season as the #2 seed and beat the Juggernauts in 5. Then in the NLCS they did the improbable ........Beat the back to back champion Black Bears in 5. This was Daddio's first trip to the Wrigleyville World Series and his Muskies gave it a good go.But in the end they couldn't quiet the Vancouver bats and lost in 6. In the off-season Daddio re-signed Eddie Locke and let Tenbrink, Ferrer, Guzman, Sanchez, Henry, Matos, Mercado, Laffey, Mullins go to free agency. He claimed Tekotte off the wire and signed free agents Gil, Wood, Goodwin, Prieto, Cabeza, Weston, Arredondo and Davis. The Muskies lost many pitchers and both catchers to free agency but replaced them with veteran free agents. Most are 30 and older and signed short term. Daddio has his Core of Stars and brings in good solid Major Leaguers to field a good team. They should win the division again. PREDICTION:92-70(Division Winner)

Milwaukee Sturgeon (NL) pat007ohmss View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:74-88

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: None available.

OUT: Diego Acosta , Buzz Person , Pascual Vargas , Sidney Martin , Don Lim , Hick Boucher , Gene Weston , Mule Bennett

IN: Kevin Leonard , Marty Allen , Juan Marmol , Del Cordero , Stubby King , Rob Dean

PREVIEW: Patricks Sturgeons were in the division race early but found them selves 17 games back by the All-Star break. In the off-season Patrick let Acosta, Person, Vargas, Martin, Lim, Boucher, Weston and Bennett go to free agency. He signed free agents Leonard, Allen, Marmol, Cordero, King and Dean. The Sturgeons have the highest cap in the league at 125 million and Patrick has spent 122 million so far. Can money buy you a winner...yes....but so far not in Milwaukee. Perhaps this will be the year? It depends on who fills the remaining  4 open slots on this years Major League Roster. Right now they are a expensive average team. PREDICTION: 81-81

Philadelphia Cheese Steaks (NL) gbuck44 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:64-98

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: This poor franchise, they are the orphan of Wrigleyville. Gbuck44 is the latest owner and chief jock washer. He bought a team with a Cupboard full of prospects ,so he may stick around and see this team at it's best?  Gbuck has the #1 pick and the #5 pick in this years draft so he will add some really good prospects to the bunch already there.To fill out this years roster, Gbuck emptied the minor league cupboard and mostly filled the rest with waiver claims . The trade that brought in Earley will add some power hitting to the line-up. This team is unproven and they may take another year or two before their ready to contend.PREDICTION:70-92

OUT: Johnnie Hurst , Danny Baker , Trent Green , Lawrence Taylor , Vic Espinoza , Yannick Earley , Carlos Tatis , Willie Ochoa , Bill Medlen , Patsy Leon

IN: Luis Vizcaino , Jamie Miyakazi , Juan Mota , Charley Tenbrink , Yunesky Cruz , Al Toca , Jose Lee , Khalil Ausmus , Jung Masaoka , Khalil Pryce , Sam Price

PREVIEW: Gbuck has decided to stick it out for another season . He packed up all the bats and balls in his Buckboard and moved to Philly. He lit out of Scranton pretty fast after word got around that he was leaving.  The buck naked Scrapper fans lived up to their names and chased Gbucks Buckboard to the city limits. By the time he arrived in his new digs in Philly, his wind blown hair made him look like Buckwheat instead of Gbuck. He buccaneer got kilt!! In the off-season Gbuck re-signed Jacque Kobayashi and let Hurst, Baker, Green and Taylor go to free agency. He released Espinoza and traded away Earley, Tatis, Ochoa, Medlen and Leon. He signed free agents Vizcaino, Miyakazi, Mota, Tenbrink, Cruz, Toca, Lee and promoted Ausmus. The trades brought in Masaoka, Pryce and Price. With so many moves I have to go to franchise rankings to make my assessment. Defensively and Offensively the Cheese Steaks are in the middle of the pack . The pitching seems to be a little better. Looks like a average year for the Cheese Steaks, PREDICTION:81-81

Tacoma Toyotas (NL) Sandberg10 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:64-98

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Toyotas have been on the decline the last few years and they are finally at the bottom with only 57 wins. The good news is, there is no place to go but up.  Sandberg did pick-up Fausto Johnson , Frank Perez , Rodrigo Cruz and Fernando Marichal in the first round of last years draft.The Rookie Porter and the R-5 Bravo look like future stars. But this team has a way to go before they contend.PREDICTION:67-95

OUT: Alex Elcano , Wily Mo Miller , Eduardo Delgado , Joe Cunnane , Yuniesky Trevino

IN: Julio Soto , Jaret Jackson , Koji Martin , Felipe Flores

PREVIEW: The Toyotas had another bad year and are in the shop getting a overhaul(Sorry Sandberg..I had to do a car thing). While Sandberg hasn't taken the Toyotas apart down to the chassis. He has replaced many of the parts and is adding tasty prospect parts to his farm system. He did however fail to sign the #2 pick overall, but will get a D-pick in this years draft.In the off-season Sandberg let Elcano, Miller, Delgado, Cunnane go to free agency and lost Trevino to the waiver wire. He promoted Soto and Jackson and traded for Martin and Flores. Last year Sandberg called up his blue-chip prospects (Henderson Glynn , Rich Smart , Daniel Ray Flaherty , Fausto Johnson). The Toyotas have a very good pitching staff with the promotions and with the trades. I think they get to the .500 mark or better. (Late Note from Sandberg: Bump Tyson will be on my ML roster to start the season. ) PREDICTION:82-80

A L SOUTH PREVIEW SEASON 27

Charleston Tobacco Farmers (AL) nwsheehy007 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:96-66

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Tabaky Farmers did make a run at the division and almost won it finishing 2 games back. It was bad luck that they didn't get a wild-card but they did make it a very interesting in the last week. Former World Series Champ Nwsheehy won 84 games last year with Average hitting (9th in the A L) and pitching (10th in the A L). If They could have done better on defense (15th out of 16 teams in the A L ) they may have won the division.And in one of the biggest off-season trades he brought in Carter and Green. Nwsheehy got 2 players for Allen but Green will soften the loss. I wasn't thrilled with Carter due to his sub-50 pitch call rating. But he will be a beast at the plate.Charleston likes to hit em hard and this years team is no different. I think they will win the division. PREDICTION:90-72(Division Winner)

OUT: Ricardo Amaral , Tony LeCroy , Tony Wood

IN: Christian Funaki

PREVIEW: It was a easy call picking the Tabaky Farmers as division champs. They showed signs of improvement last year and are back to post-season form. Last years Durocher winner ,Nwsheehy, found his team in the playoffs as the #2 seed. And it looked as if he would go far when he was matched against the 83 win Bruins. But the HBD gods were unkind and the Tabaky Farmers were smoked in 4 games. In the off-season Nwsheehy let Amaral, LeCroy, Wood go to free agency and picked up Funaki in the R-5. The Tabaky Farmers are here to stay. And they should even get better with time and the promotion of Willie Sosa from AAA, whenever that may be.PREDICTION:94-68(Division Winner)

Santa Fe Blues (AL) tchagnon View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:93-69

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: I really thought that TC's Blues had a team that would take the next step by winning the division and finish above .500. But they are stuck on 78 wins and it was due to the same problem as last year. The pitching (15th in the A L) was so bad that even a great offense (#1 in the A L) couldn't overcome it.TC went to the free agent market and spent 30.3 million on free agents Harris, Rios, Roque, Jones and Rodriguez. If the Blues don't win the division it won't be for the lack of  trying. TC broke out his checkbook and is going for it! OK... TC... I'll buy in...with the influx of veterans to go with the talented youngsters you can pencil in the Blues in for a wild-card spot.PREDICTION:88-74(Wild Card)

OUT: Stubby King , Rheal Scott , Kris Karros , Al Acosta

IN: Esteban Guzman , Pedro Estrada , Von Walter

PREVIEW: TC has done a great job with the Blues. By adding several good free agents to the youngsters already there. This team did win a Wild-Card as predicted and damn near won the division. They went into the playoffs as a #5 seed and faced the 83 win Red Tails in the first round. Where they won a game 5 on the road and faced the eventual champs in the DCS. They did give the Blitz all they could handle but couldn't win another road game 5. Nice run though. In the off-season TC let King, Scott, Karros go to free agency and released Acosta. He signed free agent Guzman and promoted Estrada and Walters. TC upgraded his catching with the addition of perennial All-Star Guzman .And he brought up 2 very nice pitching prospects to solidify the rotation.They may have enough to overtake Charleston, but my guess is they will be a wild-card team.PREDICTION:92-70(Wild-Card)

Richmond Rebels (AL) bobd4967 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:81-81

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: The Moonshiners bucked the odds last year and won 85 games to grab a wild-card berth. Of all the stats that I looked at from last year the reason the Moonshiners won so many games was SPEED!. They led Wrigleyville in Stolen bases with 258. If you played them last year you'd better have a stout catcher or get run on.Speaking of Speed! In the playoffs they were quickly bested in the first round by their division foe Charlotte.  Speaking of Running! Dmann ran out of here after one year like the Dwomann was looking for her alimony. Bobd4967 agreed to step in if he could move the team to his home near New Orleans. He didn't want to stray to far from his favorite brothel and restaurants.Same Building.Same song as last year , New Orleans has the best speed and base running ratings in the A L. Will Bob make em run?? If he does they will win 80+ games. But it's a long shot. PREDICTION: 81-81

OUT: Juan Mota , Julio Castillo , Vernon Nickle , Tony Guillon , Jamie Miyakazi , Yorvit Diaz

IN: Albert Sandoval , Graeme Quinn , Len Hawkins , Glen Craddock , Alex Cheung , Donaldo Tatis

PREVIEW: The Rebels finished exactly as predicted.....81-81. And Bob did run em with 206 SB last year. Then Bob's friend and companion ,Dadgummit the Mule, passed away. So Bob up and moved his team to Richmond to escape the grief.  Dadgummit was a Damn good Ass after all. In the off-season Bob re-signed Ruben Rosario and let Mota, Castillo, Nickle, Guillon , Miyakazi go to free agency and released Diaz. He signed free agents Sandoval, Quinn,Hawkins,Craddock,Cheung and picked up Tatis in the R-5. Last years team was poor defensively and offensively. The additions will help but Charleston and Santa Fe are pretty good. They may compete for a wild-card but I don't think they will make the post-season.PREDICTION:84-78

Charlotte Sometimes (AL) hatton98 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

LAST YEARS RECORD:77-85

LAST YEARS PREVIEW: It was a close race down to the last few games and Charlotte won the division by 1 game. But it wasn't the Blues that fought Hatton, it was the surprising Moonshiners and Tabaky Farmers. The Sometimes won 86 games with the 3rd ranked defense in the American League. This helped the pitching rank near the top in 6th but the hitting was lackluster finishing in 10th out of 16 teams.With only two spots open Hatton signed free agents Hayes and Brow. Olsen and Rapp were on the decline and Hatton replaced them with 2 low-level free agents. This is still the same team as last year just a little weaker.I think they will miss the playoffs PREDICTION:82-80

OUT: Rock Hayes , Scott Cookson , Jonathan Valdes

IN: Walt Lieberthal , Pedro Owen , Buzz Person

PREVIEW: Hattons Sometimes did miss the playoffs as predicted in last years preview.His team was 13 games behind Charleston at the All-Star break and never came close to making the post-season. Charlotte did add some prospects in the draft (Scooter Spiezio , Javier Cortez , Lance Little , William Tobin). The youngsters should help get this team right in a few years. In the off-season Hatton re-signed Al Carrasco , Coco West , Destin Brow , Ernie Cannon and let Hayes, Cookson and Valdez go to free agency. He signed free agents Lieberthal,Owens,Person to fill his line-up. None of the additions really standout to me and that would make me say they are a near .500 club. But there are some interesting prospects in AAA like Bill Robbins and Miguel Rosario. If they get the call-up who knows ?? PREDICTION:81-81