 |
| ||||||
LAST YEARS RECORD:105-57
LAST YEARS PREDICTION:93-69 The Marlins finished with the best record in the N L. Thats the Good News. They were ousted in the playoffs by division foe and the World Champion Virginians. Thats the Bad News.This is still the powerhouse of the N L South but after the Virginians won the World Series they will be tested . Still they will be in the postseason.
OUT: Donaldo Palmeiro , Harry Silva , Luis Rivera , Hawk Barker , Bernie Burnett , Pedro Borbon
IN: Lariel Nunez , Placido Ortiz , Kip Peterson , Al Segui
PREVIEW: AZNJ70 has to be pissed that his team faltered again in the second round of the playoffs. Hey, I would be happy if my guys had the best record in the league. The 3 time champ Marlins hands down were the best regular season team in McCabe. And the pitching staff is the star of this team. Last season they cruised with a ERA of 3.14 and WHIP of 1.18. This offseason AZNJ70 let 6 players head to free agency (Palmeiro,Silva,Rivera,Barker,Burnett,Borbon). After the Veteran talent left for "the Money" , he
signed 3 Cincinatti free agents (Nunez,Ortiz,Peterson) and traded for Segui. With the influx of the Cincinatti castoffs the Marlins replaced the talent lost to free agency. Looks like another good season in Florida.PREDICTION:96-76
 |
| ||||||
LAST YEARS RECORD:90-72
LAST YEARS PREDICTION:93-69 I predicted this team was improved and that they would get a wild card slot. And while I predicted that anything goes in the playoffs. Never did I imagine that Sylemarks boys would win it all. So Congrats on Sylemarks first World Series win.With the addition of Matt "safe' Sexson and others this team has improved. They will battle Florida for the division. But can they repeat in the Series? Odds are against it, but remember my Prophetic words last year. "Anything goes in the playoffs"
OUT: Santiago Gonzalez , Tino Levrault
IN: Kyle Ramsey
PREVIEW: Sorry Cinderella, the Virginians couldn't pull it off again.Sylemarks guys did get the last wildcard berth but lost in the first round. Perhaps it was due to the poor hitting (.258 BA) and the slippage of thier defense? This teams championship team boasted the 2nd best defense (.988 FPct with only 77 errors). Last year they were the 22nd ranked defense ( .982 FPct with 112 errors). It wasn't all bad the pitching was fantastic with a team ERA of 3.50 and a WHIP of 1.31 (2nd). In the offseason Sylemark let Gonzalez go to free agency and released Leverault. With just a couple spots open he signed free agent Ramsey to a 5 year 37 million dollar contract. The Virginians have always relied on great pitching with defense. And the signing a Ramsey follows that game plan. This team is always one the best in runs allowed. So can the offense score?? Sylemark Will make the playoffs and they will be a dangerous foe. PREDICTION:94-78
 |
| ||||||
LAST YEARS RECORD:85-77
LAST YEARS PREDICTION:87-75 Sand did get his first playoff appearance. And they Finished 2 games above my prediction. In the playoffs the Braves were swept by a tough Padres club.With a revamped Catching core and a few newbies. Sand will make it a 3 team race in the division. He should battle for a wild card ...at least.
OUT: Pablo Gil , Juan Gonzalez , Juan Belliard
IN: Reagan Chapman , Rickey Shelby , Bernard Broome , Al Bennett , Octavio Batista
SANDLEAGUERS PREVIEW:
This is Chase T Story reporting for the AJC. Season 13 was a huge disappointment for the Braves. A year after making te playoffs for the first time, the Braves stumbled and bumbled to a third place non playoff position. With that in mind I set out to find Sandleaguer the round mound of gm's I found him at his spring training bistro/pub- Katie O'Sheas. He was gorging himself with an Irish Quesadilla. So Sand what is the prognosis for the upcoming season? He washed down the last bit of corned beef with a Guinness and bellowed " world Series or bust" That said his next line was it would have been easy to completely overhaul the squad, but the focus was on the bullpen and rectifying Glenallen Maddox problems. Acquiring 2 veteran long relievers in Rickey Shelby and Reagan Chapman gives us much needed depth. We also brought veteran shortman Juan Gonzalez and moved Ugueth Mendoza to closer.We also drove into the rule 5 pool and pickedup a 5 tool guy in Octavio Batista. With an average age of the position players of 26, the pressure will be on these youngsters from the very beginning. Patience will be a big key, but this years squad should improve on the 85 wins from last year by at least 5. So you do the math for the prognosis and he stuffed a champagne maduro in his mouth and ordered a Makers Mark neat. A 90 win season should get the Braves back in the Playoffs. This is Chase the Story signing off and looking for one of those Irish quesadillas. prediction 90-72
PREVIEW: Sandleager did make it a 3 team race and just missed the playoffs. Sand put on a Brave face when thanking his boys for the effort. He later broke down when a reporter asked him how dissapointed Sand was. "I really thought we had what.....*Sob*..... what it takes. Damn , I really love this team *Sniff*!!" The Braves have really good pitching (4.02 ERA , 1.38 WHIP). But It was the hitting that let Sand down with a team batting average of .257. After he dried his eyes, Sand released Gil and Gonzalez . Then he waived Belliard outright. With some leaks to patch ,Sand Signed free agent Chapman and Shelby. He then promoted Broome,Bennett and picked up Batista in the R-5. My Team makes me cry several times a year. But Sand's Tears were tears of pride in a job well done. The Braves have come a long way and they are in their prime. They will be in the hunt for at least a wild card spot. PREDICTION:88-74
 |
| ||||||
LAST YEARS RECORD:66-96
LAST YEARS PREDICTION:76-86 Again this team showed no signs of life. But they did improve on last seasons disaster.This team signed some talent and flushed a couple of Turds. Still they may have a hard time reaching .500
OUT: Donaldo Machado , Christopher Hennessey , Howie Surtain , Torey Boone
IN: Milt Pierce , Donaldo Palmeiro , Max James , Fausto Beltre
PREVIEW: This team flushed some Turds but it didn't get rid of the Stink. The Rays had their sixth consecutive losing season. I thought this team was on the way back to respectability after improving 3 years in a row. On the bright side rsskfs23 did pick up prospects Lou Linden and Oswaldo Mesa last year.In the offseason Rsskfs23 let Machado and Hennessey go to free agency and released Surtain. Then Boone was waived and picked up by Philly. He filled the holes with free agents Pierce,Palmerio and James. And finally he picked up Beltre in the R-5 draft.The Rays have 23 million left over from a 122 million dollar budget. So look for them to pick up a expensive player along the way. They also will get a good prospect in the Draft(#3) and may pick up a tasty IFA. Things are looking up in Tampa but they will be lucky to finish at .500 PREDICTION:74-88
No comments:
Post a Comment