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LAST YEARS RECORD:101-61
LAST YEARS 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.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
OUT: Al Segui , Jimmy Taylor , Placido Ortiz , Hamish Gibbons
IN: Harry Arias , Delino Castillo , Brian Matsuzaka , Trent Craddock
PREVIEW: Yep, the Marlins were one of the teams to beat in McCabe last season.They captured their 11th consecutive division championship with 101 wins. AZNJ and his Marlins were taken to a 5th game in the DCS by the much improved Mariners.Then were swept in the NLCS by the defending Champion San Diego Padres.This was an improvement on last seasons playoff collapse so AZNJ should be a bit happier.Last year the Marlins were a little above average hitting(.268 Team BA), second best in pitching(3.52 Team ERA), 4th best in fielding(79 Team Errors).In the offseason AZNJ let Segui,Taylor and Ortiz head to free agency and released Gibbons.With a couple of roster spots open AZNJ signed free agents Arias,Castilo,Matsuzaka and Craddock.AZNJ brought in a Quad of 34 year olds and the Marlins are a good veteran club with only 2 guys under age 30.And they play like it with solid defense and pitching, which will win you alot of games.Looks like more of the same and they are the favorite to win their 12th division crown. PREDICTION:97-75
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LAST YEARS RECORD:82-80
LAST YEARS 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 their 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).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
OUT: Benny Sosa , Brent Schneider , Jesus Santana , Al Johnson
IN: Jose Merced , Cory Simpson
PREVIEW: Last year was a down year for Sylemark and his Virginians and it may be blamed on the defense getting even worse.For whatever reason, Sylemarks guys gave up 75 more runs than season 13. They also missed the playoffs after winning the Series in season 13. The Virginians were above average in hitting(.270 Team BA), above average in pitching(3.97 Team ERA), 6th worst in fielding(125 Team Errors).In the offseason Sylemark re-signed Santos Franco and Hiram Uchida and let Sosa,Schneider,Santanna go to free agency.Then he designated Johnson for assignment. With only 2-3 spots to fill Sylemark signed free agent Merced and promoted Simpson.This team has to fix the defensive problem and Merced may help with that, especially in CF. This is where the Virginians can make the most improvement. Perhaps the pitching and hitting could overcome the Errors, But it's not likley. PREDICTION:82-80
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LAST YEARS RECORD:80-82
LAST YEARS 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.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
OUT: Tim Lucas , Joel Prior , David Pena , Carl Maddox , Santos Ortega , Ramon Funaki
IN: Orlando Palmeiro , Tito Santangelo , George Wilson , Mark Ransom , Antonio Martin , Bruce Lambert , Bob Breen
PREVIEW: Sand's Braves lost the will to hunt last year and was out of the wild card race early. Sand looked back on last season and called it the "Trail of Tears". He was optimistic when he talked about the future of the Braves."We lost 22 one run games and 7 in extra innings. If we could cut them losses in half we would be in the playoffs". I agree, and if Manatees could fly people wouldn't park under trees.Last year the Braves were below average in hitting(.261 Team BA), average in pitching(4.31 Team ERA), 3rd worst in fielding(135 Team Errors).In the offseason Sand my man let Lucas,Prior and Pena go to free agency and released Maddox.Then he designated Ortega and Funaki for assignment.Sand had many Roster spots open so he claimed Palmeiro off the wire and signed free agents Santangelo,Wilson,Ransom and Martin.Then he Promoted Lambert and traded for Breen. Again we have another team that has trouble fielding the ball.Lambert will help with this, but hes a rookie, and we know how fickle they are. Regardless this team is not a good defensive squad and will test the metal of the pitching staff. I love ya Sand but Manatees can't fly and the Braves can't Field.Grab some Kleenex. PREDICTION:81-81
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LAST YEARS RECORD:56-106
LAST YEARS 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.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
OUT: Rafael Vazquez
IN: Emmanuel Gonzalez , Gio Johnson
PREVIEW: To say I was overly optimistic would be kind. I predicted this team may be in a upswing and was very,very wrong. Rsskfs lost 106 games last year and 7 years in a row of 90+ losses. Not sure if all the nice draft picks are helping the Rays. But this has been one of the most overpaid underachieveing teams in McCabe.Last season they were a little below average hitting(.262 Team BA), The worst in pitching(6.16 Team ERA), 2nd worst in fielding(135 Team Errors).In the offseason rsskfs let Vazquez go to free agency then he signed Gonzalez to a big contract.(I wondered who was outbidding me for his services.LOL). Finally rsskfs picked up Johnson in the R-5 draft.Gonzaez and Johnson should help with the pitching problem but they still will be near the bottom defensivly. This team has a few overpaid players for instance no way Al Polonia should make 12 million a year.Another losing season in Tampa. PREDICTION:66-96
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