1. Monterrey Minute Men – Stefan Redondo; ROY, Silver Slugger, MVP and WS Ring for the
freshman...can't wait to see the encore.
2. Santa Fe Brooks- Edgardo Cruz went 33-1 and
offense scored nearly 7 runs per game...how'd they lose 50?
3. Louisville Nightmare – Even with the
move to hitter-friendly Loo-ville, the tres-headed beast at the top of
the rotation Ismael Martin, Ossie Diaz and Hugh Hogan will still be Nightmarish
4. Pittsburgh Appalachians – If free
agents Joe Cooper and Welington Rijo defect, can we count on the fountain of youth
to keep flowing for Hi Shouse and Luis Castillo?
5. Fargo Marlboro Men – A line up
stacked with Renaissance Men, led by Jung, Cust, and Flores. Do they
cook and do windows too?
6. Wichita Rocks – Deep staff, led by
Brent Davis, topped the AL in ERA...by a long shot. Takes pressure off Ming, Piedra , and the rest of the talented line up.
7. Iowa Johnsons- Shrewd ownership always
seems to put together the right pieces...Diego Alvarez a .959 OPS in
Iowa? You must be pullin' my Johnson!
8. Anaheim Arte Morenos – Count on a
bounce-back year from Anthony Aven. Were fortunate to sneak out the division
and bye last season. New look owner Arte pushes team to shave Zeus
beards (or at least brush the crud out.)
9. Trenton Thunder – Losing Lou Torre to
injury was a blow to their title hopes, but are championship caliber
with him and A.J. Sheffield in the line up, and with Pressley and
Balentien in the rotation.
10. Honolulu Swingin' Jackwagons – Late
season collapse most likely an aberration, should be the team to beat
in the AL West. Rudy Howell poised to be perhaps the greatest power
hitting catcher in World history.
11. Richmond Confederates- Fielding issues
have kept this talented squad from advancing to elite status. The
undeniable talent of Tony Rodriguez, Harry Arias, and Perry Gonzales
keeps them a legit title contender.
12. Scranton Rail Riders – If Alex Scott
defects, the high powered offense featuring Torres, Durrington,
Molina and Thompson may not even miss a beat. This storied franchise
always seems to find a way to stay in contention.
13. Chicago Blagos – Santo Cerda (the Jay Cutler of Chicago-fake-baseball) has seen his win total decrease in
each of his four seasons in Chi-town. Having a big “contract”
year could be the difference between the team being a title contender
and also-rans.
14. D.C.Senators – One of the World's
all-time bests, Oleg D'Amico collected his 400th career
homer and his 7th gold glove last year. If he and the
rest of the high powered offense can get a typical Birdie "Boys of Summer" Henley type
season from their ace, the sky's the limit.
15. San Antonio Wildcats – Juan Martin
posts a 1.17 WHIP in Texas; I'm going love to see what he does in the
new cavernous ball yard in San Antone. ( Yorvit Rodriguez has asked
to be traded though.) Brant Ducey will continue to mash his way
towards his 400th homerun.
16. Durham Bulls – Six all-stars headed
by lights out closer Andrea Sheffield, power-hitting catcher Christy Cintron, and all-around good guy Doug Shannon make this team an
instant contender. Too bad they played in a division with three teams
that had 97 wins or more.
17. Tampa Bay Don Cesars – Sub par
seasons from Anibel Olivares and Cam Moustakas
eliminated any hope of contending in the tough NL South. Young
slugger Mike Christians seems to be the real deal, however.
18. Colorado Bigfoot - Wellington Rijo hit 34 homers in fewer than 400 AB's before he was dealt, and Andy Lincoln just
plain rakes. Too bad these two can't pitch as well....
19. San Francisco Lockdown - This team
stormed into the playoffs in the season's last week on the backs of
pitchers Harold Durham, Miguel Ozuna and Sindey Little. Too bad they
can't hit too...
20. Tacoma Tornados – The 'nados finished
first in the league in plus defensive plays and third in fielding
percentage, with slick glove-man Al Mesa leading the charge.
Sluggers Luis Peron and Benny "The Jet" Molina rake at the dish and dazzle in
the field. Get this squad some solid arms and we'll be talkin'
title.
21. Kansas City Blues – Orel "Bulldog" Stearns finally made his debut, (although a little late to the
dance), and raked to the tune of .307/.403/.532. He and Pedro Ontiveros should be paired in the middle of the line up for several
seasons. If well-aging Pat Dougherty re-signs, they will score some
runs. Free agent ace Stu McCurry would look nice in Blue's blue.
22. Hartford Hippopotamus Dance Party – Kevin Hatteberg is poised to become one of the all-time greats, and he has
plenty of offensive support in the likes of Andrew Turner and
Sammy Medrano. They need to lock up ace Ivan Aquino and build a staff
around him to compete.
23. Milwaukee Boomers – This team is
going to slug, with 7 guys who hit 24 or more homers last season. Esmil Izquieredo led the way with 47, and is locked up long term.
The pitching staff is extremely deep, led by Juan Bennett and Elrod Lankford. Expect this team to make some noise.
24. Los Angeles Colemans – Starter Rich Wright developed into an ace this past season and won 20 games for a
sub-500 club. Wellington Diaz and Seop Jiang anchor the line up, and
more young guns will be up to help soon. The window is just
opening...
25. Augusta Polar Bears – Hal Ladendorf
belted 55 homers and raked to a 1.007 OPS, but he and his boys Gordon Villone and and Pepe Hernandez have put out a call for the missing
arms. Free agent ace Stu McCurry would look nice in Augusta blue...
26. Arizona Wild Kitties – Looks like
they are going to build around slugger Daniel Mulder. Not a bad
plan, not a bad plan at all.
27. Albuquerque Atomic RatZ – The
top/middle of both the line up and the rotation seemed to take a year
off. But I would expect Gerald Hull, Hersh "Judd" Glynn,
Darrell Bigbie, and Waldimir Ontiveros to return to form.
28. Syracuse Barking Spiders- Alex "Long Duck" Dong
never saw a pitch he didn't like (excuse the double-negative and the Sixteen Candles reference); 33
walks in 1575 career AB's. He and his roster mates have some decent
offensive skills and the potential to score some runs, but they may
as well just throw their gloves away.
29. Philadelphia Phoenix – The have an
ace in Kenley Skinner to build around and a couple of run producers
in Socks "Three Team Parlay" Rose, Sid Reed, and Al Fernandez.
May not be long for these guys to put it all together.
30. Detroit Chippewas - There's
also an ace to build around here. But Delenor Melville is going to
need some help.
31. Charlotte Charlatans – Much less
about the now and more about the later. Gerry Morse, David Reynolds
and Cord Hennessey should be making their way up soon.
32. Burlington Bookworms – Nate Lanier and
Matt Gerut should be providing some help to Silver Slugging SS Woody Bryant real soon.
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