Pacific Blue Sox

2008 Finish: 56-106, 5 th place in division, 9th overall

Starting Pitchers:

  1. Cliff Lee
  2. Jon Garland
  3. Andy Pettitte
  4. Shawn Marcum
  5. Dustin McGowan

Comments:

Lee is the bomb, and has the best full-season carded SP in the game.  Marcum will give about 2/3 a season of quality starts, and lots of HR’s and while McGowan is about average, he seems to be on the way up.  Too bad that Garland & Pettitte had off years and are two needed Innings Eaters; ouch.  Grade: B-  if only for Lee.

 

Bullpen:

Closer: Joakim Soria

Top 3 Relievers: BJ Ryan, Roy Corcoran, Jensen Lewis

Comments: Great closer, game over.  Ryan also makes a great secondary closer / LH setup guy.  The rest are hittable and the bridge to the 9th will be a tough road.  Grade: B-.

 

Line-up and Defense:

C: Gerald Laird - 2(-1)

1B: Lyle Overbay - 2 

2B: Akinori Iwamura - 1

3B: Joe Crede - 2

SS: Mike Aviles - 3

LF: David Murphy - 3

CF: Reed Johnson – 3(-1)

RF: Nick Makakis - 1

DH: Nick Swisher

Comments:

When Markakis is your best full season hitter, and Aviles next, it’s going to be a long, long year for scoring runs.  This lineup could make even Lee a 15 game loser.  Grade: D-

Defense in this team’s strong suit.  Aviles is the worst and he’s slightly better than average.  Markakis could end up as a 2(-3) in CF.  Grade: B+

Wrap-up and Future:

Another 100 loss season is possible if this team can’t win many 1-run games.  There is upside in the pitching, but the hitting is in deep trouble; and unless there are improvements in the bats, or a couple of the vets have career years, it could be a few seasons before this team is competitive.

 

Gateway Grizzlies

2008 Finish: 71-91, 4th place in division, 7th overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. Felix Hernandez

2. Jered Weaver

3. Chris Young

4. Armando Galarraga

5. Nick Blackburn

Comments:

Simple: Extremely young, and extremely talented.  With no weak spots and anchored by “King Felix”, the average age is 26 yrs old. This group could have 4 or 5 All-Stars in their rotation next year.  Good stats have already been had, including some nice ERA’s from last year, and the best is yet to come.  Grade: B+

 

Bullpen:

Closer: Mariano Rivera

Top 3 Relievers: Dennys Reyes, Sean Green, Zach Miner

Comments:

ZERO OB vs LH, 4.6 OB vs RH.  The best closer in BB had his best year.   Reyes was a nice draft pickup, but the rest of the pen is a mess.  Would score a grade lower without Rivera’s card.  Grade C+

 

Line-up and Defense:

C: Joe Mauer – 1(-3)

1B: Jason Giambi - 5

2B: Placido Polanco - 2

3B: Melvin Mora - 3

SS: Derek Jeter - 2

LF: Ben Francisco - 3

CF: Mike Cameron – 1(-1)

RF: Randy Winn - 3

DH: Carlos Lee

Comments:

An interesting mix of average and power, with no glaring holes in the line-up.  A veteran group, most had down years but are still able to string together some hits.  Grade:B-

1’s & 2’s at the key spots up the middle, that’ll work. (-3) for Mauer stops the running game, a negative arm in CF is always important.  As for 1B, who cares?  Grade: B+

Wrap-up and Future:

This team won’t win the division (see Tigers) but could get to 90 wins and vie for a wildcard spot.  The transition of strength from hitting to pitching is very obvious by the ages and recent productivity from the players.  Most of the regulars are about out of time, so the hitting will need to be rebuilt in the next two years.

 

South Indiana Tigers

2008 Finish: 106-56, 1st place in division, 1st overall (As Glendale Orbits)

Starting Pitchers:

1. C.C. Sabathia

2. Roy Halladay

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka

4. James Shields

5. Erik Bedard

Comments:

Laugh.  All you can do is laugh at the talent.  Three, count them, THREE #1 starters followed by a 3.56, 215 IP stud as your #4.  C.C & Roy will have 550 IP to use; that’s about 75-80 starts, and though Dice-K only has 168 IP, it’s enough to be the #3 ACE in the playoffs.  Grade: A++

Bullpen:

Closer: J.J Putz / Troy Percival

Top 3 Relievers: Chad Durbin, Justin Masterson, Hideki Okajima

Comments:

Putz is short on IP and far from dominant, so “Diamonds” Percival will have to fill in and help lose some 9th inning leads.  The rest of the pen does its job, though no one is dominant.  Grade: B-

Line-up and Defense:

C: Mike Napoli – 3(+1)

1B: Adrian Gonzalez - 1

2B: Brian Roberts - 2

3B: Ty Wigginton  - 4

SS: Jhonny Peralta - 4

LF: Alfonso Soriano - 4

CF: Grady Sizemore – 1(0)

RF: Vladimir Guerrero - 4

DH: Jack Cust

Comments:

This lineup will rock.  Speed and power at the top.  Average and power in the middle.  More power and on-base at the bottom.  Sick to think of Napoli and Peralta hitting 8th & 9th.  Grade A

Defense:

Sing it with us:  “Two-out-of-three ain’t bad.”  It could be worse, Sizemore and Roberts are sweet up the middle, but the X-factor and this team won’t mix.  Grade: D 

Wrap-up and Future:

This is one of three teams in the west fighting for the division and has the best shot at winning it again.  100+ wins are on the horizon, and a playoff powerhouse.  This team has a couple of guys on the downside of their careers, but most are in their prime.  Barring injury, and with any luck in the draft(s), it should remain a playoff contender for the next few years.

 

Cleveland Steamers

2008 Finish: 80-82, 3rd place in division, 5 th overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. Rich Harden

2. Ervin Santana

3. Ednison Volquez

4. Zach Greinke

5. Gil Meche

Comments: Five guys with ERA’s under 4.00.  Harden’s 2.07 ERA is just silly, but at 148, is short on regular season IP.  He’s a two start guy in the playoffs though, and that’s where this team is headed.  Most had career years, but are young, so it will be interesting to see how they progress.  Grade: A

 

Bullpen:

Closer: Dan Wheeler

Top 3 Relievers: Jim Johnson, Ramon Ramirez, Robinson Tejeda

Comments:

Wheeler’s (3) closer rating and numerous Diamonds will be frustrating at times but his >1.00 WHIP will also make for some quick 9th innings.  Johnson & Ramirez make a nice 7th & 8th duo, and the rest of the pen can get outs.  Grade B

Line-up and Defense:

C: Dioner Navarro – 2(-2)

1B: Kevin Youkilis - 1

2B: Dustin Pedroia - 1

3B: Evan Longoria - 2

SS: Erik Aybar - 2

LF: Johnny Damon - 2

CF: David Dejesus – 3(0)

RF: Ken Griffey - 4

DH: Raul Ibanez

Comments:

Good speed, average, on-base, and power throughout the lineup led by MVP Pedroia and a killer Youkilis card.  Aybar is the only weak spot and is short on AB’s, but we’re just nit-picking.  Grade B+

Defense:

Repeat after us:  X-chance = OUT; Double-play if it’s to an infielder.  INF all are 1’s or 2’s, only Aybar’s e33 is troublesome.  Navarro (-2) limits the running game.  OF arms are the obvious weak spot.  Grade B+

Wrap-up and Future:

This team will fight for the division, challenge the 100 win total, and should make the playoffs.  In the playoffs, some of their limited IP & AB’s are negated and it becomes a force.  Pitching and the INF are young and all coming into their prime, OF is almost done.  This team should be able to replace a bat or two as they go and be a powerhouse for the next few years.

 

Oak Hills Warriors

2008 Finish: 100-62, 2nd place in division, 3rd overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. Johan Santana 

2. Mike Mussina

3. Mark Buerhle

4. Scott Kazmir

5. Chen Ming Wang

Comments:

Kazmir’s off year and Wang’s injury bring what is normally a great rotation down a bit. Every starter is reliable though and the staff is headed by perennial Cy Young contender Johan Santana. Grade: B

 

Bullpen:

Closer: Bobby Jenks

Top 3 Relievers: George Sherrill, Rafeal Perez, Dan Giese

Comments: Jenks is filthy, set-up men are so-so. Grade: B+

 

Line-up and Defense:

C: A.J. Pierzynski – 3(+1)

1B: Justin Morneau - 3

2B: Jose Lopez - 4

3B: Scott Rolen - 1

SS: Marco Scutaro - 3

LF: Magglio Ordonez - 4

CF: B.J. Upton – 2(-2)

RF: Alex Rios - 2

DH: Jim Thome

Comments:
Every player in the line-up can do a little something with the bat and Mags, Upton, Morneau and Thome can do a lot. The line-up has great balance and Thome can’t just be pitched around in the later innings as in years past. Grade: A

Defense: Upton and Rios make for a great RF/CF combo and having Lowell with Rolen as a back-up at 3rd is pretty nice. The rest of the team unfortunately struggles defensively and the pitching staff could suffer accordingly. Grade: C

Wrap-up and Future:

The 2009 playoff race is going to be a tough one and the Warriors are going to have to beat better teams (on paper) to get in. We expect Oak Hills to find their way into the playoffs somehow and give them an outside shot of taking the division along the way.

2009 Division Prediction

  1. South Indiana Tigers
  2. Cleveland Steamers
  3. Oak Hills Warriors
  4. Gateway Grizzlies
  5. Pacific Blue Sox

 

Comments:

The Tigers incredible Offense & Pitching make them odds on favorite to repeat, but both the Steamers, who have been the playoff bridesmaid each of the past two years, and the Warriors have good enough teams to take the division.  Add in the Grizzlies and all four have playoff caliber rosters.  However, beating the brains out of each other all year long will take its toll and send one to the top pick in the draft.  At some point in the season we see one of these four making the decision to “Buy Up The Farm” and acquire some additional talent for a playoff and World Series push, or if out of contention maybe picking up a reliever or two to ensure that #1 pick.  Hmmmmm.