Denver Dragons

2008 Finish: 46-116, 5^th place in division, 10^th overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. Jon Lester
2. John Danks
3. Glen Perkins
4. Jeff Suppan
5. Kevin Millwood

Lester and Danks have established themselves as a couple of the best young lefties in the AL. Perkins was a nice pick-up; the 4^th and 5^th spots are manned by inning eaters. Grade: C

Bullpen:

Closer: Kevin Gregg

Top 3 Relievers: Chad Bradford, Brad Ziegler, Leo Nunez

Good closer and set-up men but not much depth and not very many innings. Grade: B

Line-up and Defense:

C: Kurt Suzuki - def. rating: 3(-1)

1B: Billy Butler - 5

2B: Alexi Casilla/Mark Ellis - 2 & 2

3B: Chone Figgins - 3

SS: Jason Bartlett/Y. Betancourt - 2 & 3

LF: Carl Crawford - 1

CF: Coco Crisp – 2(+2)

RF: Alexi Ramirez/Hideki Matsui - 3 & 4

DH: Cliff Floyd

Line-up features solid batting averages and speed but is sorely lacking in the power department and will likely struggle to score runs. Grade: C

Good outfield defense and the only tarnish on the infield is Billy Butler at 1^st (if he even is the team’s 1B) Grade: A-

Wrap-up and Future: This team would likely have received D’s or F’s in every single category a year or two ago; its climb out of the dumpster and into respectability is commendable. Making the playoffs this year is pretty unlikely but the Dragons will likely add 10-15 wins over their 2008 total and could be in the playoff hunt by 2010.

San Diego Clippers

2008 Finish: 78-84, 3^rd place in division, 6^th overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. John Lackey
2. Joba Chamberlin
3. Kevin Slowey
4. Joe Blanton
5. Edwin Jackson

The rotation has five solid starters and a true stud in Joba, but his lack of innings is a real set-back. Lackey and Slowey both have outstandings WHIPs but are prone to giving up the long ball and are vulnerable. Grade: B+

Bullpen:

Closer: Huston Street

Top 3 Relievers: Brandon Morrow, Manny DelCarmen, Jose Arredondo

Aside from some blemishes here and there this is top notch bullpen featuring 3 potential closers. Grade: A-

Line-up and Defense:

C: Ivan Rodriguez, Jarrod Saltamacchia - def. rating 3(-2) & 4(+2)

1B: Chris Davis - 3

2B: Ian Kinsler - 3

3B: Adrian Beltre - 1

SS: Miguel Tejada - 2

LF: Jermaine Dye - 3

CF: Adam Jones - 2(-2)

RF: Vernon Wells - 2

DH: Bobby Abreu

This offense is not overwhelming but has solid average, on base, and power and should be able to score its share of runs. The line-up is a little right-handed and could suffer from it, especially when Davis is on the bench. Grade: B+

The outfield defense has great range and cannons for arms all the way around. The infield is good and can be even better with Kotchman in, the catcher spot could hurt a little if Salty is used there. Grade: A-

Wrap-up and Future: The Clips have some tough competition in this division and may not have the pitching depth to outlast the other teams. If the team can hang in the race long enough though, we expect that they’d make the moves necessary for a strong run at the championship. They could also choose to hold tight, land Matt Wieters…uh…the 1^st overall that is, and put together a team that’ll really turn some heads.

Seal Beach Athletics

2008 Finish 101-61, 1^st place in division, 1^st overall

Starting Pitchers:

1.      Tim Hudson

2.      Matt Garza

3.      Joe Saunders

4.      Jesse Litsch

5.      Jair Jurrjens

When you have Litsch and Jurrjens as your number four and number five guys, that’s a pretty darn good rotation. It should be pointed out as well that the A’s lost 4 of their 5 starters from last year and still have a top notch rotation despite it. Grade: A

Bullpen:

Closer: Jonathan Papelbon

Top 3 Relievers: Francisco Rodriguez, Frank Francisco, Craig Breslow

Papelbon - Lights out. Frankie and Frank - Nasty. The rest of the bunch- They’ll earn their pay checks, not set the world on fire. Grade: A-

Line-up and Defense:

C: Kelley Shoppach and Victor Martinez – 3(-1) & 4(0)

1B: Carlos Pena – 1

2B: Mark DeRosa – 3

3B: Troy Glaus – 3

SS: Hanley Ramirez – 3

LF: Manny Ramirez – 4

CF: Ryan Sweeney – 2(-2)

RF: Aaron Rowand – 2

DH: Milton Bradley

This team is going to hit, hit, hit and then hit some more. Hanley Ramirez, Carlos Pena, and Man-Ram make up arguably the best 3-4-5 in the league and throwing Milton Bradley into the mix just makes things ridiculous. Grade: A+

The A’s defense is so-so; if Bradley is put in the outfield it will creep into the ugly. We here at the Times are guessing that the A’s management could care less and would suggest that the reader take note of the aforementioned offense. Grade: B-

Wrap-up and Future: The A’s really live up to their name by scoring A’s in all the main categories.  This team is going to have a #2 starter on the mound every night and with this massive offense they’ll be tough to beat. There is nothing to suggest that the A’s aren’t on the path to continue their winning ways next year and beyond.   

The Anaheim Menace

2008 Finish: 62-100, 4^th place in division, 8^th overall

Starting Pitchers:

1. Scott Baker
2. Andy Sonnanstine
3. Dave Bush
4. Greg Smith
5. Daniel Cabrera

What remains after the trading away of Mike Mussina and Ervin Santana is probably a little below league average, but decent enough to keep the team in most games. Grade: B-

Bullpen:

Closer: Grant Balfour

Top 3 Relievers: J.P. Howell, Matt Thornton, Jesse Carlson

Grant Balfour is one of the best set-up men in the AL but could be a little stretched at closer (if he is the closer). A closer by committee looks to be in order here and could prove successful given the strength of both Balfour and Howell. Grade: A-

Line-up and Defense:

C: Kenji Johjima - 3(0)

1B: Paul Konerko - 3

2B: Howie Kendrick - 3

3B: Alex Gordon - 3

SS: Michael Young - 2

LF: Sin-Soo Choo - 4

CF: Tori Hunter – 1(-2)

RF: Franklin Guitierrez – 1

DH: Mark Teahan?

Injuries and down years have taken their toll on the once mighty Menace line-up. Big holes at catcher, RF and DH are going to really drag down the offensive effort. Grade: C+

The Anaheim defense is right around league average with Guitierrez in RF, and probably a tick below without. Grade: B

Wrap-up and Future:

Management saw that this team was in for a rough year and started making moves for the future long ago. Despite having of nice young infielders like Alex Gordon and Howie Kendrick, the team’s resurgence is resting primarily on the hope that some of the older veterans can rebound and return to form. The Menace are a longshot to make to playoffs and will likely be looking to land a good draft pick and then compete in 2010.

Mercer Maineiacs

2008 Finish – N/A -1^st year franchise

Starting Pitchers:

1. Justin Duchscherer
2. Josh Beckett
3. Jeremy Guthrie
4. Justin Verlander
5. Tim Wakefield

The Maineiac rotation is something of envy. Duchscherer, Beckett and Guthrie are legitimate aces and following them up with Verlander is impressive. Wakefield is a little soft but should fair reasonably well in Anaheim. Grade: A

Bullpen:

Closer: Joe Nathan

Top 3 Relievers: Scott Downs, Edwar Ramirez, Andrew Brown

Nathan is great despite giving up a few too many longballs and Downs is outstanding. The rest of the bullpen is pretty average and isn’t going to be the team’s strong suit. Grade: B

Lineup and Defense:

C: Jason Veritek - 1(0)

1B: Kevin Millar – 3

2B: Mark Grudzielanek – 2

3B: Alex Rodriguez – 2

SS: Orlando Cabrera – 2

LF: Carlos Guillen – 4

CF: Curtis Granderson – 2(0)

RF: Ichiro Suzuki – 1

DH: David Ortiz

The Maineiac offense has great balance, speed, and should hit for a high average. The team looks a little short in the power department (despite having ARod) and will have to depend on a lot of singles and stolen bases to get the job done. Grade: A-

Every position is manned by either a 1 or 2 except 1B and LF and that makes for the division’s best offense (and maybe the league’s). Grade: A

Wrap-up and Future:

This team has the great starting pitching needed to make a run at the division title and could be a real force in the playoffs. The lack of power could be a problem in some of the bigger ballparks but this team is perfect for a stadium like Anaheim and should be able to use their batting average and speed to score plenty of runs.

2009 Division Prediction

1. Seal Beach Athletics

2. Mercer Maineiacs

3. San Diego Clippers

4. Anaheim Menace

5. Denver Dragons