SoCal Thunder
2008 Finish: 84-78, 4th
place in division, 5th overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
Zambrano and Lowe put together great seasons and will be huge if/when SoCal makes the playoffs. The back of the rotation guys match up pretty well with rest of the division and are definitely good enough to keep the team in every ballgame. Grade: A-
Bullpen:
Closer: Salomon
Torres
Top 3 Relievers: Damaso Marte, Geoff Geary, Mike
Adams
Comments: The SoCal bullpen isn’t pretty to look at so much but it has enough gas in the tank to be shutdown in the 7th and 8th. Having Torres at the top though is like having ACDC open up for Neil Diamond and is going to cost the team over the long haul. Grade: B
Line-up and Defense:
C: Brian McCann – 3(+1)
1B: Ryan Howard - 4
2B: Freddy Sanchez - 2 / Rickie Weeks - 4
3B: Aubrey Huff - 4
SS: Jack Wilson - 1
LF: Luke Scott – 4
CF: Jay Bruce – 3 (-2)
RF: Ryan Ludwick - 2
Comments:
Huge years by Huff, Ludwick and Scott added to the reliable Ryan Howard and Brian McCann makes for an intimidating line-up. With all the left-handed power SoCal is just going to destroy the average righty that comes their way. Offence drops a half-grade if a lousy Sanchez card plays over Weeks. Grade: A-
With those massive bats comes some potential bad defense. With the exception of Jack Wilson this defense is ‘paper bag over your head’ bad, especially if a better Weeks bat plays at 2B instead of Sanchez. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and presume a DP combo of Sanchez & Wilson gives a break to the staff. (+1) behind the plate cheats the SP, but Bruce’s (-2) in CF is a nice thing. Grade: B.
Wrap-up and Future: There are few players on this team that will likely be as good or better next year as they are now (highlighted by Jay Bruce); this triumphant return of the Thunder could be brief. That’s next year though and as far as this year goes SoCal has a sick line-up that’s just gonna pound its way to victory on most nights.
Diamond Bar
Dodgers (Formerly
2008 Finish: N/A, New
Franchise
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
This Dodger staff is gonna spend most of 2009 dodgering hard line drives back up the middle. (And this was after John Smoltz was traded for Gavin Floyd.) Though far short of a full fledge horror film this staff isn’t pretty and is going to keep this club from putting up any real push at winning the division. Grade: C
Bullpen:
Closer: Kerry Wood
Top 3 Relievers: Brian Fuentes, Jared Burton, Brandon Lyon
Comments: Wood came through with a great performance and having Fuentes as a lefty option at closer makes for 2 strong options in the 9th. It’s the 6th, 7th, and 8th that will be causing the problems. Grade: B
Line-up and Defense:
C: Jason Kendall – 2(-1)
1B: Lance Berkman - 3
2B:
3B: David Wright - 2
SS: Yunel Escobar - 2
LF:
CF: Hunter Pence – 3(-3)
RF: Andre Ethier – 3
Comments:
Berkman, Bay, and Wright make for
a great
The Diamond bar defense is outstanding. This team will field
a defense without a one a single player rated a 4 at any position. Not only
that, but OHud and Escobar make a great up the middle
combo and having Pence’s
Wrap-up and Future: If
it weren’t for the pitching staff this team could really make some noise in the
division (ala their predecessors of 2008, the Orbits). As things stand now though
the Dodgers are one starter and one set-up man short from being a legit contender
and would have to realistically be eyeing the first pick overall as an achievable
goal for 2009.
2008 Finish: 67-95, 5th
place in division, 8th overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
Talk about rags to riches! Malholm and Lohse were the only guys even on the radar last year and now these 5 guys have the make up of a playoff caliber rotation. Ryan Dempster can match up with any ace in the league, Nolasco’s a legit #2, and the rest of the guys all finished 2008 with ERA’s right around 3.50. A few blemishes here and there keep the overall score just a notch below an A, but its close. Grade: A-
Bullpen:
Closer: Chris Perez
Top 3 Relievers: Cory Wade, Octavio Dotel, Steven Shell
Comments: Chris Perez will single handedly keep Dempster or Nolasco from having a shot at the Cy Young; he could easily turn 3 or 4 of each of their W’s into no decisions. The rest of the bunch is pretty good actually and with a solid closer could one of the better pens in the league. But for now: B-
Line-up and Defense:
C: Carlos Ruiz – 2(-1)
1B: Prince Fielder - 4
2B: Kelly Johnson - 3
3B: Casey Blake - 3
SS: Jeff Keppinger - 3
LF: Gregor Blanco- 2
CF: Carlos Beltran – 1(-2)
RF: Brian Giles – 3
Comments:
The Miners really need to dig deep and find themselves a #3 hitter if they want to make a run at the division crown this year. Prince and Beltran are going to provide some pop but by and large the batters in this line-up are mediocre and this team will likely struggle to score consistently. Grade: C+
Defense: The outfield is anchored by Carlos Beltran and has good range overall. The infield has a first basemen that weighs more than an anchor, the other defenders aren’t faring a whole lot better. Grade: C +
Wrap-up and Future:
The Miners have an awesome rotation that really stands out in a mostly pitching deprived National League. The offense though is middle of the road and the defense and bullpen could have Dempster demanding a trade by mid-season. Look for SIM to be in the running for the final play-off spot in the NL.
2008 Finish: 94-68,3rd
place in division, 4th overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
Hamels and Burnett lead what is an otherwise below average starting rotation. The Pioneers traded away one of their young studs last year to make a run at the title and now it’s time to pay the piper. Grade: C
Bullpen:
Closer: Francisco
Cordero
Top 3 Relievers: Heath
Comments: If
nothing else you can count on
Line-up and Defense:
C: Miguel Olivo – 4(-3)
1B: Adam Laroche - 3
2B: Chase Utley - 2
3B: Jose Bautista - 3
SS: Christian Guzman - 3
LF: Xavier Nady - 4
CF: Shane Victorino – 1(-3)
RF: Kosuke Fukudome
- 2
Comments:
Utley comes through with the massive card but unfortunately
for
Defense: The once
proud Pioneer defense has been whittled down to just couple standout players
and is all and all pretty average. We
have to acknowledge the (-3) arms at C and CF, they bring a slightly above
average defense up a notch. Grade: B
Wrap-up and Future:
It looks like rebuild time for this ballclub. The Pioneers invested heavily in acquiring pitching help for last year’s playoff run and it really took a toll on their 2009 roster. A successful year for Johnstown would be staying out of the NL cellar and bringing in some young talent to help put together another run at the crown next year or the year after.
2008 Finish: 56-106, 1st
place in division, 1st overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
The staff is very good top to bottom, as all have an ERA under 4.00, anchored by a good Sheet card. Oswalt having an off year hurts and Wainwright is short on IP. If this team makes the playoffs, and it should, Wainwright’s IP no longer come into play and is capable of taking them to a title. Grade: B
Bullpen:
Closer: Billy
Wagner
Top 3 Relievers: Joe
Nelson, Joel Hanrahan, LaTroy
Hawkins
Comments:
Typical Wagner card, a few diamonds
against RH, not much else but K’s. He’s the man.. Rest of pen doesn’t offer much
Line-up and Defense:
C: Bengie Molina – 2(-1)
1B: Mark Teixeira - 1
2B: Brandon Phillips - 1
3B: Edwin Encarnacion - 4
SS: Jimmy Rollins - 1
LF: Ryan Braun - 4
CF: Nate McLouth
– 1(-1)
RF: Adam Dunn – 5 (LF-4)
Comments:
Teixiera, Braun, & Dunn will put the hurt to any kind of pitcher. S/R/L will all get beat by these guys. McClouth has a nice season as a 4th stick. The tough part is both Rollins and Phillips had decent, but big drop offs from the previous year. Grade: B
Defense:
Four Gold Glovers, three in key positions, (-) arms at C & CF, and to add insult to injury, both middle INF are not just 1’s, but 1(e8)’s. Sick. Yes, we see Dunn’s 5(e10) in RF or as a Braun 5(e0) and it’s gonna hurt when the X-rating comes knocking, but calling this defense anything other than then stellar would be just silly. Grade: A. Goes to A+ if they could get a 4 or less to play RF.
Wrap-up and Future:
Unless the “Diamond Bug” hammers the relief staff, this team should make the playoffs. 100 wins is possible, but there are enough weaknesses in a few place to keep this team at about 95 in a competitive division. If they make the playoffs, the only advantage is Wainright, the rest have tons of PA & IP. Future looks very bright as Gallardo can replace Sheets and the rest are all in their prime.
2009 NL East Division Predictions
offense
1-MSR-berkman-wright-bay-ethier
2-SCT-howard-huff-ludwick-mccann
3-LBD-teixeira-dunn/braun-mcclouth-rollins
4-SIM-fielder-beltran-giles-k.johnson
5-JTP-utley-victorino-laroche-nady
starting pitching
1-SCT-zambrano-lowe-olson
2-SIM-demster-nolasco-maholm
3-LBD-oswalt-sheets-cook
4-JTP-burnett-hammels-bannister
5-MSR-floyd-lilly-parra
bullpen
1-LBD-wagner/nelson-hanrahan
2-MSR-wood/fuentes-scherzer
3-SCT-torres/lindstrom-adams
4-JTP-cordero/bell-oliver
5-SIM-c.perez/wade-springer
defense
1-LBD-phillips-rollins-mclouth
2-MSR-hudson-wright-escobar
3-JTP-utley-guzman-tavares
4-SCT-sanchez-wilson-b.jones
5-SIM-beltran-giles-feliz
prediction
1-LBD- +D+O
2-SCT- +SP +power 5gb
3-DBD- +O
+RP 10gb
4-SIM-
+SP
20gb
5-JTP-
=def
25gb
The question will be, can three
teams make the playoffs from this division?
The Dirtbags, Thunder and Dodgers all have 90
win potential, and one or all could make mid season deals to bolster the
rosters. However, we think one of these
teams ends up on the outside looking in, and finds itself with the #1 pick in
the draft.