2008 Finish: 100-62, 1st
place in division, 2nd overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
It’s always nice to have Peavy as your #1 though he’s short
on IP this year. Kuroda was a needed
draft pick up as the other three starters as a group are well below average.
This staff isn’t playoff caliber. Grade: C-
Bullpen:
Closer: Trevor
Hoffman
Top 3 Relievers: Manny Acosta, David Weathers, Scott Schoenweiss
Comments:
Hoffman had his first over-3-ERA (3.77) since 1995 and gets
Long-balled by lefties. He’s short on IP
and will see too many blown saves in those innings. The rest of the bullpen is very hittable,
with no stoppers. Grade: D
Line-up and Defense:
C: Russell Martin - 1(-1)
1B: Carlos Delgado - 4
2B: Felipe Lopez - 4
3B: Aramis Ramirez - 2
SS: J. J. Hardy - 2
LF: Conor Jackson - 4
CF: Josh Hamilton – 2(-3)
RF: Matt Kemp - 3
Comments:
Nice mix of young and old, especially when Loney is the BU
1B/DH. Hamilton, Ramirez, Delgado make
for a sweet
Defense:
Obvious bright spots of Martin, Hardy and Hamilton up the
middle, plus another big (-3) in RF in Kemp.
Either Lopez (4) or Kent (5) at 2B are the only major weakness. Man how we like (-3) arms in the OF. Grade: B
Wrap-up and Future:
Rebuild year, but very, very able to beat any team on any given day. While the pitching is based around Peavy and only Peavy, the offence rakes, is young, and only looks to get better (did we mention Dextor Fowler is waiting in the wings?). This team could be a year away from domination or have five years of mediocrity depending on how well the pitching is rebuilt.
2008 Finish: 50-112, 5th
place in division, 10th overall
Starting Pitchers:
1. Jason Marquis
2. Braden Looper
3. Todd Wellemeyer
4. Jaime Moyer
5. Bronson Arroyo
Comments:
The staff isn’t quite the making of a horror film, but when
you look at the names, it makes your skin all creepy-crawly. Moyer and Wellmeyer are 3.71, #4 guys and the
rest give decent IP, but this rotation scares no one. Grade: C-.
Bullpen:
Closer: Jon Rauch
Top 3 Relievers: Ryan
Madson, Chris Volstad, Jason Grilli
Comments:
Rauch the HR launch will be frustrating and might be the
worst closer used in the league. There
are some good arms if you include Volstad in the pen, and sadly, has to be
considered the strength of the team.
Grade: C+.
Line-up and Defense:
C: Chris Ianetta – 3 (0)
1B: Derek Lee - 1
2B: Aaron Miles - 3
3B: Clint Barmes - 3
SS: Ryan Theriot - 3
LF: Josh Willingham - 4
CF: Juan Pierre – 3(+3)
RF: Justin Upton - 4
Comments:
YUK. The best player, Lee, had his worst year and having him surrounded by Willingham and Upton in the lineup is just wrong. Iannetta will have an outstanding card, but only for a half-season. The better hitters are all very short on AB’s and will cause endless usage issues. 2/3 of the starting players would be backups or role players on most other teams. Grade: D-
Defense:
Nice to have a Gold-Glover in your lineup, but a “1” at 1B
is nearly useless. The rest are average
at best, and if Peirre is truly the CF, that +3 will equal one extra run every
game and a full drop in the grade. The
bench offers no significant help with the “D”.
Grade: D
Wrap-up and Future:
It will be a great season if this team only loses 100 games. Keeping it real, matching last season’s loss total of 112 probably won’t happen, so we’ll split the difference and predict 56-106. Worst news of all is the painful rebuild that’s needed, and while it has started, there are a huge number of “Suspects” of young players to build around (Anderson, Volstad, Iannetta, Sandoval, Stewart & Upton) and no proven entities. This team could quickly become a hitting machine or an endless last place finisher if the kids all fail.
2008 Finish: 64-98,
4th place in division, 9th overall
Starting Pitchers:
Comments:
When your three top pitchers play real ball in Colorado
& Cincinnati, and your staff ERA is around 4.70, trouble will find you in a
hurry. This staff has a couple Diamonds
in the rough in Cueto & Jimenez, and if he removes some of his Diamonds,
Harang can be good too. No Diamonds for
Jimenez in
Bullpen:
Closer: Brad
Lidge
Top 3 Relievers: Matt
Capps, Chad Qualls, John Grabow
Comments:
Lidge’s card won’t play as good as his stats, but he’s a
stud. The rest of the pen has five
quality arms that will enable preferred match-ups. Probably the best relief corps in the league
and the strong point of the team. Grade:
A
Line-up and Defense:
C: Geovany Soto – 2(-1)
1B: Todd Helton - 2
2B: Dan Uggla - 4
3B: Garrett Atkins - 4
SS: Jose Reyes - 2
LF: Pat Burrell – 5
CF: Jim Edmonds - 3(-1)
RF: Jody Gerut - 3
Comments:
Good L/R balance with a tough Burrell-Uggla-Soto punch in
the middle of the lineup. Add in some
Reyes and a dose of Gerut/Headley & Edmonds/Hart and this lineup has pop
from every position. Corner infielders
are the weakest points as both Atkins and Helton had off years. Grade B+
Defense:
Soto and
Wrap-up and Future:
Are 90 wins in the future? Not unless a trade or two is pulled off for some better SP, but with the lineup and bullpen 80-85 is probable. Team used the draft to find a couple of old-timers to fill in while others like Hart & Headley find their groove. There is a good core of hitters for the future but the long term success of this team is in its SP and their ability to overcome hitter’s parks.
2008 Finish: 83-79
(New Franchise this year)
Starting Pitchers:
1. Brandon Webb
2. John Maine
3. Randy Johnson
4. Greg Maddux
5. Tim Redding
Comments:
Webb is the anchor, Maine and Johnson make a slick 2/3,
while Maddux & Redding are just sub 5.00 ERA innings eaters. Not a great staff, but one that will win its
fair share of games. Really needs a
better 4th starter if it does happen to make the playoffs. Grade B-
Bullpen:
Closer: Jose
Valverde
Top 3 Relievers: Taylor
Buchholz, Tadahito Saito, Scott Linebrink
Comments:
Valverde gives up the extra base but not much else. He’ll do.
Saito would make a better closer but is more useful as a stud setup man
to go along with Buchholz and his filthy card.
Linebrink is the only other minimally quality RP, so this team could use
another couple of arms or usage becomes an issue. Grade B
Line-up and Defense:
C: Ryan Doumit – 4(+2)
1B: Joey Votto - 3
2B: Kazuo Matsui - 3
3B: Miguel Cabrera - 5
SS: Stephen Drew - 2
LF: Matt Holliday - 3
CF: J.D. Drew – 3(-1)
RF: Brad Hawpe - 4
Comments:
Sharpen the ax, here comes the lumberjacks. Matsui’s OPS is the only one under .800. This team could lead the league in every
major offensive category and score like everyday is the Prom. Take one more look, a real close look, and
this squad has 7 of the 8 starters with a SLG% of .500 or better. A little deeper look has an insane Dickerson card
coming off the bench as your top PH.
It’s not fair. Grade: A+
Defense:
There’s good news and bad news. The good is the Drew Bros and even Matsui
playing with a “3”. The bad news you
ask? First, your catcher is a 4(+2), and
while we can live with him, Cabrera got punked as a 5e62 at 3B. Sorry to say, but if your 3B makes 62 errors,
you don’t win a title. Drew, Drew & Matsui can save the day, but the time
bomb at 3B will eventually blow up.
Grade C+.
Wrap-up and Future:
This would be a championship caliber team with the addition
of a SP, a RP and ANYONE ELSE to play 3B.
We’re telling you now, mark it down, that Cabrera’s “D” will probably
cost this team a playoff spot, and will eliminate them from winning a title. As for the future, having Cabrera & Votto
at 1B is an issue, but this team will rock for a few years. Holliday takes a slap for being traded to
Los
Alamitos Cardinals
2008 Finish: 83-79, 2nd
(tied) place in division, 6th (tied) overall
Starting Pitchers:
1. Tim Lincecum
2.
3. Dan Haren
4. Matt Cain
5. Clayton Kershaw
Comments:
Start with a the Cy Young winner and his 2.62 ERA add in
four young power pitchers with ERA’s of 3.14, 3.33, 3.76 & 4.26 (though this team could use
Brett Myers as the 5th), and you have a great rotation. Of course,
who really cares about #5 as this team will only need four when it gets to the
playoffs. This staff is just stupid and
with any luck, three of the four big IP studs could end up 20-game
winners. Grade: A
Bullpen:
Closer: Carlos
Marmol
Top 3 Relievers: Jonathon
Broxton, Joey Devine, Hong-Chih Kuo
Comments: Those LH HR’s on Marmol’s card will frustrate, but there’s no other hits, just a few walks and a lot of IP. No way Devine can keep a 0.59 ERA, but with him and Kuo as the main L/R setup guys out of the pen, add in Beimel’s singles card & the Broxton “K” machine, it’s lights out in the late innings. Grade: A-
Line-up and Defense:
C: Yadier Molina – 1(-4)
1B: Albert Pujols - 1
2B: Craig Counsell - 2
3B: Chipper Jones – 3
SS:
LF: Carlos Quentin – 4
CF: Rick Ankiel –
3(-4)
RF: Ryan Church - 2
Comments:
This team also has the NL MVP in Pujols. Surround him with an awesome Jones card, and
the thump-stick of Quentin, and you have the best middle of the order in the
league. The average OPS of these three
guys is 1.042. Problem though, the rest
don’t measure up to average and the DP duo of Tulowitzki (bad year) &
Counsell (bad hitter period) is a 200HP vacuum that can suck the life out of
the offence. Put in a marginal Molina
card and these holes in the batting order can kill an offence. Grade: B
Defense:
Up the middle, this team is as good as gets in the division, and maybe the league. Molina and Ankiel remove any semblance of a running game with those (-4) cannons. This forces other teams to run into outs, or just use raw power to score. 2’s at 2B(e5) & SS(e14) are sweet and will provide plenty of DP’s, while Church (-2) & Quentin (-1) give an all (–)Arm outfield. “Throwing through --------- Out.” Get used to hearing it. All of those (-) Arms raise it a full grade and overcome not having any 1’s at the skilled positions. Grade: A
Wrap-up and Future:
To anyone who can read, this is the team to beat in the division. 100 wins are probable, but this team would likely need to add a couple of real bats to go all the way. The playoffs have proven to be cruel to teams with holes in their lineups. And for those who also cannot count, the average age of the SP Stud staff is a childish 25 yrs old. With Pujols, Quentin, Ankiel and Tulowitzki there is at least five years of offence to look forward to, making this team a perennial contender.
2009 Division Predictions
1. Los Alamitos
Cardinals
2.
3.
4.
5.
There’s a fair chance that the two better teams, Los AL
& Smithfield both make the playoffs, with Los AL a 99% lock to run away
with the division. San Antonio and
California have made some important rebuilding moves and they look to be much
better next year. Each have a chance to
get around .500 and with a mid-season move or two, work their way up to the top
pick. And unfortunately for