The Left Coast Anti-Blather
An Un-Official Sporadic
Publication of the Left Coast SOM Baseball League
Issue #8A
Printed without
the consent of an LCSB official!
At Anti-Blather, we try to dig deep into the minds of the GM's as well as the players they control. For this piece, we have taken it a step further to go into the minds of the people at the LCSB Times. And what better place to look then in their opening salvo put together for the 2009 League Preview? Here's our take.
AL East.
"If you’re looking for a little variety this doesn’t look to be your year - these predictions match last year’s final standings exactly. The big unknown is Mercer, but with that pitching staff it’s not going to take a genius to make the playoffs. San Diego has deep enough pockets to get what they need to make a run at it; whether they choose to or not remains to be seen. The A’s are going to field another great team and it’s going to take one heck of an effort to come in between them and the division title. "
Predicted Actual
1. Seal Beach Seal Beach
2. Mercer Mercer
3. San Diego San Diego
4. Anaheim Denver
5. Denver Anaheim
Well, we have to give them props where props are due. Denver only finished 1 game better than Anaheim or it could have been a clean sweep. Of course as stated in their dialogue above, our Grandmothers could have picked this division. Grade: A
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AL West
"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."
Predicted Actual
1. Chicago Cleveland
2. Cleveland Oak Hills
3. Oak Hills Gateway
4. Gateway Chicago
5. Pacific Pacific
Missed it by that (-------) much. All 4 teams mentioned as playoff possibles, were in fact, in the playoff hunt. In reviewing the league website, Chicago had a monster collapse in the final month to end up with the 1st pick in the draft. Does a GM make this big a difference? Grade: B
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NL West
"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 Bear Valley, it should be another year at the bottom of the division."
Predicted Actual
1. Los Alamitos Los Alamitos
2. Smithfield San Antonio
3. San Antonio California
4. California Bear Valley
5. Bear Valley Smithfield
How could the baseball minds at the Times be so wrong? Get a real job dudes, this prediction is a farce. Smithfield predicted for the playoffs and finish with the worst record in the league? Los Alamitos did run away with the division but was the only team to finish with a winning record, and the only team they correctly picked for the finish. The Times are a bunch of Jokers Grade: D
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NL East
"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.."
Predicted Actual
1. Long Beach Long Beach
2. SoCal SoCal
3. Diamond Bar So. Illinois
4. So. Illinois Diamond Bar
5. Johnstown Johnstown
Three teams did make the playoffs, just not the 3 they picked. It was very obvious then, and even more obvious now they overrated Diamond Bar way too much, showing the Times lack of attention to detail. Grade: B+
All in all, we thought the 2009 predictions were shallow and contrite. The Anti-Blather is attempting to bring integrity back into the fold by obtaining a written commitment from the league allowing the Anti-Blather to be the official publication for the 2010 LCSB Predictions. We know that we'll do a better job in a much tougher GM and team balanced environment. The GM's and fans of the league deserve no less then the best.