National League Division Preview Capsules
National League East
Projected Finish:
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Miami
New York
Washington
Philadelphia and Atlanta should have a real battle. The other three teams aren’t real players.
1B Biff Armor,
2B Tony Franzone,
C Ox Bunyon, and
OF Denny Rails make out a balanced and dangerous lineup as well as a great defensive unit. Pitching wise the rotation with
Snake McMillian and
Casper Verone is very good. The issue is that neither are top flight. Will it be enough in a short series in the playoffs?....Atlanta, if it all comes together, could win the World Series going away. But will it? The offense is headed by
3B Cutter Wells,
1B Stevie Swift, and
OF’s Moose McFly,
Rocket O’Hara, and
Adonis Shaw. The pitching staff has three huge arms in
Mike Marksman,
Lefty Gunnison, and
Rod Pearson. In the playoffs they will be tough to beat. Will the hitting and defense be consistent enough? If it is. It’s over….Miami features the best pitcher in baseball in
Greg Henter.
Flex Bowman is a quality lefty but the rest of the rotation leaves much to be desired.
2B Swifty Munoz sets the tables for
OF’s Jack Hammer,
Rip Hayes, and
Sluggo Steel. The other lineup pieces aren't really difference makers, especially in such a pitching heavy division…..In most other divisions the Mets could play for 3rd. They just aren’t deep enough rotation or lineup wise to make a dent in the NL East.
Bolt Buzzard and
Pedro Taraza are the lead arms but there’s not much else.
1B Butch Heddo could win the triple crown but
OF’s Rock Ready and
Gunner Fields are above average at best. There’s not much hope here for a miracle season. Just not enough “upside” on the roster….Washington and New York are fairly similar.
Shark Gonzalez and
Cal Ebbets lead a top heavy rotation. Gonzalez could be Cy Young material in a few years. The lineup has some power with
3B Jolt Stewart and
OF Crash Cronkite.
OF Scooter Salzar is a great CF’er but there are too many blank spots in other places for Washington to be a threat.
Butch Heddo
National League Central
Projected Finish:
Chicago
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
St. Louis
Pittsburgh
Houston
Maybe the most balanced division in baseball. The top 4 teams all have a legitimate shot at the division crown….Chicago has the best corner OF’s in baseball with
RF Rebel Ruiz and
LF Gerald Warren.
CF Neil Swain is solid there and good at the leadoff spot. The infield doesn’t have nearly the firepower but
2B Mosh Pittman and
1B Steady Gibbons are good enough to set the table. The rotation is young and has some live arms.
Cory Howard,
Slider Fulton, and
Henry Rowngarner have top flight stuff but aren’t great true pitchers. Yet.
Chet Stedman is the old man of the group. If he can have a good season it will help the team separate….Cincinnati will depend heavily on it’s pitching lead by
Lightning Pete,
Ryan Sizzler,
Jesus Fries, and
Bryant Walker. The hitting is top heavy.
SS Pop Risley could be the best all around player at his position in the game.
OF Brutus McBain and
C Mick Crosby provide the power.
OF Curtis Swing starts it all out at the top of the lineup. He should be the favorite to win the batting title. But is there enough hitting coming from the others?....Milwaukee is an odd team. They don’t appear to be be as good as they are on paper. The lineup as some pieces in
OF’s Arms Brody and
Earl Roberts as well as in young slugging
1B DJ Hustle. The pitching rotation features
Curley Berkman and
Slack Calson then nothing much more to write home about. The defense is bad yet the team always hangs around. More bust than boom potential here but should be good enough to make things interesting…..if St. Louis had even average pitching this team, and maybe the World Series could be theirs for the taking. The lineup includes
OF’s Tony Gage,
Mac Harris, and
Mookie Rollins. The infield features
1B Pine Splinters,
2B Alec Roberts,
SS Jimmy Dazzle,
3B Anthony Malone, and
C Dee Majors. 7 of the 8 positions they have legitimate All Star caliber players. Possible MVP’s at two of them. Majors is top tier MVP stuff. Gage is a real five tool player. Dazzle is the best defender at his position and maybe in baseball. The pitching just isn’t there. Or doesn't seem to be.
Harry Heater is a great young arm.
Jamey Jones is a nice piece. After that there is virtually nothing…..Pittsburgh is mind numbingly below average.
OF Tony Topper is one of the better young players in the game but outside of fellow
OF Romeo Montaro they haven’t surrounded him with much of anything.
Racoon Davis takes the lead of the pitching staff.
Martin Taylor and
Kimitara Shimizu are #4 pitchers right now who will be over matched at the top and middle of the rotation…..Houston won’t be able to score enough to win much.
OF T-Bone Malone,
1B Slick Fitz, and
2B Razor Sizemore can all hit but there is no balance to the lineup.
SS Rocky Rhodes is on his last legs. Pitching wise it starts and ends with
B.B. Babcock and
Ted Brogan in the rotation. Maybe the worst team in baseball.
Rebel Ruiz
National League West
Projected Finish:
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Colorado
San Diego
Arizona
A possible top heavy division with two sleeper teams……The Dodgers lineup can rake. One of the 5 best in baseball.
OF’s Benny Rodriguez,
Will Donaldson,
Blade Frazie, and
Grande Carena are all all star caliber. The deepest overall OF in baseball by far. All can hit and three of the four are plus defenders. Splitting time between Donaldson and Frazee will be interesting. Rodriguez is one of the most well rounded players in the game. Things aren’t quite as good on the infield.
1B Bopper O’Riley is a solid enough all around player.
C Tony Tollony is MVP level. The pitching staff is headed by young
Typhoon Kuroi and
Knuckles McGee. The pitching is slightly below average overall but the offense and defense are so good it may not matter too much in the long run…..San Francisco might be able to challenge LA, but do they have enough hitting? The pitching is there.
Sleek McClain,
Kyle McNasty, and
Alex Vaughn lead the rotation and closer
Ken Dickey is the best in the NL. The batting order could do enough.
OF’s Muscle McFee and
Sandy Falcon are plus defenders and McFee is one of the best players in baseball. Falcon is a leadoff hitter with 20+ homer power.
3B Bull Higgins and
1B Ed Batsby are Tollony and O’Riley light. The dark horse here is
2B Kenny Jackson. If he has a good year this race could go down to the final game.….Colorado just isn’t balanced enough and isn’t a good enough hitting team to overcome the lack of pitching.
OF’s Alan Parker and
Grizzley Wilkin along with
1B Tiger Montoya fill in nicely in the middle of the order but they don’t have enough around them.
Wally Slinger is a very nice piece at the top of the rotation but the Rockies don’t have enough after him and in Coors Field that’s a big problem….San Diego is the opposite of Milwaukee. They seem on paper to be better than they are.
3B Anvil Groves,
1B Roberto Guevara, and
OF’s Sam Scorcher and youngster
Don Cain should be more than enough to make some headway in a division that lacks pitching. For some reason it doesn’t appear to be.
King Pete and
Will Windup top a rotation that after them falls off rather quickly but in PETCO should be enough. But isn’t. Could be a trendy pick to get into the playoffs as a wild card…..Arizona’s situation is odd as well. They have some great pitching in
Edgar Montaro, and
Dan Williams, one of the best set up men in
Gabe Alvarez, to go along with a solid lineup headed up by
C Jose Luna. Nothing ever seems to come of it though. Could finish as high as 3rd but doesn’t have as high a ceiling as a team like San Diego or Colorado possibly do.
Grande Carena
