New Orleans Salary League was founded in 2005 by Jerry Whitson. This will be where News & Rumors for the league will be kept so that owners can read about what is going on in our league. If you have anything that you would like to see reported on during the season, please just let me know and I'll try to get it up for you.

Well it’s now time to take a look at the 2011 season in NOSL. As has happen in the pass with my yearly report to the league for the most part I have been right on all of my predictions. I say this every year as I don’t mean to offend anyone and I do my best to report on where I think the team is at the time of my report to NOSL. This is just something that I like to do each year and over the years the GM’s in NOSL have come read and I hope enjoy my report on their team. Not all the time everyone will agree on what I’m saying, but as I said in the pass for the most part I have been right with my evaluation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/10/11

NOSL Playoff

 

            Now that I have picked the 4 division winners and the 4 wild card teams, lets break that down and see who will be my pick to win NOSL Championship Series for the 2011 season. The 4 teams that I think will win their divisions are Cohawkin, Southlake, New Orleans & Columbus. The 4 wild card teams will be Chino Valley, Chalmette, St Bernard & Knoxville.

                The AL looks to be like this, Chalmette @ Cohawkin & Chino Valley @ Southlake, and my 2 teams that I think will advance will be Cohawkin & Southlake with Southlake winning the ALCS. In the NL Knoxville @ New Orleans & St Bernard @ Columbus and the 2 teams I think will advance will be New Orleans and Columbus with New Orleans winning the NLCS.

                This brings us to the NOSL Championship series between New Orleans @ Southlake, looking at these 2 teams is doesn't look good for the Cajun's at all. I look at each and every category and there is no where I think that the Cajun's are better than Southlake. The only thing that I can say New Orleans holds an advantage in is at the catchers spot. Cajun's will have Y Molina & Southlake will have Soto and the advantage is only the throwing arm.

                I cant really see Southlake being beat by anyone this year. Granted once in the playoffs anything can happen and the Cajun's will be counting on that to have a chance of winning the NOSL Championship Series.

 

 

3/9/11

National League Playoff Teams

 

         Well we have survived another Mardi Gras and it's now time to get back to Baseball. I see the NL shaping up this way for the 2011 season. In the Walt Appleton Division it looks to me to be a 2 team horse race between St Bernard & New Orleans. When I look at each of these 2 clubs and compare in all areas I see the break down like this. Cajun's will be in field one all year while St Bernard will be in and out of 1 & 2 this year. On offense they are very close in that area too, St Bernard should be 4.5 runs per game and Cajun's 5 runs per game. When I look at the numbers across the board  on offense SB/NO 260/284 AVG, 317/368 OBP, 429/462 SLG, SB should have a little edge in pop & Cajun's should hold the edge in stealing bases. When you break the staffs down, Cajun's will have these 4 SP as the top of their rotation 16, 15, 15 & 14 while SB will run out 13, 12, 11, & 10 so edge goes to Cajun's. In the pen NO will have 23, 18, 18, 16, 15, & 14 while SB will have 17, 15, 15, 14, 13 & 11 with several of those having W's. These 2 teams will fight it out all year but I have to give the Cajun's the slight edge to win the division.

            In the Johnny Bench Division there is going to be a different story in this one as there are a few teams that could win this division. I have to consider Columbus, Knoxville, Greenville and Antelope River in this division. When I look at these 4 teams any one of them could win it and depending on trades and injuries this is what will decide this division. When I look at all 4 teams offense I have to say that Antelope River, Knoxville and Columbus are all a little better than Greenville at this time, with Columbus holding the edge. On defense Columbus, Knoxville and Greenville will all be in and out of field one and two, while Antelope River will play in field two all season. The starting staffs break down to where I see them rank this way, Columbus, Knoxville, Greenville & Antelope River. Then in the pen I rank them Antelope River, Columbus, Greenville and Knoxville.

    You can see why it is kind of hard to pick a clear winner in this division as they are all so close with each of them better in some areas than they are in other areas with each of the 4 teams. But I have to pick someone and I know Knoxville is looking to defend their 2010 division title, but I have to give the nod to Columbus this year, but this isn't a sure thing by any means.

    So in the NL I have picked Columbus and New Orleans to win their division and now I have to come up with 2 teams that will get the 2 wild card spots. I have to give the first wild card spot to the team that is the runner up in the Walt Appleton Division and in this case it will be St Bernard. The last wild card spot will come down to Antelope River, Knoxville and Greenville and I have to give the nod to Knoxville to get his team back in the playoffs for the second year in a row. 

 

3/6/11

American League Playoff Teams

 

                Now that I have made my report on each team I will try to pick the teams that will win their division and which of those teams will move forward to the NOSL Championship. In the Ken Griffey Division I see this division like this, Cohawkin & Chalmette will battle it out for the division title. These 2 teams will be very close and there are a couple of things im going to point out for the reasons I pick the Ken Griffey Division winner. First both teams have same pop with Chalmette holding a big edge on base stealing All the offensive numbers are even across the board other than the steals.. Yet Cohawkin has Butera with a TH of 5 and this will slow Chalmette down and also will put Cohawkin into field 1 where Chalmette plays. The staffs break down like this, starting staffs has to go to Cohawkin as Chalmette will have to use 4 starting pitchers in the playoffs as their roster is now. With that being the case Cohawkin will send out to the mound 16, 14, 13 & if needed 12, while Chalmette will send out 18, 12, 12 & 12 as the refresh rate for 2 of their starters are 7 per day. Chalmette will have to watch their MBF for their pitcher and with the 2 pitchers with the 7 refresh rate means they will have to go to the bull pen more than Cohawkin. So when you look at the pen's, Cohawkin holds a big edge there, as they have a better and deeper pen while Chalmette has a lot of relievers with W's for their pitchers.

            After looking at all of this it comes down to where Chalmette holds a big edge in the running game and Cohawkin holds the big edge with their staff. With that being the case im going to go with the pitching and pick Cohawkin to win the Ken Griffey Division. These 2 teams are so close you could toss a coin and pick the winner that way. Injuries and trades during the season will make a big difference to these two teams and the one that can help their club the most will help them to win the division.

            Now in the Joe Morgan Division this division is going to be a one horse race as Southlake is the best team hands down in it. They have it all on both sides of the line, I think they will break the record for most home runs in the season, 302 by Chalmette in 2006, I also think they will score more than 1000 runs this year, and could possible break their own record of 1055 runs in a season that they had score in 2009. So my selection in this division is an easy one Southlake wins the Joe Morgan Division.

            So now that I have picked the 2 AL teams to win their division it's time to see who the other 2 teams will be the wild card club. There is no question in my mind that the runner up in the Ken Griffey Division will be one of the wild card team. Now I have  to see which team will get that last playoff spot and it should be a battle for it.

            When I look at the other 7 teams in the AL I think the last wild  card spot will come from Joe Morgan Division. Ganglion, MetroMess, & Chino Valley now lets see why I pick one of these teams for the last spot. MetroMess will play in field 1 all the time and the other play in field two, I have to give Chino Valley the edge with the pitching staffs and I have to give the edge to Ganglion for the offense. This is going to be a good race all year and there isn't a lot of difference between the 3 teams.  One team holds the edge here, while the other team holds an edge there. I'm going to give the edge to Chino Valley, but trades could change any of these teams to put them in that last wild card spot

            Now that I have the 4 teams in the AL lets see if I can pick the teams to play in the ALCS. Southlake should draw Chino Valley and Chalmette & Cohawkin should end up against each other in the playoffs. I have to say that Southlake will win their series and if I picked Cohawkin to win the division beating out Chalmette, I have to pick Cohawkin beating Chalmette in the playoffs.

            So now it comes down to Southlake and Cohawkin to play for the rights to move on to the NOSL Championship Series and I have to pick Southlake as they just have the advantage every where. Southlake will move on to play the winner from the NL.

 

 

 

 

3/3/11

Johnny Bench Division

 

         Knoxville has been in NOSL a couple of years now and they are coming off their best season. They won both their division and the NLCS, but Chalmette was just to strong for them in NOSL Championship Series. I look for this team to be right in the middle of things as last year. The look to me they will be in and out of field 1 & 2 all season. Their starting staff is pretty good this year, but the pen could use some help. Bell is the big stopper in the pen and the rest is a patch work of relief pitchers. Offense doesn't look to be as strong as last year. They are short on pop, but they will run a team out of the stadium if they don't have a catcher to slow them down. They will be in the race all year for both the division title and wild card.

 

            Pink Floyd is in it's first season of NOSL and they didn't have a lot of draft picks, 2 this pass draft. Pink Floyd will be in and out of field 2 & 3 this year and that isn't going to help their chances this year. Their starting staff is fair at best and the pen needs work. Cant see them doing much better than 4 runs per game this year. Not a lot of pop or speed on the offensive side of the line. I think that they will need to come up with a plan for their team, they do have a few players that are just about to break in to MLB. They do also have a couple of good players that have been hurt the pass couple of years.

 

         Columbus is another one of our charter members and I feel this year has to be their year. I know at times this team isn't willing to put it all on the line to win it all and that is why they only have one division title. They will play in and out of field 1 & 2 this year, just depends who is in the line up. looks to me that Butler and Morneau will platoon. They have a very good staff with the strength of it being in the starting rotation. I think they are a like short in the pen and may have trouble getting the ball to Soria at times. Their offense should be around 4.5 runs per game just as they were last year. They will have a balance attack and should be in the hunt all year for a division or wild card spot.

 

         Greenville will start their first full season after replacing Upland last year. They did make a lot of changes to their team and just miss making the playoffs. This year they will be in the hunt for the playoffs all year. They will be in and out of field 1 & 2 all season and that can't hurt a nice staff. When looking at their staff, looks to me they need some help in the pen. They do have Wagner for their stopper, but after that not very strong and not deep at all. On offense They will also use a platoon system for the 2011 season. I think this club is stronger against a lefty on the mound and should score about 4 runs per game. they are balance but not a lot of pop at all to this club. I think they are more of a wild card team at this time and not ready to win a division title as of yet.

 

         Antelope River is another one of our Charter members. They have moved from the AL to the NL this year. They will play in field 2 all season, which won't help a staff that is a little short handed. They have a couple of starters that should do ok this year. The pen has some depth to it with the back end really strong. They will have to use a platoon system for the other side of the line this year. They should do better against lefties than righties with a balance attack against both. They look to me to be about 4 runs a game in the 2011 season. I think they will be a middle of the pack type team and I'm sure they will start to set the team up        

 

3/2/11

Walt Appleton Division

 

       

         St Bernard is in the 3rd season in NOSL and they have improve from year to year. Last year was a little disappointing as I though they would of made the playoffs, but were only able to have a 500 record. This year it will be a different story as they have really improve this team. On defense they will play in and out of field 1 & 2 depending who they have in the line up. They have a solid staring rotation and in the pen they have some depth to it, but no real stopper, and they do have a lot of W's in the pen. Offense has improved over last year as they only scored 4.4 runs and that number will go up this year. They have some pop, not a lot of players that can steal a lot of bases. This team will challenge for the division title this year.

 

            Lake Michigan is one of our charter members and it has been a rough 5 seasons for them. They are coming off the worst record they have had in the NOSL. In the pass couple of drafts they have started to add some good young players to their team and they are just starting to hit MLB. With that being the case, I can only think this team will start to improve on their win lost record. They will play in field 2, and their staff is starting to improve. They have guys like Porcello, Drabek, Chapman, Cueto, Gallardo, Morrow and Mejia that are all starting to show that they can play in the big league. Offense wont be that good this year, but they should improve on the 3.3 runs pre game, which was last in NOSL in 2010. They have added a lot of good young players just now hitting MLB on that side of the line. I think Lake Michigan is on the right track now, but they are still a year or 2 away from really making a run at it all. 

 

            East Reading is starting their 4th season and final had some draft picks this pass year with 6 picks. They had no picks in the 2009 & 2010 seasons. I think now being in the league a few years they have decided they need to build their team threw the draft and will try to hold on to their picks. They have had their problems in the first 3 season and this year doesn't look like the year for them. They will play in field 2 all year and that will be no help for a weak staff. On offense they only look like a team that will score around 4 runs per game, but if they are able to score that many that will be an improvement from the 2010 season where they scored 3.6 runs per game which was 2nd worst in NOSL last year.

 

            Crestline is in its first season in NOSL and it will take him a little time to put his team together. They have made several trades already in NOSL. They will play in field 2 all season and that wont help their staff. The staff needs some improvement in both the pen and starters. They look like they will give up a lot of long balls this year. Offense doesn't look to be that strong and should score around 4+ runs per game and I just don't see that being enough to be any better than a middle of the pack team this year.

 

            New Orleans is in a retooling year, but they will try to extend their 5 division titles to 6 this year. Cajun's have added 24 players to their roster via the 2011 draft and really feel good about their team and chances to stay on top for years to come. As always they will play in field 1 all year and that can only help their staff. Their starting staff isn't as strong as pass years, but the bull pen is once again good and very deep. On the offensive side of the line they won't be as strong this year as pass seasons. But by no means do the Cajun's feel that they can't repeat and add another division title this year. They will score about 5.5 runs per game which will be down from the 6.1 they had last year. They have a fair amount of pop, but the running game isn't as big of a threat as in pass years. Cajun's have tried to get their team younger, and now have 25 players that are 25 years of age or younger.

 

 

3/1/11

Joe Morgan Division

 

         

            Ganglion has been building his team for 4 years now 3 years now and this year it looks to me they will be in the playoff race. They can play in field 1 all year, but I think they will start games in field 2 a lot of times and then late in the game bring in players to move them to field 1 this year. Teams ran on them all last year and I don't see that trend changing in the 2011 season. Their staff could use help in both starting and in the pen and this is their weakness this year. On offense they should score about 6 runs per game and that is a lot better than the 4.3 they had for the 2010 season. They have a lot of pop on their team and they will steal some bases at times. I don't feel they have enough to win it all this year, but this team is a lot better than pass teams.

 

            Moosic Mt has been working on his team for 3 years now and I haven't seen much improvement to this team over those years. They do have some nice players on this team but they just haven't been able to have all of them on top of their game in MLB. They like many other teams will play in field 2 all year. This isn't going to help a weak staff this year. Their offense should be able to score more run this year, last year 699 run, and that is a 4.3 runs per game. I think they can improve those numbers and be around 5.0 runs per game. Looks to me to be another building year for them and will just be a middle of the pack team.

 

           

            MetroMess returns to NOSL after being gone for a couple of years. Their defense will be in field 1 all year and that should help his staff a lot. They do have 3 solid starters, but the pen is going to need some help this year. They have no true stopper at this time and the depth of the pen is marginable, so they may end up working a deal or two and strengthen that part of the club. The offense looks like a balance attack for the 2011 season. Lefties will give them some trouble, but they should be middle of the pack team. But that could all change if they get some help for the staff and if that happens they will be in the race for a wild card spot this year.

 

            Southlake took their licks last year and set their club up for the 2011 season. I just don't know where to start with this club as I don't see a weakness anywhere. I guess the only negative thing I could say is they could use a better catcher to slow the other teams running game down. Their staff is one of the best if not the best in NOSL this year. On offense I cant see them not breaking the home run record for a season, 302 by Chalmette in 2006, this year. They will be able to run on teams with a balance attack and play in field 1 all year. I cant see this team not making the playoffs this year and has a very good shot at winning his division and more.

 

            Chino Valley Dave just took over this team and this is the first season in NOSL, so it will take a little time for him to get his team as he wants his franchise. Chino will play in field 2 all year, so that won't help his staff a lot. He does have a nice starting rotation with a fair pen. I only rate his pen as fair as he has several relievers with a W. Their offense will be a balance attack as they have both pop and speed to steals some bases during the season. They should score at least 5+ runs per game this year so they should be a middle of the pack in the standings. They could possible get a wild card spot this year.

 

 

 

 

2/27/11

Ken Griffey Division

 

          Bremerton had the second best record last year in the AL and 5^th best overall for NOSL. This year their team will play in field 2 all season and that won’t help their staff, which isn’t as good as last year. They ended last year with a team ERA of 3.99 so it will be important for this club to score a lot of runs and try to add some help to both their starting staff and in the bull pen. On offense they scored 816 runs in 2010 season and I just don’t think their team is better than last year. Bremerton likes to run and he just doesn’t have that type of team this year. They should score about 5.5 and that would be about the same as they did last year. This team just has too many players that hit left handed so teams with lefties on their staff should do well against them this year.

 

          Woodridge will be in and out of field 2 all year on defense. Their staff could use some help with the starters, while their pen isn’t bad but doesn’t have a true stopper on it, so with some improvement in that area will help them this year. As for the other side of the line I don’t see where they will put up a lot of runs, about 5.5 per game. Not a lot of pop and you can say the same on the bases with not a lot of guys that can steal you some bases during the season. This team won’t do as well against right handed pitchers as they just don’t have that many left handed hitters on the team. I don’t think the 2011 teams is as good as the 2010 team. They do have a couple of players that won’t be of much help to them this year, as they got hurt during the 2010 season in MLB.

 

          Cohawkin will play in field 2 all season also and that won’t help their staff. They do have a very good staff this year and should have a lot better team ERA than the 5.63 they had in the 2011 season. The team staff should also be among the leaders in team K’s this year. They should once again be one of the best teams in slowing down the running game of their opponents. On the other side of the line there should be a big improvement this from the 4.4 runs per game last year. Looks to me they will score about 5.8 runs per game. Not a lot of speed and I can’t see them coming close to the 100 stolen bases they had last year, but they do have some pop with their offense. They look to me they are back to where they have been in the 4 years prior to last year and that is in the race for their 4^th division title.

 

          Chalmette will be trying to defend their 2010 NOSL Championship this year. They once again will have a very good team, but I don’t see them as good as they were last year. They will play in field 1 all season and that will help their staff. Their starting staff isn’t as good as last year and the depth to their pen isn’t as deep as last year and with that said, I can’t see them repeating that 2.48 ERA they had in 2010. Also this year they will give up a lot of walks and that can’t help their staff at all. In 2010 they had given up the 3^rd fewest walks during the season, but they won’t match that in the 2011 season. On the other side of the line, they are once again going to be one of the better teams when it comes to offense. They should score more than 6 runs per game this year and they had 6.1 for the season in 2010. They will have a balance attack this year with both the long ball and stealing some bases. They will be in the hunt for the playoffs this year, both for the division title and if not as a wild card.

 

          Hartford thought they had a chance to make the playoffs in 2010, but this year I think they will be in the rebuilding mode. They will play in field 2 all year and that won’t help their staff at all. They need help both starting and relief pitchers; they do have a couple of guys that could turn out to be OK in MLB this year. Hartford has only had 5 pick in the pass 2 drafts and they need to see about trading for some picks this year to change that trend. On offense, not much in the way of good news there this year. They don’t have a lot of pop or speed on the team this year. They only score 4.7 runs last year and I can’t see them improving on that number this year. They have some ageing players on their club with only 4 player 25 years of age or younger. This team will have to work on rebuilding and looking down the road a couple of years before they will be ready to make a serious playoff run.

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          Well it’s now time to take a look at the 2010 season in NOSL. As has happen in the pass with my yearly report to the league for the most part I have been right on all of my predictions. I say this every year as I don’t mean to offend anyone and I do my best to report on where I think the team is at the time of my report to NOSL. This is just something that I like to do each year and over the years the GM’s in NOSL have come read and I hope enjoy my report on their team. Not all the time everyone will agree on what I’m saying, but as I said in the pass for the most part I have been right with my evaluation.

 

3/8/10

National League Playoff

 

       In the Johnny Bench Division it looks like a 3 horse race between New Orleans, Memphis and St Bernard. There isn’t a lot of difference between these 3 teams, one team might have little bit more in one area and another has little bit more in another. So this division I think the team that does the best against the weaker teams will be the team to win the division. These 3 clubs will beat up on each other so that’s the reason I think this. But I have to pick a team, I think any one of these 3 clubs can win the NOSL Championship this year. I have to pick New Orleans, when I look at all the numbers they look to me they will score more runs than either of these clubs.
          In the Johnny Bench Division this year, as I had said before this will be the toughest division in NOSL this year.  As for as who will in the division, you can put Upland, Knoxville, Columbus and Portland on the board and throw a dart at it and that would be just as good as anything I can see. But I have to pick a team and I think it will come down between Knoxville and Upland and I will go with Knoxville.
          The reason I think that the team that does win in the JBD, is so important to those 4 teams as I don’t see the wild card coming out of this division. So I see the playoffs matching up like this, New Orleans will play St Bernard and Knoxville will host Memphis. Out of those series I think New Orleans and Knoxville will play in the NLCS, with the Cajun’s coming out on top.

 

          Now that I have predicted which teams will be in the playoffs and who will come out of each league you end up with Chalmette host New Orleans. These two clubs are fairly close to each other in all areas but a couple. First area is with the stolen bases, Chalmette does have some guys that will steal bases on the Cajun, but most of them aren’t going to be in the starting line up. Another thing that will hurt Chalmette run game is Cajuns have 3 catchers with TH of 4, 5, and 6 so this will help slow them down. Now on the other side, Cajuns have all but 2 players in their line up that won’t be stealing any bases and Owl’s have their catcher’s TH of 2, 0 and -3 so there is no question that the Cajun’s will steal more bases in the series.      Another area that will come into play is in the OF with the arm’s out there for both team. New Orleans will have 38, 34 and 38 and Chalmette will  have 33, 31 and 31 with the DH and when they play in New Orleans one of those 31 arms will be a 29 as I know Chalmette isn’t going to set Lind down when they play without the DH. So I feel that New Orleans will run on those arm’s and I think that Cajun’s will cut a couple of players down at the plate. If the don’t cut any down at the plate, those arms will make them thing about running on them and that will effect the number of runs they will score. I feel for Chalmette to win the NOSL Championship this year, they will have to around 15 or better more home runs than New Orleans. If Cajun’s have as many as the Owl’s, and they could have as many if not more, then I can’t see the Owl’s being able to beat New Orleans. If this turns out to be the case, this would be the 5^th time that the National League has won the NOSL Championship Series. I know there is nothing else that the Owl’s would like better than beating the Cajun’s and bring the first NOSL Championship to the American League

 

 

         

 

 

3/7/10

Johnny Bench Division

 

       Upland will be defending their division title from last year as they went 112-50, and finished 22 games ahead of the second place team, this year it won’t be that easy. Out of all the divisions this year I think that the Johnny Bench Division might be the strongest over all in NOSL top to bottom. I think this year’s team is better than the 2009 team, as they have a ton of power and can run with any team in NOSL. They look like the will score 5.5 runs per game and can beat another team in several ways. They look to me that they will have some problems with lefties and even righty  will give them problems at times. I think other teams will be able to run on them at times. They will have to decide if they want to play Montero or Powell behind the plate. Montero will give his club more offense where Powell will slow the other teams down. Looks to me that Montero will be the starting catcher and he will use Powell late in a game, also he might give Powell a start now and then against the teams that can run better this year. They will play in field 2 all year and that isn’t going to help their staff at all. Their starting pitchers aren’t very strong, Kershaw is their best pitcher, but he gives up a lot of walks. In the pen they have one of the best stopper in Rivera, and their pen is deep. I would say they are the strength of his pitching staff this year, so it will be important that he choice the right micromanager for his road games. This club will be in the playoff race all year and could repeat with another division title.

 

          Portland this will be Noel 3^rd season in NOSL, last years club did improve over their first season in NOSL. Their team defense will give this club a lot of problems this year. They will play in field 2 total and infield, then they will fall into to infield 3 at times. They have a nice starting staff and I think the bull pen could use some help there. They have a fairly deep pen, but I think they need to try an improve that pen. On the other side of the line they need to improve in that area too. They only scored 4.2 runs per game in the 2009 season and they don’t look much better than 4.5 this year. They did add Scott and Schumaker and that is the only trade they made in the pass 8 months to help their team. They have 26.1 mil in cap funds that I would use to help my team in some kind of way. They have enough on their team now that they can beat any team in any given series. With this division being so close they could possible be in the hunt for the division title. I just can’t see where this team has improve that much over last year. They finished 3^rd last year 78-83 and could improve on that record this year.

 

          Columbus this team I just can’t figure out, every year they have one of the better staffs in the league and the same holds true this year. They are always near the top in ERA each year and I think they will be in the top 5 once again this year. They will play in and out of field 1, but most of the time playing in field 2 this year. I can see that this team will have some problems even with that good staff they have as the teams in the NL this year for the most part all can run and with McCann behind the plate he will hurt them on defense and only time will tell if his offense is good enough to over come his lack of defense. On offense is where this team has had problems in the pass. In 09 they were in the middle of the league on offense, scoring 4.3 runs per game, this year they may be a little better but I don’t see that much improvement this year. They do have a balance of power and running on the club for the 2010 season. This team is like so many other teams in this division, they will be in the hunt for the division title and capable of beating anyone in a series.

 

          St Roberts this is Mike’s 3^rd season in NOSL and they are in a rebuilding mode at this time. They did have a nice draft, they got Josh Outman, Emilio Bonifacio, Chris Getz, and Jake Fox, all should help this team in time. They also traded for Neftail Feliz last year who should be a very good player for him for years to come. Their staff needs help and this can only come over time. They will play in field 3, and at times could play in field 2 and this will be no help to their staff. On offense they scored 4.1 runs per game last year and they may improve on that number some this year. When I look at this team what I see happening with them this year, they are going to be a team that is going to decide who wins this division and even who ends up in the playoffs. With guys like Dunn and Votto, and Posada, they will beat he top teams from time to time and that will be what is the factor that decides who goes to the playoffs this year in both divisions. That is what this team will get out of this season, as it is still building and not there yet, but improving with players they are adding to their team.

 

          Knoxville Jim has done a very good job in taking over this club. This will be his 3^rd season in NOSL and this also will be his best season so for in the league. They like so many other teams in the NL this year that could go all the way and win the NOSL Championship this year. Looks like their defense will play most of the time in field 2 but they can play in field 1 at times. They also will have some trouble with teams running being able to run on them this year at times. They have a very nice starting staff, but could use more help in the pen, both in depth and quality. On offense they only scored 4.4 runs per game last year and I do see that number going up this year. They will be in the range of 5.5 with the addition of Mauer to their team this year. They do have some pop in their line up, but they could use some more players on their team that could steal them some bases. Knoxville will contend for the division title also this year.

 

 

3/6/10
Pete Rose Division

 

       New Orleans will try to repeat this year as they have won the pass 3 seasons. This year it won’t be easy at all as the Pete Rose Division have several very good teams that are all capable of winning it all this year. This should be a fun season for the Cajun’s as Memphis & St Bernard will give them all they want and then some. This year’s Cajun’s staff isn’t quite as good as last years, now don’t get me wrong, they have a very nice staff and will be in the top of the league in ERA if not lead it once again this year. The starting staff is just about the same but in the bull pen this year, they aren’t as good as the 2009 pen, as the Cajun’s had the best pen last year, that wont be the case this year. They will play in field one all year and that will just help their staff once again this year. On offense this years club looks like they will score around 6 runs a game. Last year Cajun’s set the steal record last year with 259 stolen bases. This year club only has 2 starters in the everyday line up that can’t steal, so I really think we will steal as many bases as last year if not more.

 

          East Reading is coming off a very long season last year as they lost over 100 games. I thought this team was going to improve on the 2008 season but it didn’t happen. This year club will play in field 2 all season, and this won’t help their staff. When I look at the 09 staff and the 2010 staff, I just don’t see where they have improved in that area. On offense last year they only scored 558 runs, 3.4 runs per game, this years offense looks like they will score more, around 4 runs per game. I can see improvement on this side of the line and the area they improve on most was the HR ball. They only had 121 last year and I feel certain that number will improve. Last year I thought they were a couple of years away and with what I see in improvement this year, they are still a couple of years away. One of the problems East Reading has had, they haven’t had a draft pick for 2 years now. I think if this team is going to get better, they will have to hang on to those picks and try to load up with good young up coming players. It’s going to be another long year for East Reading and I think if they can keep from loosing 100 games again this year, it would be a good year for them.

 

          Lake Michigan has been regressing with their team, in 06 they won 78 games and each of the last three years they have won less and less. It has been a long hard seasons for them. They too will play in field 2 all season long and that’s not going to help their staff any. I do see where they are starting to get some pitchers to help improve this team. They drafted Gallardo in 2007, Porcello & Cueto in 2008, Jordan Zimmerman in 2009, Kyle Drabek & Aroldis Chapman in the 2010 draft, that is the making of a very good young staff. So they have done well in the draft trying to build their starting staff. The pen still needs a lot of work, but that is something they can worry about down the road. There offense this year looks like it will be a lot better with the power. They had 164 home runs in 09, and I feel certain they will go over 200 this year, so there is improvement in that area. They added Matt Wieters, Colby Rasmus, 2008 draft, Scott Brantley, Mike Trout, 2010 draft, Ryan Westmoreland in a trade, so I like what I see going on with this club. They are still a year or two away, but they are putting some very good young players together and will be able to hang on to them for some time as their salaries are more than reasonable. I think this club too, if they can keep from loosing 100 games and stop that downward spiral they have been on and get this turned around, it would be a good season.

 

          Memphis this club has under achieve over the pass couple of years and the reason is Walt as we all know has had some health problems. I have been telling him that I felt his team would of made the playoffs by now if not for that problem. Well this is the year for this team, I see this being a break out season for them and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit to see them win 100 games this year, in fact if I had this club and I didn’t win 100 games I would be disappointed. This club is built to win now as they will play in field one all season, they also have a catcher that will help to slow down all the teams this year with stealing bases. The NL has a lot of teams that can run and any team that has a player with the TH like Laird can do nothing but help their chances. They have a very good staff top to bottom with depth to it, I see this team having a team ERA under 3.00 this year. On the other side of the line, they look like they will score 5.6 runs or better this year, they have a very good running game and have enough  power to balance off their club. One thing I did notice about this club, they may have some problems against lefties. I can’t see this team not making the playoffs and they have just as good of a chance to with this division and NOSL championship this year. So all we need now is for Walt to stay healthy enough to see this season threw.

 

          St Bernard Brad took over this team mid season last year so this will be his first full season. They will play in field one all year and that will help their staff. They do have a nice group of starting pitchers this year, and the pen is fairly deep. They could use one or two more guys in it, what worries me about their pen is I see a lot W’s and L’s and that is never a good sign for your pen. They do have 8 million in cap money that they could use to improve their pen, but I know that they have been a little safe until they get a better feel of the league. I know he did say that he wanted to get threw the auction and the draft and then he might make some deals to help his team. On offense, they have a nice balance of power and speed, this team can beat you in several ways. One of the things I see about this club, is that the too could have some problems against lefties. They will be one of the teams that will be in the hunt for a playoff spot, both as division winner and the wild card. I think this team will win 90 plus games this year.

 

 

3/5/10
American League Playoffs

 

       Now let’s see if I can pick the teams that will be in the playoffs this year. Without looking to far into this I have to make Chalmette the favorite to win the Ken Griffey Division, in the Joe Morgan Division I am going to pick Southlake to repeat as I think he has the next best offense in the AL this year. I worry about that staff he has as I like Marigot Bay staff better. So with that being the case I am going to pick Marigot Bay for the first wild card spot and the final spot is another one that is going to be hard to pick as there are several teams that could get this spot. I like Hartford and Antelope River, their offense is pretty much the same and neither has a lot in the way of starting pitchers, and Hartford has the deeper and better pen, so I’ll get the final spot to Hartford.
          So with Chalmette and Southlake winning their division and Marigot Bay and Hartford as the two wildcard teams, I see the playoffs matching up this way. Chalmette will host Hartford, and Southlake will host Marigot Bay. Chalmette should come out of their first series in pretty good shape to host the ALCS. I have to go with Southlake over Marigot Bay as I picked them to win the division.
        So now I have Chalmette and Southlake playing for the ALCS and Chalmette has the better staff by far and will win the American League Champion this year.

With that being the case, Chalmette will make their 2^nd trip to NOSL Championship Series. Last time they were there was in 2006, where they played Woodridge. They lost that series in game 7 to Woodridge 6-4 and in that series their staff was just about as good as their staff this year. I’ll give their staff this time around is a little better, but I don’t see their offense being as good as the 2006 team. The 2006 team hit 302 home runs during that season, the closest anyone has been to that number is Southlake in 09 they had 257 and after those numbers it falls way back, I just don’t see that the 2010 team has a better offense.

 

 

 

3/4/10

Joe Morgan Division

 

       Southlake is coming off their best season every in NOSL last year. In fact while looking at them I didn’t realize the 122-40 record last year was a 56 game improvement over the 2008 season of 66-95. Look like improving your team by 50-60 games in the AL is not a big deal in NOSL. They had one hell of a season last year and took the NOSL Championship Series to 7 games, before loosing in game 6 and 7 to loose the series. This season doesn’t look like they will come anywhere near 122 wins like last year, but don’t count this team out. They have one hell of an offense and will put up a lot of runs this year. They have a lot of pop on this team, could use a little more speed, outside of B J Upton, not a lot of players to scare a team on the bases. They look to me as they have an offense as good as Chalmette or better this year. They look like they will score 6 plus runs this year. Last year they lead the league in scoring with 1055 runs and in home runs with 257, they could possible repeat those numbers in the 2010 season. They will play in field one all season long, but where they fall short this year is with their staff. This year they will have nothing but C starting pitchers and the pen is in worse shape than the starters. They have no real stopper this year and there is no depth to the pen. I think that they have enough offense to compete for a playoff spot and also be able to compete for the division title. There is no question that this team has more than enough to beat any team in any given series.   

 

          Marigot Bay went 104-56 in 2009 and finished second in their division, they have never finished worst than 2^nd in the Joe Morgan Division. This year they don’t look to have a typical Marigot Bay team, as I think this is more of a season to regroup. Now when I say regroup, by no means am I saying this team can’t win their division or league championship. I just feel this years team isn’t as good as some of their pass teams in NOSL. They look like they will score around 6 runs per game once again this year. They will play in field 2 all season and that won’t help their staff very much this year. Their staff isn’t as strong as pass staffs for Marigot Bay, their pen is deep so if they can stay in a game they can close it out when ahead in one. I think as I said this isn’t the year for them to win it all, they have some very nice guys in the wings just about ready to come up and help their club, Jason Heyward, Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero, Michael Saunders and Wilkin Ramirez. They will be in the hunt for the division and wild card spot for the playoffs this year. This team has 30.8 mil in cap room this year, so they could improve their chances this season if they go out and make a couple of deals to help their starting staff. As teams start to fall out of it during the season this could be the time for Dan to make a move or two to help his chances this year.

 

          Ganglion last year I thought that John had his team moving in the right direction, but I was wrong. In 3 seasons their team has lost more games each year. In 07/70, 08/96 and last year I thought they would be better but I was wrong as they lost 97 game and I thought they would be a 500 team. They look to me there will be around 5.5 to 6 runs per game this year, and if that is the case that will be an improvement over the 5.1 runs per game the scored in 2009.  They will play in field 2 all season once again, and that will hurt them. Their starting staff isn’t that bad, but their pen will need more help this year to play the season. Ganglion had no draft picks this year so that doesn’t go very well to help this team down the road and I don’t see them doing any better than 500 if they even win that many this year. They don’t have much in the way of cap money to help their team this year. Other than having a couple of good starting pitchers at this time, they have their future in the hands of Rich Harden and Francisco Liriano.

 

          Moosic Mt will be in their 3^rd season in NOSL this year and in the pass 2 seasons they have finished 3^rd in each of them. They did improve last year over their first season and this year their offense looks to be a little better and should be around 5.5 runs per game and that would be better than the 4.9 they scored last year per game. This club looks like most of the teams in the AL, they look for the long ball and don’t have very much speed on their team and play base to base most of the time. Their team will be in and out of field one and two all year, their infield will play in field one all season, but having two OF with a rate of one keeps them from being in field one at all times. Their starting staff is fair staring one B and rest will be C starting pitchers. Now the pen is in a lot better shape with plenty of depth to it this year. Joe likes to build his teams threw the draft and he did make 2 nice pickups in the 2009 draft in Pablo Sandoval and Joel Pineiro and they will help his team this year and years to come. I know that Joe gets busy in life and doesn’t have all the time he might like to have to put into his hobby, but I think this is what is holding this team back from being better than they have been so far in NOSL. I look at their team and I see guys like Sammy Sosa that hasn’t been baseball the last 2 years, yet he is still on their payroll. That tells me he isn’t putting time into his team and until he gets more time or willing to make more time for his hobby, he will have a fair team year after year.

 

          Antelope River this year could be the break out year for them as they have not faired well in NOSL over the pass 4 years. The best record they had was last year and that was only 63-98 and that didn’t get them out the cellar, but it was the first season they didn’t loose 100 games or ore in a season. This year I am looking for this team to have a very nice year. They are going to score about 6 runs per game. This year team is well balance on offense as they can hit the long ball and if they play a team that they can run on the other teams catcher, they can do that too and this is the only team that I feel has a running game when they want to run. With Jeter and Podsednik at the top of their line up with both being able to steal some bases and then you have Juan Pierre that can be added in the line up. They will play in field two all year and that’s not good for a their staff that has nothing but C’s for starting pitching and to go along with a pen that is not very strong or deep. I do think they will be in the hunt for a playoff spot, but with that staff I worry about how it will hold up for 162 games and if Mike could improve it in anyway that sure would help his chances this year. He does have 12.7 mil in cap money so he also could go out and help his team by spending some of it on this years club.

 

         

 

3/3/10

Ken Griffey Division

 

       Bremerton took over Birmingham team from last year, they finished 4^th, so Dave is still getting his team to what he wants on it. As for this year he looks like he will score between 5.50 and 5.75 on the year. They look like they have several needs, with Fielder and Matsui as the power on this club. Same with speed, not a lot there so I am sure he will address this in time. I know from the pass teams that Dave has put together you can be assured he will go out and find people that can steal bases as he had in the pass with his teams. His team will be in field 2 all season long and that won’t help his staff a lot this year. It looks to me he will have more trouble against lefties this year, with 5 of them in the line up most of this year. His staff, the starters aren’t that bad, as he will be starting C’s all year long. Now in the pen that’s another story, as they don’t have a real stopper and the pen isn’t very deep this year. This team last year was 56-104 and I do think he will improve on that record this year. But it looks like this is going to be a season where he starts to get the players he wants for his club, rebuilding for the most part. Dave did have 8 draft picks this year and other than Coghlan, I didn’t think that much of his picks, but we will have to see what happens with the other 8 picks in time.

 

          Woodridge finished 2^nd last year in his division but it wasn’t anything to talk about, as they went 80-82 on the season. When I look at this team, they look to me that they will score about 5.5 runs per game, but when I look at their power, its not bad and they have a ton of speed on this team. They have improve their team in both areas over last year. This club will be able to beat any team this year on any given series. They will play in field 2 all year and that won’t help them this year. Their staff isn’t that bad, but with the defense not in field 1 this year they won’t be as good as they could be this year. Their pen, its deep, but they have no real closer this year. Their 2 best guys in the pen aren’t young one being 34 and the other 40, they will have to look for younger pitchers for their pen. They do have a couple that are younger but we don’t know for sure what they will be like in MLB. They did get a couple of nice young players in the draft, Garrett Jones, Todd Coffey, and Brian Duensing. They could improve on last year record some, but I don’t see them improving that much this year, they did have some better players that were injured or had a bad year last year so if they bounce back, you should hear more from this team in the 2011 season.

          Cohawkin has finished no worst than 2^nd in the Ken Griffey Division, winning the division the pass 3 seasons. I know that Ed felt this was going to have to be a rebuilding year for his club and I didn’t agree with him when he made that statement to me. He has made the same statement every year so for in NOSL. But this year I think he is right, I can’t see him winning the division at all, and the reason I feel this way is if you would look at what they have traded away this year, you will understand why I don’t think they can win it now. I think if they would of kept all of their players and improved in certain areas that they could of this off season, they would have been right there to win it all again this year. But now that’s not the case, they went 106-54 in 2009, and won 100 games or more each of the 4 years in NSOL. I don’t see any way they will come close to winning 100 games this year, let alone winning their division. They do have a ton of young unproven players, but they traded away a lot of good proven players to get these kids. They will score about 5.5 runs this year once again. They do have a little pop and could use some more speed on the team the way I look at his club. They will be in and out of field 1 and 2 all season long depending who is on the mound and who is in the line up, both in total and the infield. They did have a nice draft and that will help them down the road. They added some more good young players such as, Mat Latos, Sean West and Bud Norris. Their staff isn’t much to write home about this year and the same can be said about their pen. All they can do now is wait and see if trading all those young stud players makes his team better with all the young unproven players in time. Their team is good enough that they could be any team in any given series, but this will be a long year for the Red Sox.

 

          Chalmette Last year they had a club that could of won it all but after they made a couple of trades that hurt their team and before you knew it, they were hoping they wouldn’t loose a 100 game and they lost that many in 2009 season. Prior to last year the least number of games Chalmette won in a season was 99 games. This year after making some unbelievable trades he is the clear favorite in the American League this year. This club will score 6 plus runs and may even score more than 6.5 runs this year per game. They have traded to get Cano, Carlos Ruiz and Eric Aybar to replace 3 of their players in the starting line up this year. They will play in field 1 all season long and with the staff they have should win 120 games this year. If they don’t win that many, it is a bad year for what they have on this team. They have added in the off season via trade Lincecum, Felix Hernandez, J A Happ, Ted Lilly, Phil Hughes and Papelbon. I have to say in all my years I never seen one team get so many good players, but then again I have never seen one team trade most all of these players. They have a ton of pop, not a lot of speed, they do have a couple of players that can steal but to many in the line up that can’t so they will have to play base to base baseball this year. As long as they hit the long ball, they will be hard to beat, but if the long ball isn’t there, they could be beat by a lot of teams this year. So this team has done 180 degree turn around, loosing 100 games in 09 and will win 100 or more games in 2010. Looks to me if this all holds true, we know who will get the GM of the year award. How many times have you ever see a team improve 50-60 games in one season. They have put all of their eggs into this basket as they have traded all of their early picks in 2011, leaving them only have a 4^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th round draft picks for next year. In Texas holdem that is called All In for the hand.

 

          Hartford took over his team in the middle of the last season so he has had a little time to get some of the players he wants for his club. They went 76-84 in the 2009 season and I think they will be over 500 this year. They didn’t have that many picks in the 2011 draft, only 3 of them and the best out of the group was Tommy Hunter. They will play in field one all season and that will help their staff. They have a very deep pen and they will need to use it as their starting pitching isn’t anywhere as good as the pen. They have a top notch stopper in Nathan so help close the games they are on top late in a game. Their offense looks like they will score about 5.5 runs per game and they do have some pop but they could use some speed on the team, other than Burbon to help with the stolen base, they are in need for help in that area. I do think this team will improve over the 76 wins they had last year and the could very well be in the hunt for a wild card spot this year. Looks to me that there are 3 playoff spots open for the 2010 season. One will go to the other division winner and the 2 wild card spots which should be up for grabs for most all the teams in the American League.

           

 

5/1/09

Six degrees of separation…

 

What the hell does that have to do with Fantasy Baseball…quite a bit actually…however let’s start this article off with a trivia question – who was the lead actor in the movie six degrees of separation?  He was a famous TV actor at the time – but now is a major motion picture Icon. (Answer later)  There have been 69 trades to date in the NOSL on pace to shatter last years 172 trade pace by end of year and already 3 times as many deals as were made in all of 2007.  As is the case in every fantasy baseball league played with APBA – we do more trading then we do buying milk on the way home from work.  Have we ever really gone back and saw what transpired over the course of one trade…well I looked into one this week and just by chance there was a deal made in early 2006 that included the same 2 players 3 years later in 2009..it might not be the only one that ever happened but it caught my eye right away…funny part is one of the players was involved in 5 deals before the 6^th degree of separation. the other one missed it by one but who the heck is counting anyway.

 

In early 2006 the Rockford “Files” team sent JD Drew, 2^nd, 4^th to Barrhead in exchange for Francisco Liriano.  3 Years later Liriano was sent packing from New Orleans along with Madison Bumgarner and a 5^th for JD Drew, Brandon Wood, 1^st & 3^rd….how surprising is that…Sorry I wish I could tell you but even I don’t have that much time to analyze…It is interesting though – isn’t it…By the way the trivia answer is Will Smith – formerly known as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. now is known for “I am legend, I Robot and The Pursuit of Happiness.

 

Here is what Francisco & JD have brought back in return:


 

JD Drew                                 Francicso Liriano

2^nd                                                                        Chris Young

4^th                                                                        Paul Maholm

Daniel Cabrera                     O’Connor

1^st                                                                         Brown

Manny Delcarmen                         O. Perez

D’Angelo Jiminez                          Berkman

Carlos Zambrano                           A. Sanchez

Ramon Castro                                2nd

Eric Byrnes                                     Magglio Ordonez

Scott Baker                                     Kaz Matsui

Brandon Wood                      4th

1^st                                                                         8th

3^rd                                                                        Luis Castillo

                                                Brandon Lyon

                                                3^rd

                                                4^th

 

 

Needless to say JD has had more combined with him then Liriano has but that is a lot of switching of players/teams for 2 guys…Does this mean they are wanted men or unwanted men?  These guys remind me of that stupid kid game we played….hot potato…you want it but only for a second…if you hold it too long you get burned – if you get rid of it too early then it might get back to you just as time runs out…I know both Jerry and I are hoping that the game is only midway through or that time runs out on the potato we just got rid of.

 

2009 Preseason Predictions

 

3/1/09 National League Playoff Teams

          New Orleans looks like they will win their 4^th Division Title this year in the Pete Rose Division. The Johnny Bench Division will have several teams that could possible win that division. Columbus I think is the team to beat in that division, but Upland and Portland will be right their all season. So that takes care of the 2 division winners and now the 2 wild card spots I think will be between, Upland, Portland, Carolina and Memphis looks like they will be in the mix too. Out of those 4 teams I will give the edge to Upland and Carolina. The National League Championship I think will be between Columbus and New Orleans and I give the edge in that series to the Cajun’s to with the NL Championship.
          As for the 2009 NOSL Championship Series, it looks to me it will be a repeat of the 2008 NOSL Championship Series. I think this year series will be a lot closer than it was in the 2008 season, but I will give the Cajun’s a slight edge to repeat for their 3^rd NOSL Championship

         

 

2/28/09 Johnny Bench Division

          Upland will play in field two all year, and they don’t have much of a running game. They do have some pop in their line up, but I don’t see them scoring more than about 5 runs per game. They do have a nice starting staff with a lot of young talent on that staff. Their pen leaves a lot to be desired as they have an aging Mariano Rivera as their stopper, but that is about it for this season. I do think they will be in the hunt for a playoff spot this year. I tend to lean towards them as a wild card team this year. They do have almost 17 million in cap money so they can improve their team by adding some help to their club this year.

          Portland also will play in field two all year, they don’t have a running game at all and need some more pop for their team. They too look like they won’t score more than about 5 runs per game this year. Left handed pitchers should do well against this primary lefty line up they have this year. They have a nice staff and are very deep in the pen. There isn’t really a top notch stopper in the pen at this time. They too have some cap money, 16 million that they could get some help for their club too. This team is on the bubble in my eyes. They have a good enough team that they can beat any club in any series. They will be in the hunt for a playoff spot this year as they have improved over the 2008 season.

          Columbus will be defending their division title this year and should have a very good shot at repeating this year. They have a lot of pop on this team, but they look like they will be a base to base team as they don’t have much of a running game, and should be around 5 runs per game, maybe a little more this year. They will be in and out of field one during the season, which will help their staff. They have a very nice staff from top to bottom and this year they have the will have the best pen in NOSL. Columbus could possibly win a 100 games again this year, but it won’t be easy as the Johnny Bench Division is the best division in NOSL this year. I look for Upland, Portland and Columbus to beat up one each other.

          St Roberts made the playoffs in the 2008 season, but this year they will have their hands full in trying to get back to the playoffs. They will play in field two all year, will possible score about 5 runs per game. They will have their problems against left handed pitchers so depending who they are facing will have a lot to do with the number of runs they score this year. Same as the other teams, not much of a running game and they have less pop than the teams they will have to beat for a playoff spot. Their starting staff is weak and the pen isn’t very deep. It looks to me this will be a long season for them.

          Knoxville is moving from the AL to the NL this year and Jim is just starting to rebuild his team. It will be a long year for them as they need help in a lot of areas. They do have a core of players to start building their team in Braun, Mike Young, Wainwright, Carlos Zambrano, David Huff, and David Purcey. It will take them a couple of years to get their team to where they can win it all. Jim also is getting use to playing in an internet league and most all of this is all new to him and that will also be a learning process for him and his team.

2/27/09 Pete Rose Division

          New Orleans has had their way in this division as they have won it each year by an average of 38 games. This season looks to be no different, as they have the best team in it by far. They will average better than 5.5 runs per game as they have power, speed and defense. Their starting staff may be the best in NOSL this year. In the pass their pen has been the best in NOSL, but that wont be the case this season as they have fallen off a little in that area. They will play in field one all season and this club should win 110 plus games once again.

          East Reading has improved their team over last year, but they are still at least one or possible 2 seasons away competing for the division title. They will play in field 2 all year, with not much pop or speed to speak of this year. Looks to me they wont average 5 runs per game. Their starting staff is starting to shape up, but the pen needs help and East Reading didn’t have a draft pick in the 2009 draft, which really hurt them in picking up some good young prospects in the draft. They could possible improve on their 52 games that they won in 2008, but it won’t be by a lot of wins.

          Lake Michigan will play in field two all year and will score around 5.0 runs per game. They don’t have a lot of pop or speed on this team. Their staff isn’t as good as it was last year and this looks to be a very long season for them. They won 61 games in 2009 season, and I would say if they could keep from loosing 100 games this year, the season would be as much as they could hope to get out of this group. Over the pass 3 years, they have lost more and more games going from 78 wins in 2006 to the 61 wins they had last year. This season could possible another season where they make no improvement on the year.

          Memphis missed the last wild card spot last year by 5 games and Walt was out most of the season and wasn’t able to deal with his club. I think that if he would have been well, that he could of very well got a playoff spot last year. His team will play in field two all year, but he did make a few trades in the off season as he added Sabathia, Orlando Hudson, Kazuo Matsui, Brian Giles, and Saito to his club. I think he may improve his record this year, but I don’t think he will make the playoffs unless he makes a couple of deals to help Team.

          Carolina moves from the AL last year to the NL this year. They did make the playoffs last year as a wild card team. They will be in and out of field one and two all season. Their offense looks to be where they could use some more help this year. They look like a team that will score around 5 runs per game. Their staff is the teams strength this season. I think they could possible get into the playoffs as a wild card team, but I think for that to happen they need to go out and make a couple of deals to add some quality depth to the squad.

 

 

2/27/09 American League Playoff teams

          Now that I have looked at all the AL teams lets me see if I can call the playoff teams for the 2009 season. As for the Ken Griffey Division, I think that Cohawkin will win that one, with Woodridge finishing well behind them. Now the Joe Morgan Division will be either Southlake or Marigot Bay this year. I have to give the edge to Marigot Bay as I think their running game will be the difference between the two teams. Marigot Bay will make a run at defending their division title, but it won’t be easy for them to repeat. That brings us to the 2 wild card teams and one of them will be from the Joe Morgan Division. That leaves one spot up for grabs in my view of it this year. That last spot will be between Woodridge, Ganglion and Moosic Mt as they all have about the same type of team. If I have to pick one of them to make the playoffs, I have to give the nod to Moosic Mt at the team to get that last spot.
          The battles in the AL this year will be between Southlake and Marigot Bay for their division and then the 3 teams, Woodridge, Ganglion and Moosic Mt for the wild card. I think the Southlake and Marigot Bay AL Championship series will be a very good one and just as I gave them the edge with their running game for the Division Title, I feel this also will be what sends Margot Bay to the NOSL Championship Series for the second time in the pass 2 years.

 

2/26/09 Joe Morgan Division

          Southlake Jack has put together a very strong team for the 2009 season. They don’t have too many areas that need improvement, but I have found a couple. The first would be their team is going to be in field two all year. As for their offense, this team should be the first team in NOSL to score a 1000 runs and the only thing I can find that may not be as good as the other parts to their offense is in the steal area. They have B. J. Upton, who will be a starter and then there is Rios and Milledge on the bench that can steal bases. So they look more like a base to base team this year to me. If this team scores as I think they will be able too, if should be well over 6.5 runs per game. Their staff of Billingsley, Oswalt, Hamels and Garza are a nice group, none of them are over powering this year, but all are solid and will out there are season. Their pen has depth and there are several guys that can start if needed this year. There is no question that this looks like the team to beat this year at this point in time.

          Marigot Bay will try to defend the 2007 & 2008 division title this year and they have a very nice team. This is another team that will put runs up on the board. They have power and speed on this team, but they too will play in field two all year. Their starting staff is a solid one too and their pen isn’t as good as Southlake. Teams will be able to run against Dan team this year, and they will make a run at the most stolen bases in a season this year. They look like they should be in the playoffs once again, if not as division winner, they will be one of the wild cards. Should be a very interesting season this year for Dan’s club, last year they had their way in the division and that won’t be the case this year. They do have 20 million in cap room so I think that Dan will go out and try to work a deal or two to improve his team this year.

          Ganglion John’s club will be a lot better than last year’s team. They have a ton of power on this team, but they too look to me to be a station to station type team. They also have the same problem as most of the teams in the American League this year as they too will play in field two all season. Their staff leave a lot to be desired and this also will hurt their club this year. They may keep themselves in the playoff picture with their offense this year. I think this team will be around 500 for the season and that could be enough to get you into the playoffs this year in the AL. They will have to address their staff to move their team to the next level in NOSL.

          Moosic Mt. this team is somewhat like the last team, they have some offense with a lot of pop, won’t steal a ton of bases. But they will be in and out of field one this year so that will help their chances. Their staff isn’t bad, could use a little more help with their starting pitchers and the pen has some depth, but only one guy that will have to play a big role as a stopper in Downs. I don’t see this team improving themselves that much as Joe isn’t the type of GM that likes to go out and make a trade to help his team. He is more the type of GM to build their team via the draft. So with that in mind, they will improve over last years 63 wins and should be around 500 also. With the AL not being as strong this year as last year, that should keep you in the hunt for a wild card spot in 2009

          Antelope River they look to me to have a very long season in front of them this year. They don’t have a lot of pop or much speed and will be playing in field two for the year. They do have 11 million in cap room and Mike needs to see about spending some of that cap to improve his team in what ever area he can work a deal. He has a good SS in Jeter; Loney is an up and coming player that could win the batting title one day. He does have Uggla and Either that are very good players. Damon is starting to get a little older, but still has nice numbers. I was kind of surprise that Mike didn’t go for more young prospects in the draft this year. This team is a couple of years away from really having a shot at winning it all.

         

 

2/25/09 I will start with the Ken Griffey Division

Cohawkin has won this division the pass 2 seasons. This year Ed had went into the offseason thinking this was going to be a retooling season. But after a couple of trades and his draft, his team is now poised to win his division once again. There are a couple of thing that jumps out at me when I look at their team this year, their offense doesn’t look as strong as in the pass. I can’t  see them stealing as many bases this year as last year, when they stole 220 on the season. They do look like they will score about 5.8 runs per game, which I don’t feel is that strong when you are in the DH league. The other thing that stands out is with their staff as they made 2 trades in getting Lincecum and Matsuzaka for the top of their rotation. Once again as last year, Cohawkins will play in field 2 all season.

Chalmette made the playoffs last couple of years, but I think this will be a very long season for Jason. He has gone out and made a couple of trades to get some very good players in, A-Rod, Carlos Pena and Fielder, but at a very high cost to their team. I think those trades have made his team not stronger, but weaker at this time. They will play in field one all season and will score a lot of runs with both the long ball and will be able to run on teams. When I look at their staff, Burnett is it for more or less for this season. Granted Chalmette does have a lot of  young players that are projected to be pretty good in MLB down the road. I can’t see him doing very much this season, now he will know some of the big teams off in some series as they will out score a team at times. They look like they will score about 6.0 runs per game this year, but they will give up a lot of runs also. Looks like they will have to open some of their young players come up this year in MLB and hope they will be able to compete in the 2010 season.

Woodridge after 3 seasons in the National League, Woodridge has decided to move to the American League this year. They will play in field one all season, and their starting staff is not that bad. They do need some help in the pen it looks to me at this time. As for offense goes, they will be able to steal bases this year but they look like they are lacking with pop on their team. I think Harley will have his team in the hunt this year for a playoff spot.  A lot will have to do with injuries or if the decides to go out and make a trade or two for his team. I think that he won’t go out and work deals and will just try to add to his team via the draft.

Hartford has a new GM this year in Art, so he will have to get his type of players for it. His club looks like the will play most of the year in field one. They were handcuff a little this year in the draft as they only had 5 picks. They did go out and work a deal that sent Sizemore to Chalmette and in return they got Ordonez, Sheets, Wandy Rodriguez and Aaron Boone. The jury is still out on this trade as Sheets once again is hurt and just had an operation on his elbow and they hope he returns by the All-Star break. Art has done 3 deals thus far in NOSL to get the type of players he wants for his club. I would say that they will be a 500 team this year. I don’t think that will be good enough for a playoff spot, but we have a long ways to go before the end of the season.

Birmingham is another team that moved from the National League to the American League this year. Birmingham has completely taken their team apart and rebuilding it this year. They will play in field one for most of the season this year. Their offense doesn’t look very good at this time and looks to me they will only score about 5 runs per game this year. They do have some nice young players on their team at this time and we will just have to see how they progress in MLB this year. They did have 7 draft picks this year and loaded up for the most part with pitchers for their team. I think Ted has gotten a lot of players he wanted for his club as he was very active in the trade market over the offseason. I think he is at least one year if not two seasons away from really being a top contending team.

 

Report as we reach the halfway mark

The 2008 trade season came to an end yesterday, and it was a wild one. Over the past 5 days there have had 21 trades made by the GM’s. The team that was the most active over that period of time was Birmingham as Ted is completely tearing his club apart and gets the type of players he wants on his team.
As for the season goes, both Cohawkin and Marigot Bay are still on top of their division, with Marigot Bay having its way with the teams in his division. From the last report at the 36 game marks they had a 7 game lead over Moosic Mt and have increase that lead to a 19 game lead. Marigot Bay has gone 27-15 from the last report.
In the Ken Griffey division that is another story, Cohawkin still leads that division by 2 games over Chalmette and 5 games over Texas. They have gone 27-15, and the team that has made the biggest move is Texas as they are starting to play better as they have gone 30-12 as they have pass Bremerton in the standings, who is starting to fade in the race.
The American League playoffs picture is starting to show a little more now as we reach the halfway mark. The playoff picture is starting to look like I had predicted it, other than the fact I had picked Southlake to be a wild card team and now that looks like they are out of it at the halfway mark they are 21 games back with a record of 34-44, Jack you aren’t making me look very good buddy. I have to say the team that has really surprised me and I think they now have a very good shot at the division and even a fair shot to with their league title this year in Chalmette. GM Jason Gannon has been very active in the trade market and in the pass month have added these players to his club, J.J. Hardy, Hawpe, Lilly, Mariano Rivera, and Bonds. Both Cohawkin and Texas have stood pat as they have only made one move to add Huff to their team. Texas has made no move at all to improve their team. This division is still up for grabs as any of those 3 teams can win it now.

In the National League it is going pretty much as predicted as both New Orleans and Columbus both have had their way in their division. Cajun’s went from an 11 game lead in last report to a 29 game lead as they went 37-5 which was even better than the 30-6 start they had from the start of the season. They lead the league in almost all stats but one and that is very surprising to me is on defense. They are ranked 8^th in the league, but one of the things that has stood out on defense is that there have only been 19 attempts to steal against them with 13 being successful. Columbus is right behind them in ERA and scoring for the season. As for the wild card spot in the NL, it is just as I had reported at the start of the season this is going to be up for grabs in which 2 teams get those spots. St. Roberts has made several trades to improve their chances by adding Manny, Betancourt, Oliver Perez, and Coste to their club. They went from a 16-20 record on the last report to a record of 40-38, meaning they gone 24-18 and now have a 2 game lead on the pack for a wild card spot. I think with the moves Mike B. has made for his team, will get him a ticket to the dance. The other spot is still up for grabs in my eyes as, Memphis, Birmingham, Upland and Portland all are still in it. I kind of rule out Birmingham as they have decided to look down the road and have started to reshape their team as of now.

 

 

Report at the 36 game mark

            Here is what’s going on thus far into the season. In the AL, the 2 teams, Cohawkin & Marigot Bay. I thought would be in the ALCS, both are leading their divisions. Cohawkin is leading the AL with the best record now at 28-8, but even with that fine record they only have a 3 game lead over Chalmette at 25-11. This division was going to be the toughest division in NOSL this season and that is turning out to be the case. Marigot Bay 22-14 is well in control of their division as they are the only team that is over 500 and they have a 7 game lead Moosic Mt.
          The team that I peg to have the best offense this year in NOSL was Texas, but so far this year they just haven’t been doing the job. I figured this team would score 1000 or even 1100 runs this year. At this time they are on a pace to 810 run with their 5 runs per game this year and they are tied for 7^th place in scoring over all this year.
      Don’t know what is holding this team back with their offense not scoring as I thought they would, they have had problems in close games, and really needs a good stopper. They are 3-5 in one run games and 1-2 in extra inning games. This team seems to be doing well at home, with 13-5 mark, but on the road their MM just isn’t getting the job done with a 7-11 record.
          But we are only at 36 games played and that’s not even 25% of the season, so they are not out of it by any means. I do think something needs to be done in a way of a trade or new MM on the road.
     There are 2 other teams that have surprised me, one that is doing better than I thought they would in Chalmette, and the other not doing as well as I thought they would do in Southlake. Southlake has only won 14 games this year and I thought they would be one of the wild card teams. On the other hand, Chalmette has played really well.
          The 2 wild card teams are going to come out of the Joe Morgan Division as I thought it would be this year. So there is still a dog fight to be fought in that division for those 2 spots.

          In the NL, it is just as I thought it would be with New Orleans and Columbus leading their division. Cajun’s has the best record in the league at 30-6 and they have only lost 1 game to a division rival thus far, and that was to Lake Michigan this past week. They lead NOSL in both offense and pitching; the only thing that has been disappointing to this point of the season is their defense as they have made several errors already. One of the things that jump out and I knew this club was going to have a shot at it is the number of walks and how they don’t strike out a lot. They have a 373 OBP so far this year. They are 6-2 in one run games and 6-0 in extra inning games. They also have the second highest runs per game, with 5.7 and only trail the DH team of Cohawkin with a 6.2 for the season.
          Columbus got off to a slow start but they are in stride now with a 5 game lead over Portland. They are second in both ERA and runs scored in the NL with 5.6 per game. This team has a really good shot to win it all this year. I know that the GM has been out there trying to work a deal of some kind to improve his club. Thus far the GM has been very hasten to trade some of his pitchers, as this is the strength of the team, to get what they need for the club at this time. They have only lost 2 games to teams in their division this year. They haven’t fair to well in close games with a 7-6 in one run games and 4-2 in extra innings.
          As for the wild card teams from this league that is up for grabs as at this time it looks like any team that can play over 500 will make the playoffs this year. Right now the only other 2 teams over 500 are Lake Michigan and Portland at 19-17, Memphis, St. Robert’s and Upland are all in the hunt. I would say it just depends which GM will go out there and make a deal that will help their team get over the hump.
          I still would like to get one of you guys to be the league report for NOSL. This would only take a short write up like about once every month and I know all of you enjoy reading these.

2008 Preseason Predictions

       Time to get down to the prediction of the season. What I will do first is pick the winners of each division then the league champion and last of all, I will then try to predict the NOSL Champion.
          Let start out with the Ken Griffey Division, there is no question in my mind the team that has the best offense in this division and possible in NOSL this year is Texas. However, they do have some issues to address in their pen. They will be a team to reckon with all year long and into the playoffs as I feel this team will make the playoffs. However, they aren’t the team I’m going to pick to win this division; I’m going to go with Cohawkin again this season to repeat as division winner. When I look at these two teams, they are alike in many ways so I have to find the little differences in the two teams. They both can score with power or speed, Texas has more power and Cohawkin is more of a balance team. When I look at each staff, I have to give the edge to Cohawkin, as their pen is so much better than Texas. Cohawkin starting staff has the edge and then on defense Texas has a little advantage there as they will play in field one all season and Cohawkin will be in and out of depending on the line up any day. Therefore, the call for me is Cohawkin to win the Ken Griffey Division again.
          In the Joe Morgan Division I can’t see anyone beating Marigot Bay this season and he will repeat as division champion in 2008 season. I think they will win it by just as many games as last year and that was 20 in the 2007 season. There is no question that they are the cream of the crop in that division this year.
          Therefore, we now know whom I think will win the two division and that will be Cohawkin and Marigot Bay. Now the question is who the two wild card teams are this season. I know when I name these 2 teams as I know who I think will be there I know one owner that will be making a phone call to me asking me if I’m crazy but the way I see it. There is no way I can count Texas out of the playoffs with all they have as Cohawkin and them are very close and I have already gone on record saying they will get 1000 runs maybe 1100 runs this season, so they are one of the wild card teams. For the last spot in the AL, I am going to go with Southlake, I know Jack, has been looking towards the 09 season, but he has enough right now I think to make the playoffs this season. Therefore, there are the four teams I pick for the AL to make the playoffs.
          Now let’s see who I think will win the ALCS this year. This will be tough as there is no question that the AL has a lot more teams that are a lot better than the NL this season. So this isn’t going to be easy, but I am going to say the 2 teams that make this series will be Cohawkin and Marigot Bay will once again like last year play for the ALCS, and out of them, I think the winner will be, Marigot Bay this year will win the AL and play for NOSL Championship

          OK not it’s time to move to the NL and in this league there are two teams that stand out over the rest as all the other teams are building or rebuilding at this time. Therefore, for the Pete Rose Division it will be New Orleans as I think they will win their 3^rd division title in as many years. In the Johnny Bench Division, it will be Columbus to make get their first division win and make the playoffs for the first time in NOSL.
          So that was the easy part of the NL now to pick the other 2 teams that will be the wild card will really be tough as they all could make the playoffs this year. So let’s see if I can break it down and rule out some teams to start with as wild card teams. I think right of we can say that Portland, Lake Michigan, and East Reading will not make it this season to the dance. So that leaves us St. Roberts, Upland, Memphis, Woodridge, and Springfield, (OPEN TEAM), now out of those lets narrow the list some more. Ok so now we are down to 5 teams and out of those 5 I think the one that can win more games over a 500 record will make the playoffs as all of them will be right around 500 for the season. The first team I am going to rule out will be Springfield, they don’t have an owner in place and the new owner may just tear the team apart and build it the way he want his team.
          Out of the other four, the two that stand out the most to me are Memphis and St. Roberts so there are the two wild card teams I think will make the playoffs this season. Now I think that New Orleans and Columbus will play in NLCS. Now it time to see which of these two teams I think have the best chance to go to NOSL Championship Series and I think that Troy has done one hell of a job in building his team over the pass two season and will have his best record this year.
          However, I think he is still a little bit behind New Orleans at this point in time. This is how I see the two teams as both of them are very close to each other and there isn’t much difference I can find in the two teams, but I have found a little edge I think the Cajun’s have over him this year. Cajun’s will play in field one all season, and Columbus will be in field two, Cajun’s look like they will score about 5.75 runs per game, and Columbus looks like about 4.5 and that is the biggest difference I can find in these 2 teams right now. There starting staff are very close to each other and in the pen Cajun’s look to have a little edge there too. Therefore, there are the reasons I pick New Orleans, but anything can happen in a seven game series.

          Therefore, I see the NOSL Championship Series being played between Marigot Bay and New Orleans. Let’s see what I can find with these two teams to separate them from each other. I had to break this down as one team is in the DH and the other non-DH leagues. Therefore, what I did was to set both teams up in the other guy’s league to see what those numbers come out to be with each team.
          Lets look at their staff to start out with as that will be the same no matter which park the game is played in that day. The three starting pitchers are the same rate with Marigot Bay having one starter with an L and that could come into play as that pitcher looks like he will get two starts in a seven game series. In the pen same thing they’re very close with a little edge to the Cajun’s, not much difference there. Now both teams will play in field one at all times so that is the same. Now when I look at the offensive side of the line this is what I found about the two teams.
          Let’s look at if the games are played in the non DH Park, Cajun’s look like they will score about 6.5 runs per game and Pirates will score about 5.7, edge to NO. When you look at the DH Park, Cajun’s look like about 7.1 runs per game and Pirates 6.9 so that is close there. So that means depending who gets the home field advantage could come into play as if NO gets it they have the better offense without a DH, with the DH they both are very close.
          So that factor isn’t know as of yet but if it turns out that Cajun’s have the best record I have to favor them as they will have the home field advantage. Now I have to think that New Orleans will end up with a better record during the season as the NL only has one team in it that the Cajun’s have to be afraid of when playing. Marigot Bay isn’t that lucky as there are several good teams in the NL so with that in mind I will go with New Orleans repeating as NOSL Championship Team for the second season.

          I hope you owners enjoyed reading what my thought are on the season, and please remember, anything I may have said about your team was not to be offensive to any GM as I try to be honest and call it the way I see it. I may be right and I may be wrong but it is an honest review, you got from me on your team as of now. We all know injuries and trades will come into play during the season and any things dealing with either could change things completely as so many teams are so close to each other that one of those factors changes everything.

          Guys  hope you enjoy the 2008 season, once again I do apologize to the league for not getting us going on time, but I think all owners understand I had some health problems that had to be dealt with before I was willing to commit myself to running NOSL as the commissioner. You guys enjoy the season

Jerry Whitson
NOSL Commissioner
         

 

2008 Team Write Up
Johnny Bench Division

          St. Roberts is in the rebuilding mode too, as many of the teams is in the National League. Looks like their team will only score about 5 runs per game and that’s not real bad in a non-DH league but it isn’t enough fire power to win a division championship this season. This club is in both of need of power and speed so Mike has his work cut out in front of him. I know I spoke to him a couple of times today and he is another owner that is all excited about the league and he told me he knows he  has a bad team this year, but still feels he will have a good time in NOSL this season. They will play in field 2 all season, and this won’t help the staff, as they will have C’s and D’s for starting pitchers this season. Things done get much better in the pen, they do have a couple of quality RP this season in Marmol, R. Perez, and Mahay but they are very thin in the pen and with that starting staff I think they will be called on a lot this season. If this team does have the lead late in a game, they should be able to hang on to it for a win. This team is year or two away from really having what Mike wants on his team

          Portland looks like they will score some runs this year as they look to have a team that will get around 6 runs per game, but will have to platoon some of their players this year. They will play in field 2 on defense all season and that won’t help their staff either. They will be starting for the most part C’s & D’s this season, as they still have to put their staff together. Noel is still putting his team together in the NL too. His pen isn’t that strong this year or deep so he will have to try and out score teams but this club will be in the hunt for a wild card spot this year. Look for better things down the road for this team.

          Woodridge after winning NOSL Championship the first season has been trying to get back on track and this year looks the same to me. Their offense look like it needs plenty of help as I can’t see this team scoring more than 4.5 runs per game for the season. They will play in field 2 all season so that won’t help their staff. Their starting pitcher has a B, C and then it’s D’s for most of the load and that’s not going to help them either. Their pen is just as bad as the rest of the team and this looks like it will be a very long season for them. This club has gone from winning it all in 06 with a record of 108-54, 06 they made the playoffs with a record of 88-74 and this year I just see things getting worst for them. I know Harley is a real APBA nut and he takes his hobby serious. Therefore, I would say he will be looking to turn this around some kind of way. They don’t have much cap room right now and they only have 10 players’ contracts ending at the end of the 08 season. Not sure, what he has in mind to do with his club to stop this slide they are on, but I know he will come up with something.

          Upland another team in the rebuilding mode this season and he doesn’t look to be in much better shape than the other teams in the NL this season. Looks like maybe 4.5 runs per game. Defense will be in field 2 all year. Starting staff C’s and a pen that is almost non existing. They do have a couple of stars they will build the team around in Wright, Bay, Furcal, and J. Weaver so they have a start gut a lot of parts need to be added to this team. Rocco seems to be the type of owner to me that will get the job done, but it will take a couple of seasons for him to really beagle to contend for a playoff spot.

          Columbus Troy has spent 2 seasons in taking his licking with his team. He has improved his club each season and did win the GM award for his job last season. This year his team is even better and will be a very hard team to beat. On offense, they have power and speed evenly balance. They look like they won’t score a lot of runs as they look to me to be in the range of 4.5 runs per game. Now they will play in field two, all season and that will hurt them a little. However, with this staff starting with their starting pitching may be the best in the league. They have four B’s for their starters so they will hold the other teams down in scoring and they will need to do this against the Cajun’s. Their pen is very deep and they have enough there where they can shut down rallies when they are started late in a game. If this club sticking with it starters late into games and that he will then make their pen even stronger. I can’t see this team not winning their division and making the playoffs for the first time in NOSL. Should be a very interesting and fun year for them.

 

Pete Rose Division

          New Orleans is NOSL defending champion and this year’s team looks like it is better than last year’s club. There are only two returning starters on this team in Lowell and Castillo. Their starting four are all new this season and better pitchers than last year. Same with the pen it has been reworked some as they have added Nathan, Moylan, Betancourt, and Lidge to their pen. This team has no weakness as they can beat you with speed and they have a fair amount of pop. They are well balance and look like they will score about 6.5 runs per game and that is going to put them around 1000 runs and for a non-DH team that is strong. They should win their division for the 3^rd season. I think this team can win it all they will have a team that is just as good as they are if not better in Columbus to have to deal with this season. In addition, if they do make it to the Championship Series there will be a very strong team comes out of the American league. If I had to pick the weakness of this team, I would have to say it is in the power department.

          Open Team this club played in the League Championship Series last year but I can’t see them getting to that series this year as I don’t see where they have enough to get by both the Cajun’s or Columbus. They should be in the hunt for a playoff spot as after the two top teams in the league, it is up for grabs on the two wild card spots as I think both division have been decided before a game has been played. It’s somewhat hard to say what this team will or won’t do this season, as it doesn’t have an owner in place at this time. I do think this will be a rebuilding year for this team for the reason I mention above.

          East Reading has a new owner and GM this season, Scott has really been into this league as a new owner, and he are building his team to his liking too. He does have some stars on it to build around in, Zimmerman and Kazmir but he will have to add a lot more to his team than he has at this time. But they have only went through the draft for the first time and didn’t have many picks in it as the owner before him traded them all away and they got  Hu, 24,  out of it and I’m sure they will get a lot more next season from the draft. They didn’t get really anything out of the auction so this team still has a lot of work in front of them but I think that Scott is the type of owner I like to see in NOSL as he is excited about being in the league and he really doesn’t have much of a team at this time.

          Lake Michigan is another team that needs some work to their club. I know that Dave has been busy and hasn’t had time to put the time needed into his team. I’m sure he wishes he had more time to devote to his hobby, as at this time that is what this team needs the most is an active GM. They do has a very good players in Guerrero who really needs to be traded I think to allow him to add more good players to his team. The problem that Dave has had in that is the 20.2 mil he is paying this player. So he going to have to keep him but I think GM Dave understands that he should of spent that 20 mil more wisely than he did all on one player. So now, he is paying the price for that mistake in my eyes. The only thing owners can do with players that have salaries like this if they want to try to move this player is to eat some of the salary and try to get a little cap room and a couple of good players from another team. Other than that, they have their hands tied until his contract runs out in 2012, so some tough and hard decisions have to be made by Lake Michigan management if they want to get out the jam they are in at this time.

          Memphis this is a team that I think will surprise many teams. They don’t look like they are real good but I have run a lot of sim already this year and this team always seems to do well. Now you do have to remember in the National League there are 2 teams at this time that are heads and shoulders over the rest of the League, but those other teams all can beat each other and there is no telling who will be in the playoffs as wild card teams this year. When you look at this club, they have people like Utley, Hawpe, Abreu, and Rolen. Their starting pitching is nothing to brag about nor is their pen. Yet they do very well all the time so I have to say this club is going to make the playoffs this season. One of the things you people don’t know about Walt is last year he was sick and I had to look after his team all season. This year his health is better and he is having a ball with his team and is really into it this year and I think he will be rewarded for his efforts.

Joe Morgan Division

          Moosic Mt. looks to me this isn’t the year for Joe and his team as he needs both pop and  some speed, looks like he will score about 5.5 runs but in a DH league that’s not a good number. As for his defense, they will play in field 1 all season and that will have helped their staff. The starting pitching looks like all C’s starting pitching for the season. The pen has depth and quality to it; I would say this is their strength of the team at this time. If they can keep games close until the late innings, I think they can win their share. I wouldn’t count them out of a playoff spot, but they look more as if they will play the spoiler roll this season.

          Marigot Bay to me looks like a very good team from top to bottom and that is no surprise to me with Dan as the GM of this team. I would say they will score six plus runs a game this season and that comes to right at 1000 runs this season. There are many teams in the American league that will break the runs scored for a season this year. This team can beat you with its speed and its power. They will play in field 1 all season and that can only help their staff, which is a good one. They have three full time B’s and then C’s to fill in after them. The pen has a ton of depth to it and there is some quality in it. This team just doesn’t look to me to have a weakness anywhere. If I had to pick where they are the weakness at this time, I would say it has to be their starting staff. Look for this team to be around in the playoffs for a while this year and they have all the parts they need to win a championship this season.

          MetroMess I think this is another rebuilding year. They do have some talent on this team in Fielder, Giles, Pence, Oswalt, and Willis but just not enough to make this team a real threat to the better clubs. They will surprise a team here and there in a series, but just not enough horses yet to win it all and I don’t see them in the hunt for a playoff spot this season. Andy I know he knows baseball, as he is baseball coach. Where I see the problem with this team is not enough attention paid to them. The GM lose about 10 mil in funds last season and this year he is trying to keep that from happening again to their team as he has put more time into it this year. As I think, he realizes if he wants to compete in NOSL, you will have to put time into your team. The bad thing for Andy is he has his busy part of the year with his high school baseball team at this time of year.

          Antelope River this is another team that has some nice players but still have some work to do with their club to really have a chance at winning it all. Their offense looks like it will get about 5.5 runs per game and that’s just not enough in the DH league. They are in need of some power, and do have a lot of speed on this team. Their defense will play in field 2 all season and that isn’t going to help their staff as Penny is the Ace of it but after him, we don’t have many starts with starting pitching. Same goes for the pen, they are weak in shallow. I’m sure Penny will win some games this year, but this team just doesn’t have enough to compete this season for a playoff spot. This club’s GM did the same thing as MetroMess lost a lot of cap money last year in not getting more players for his team and then when the new season came they lost a lot of money. Mike this year has taken notice of this and he too is trying to spend some money this year for his team. Therefore, that’s a good sign and this will help this team in rebuilding.

          Ganglion this is going to be an interesting team to watch the next couple of years as John was in the league last season but didn’t have the time to put into his team because of business. He has more time this year and I have spoke to him many times and he is excited that he has the time and is really getting into NOSL this season. I’m happy to see this and he has decided he will tear the team apart and start all over and fill it with players he wants on his team. In fact, he is the first owner to draft a college player and he drafted two of them this year. Therefore, you can see he is looking down the road some. He does have A-rod that he got in the auction this year and will build around him. Hafner is another good one but has been slipping a little in MLB, same with Eric Chavez, he has Magglio but he is getting older and on his down wards side of his career. He isn’t what you would think a GM would want on a team that is a couple of years away from winning anything in NOSL. This team does have a lot of needs and they only have a salary of right 85 mil so they have enough cap room they can add some more good players to this team next year.

 

Ken Griffey Division

            Texas let’s start on the offensive side of the line for Fontana. They do have one hell of an offense this season the record for most runs scored in one season is 985 runs by Marigot Bay last season. I cannot see anyway this team will not score 1000 runs this year, in fact they could score 1100 runs, so that is the strength of this team. They will be able to score with both speed and the long ball. They look as if they will score more than seven runs per game and that comes to 1134 runs.
          When you look at their defense surprising to me, they will play in field 1 this year for the most part. Looks like from time to time they may dip into field two but this was a real surprise. There starting staff isn’t that bad as they will have 3 B’s and they have 2 C’s so that isn’t bad for a team. However, where they have to see about adding some help to this club is on the pen. In the pen, their big stopper is Billy Wagner but he is only rated at 16 this season and after that, Jenks and Otsuka will try to get the ball to him. There pen is not very deep and I see this team losing a most of their games this season in late innings. I also think they will have a losing record when it comes to 1-run games.
          This team is going to try and out score their opponents this year and with the long ball, you know some days that is there and others it is not there for a team. As I have been telling John all off-season I think his team will score that 1000 runs but he may end up giving up 800-900 runs this year too. Would not take much in a way of a deal or two for this team to win it all this year and in a short series anybody can win.

          Cohawkin is loaded with speed and has some pop but nowhere near, the speed they have on their club. They look like the will score about 5.8 runs per game and that is in a DH league. They will play in field 2 all season so that won’t help the nice staff they have this year. Their starting pitchers are one of the best in the league as they have three A’s and a couple of B’s on the starting staff. Now in the pen they are not as good, they do have one of the best stoppers in the game for the past couple of season in MLB in Papelbon. Ed’s team was the runner up in NOSL last year and I think they will make the playoffs and once there with that starting staff they could go a long ways in the playoffs. I kind of think what Ed has now he will have the season as Ed isn’t the type of owner to make too many moves so I think this is his club for the 2008 season and they might not have enough to overtake Fontana

          Bremerton looks to me that this is a rebuilding year for their team. Looks to me they have needs in several areas and will have to fill a couple of positions by committee. They do have some nice stars on this team, Ichiro, Matsui, Sizemore so you can see they have a nice outfield and have some younger players that can play out there too. This may be an area that they could improve the overall of the team by trading from their outfields. They have 2 C’s on the starting staff and the rest are D’s so that is going to be a problem all season and then when you look at their pen there isn’t much help there either. Granted they have Putz and a couple others that can help but not real deep and with that starting staff, I think they need to add some depth to their pen.

           Chalmette when I look at this team the first thing that strikes me is they will have problems against right handed pitchers in the league and most starting pitchers are right handed so that doesn’t sit real well with me. They look like they will score about 5.5 runs per game and in the DH league that does not sound like a good number to me. They do not have very much in the way of stealing bases and creating runs. They do have some pop but nowhere near the pop they had in 2006 when they set NOSL home run record with 302 dinger’s. They will play in field 1 this season as Jason has made a great effort to try to improve his defense over the past 2 seasons. This will go a long ways in helping his pitching staff. He does have one of the top pitchers in the league this year in Peavy rated at 16, with two B’s to help carry the load. After those, he will have C’s for starters. In the pen, he has a very nice and balance pen with lefty and righty he can use to help shut down a rally. Their stopper this year will be Romero and one of the things that I noticed about his pen and would concern me if this were my team, as there are a lot of W’s in it. This team will be in the hunt all season and may win a playoff spot, but I do not think they will go very far this season.

          Southlake I have to start out with this as I have been watching Jack and I have to say I think he has done the best job in NOSL this year in the draft. I know he and I spoke before it started as he said this is one part of leagues he enjoys the most and now I can see why he enjoys it so much. Jack and I have spoke to each other at different times this year and I know he is looking towards the 2009 season to win it all and that is his game plan at this time. He has a nice offense and looks to me he will score 6.5 runs this season and that should be enough to win him a lot of games as that would put him in the neighborhood of 1000 runs this season. His team will play in field one all season so that is a plus for his staff. His staff looks like this with his starting pitchers, a team that has some very solid C’s for the team. I know he has a couple of B’s but they won’t be able to go the entire season. His pen is fair at best when you look around at other teams this year. I know Jack isn’t looking for a lot out of his club, but I can tell you guys this, he will be a team that will determined the winner of the Ken Griffey Division. I also think that he has a good shot at the playoffs this season.