Addicted Users Season 74 NL Preview

 

Addicted Users Season 74 NL Preview

 

NL North

 

Boise Demolition (86-76)

While they made the playoffs, it was a brief appearance.  The second-best batting average in the league is normally a good thing, however, scoring runners once they got on was not.  To compound the issue, the pitching staff struggled and gave up more runs that the team scored so finishing above .500 was an interesting contradiction.

Nothing major was done to change the roster, except the addition of Burks and Montgomery.  They should be good additions that improve the performance of the pitching staff with the hope that the offense can gel better to improve the run production

 

Detroit Tigers (61-101)

A 100 loss season is never a good thing and at first glance the struggles of both the offense and the pitching staff show why it happened.  A team that scores 800 runs has an excellent chance of making the playoffs.  Score only 614 and there is little chance of a playoff appearance, score 614 and allow 794 runs makes the mountain too high to climb.

Management has been patient and seems to have accepted the need to hold the line as prospects continue to develop in the minors.  This will be another long summer in Motown, yet fans should remain hopeful that the pain will end very soon when the time is right.

 

Minnesota Grape Ape (92-70)

The offense is near the top of the league, using a power attack to score enough runs to take home the division title.  The staff was in the top half of the league, had a sub 4.00 ERA, and kept their opponents from scoring to give the thumpers the time to break the big bats out.

This is another team that didn’t change a lot of personnel during the offseason and plans to run the same group out hoping for improvements from the current roster.  There is talent on the farm, but the best players won’t be ready until at least next season.

 

Pittsburgh Ellis D’s (68-94)

The pitching staff leads the way for this team.  The hurlers pulled their weight while limiting opponents to 738 runs scored, however the offense couldn’t convert baserunners thereby dooming Pittsburgh to a sub .500 record.

Last season’s roster returns with only minor alterations.  That means this season’s results should be more of the same.  There is a silver lining though, the team does have ML prospects nearly ready to contribute to the big league club, so the future will be better.

 

NL East

 

Burlington Merchants (76-86)

In a surprise move, ownership was changed twice before the season began so this team has not been shaped in the manner management may have wanted.  The offense needs to find an identity as it didn’t show a lot of power, speed, or ability to get on base.  The pitching staff didn’t put up great numbers, but it did enough to have made a good run at .500.

The additions to the offense look like stopgaps at best and won’t be enough to fix the problems, so adjustments may be necessary in the offseason.  The players added to the pitching staff appear to have a better chance to make a difference this season.  Fortunately, pitching help is being developed in the minors, the prospects to help the offense isn’t as deep.

 

Columbus 1492 (66-96)

Scoring 618 runs and allowing 847 is not a recipe that will get a team into the playoffs.  Therefore, wholesale changes need to be implemented.  Martis was added from the FA market and Sucre was picked up in the Rule 5 draft, so while the number of players added was not huge, the two selected were a good start.

The recent struggles of this franchise brought high draft picks, and those picks appear to have been used wisely.  An influx of homegrown talent should start arriving to the majors very soon and flipped this teams fortunes.

 

 

London Rippers (81-81)

A sub 4.00 ERA is what all teams strive for, unfortunately the offense wasn’t able to hold up their end in the same manner.  So any additions to the pitching would just add to the strength of this team.  Additions to the offense would just narrow the talent gap between the two units.

However, management thought the bullpen needed some extra help and added a few arms.  It was also felt that a strong defensive catcher would also improve and help the staff.  The question becomes how will the offense improve on last season’s performance to make up the distance between London and the playoff teams?  Eventually, that support will come from the farm, but probably not this season.

 

Trenton Thunder (83-79)

The pitching staff was a true strength of this team, however, with 26 blown saves there is a need to find a way to do a better job closing out games.  A tighter handle on this position could have turned this into an elite team.  In addition, some upgrades to the offense would go a long way towards helping improve the Thunder.

With few moves made in the offseason and most of the help in the minors on the pitching side, they will need to rely on the arms to carry this team.  But moving a few arms for a few bats may be a way to shift the offense into a higher gear.

 

NL South

 

Huntington Moon Mammoths (84-78)

200+ HRs, nearly 800 runs scored, and a solid .266 batting average are normally things to indicate a playoff team.  Yet the Mammoths fell short, which places at least some of the blame on the mound with the pitching staff.  A 4.02 ERA is good, however last season that was only a little better than the league average and 19 blown saves didn’t help propel then out of 3^rd place and an early vacation.

Ownership showed a lot of faith in this team’s core as only some minor tinkering was done with the big moves being the acquisition of a SP & RP off the FA market.  Another pitcher was selected from the Rule 5 draft, but he appears to be more of a project.  This may be enough to get them into the hunt or doom them to another early vacation in the Bahamas.

 

Jacksonville Five (86-76)

This North Florida franchise was lucky to finish as well as they did.  Both the offense and pitching staff finished in the middle of the pack.  Having scored only 8 more runs than allowed with almost 80 of those runs unearned, standard thinking would have guessed this team was sub .500 fighting to avoid 100 losses.  So the game management was excellent and got everything from the production they received to keep this team winning only losing out on a playoff trip through a tiebreaker.

A solid bullpen arm was added, and possibly a decent pitching prospect through the Rule 5 draft.  Little else was changed so it will be interesting to see if this team can build on last season’s record or slip back a little.

 

Oklahoma City Scorpions (96-66)

The three-time defending division champs won in a very unusual way.  They had the second-best pitching staff in the league, while having the third worst offense.  A team that holds opponents to a paltry 615 runs scored, doesn’t need a lot of run production.

Little was done to change the roster even with the offensive deficiencies the team feels strong that bringing back the same roster is the best move to go forward with.  But before you shed any tears for a 96-win team, there are more arms on the way, and the farm has some offensive weapons waiting in the wings to reinforce the big league club.

 

Tampa Bay Oranges (63-99)

Allowing over 800 runs puts a huge strain on your offense to score runs.  Scoring less than 650 runs puts a huge strain on a pitching staff.  When both struggle like this in the same season the results won’t be good and they weren’t.

While this team has had prolonged struggles, they have also been stockpiling talent.  There appears to be a couple of holes in their organization that can’t be filled by current MiL players so that leaves two questions: First – When will the troops in the minors be let loose on the NL.  And second – will they try to fill any holes via the trade or FA markets.  Keep your eyes open for future developments.

 

NL West

 

San Francisco Titans (82-80)

The Titans seem to be dialed in with their pitching staff, however, trying to reduce the number of blown saves would be a good strategy.  Adding to the shore up the offense should be a higher priority though as they didn’t show a lot of power, nor did they get on base a lot.

Brinkley was brought in to pump up the bullpen, Bocachica should add a power boost if he can pull the ball more.  There is some talent in the minors, however, big bats are in short supply at this point.

 

Santa Cruz Control (92-70)

The Control brought the top pitching staff in the NL to the party.  They also had a top five offense which makes their 92 wins a bit lower than expected in my opinion, even more so when you add in a team tied for the top defensive slot. 

With few holes to fill, only minor tweaks were made.  This may be because the minors hold some gems that should help improve an already solid team.

 

Tucson Force (107-55)

A team that wins 107 games has few things to fix, yet their closer role could use an upgrade to reduce their 20 blown saves.  The offense is stellar and was in the hunt for 1000 runs scored making the blown saves of little concern until the playoffs.

However, it is rare that a team doesn’t make any moves so it’s not surprising that Tucson added another bat and, albeit not a closer, another bullpen arm. 

 

Vancouver Zephyrs (73-89)

Both the bats and pitching put up average numbers and that landed them an little below average record.  The team has a definite power shortage as it had the fewest homers in the league.  The strength of the pitching staff was in the pen where they converted 51 of 64 save opportunities.  Bring in a few longball threats and some upgrades to the starting rotation should be the focus.

Cortez was the only dip into the free agent pool; he does have 20+ HR power so that helps reduce a weakness.  The farm has some talent but it’s not well stocked so either the team will have to take a slow build approach using the draft or make additional moves in the FA market to help build a team that can compete with the powerhouse from Tucson.

Addicted Users Season 74 AL Preview

 

Addicted Users Season 74 AL Preview

 

AL North

 

Chicago Boomers (70-92)

The boys on the northside didn’t bring big time bats to the battle last season.  Their league low .237 batting average coupled with a sub .300 OBP, kept them from striking fear in their opponents.  Their pitching staff was more middle of the road with a 4.39 ERA allowed them to win 71 games.

Ownership appears to have felt the need to make wholesale changes as several veterans were allowed to move on, a few players were brought in, but more changes will be needed to get this team into the playoff picture.  There are players in the minors that may be of help, yet they need more time to develop, and it is yet to be seen if they will arrive in time to help the vets now on the roster make a move into playoff contender.

 

Cincinnati Adena (82-80)

The offense was a little above league average while the pitching was a bit below.  For the last four seasons the Adena have hovered around .500 in a baseball equivalent of purgatory that makes it difficult to make the jump into a World Series hopeful.

However, this was also identified by the team and several FA’s were brought in to help rectify the team’s shortcomings, none bigger than the addition of Frank Ishii.

 

Salt Lake City Occidentals (84-78)

The defending division champs need to find a way to put more distance between them and their division mates.  A team batting average of .259 was disappointing, yet the 800 runs scored were a pleasant surprise.  The pitching staff posted a 4.03 team ERA, making it the backbone of the team.

There have been few additions made in the off season so it appears management will be going to battle with the same group.  With only a handful of players under 30, this is a more mature team and while there is a chance they can improve on last season’s numbers, it is also possible that some of the older players experience a regression.

Toronto FC Dinamo (57-105)

The last seven seasons have been a struggle with sub .500 finishes each year and two ending with 100 losses.  A .259 batting average and a 5.02 ERA are not a recipe for a playoff team. 

Alfredo Almodova (P) & Tike Marshall (2B) are solid additions, fans will just wish they had been added earlier in their careers.  The other players picked up may be helpful, but the jury will be out on them for a while.  However, the good news is that there is help coming in the minors.  Most likely it will take two seasons for them all to be ready to contribute at the ML level, so have patience and faith Dinamo fans.

 

AL East

 

Boston Beacon Hillers (88-74)

The defending division champs had a solid offense, yet just a little short of the top run producing teams.  Finding a way to get more productive AB’s to push more runs across the plate.

A lead leading defense helped the pitching staff, yet the team struggled to a middle of the road ERA.  This may have been addressed with a handful of FA additions, unfortunately, Jackson Forster won’t be of any help to start the season as he recovers from an injury and if he doesn’t fully recover, even then he may not be the player they intended to acquire.

 

New York Torrones (86-76)

This team fell just short of the division title and the playoffs.  It simply needs more.  The offense and the defense was near the middle of the pack and both will need infusions of better performances from each of these groups.

Little was done in the FA or trade markets, so management is betting they have the internal solutions to push this team over the hill in the division and playoffs.  It’s a bold move, however, will the gamble payoff.

 

San Juan Swingers (76-86)

The combination of power and some speed enabled this team to score nearly 850 runs and smack 227 HRs.  So, then it must have been the pitching staff that caused this team to finish under .500.  Yes, that was the case, but more specifically it was the struggles of the rotation that doomed this team to its place in the standings.  The starting 5 all finished with ERA’s over 4.00 putting additional strain and workload on the bullpen.

There will be 9 new faces on the ML roster to start the season.  Such a large turnover of personnel is not commonplace, and it will need to be seen if this transition will take time to jell and if it will show a marked improvement.

 

Rochester Renegades (66-96)

This team can hit as their team’s batting average shows.  Getting runners across the plate wasn’t as prevalent as one might expect with that type of production.  The rotation sports 5 workhorse inning eaters.  The problem is that a couple of additions to the starting staff would be wise to push the bottom 2 into new roles that they may be more productive in.

In an unusual move, FA’s have been brought in, but they are all 30 or over making it appear the team is a win now mode.  For a team finishing in the basement and narrowly avoiding a 100-loss season, this is not a typical direction to take.  Following how this plays out will be an interesting case study.

 

AL South

 

Charleston Lumpies (65-97)

The Lumpies need an influx of talent to help the offense rebound from a .248 average and less than 700 runs scored.  The pitching staff also struggled with an ERA way too close to 5.00.

A rebuild is needed and while some additions were acquired via the FA market, they appear to be stopgap measures instead of big-name pickups.  It appears the fans in Charleston will need to wait as talent is brought in from the draft to fill holes and upgrade this team so it can return to the playoff hunt.

 

Houston Oilers (90-72)

The Oilers are an interesting team.  Stuck in a division with a steamroller franchise like Texas, with a staff carrying a 4.98 ERA, and a middle of the road team batting average, this team finished 2^nd in their division and a game out of the wild card race to miss the playoffs after nine consecutive appearances.

Power helped this team overcome other shortcomings.  With nearly 300 HRs, scoring runs was not a problem.  So, the team added a few arms and bats in FA and hope that will allow them to again reach the century mark in wins to get them back into the division race and playoff frenzy.

 

Kansas City Athletics (71-91)

A top 5 pitching staff matched with a top 3 fielding club should yield more than 71 runs.  Obviously, the offense must have had something to do with it.  A bottom 3 team batting average produced bottom three runs scored.  Playoff teams typically score 800 or more runs in a season, non-playoff teams score 641 runs like the Athletics.

The return of Glenn Holloway from the DL should dramatically improve the offense if he can shake off the cobwebs and regain the range to once again patrol CF.  Little else was done to improve the offense however, Cunningham & Victorino should upgrade the lineup when they’re penciled in.  The pitching staff was upgraded from within, to save some cost and provide an opportunity for some young blood.

 

Texas Tornados (111-51)

Two championships in three seasons, the top offensive team, pitching staff, and a top 4 defense are all that needs to be said about this juggernaut from Texas.  The most difficult task ownership will have is keeping this group together as the payroll undoubtedly will rise with continued success.

As previously mentioned, this team has been firing on all cylinders for the past few seasons and little was done to change last year’s team, of course that is because little needed to be done.  However, as long time owners know, standing pat is a slippery slope and doesn’t always yield the results anticipated and hoped for.

 

AL West

 

Anaheim Fighting Trouts (93-69)

The pitching takes center stage in Orange County as they boast the 2^nd best ERA and were strong enough to compensate for a pedestrian offense that surpassed reasonable expectations by scoring over 800 runs while allowing less than 700.  In a strong division that includes both Iowa City & Arizona the need to improve is a constant thing to keep up with the competition.

Only one new player will grace this season’s roster.  This means the hope is that more can be extracted from the players than they produced last season.  If not, there is little ready in the minor leagues to bolster the team if it struggles so this will be a boom or bust year.

 

Arizona Hikers (91-61)

A solid defense supported a stellar pitching staff, allowing a potent offense to score more than enough for a victory.  The problem of course is that they spend the season battling in what could be the toughest division in AU.

Six new players were brought in to fortify the roster including two pitchers.  Only time will tell if these were the right moves and will help lift them to the top of the division.

 

Iowa City Gold Socks (97-65)

The 2^nd highest batting average in the AL with the 2^nd highest total of runs scored, allowed this team to take the number two seed in the playoffs.  However, the pitching staff allowed opponents to score 819 runs making them little more than a speed bump in the ALDS vs Texas.

Not a lot of changes have been made to the roster as management hopes relocating to Iowa will help level the playing field for the hurlers.  Yet the additions of Ramirez, Suzuki & Torres are seen as marked improvements that will boost this season’s team with championship aspirations.

 

Salem Bearcats (69-93)

The offense had a good season.  .270 average, 191 dingers, 814 runs scored.  Unfortunately, this game also requires pitching and the Bearcats fell short in that regard.  A league worse 5.04 ERA and 888 runs allowed paint a dismal picture and were more than the offense could overcome.

This season’s pitching staff will have some reinforcement help from the farm system which should put last season’s struggles in the rearview mirror making them seem like a bad dream.  The good news gets better with fact that more upgrades are on the way from the minors so the future should be bright in Salem.

Season 73 Playoff Wrap Up

 

Addicted Users Season 73 Playoff Wrap-Up

 

As always, the regular season was an endurance test to see which teams would survive to fight in the playoff battle. 

 

The AL playoffs were split into quick affairs and tough battles.  Arizona quickly dispatched Salt Lake City only to be on the same short end of the stick when they were swept by Texas.  On the other side of the bracket, Boston came out of a tough series with Anaheim to then go the full 5 games against Albuquerque.  This seems to take a lot of steam out of them when they ran into the buzzsaw from Texas that put them away 4-1 in the ALCS.

 

The NL Play In series were both won 3-1 as Santa Cruz beat Trenton and Minnesota defeated Boise.  The winners didn’t fare well in the NLDS as they were eliminated 3-1, Tucson topping Trenton, and 3-0, with Oklahoma City beating Minnesota.  Finally, the NLCS provided a glimpse at some tough playoff baseball with Tucson coming out on top to earn a spot in the World Series.

 

Both top seeds survived the early rounds to fight it out for the postseason hardware.  Unfortunately for Tucson, Texas showed how they had been able to dominate the AL by winning in a relatively easy fashion, 4 games to one.

 

Texas took home its second title in 3 seasons and has won 327 games in those 3 seasons.  alogman1 has a dynasty on his hands and it’s the rest of the worlds job to take his team down.  Can he repeat or will someone else have the right stuff to interfere with his run?