ACLS Prediction: St. Louis Redbirds defeat Charlotte Dukies
North:
St. Louis Redbirds
The Redbirds were the SPN pick to win it all last season, and they were pretty close. They lost in Game 7 of the ALCS to the eventual WS Champions. They are still the class of the AL North, and contenders in the AL. Barring some kind of meltdown, the division should be won by the Redbirds easily; last season they won by a comfortable 22 games. Though the loss of Lonny Sanchez was tough, the pitching rotation is plenty deep. Its probably the second best rotation in the AL, led by All Stars Phil Leonard and Carter Maybin, and the strength of the team. More pressure will be on young starter Boone Hauser to assume the #3 spot vacated by Sanchez. The offense will still be led by the young infield of Ramiro Campos, Javier Lee and Edinson Maradona as well as RF Ronnie Salmon who has established himself and a very good player in the league. Most experts think that Ross Henley, acquired from New Orleans, will get the call-up this season and likely end up in LF. The other major offseason moves were to shore up the bullpen. Veteran reliever Luis Gonzalez was signed away from Chicago and former All Star and Fireman of the Year, JB Romano, was acquired in a trade with San Diego.
SPN Prediction: 95-67
East:
Philadelphia Stomp
The East has been the toughest, deepest division in the league for a long time. Three teams from the division are always battling each other to win the division crown, and its not unusual to see three AL East teams in the playoffs. Even as Baltimore's dynasty has slowly crumbled and they've fallen out of contention, Kansas City has risen to make the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Its been the Philadelphia Stomp though, who have been the class of the AL over the last six seasons. They've won three Pennants, and finally captured the organizations first WS title last season. The organization is one of the best run in SPL, and the teams International Scouting is the envy of the league. Their Latin American pitching academy has given the team a wealth of pitching depth and the best rotation in the league. The Champs returning team will largely be the same. During the offseason, few moves were made that impacted the ML squad, but they did further reinforce the farm system pitching depth. The Stomp did, perhaps, make the quietest very good FA signing of the offseason though. Former 5-time World Series champion and 3-time All Star Tony Espinosa inked a one year deal. Now 36 years old, he really can't be relied upon to make more than an occasional spot start. That's not what the Stomp have in mind though, and have asked him to become a stopper in the bullpen. He still has plenty of stuff left in the tank, and should be excellent in his new role. There are a number of young starting pitchers, like Wally Douglass and Pedro Castro, who could be ready for the ML, but simply won't have the chance unless somebody on the big league roster gets injured. The big story though, that will hang over the teams head all season, is the contract situation of 4-time Cy Younger Quilvio Lee. He is a free agent at the end of the season, and rumors are that he has indicated to the team he will not sign an extension and is determined to test the free agent waters. There have been rumblings, much to the chagrin of the Stomp fans, that the team responded by quietly shopping him around. Although any contender would love to have Lee leading their staff, it appears as though (for now) no team is able or willing to pay the high price that would be needed for what could be a single season rental. Then the question becomes will Lee move on this offseason? Or is Philly willing to give him the max contact that he would definitely get on the open market? With players being constantly asked about the Lee situation, and coming off a World Series high, it wouldn't be surprising at all if the Stomp had a down season.
SPN Prediction: 100-62
South:
New Orleans Jazz
This division should go down to the wire between Charlotte and New Orleans, and could go either way. The Jazz always are in the mix. As usual they were one of the most active teams in the trading market, even though it was a pretty slow offseason overall. The Jazz have a very balanced team. Patrick Venters, in his first full season in New Orleans will likely play himself into the face of the franchise and star of the team. Kordell Russell, acquired from St. Louis, gives the team a solid ML 3B. While the pitching rotation lacks a true #1 ace, all five of the team's starters are solid, with Kang, Koloff and Martin at the top, all of whom are capable of getting into a couple All Star games during their careers. The team is built with a number of saavy, veteran players such as Randall Bryant and Bernie Pineda but there are a few young players scattered on the roster to give the team a good mix of young and old.
SPN Prediction: 93-70
West:
Anaheim Pepper Pickers
The Pepper Pickers won the division fairly comfortably, by 12 games, last season. The team is mostly the same key players. Alex Chen is gone now, and has signed in Iowa City while veteran Alfredo Tejada was signed to bring depth and experience to the starting rotation. Anaheim is a solid team, and should be considered a dark horse in the AL for the next season or two. The problem this squad is going to run into pretty soon is father time. All five of the teams starting pitchers are 32 or older. All of the team's key position players are 30 or older. The team's bench isn't particularly strong, and the farm system is very shallow. If the team is blessed with good health, they could do some really good things. With a key injury or two though, it could struggle. The team could be really dangerous with a midseason upgrade at either of the middle infield positions, though the Pepper Pickers don't have too much in the way of tradable assets, so its unlikely the team would be able to make an impact trade. The team is balanced, with solid pitching both in the rotation and the bullpen, though there probably isn't a All Star level pitcher on the roster. Keep an eye on this team if they enter the playoffs healthy.
SPN Prediction: 92-70
Wild Card:
Charlotte Dukies
This is a team that has been steadily on the rise since ownership moved the team to North Carolina. It arrived emphatically with a statement in Season 22; 101 wins and a trip to the ALCS. The team is now looking to take that next step and win the whole thing. The team is capable of it too. The key players on the team are mostly younger, so this team should be a contender for many seasons to come. The rotation is four deep, with only the veteran Harold Pacquette over 30 years old. The position players boast a fantastic core of budding star CF Chad Brown and SS Ken Lary. The veteran Darwin Crawford, at 30, is the 'old man' of the group and provides valuable experience and leadership, in addition to his on the field performance. This team is solid all around, with the only real weak link at 2B. Paxton Murray is solid, but if this team is going to make a move, it'll likely be to upgrade at 2B or possibly at the 5th starting pitcher.
SPN Prediction: 92-70
Wild Card:
Norfolk Whiskey Jacks
The Jacks have been a playoff team for nine consecutive seasons. They made back to back trips to the ALCS during that run. They constantly have had one of the most talented, and best rosters in the league and yet just haven't seemed to get over the hump. This season won't be any different. The roster is still loaded with very good players. They should be in the playoffs again. But this roster is getting older, and without re-tooling, the door is going to start to shut on this group very soon. This team does have some holes though. Polonia is an excellent player, but not a true SS. He leaves something to be desired defensively. The #4 and #5 starters are journeyman level pitchers. 1B and 2B could be upgraded as well. Despite that, the Jacks will still contend in a loaded AL East. We just don't think they quite have the horses to keep up with Philly and instead will find themselves embroiled in what should be a very cut-throat AL Wild Card.
SPN Prediction: 91-71
In the Hunt:
Kansas City T-Bones
There is going to be one very good team in the AL left out of the postseason. It could be the T-Bones. This franchise has been slowly ascending from one of the worst in the league, to a team that is perennially in contention for the the playoffs. In its first 20 seasons, KC only made the playoffs twice. That includes a span of 14 consecutive seasons of missing out, and 8 consecutive seasons finishing in last place. That isn't this KC team. This team has made the playoffs for two of the last three seasons. This team is led by, arguably, the best young player in SP, RF Junior Chang. The Japanese born, Chang, only spent a single season a the minors before getting the RF spot in Season 19. In his five season big league career, he has won an MVP, been to four All Star Games, and won 3 Silver Sluggers. He a fantastic offensive player with which to build your lineup around. 1B AJ Cone, and veteran slugger DH Alfredo Pimentel aren't bad guys to have protecting Chang either. The team was very quiet this offseason, preffering to move forward as constructed and adding from the farm system, rather than sign any FAs or make a move in the trade market. The T-Bones are solid at most positions, but not great. The current starters at C, 2B, 3B, SS, LF and CF are all solid, quality ML players, but no stars. Any of those spots are a potential upgrade in the trade market if the T-Bones get the right deal. The pitching lacks a true ace but Henry, Wilson and Erdos are a very good players and provide a solid core to the pitching rotation. The pen is solid as well, but, similar to the rotation, lacks a true #1 guy. Other areas the T-Bones could upgrade are adding a stud reliever or starter, or simply upgrading the back of the rotation. None of the upgrades are needed though, and KC should only pull the trigger on a deal that makes sense, not out of desperation to upgrade the team, because the roster is very good as it sits. And should right in the AL East and Wild Card mix until the very end of the season.
SPN Prediction: 91-71
In the Hunt:
Houston Buushwackerz
In its heyday, between Seasons 8 and 13, the Buushwackerz were nearly always in the playoffs. The team earned a post season berth in 5 of those 6 seasons. Since that time, for the last 10 seasons, this squad has seemed to be stuck somewhere between rebuilding and mediocrity. Nearly always competitive, but never truly a playoff threat. Last season looks like a breakthru one for Houston. Their 82-80 record ended a streak of 9 seasons with a sub-.500 record. If the Buushwackerz take another step forward this season, the AL South will be very tough, second only to the AL East in terms of depth. Taking that step forward wasn't done during the offseason though. Like many SP teams, Houston was very quiet. They made no trades, and no significant FA signings. They are staying the course and calling up the farm hands when they're ready. This season, Strech Bellhorn will be in his rookie season, and manning the hot corner. He is a highly touted prospect who should make an immediate impact. The roster also boasts a number of up and coming young players, such as Andre George, Ronnie Hurst and Jimmie Franco. Franco, in particular, needs to make a drastic improvement on a very disappointing rookie Season 23. One of the current issues with this team is the construction of the roster. The team doesn't possess a true SS. George, Acosta and Bellhorn can all play very good at either 2B or 3B, but none are adequate at SS. Acosta is being asked to man that spot at the moment, and he'll struggle there. It'll be the first season he is asked to be a full time SS. In his career, he has played in 359 games at SS. He has 99 errors and 20 '-' plays to go with a .948 FPCT. That FPCT would be the lowest in the AL for SS right now. Its possible if management feels a slight roster re-tooling would improve the team, you could see a trade to put in a more traditional SS. On the pitching end, Odalis Owen and Dennis Moore, while neither are aces, provide a steady 1-2 combination at the top of the rotation. The teams biggest strength might be the back of the bullpen, where Willie Fernandez and Gary Meyers help shorten the game. Houston is on the right track, and definitely improving every season over the last few. There are still areas that will need improvement though, if they want to break into the elite of the AL. Defense at SS, another solid starting pitcher, and power at 1B, LF or RF are all areas that could be addressed to improve the squad.
SPN Prediction: 87-75
In the Hunt:
Scottsdale Camels
If this team were assembled 5 seasons ago, it would be very, very good. In Season 24, its still solid, but mostly old. Bruce Donovan, 36... Jung-Lee Martin, 37... Maicer Almanza, 34... Gary Scott, 37... Mitch Shaw, 39... Andres Bautista, 36... all six of those guys were All Star level players five seasons ago. Now, they are solid, capable players who are winding down their careers (some are HoF careers) and hoping they don't trip over their walkers on the way to first base. In fact, only 7 players on the Camels' ML roster are less than 30 years old. Thats not to say that this team is a bad team. Its not, its pretty good. But in the end, the teams' age a lack of depth will lead to it simply not being able to keep up with the other big dogs in the AL. One streak should come to an end though this season. Its been four consecutive years that the Camels have had a losing record. That shouldn't be the case this season. Michael Delgado was an excellent offseason signing. For the last six seasons in Petco Park, in San Diego, Delgado has hit between 10 and 20 HRs and a BA of .288. Moving from C to DH and from Petco to the Dave, Delgado should have a career year. Ralph Thompson will be in his first full season. He is one of the few products of the Camel farm system that we've seen make it to the pros in recent memory. Thompson is a pretty versatile player. He natural position in likely 3B, but he could play in either of the COF spots and maybe even fake it at 2B if the team needed. He's a speedster, probably the fastest player in the league. He should be a slightly above average hitter, and a pretty good ML player overall. The only other rookie on the roster is Nicaraguan reliever Tony Barrios. He was dominant at AA last season, and should be pretty good this season. He has had control problems though, and is particularly vulnerable to lefties. He throws hard, keeps the ball down, and has an excellent change-up (what he is changing-up though, I have no idea, as he doesn't throw a fastball). Gary Scott is still, even at 37, a capable #1 pitcher. After him, there isn't anybody that strikes fear into the opposition though. The Camels can make upgrades nearly anywhere on the roster, though I don't see a move as likely because there isn't too much down on the farm to deal away. If the Camels get off to a rocky start, you might even see the team selling some of the veterans down the stretch. The Camels should have a solid overall season, but fade down the stretch missing out on the division and the Wild Card.
SPN Prediction: 84-78
