AL North Season 28 Preview

Dover Dinklebergs
Owner-tmfran(10 seasons)
Season 27 record- 87-75(AL North Champs; AL Champs)
Payroll- $98.1

Dover has an average looking offense. Phil Shibata and Al Pujols provide the pop. John Pong is the best pure hitter on this team though. He's getting old, but the guy can still hit and get on base. Brent Summers may not be the best hitter on the team, but he's one of the best, if not the best, centerfielders in the game and his bat is good enough for such a great defender.

Dover has an above average defense. Summers really adds a lot to the team. Kennie McCracken is the shortstop and he has the glove to play there, but his arm accuracy is really bad. Benito Sanchez is a great secondbaseman, but the team would likely be better off switching him and McCracken.

The pitching for Dover is also above average. Alex Martis is the best pitcher on the team, but he's been used as a reliever. Willie Cairo is a pretty solid pitcher and Bobby Ray Ingram is as well. Those 2 are the best starters I see on this staff. The bullpen has Martis, and Omar Gabriel holding things down. The rest of the staff is solid, but I see a lot of control problems.

Dover is the reigning AL champ and AL North champ. It's possible they could take the division crown again this season, but a lot would need to go their way and that's assuming that no other team made improvements. My initial reaction to the talent I'm seeing is that this isn't a playoff team.

Player to watch- Brent Summers- Summers is a gold glove centerfielder with great range and glove. Not only that, he is a good offensive player. He is a great base stealer and he's a guy that will get on base enough for that to mean something. I think Summers could one day be a Hall of Famer.



Kansas City Yardbirds
owner- holleybard(1 season)
Season 27 record- 84-78
Payroll- $56.8

Offensively Kansas City doesn't look very threatening. The top power threat is David Lind, a player that can hit some homeruns, but won't hit very well. His .364 career obp makes up for the low average, but he can't hit as many homers if he's taking walks. Tony Franco has a pretty solid bat for a guy that can play gold glove defense at second base. Hugh Paterson was rushed to the majors and should hit OK, but he has some pretty high upside after being taken first overall in last seasons draft.

Defensively this team is a bit above average. Del Broome won't make many errors in centerfield. Esmil Estalella has a pretty good glove at shortstop as well, but he'll tend to make some poor throws. Franco has won a gold glove at second base and that really locks up the middle for KC.

The pitching for this team is a bit below average. The rotation isn't very impressive with Butch Simmons and Luis Manuel standing out as the best 2 possible starters, but both lack good stamina. The bullpen is a bit better, but not impressive. Sherman Stevens and Corey Moran are both good.

I don't really see this team challenging for a playoff spot this season. They look better than they have in the past, but it's still a work in progress for the Yardbirds.

Player to watch- Hugh Paterson- Paterson could very well turn out to be one of the best players in the league in the next few seasons, but I doubt he will do much this season. I think he can be a solid player though and it should be interesting to see how well he progresses this season and over the next few.



New York Damage Controllers
owner- skuff730(8 seasons)
Season 27 record- 78-84
Payroll- $98.4

Offensively, this team is looking pretty good heading into this season. Gregory Singleton, Salvador Gallardo, and Gus Justice are the top threats on this team, but they aren't the only ones. This team has a stacked lineup, with good power, good hitting, good eyes and even a little speed. They could be one of the top offenses this season.

The team is pretty solid on defense as well. Greg Parrott has been a gold glove left fielder and second baseman. I personally think his defense up the middle would come in more handy than left field. Julian Prieto plays shortstop, but his glove and arm aren't what you'd like there. He's better suited for centerfield or even second base. This team has options and really the only weakness may be at shortstop. I think they could be a top 5 defense in the AL this season.

The pitching isn't near as good as the hitting or defense on this team. I like Gerald Foster, but the rotation could use a few more good arms like his. In the bullpen, Ernesto Ozuna is a good arm and I also like Andrew Hill and Richard Peters. There really isn't much more impressive pitching on this staff though.

New York should make a serious push for the division crown this season. They have the offense and defense to do so. The pitching hurts this team, but I think it's good enough to move them ahead of the other teams here. A better pitching staff could put this team in serious contention for the AL crown though, but right now they'll have to have things go their way in order to capture that.

Player to watch- Gus Justice- This guy is a great hitter with excellent contact, power, eye and speed. He is the complete package as a hitter. This could very well be the season that Justice make a real run at the league MVP award.



Milwaukee Magnitude
owner-horvie78(2 seasons)
Season 27 record- 68-94
Payroll- $35.1

Milwaukee doesn't have much on offense. The power will come from Javier Suarez, but his hitting splits leave me curious as to how well he'll do. I think his contact and power can make up for some of it, but I'll be interested to see. Art Nieman and Ivan Uribe also add some decent power to the lineup. Walt Shelby, Benny Garcia and Tomas Osoria add some speed, but I'm not sure they'll get on base enough to make a difference. The Magnitude really do lack some hitters that can get on base regularly.

The defense is slightly below average. I like Randy Pellow as a shortstop, but he could use better range. Ralph Winn should be a good second baseman and Osoria is a solid centerfielder. Those 3 up the middle pretty much explain this defense. The are solid, but not great.

The pitching staff also doesn't look very good this season. They aren't bad, but they are below average. I like Derrick Jacquez and he should be a really good reliever for them. Ben Boyer also provides a good arm out of the pen. Tex Wagner gives them 3 solid bullpen arms. The rotation is what hurts this team. It could use an infusion of good arms. Bucky Simpson and Kirt Walsh are back end of rotation pitchers and they'll be relied upon at the top.

This team is rebuilding and this season will continue that. I don't think the plan for them is to compete this season, so I doubt they'll be disappointed. My guess is that they finish last and likely add a few more young prospects along the way.

Player to watch- Benny Garcia- Garcia will be making his ML debut this season and I'll be paying attention to what he can do. I like his combination of contact and speed. He'll hit left handers for sure, but his batting eye and ability against righties worries me. Being a left hander will help that and I think if he can hit above .260 then he'll really get a chance to use his speed.



Predicitions
Dover is the reigning AL champ and that makes it really hard  to pick against them this season. They have an above average team, but I don't think they have a great team. I think they'll come close to last seasons record and finish in the upper 80's in victories. I just don't think that'll be enough to win the division this season. It could still get them into the playoffs though. New York is a team on the rise. The offense and defense put this team at the top of the division on paper. They should be really tough this season despite the lack of quality pitching. The pitching is the only thing that keeps this team from running away with the division. Kansas City is going to find it tough to repeat last season. I think they are a below average team that should win around 75 games this season. They have too many holes and will likely not make the post season. Milwaukee is a team that is rebuilding, but they have some young players moving up to the majors this season. I don't think any of the players are difference makers though. They'll finish at the bottom of the division, but I think they'll improve over last season.

1. New York
2. Dover
3. Kansas City
4. Milwaukee

Owner Hall of Fame nominations

tk21775(Iowa City Hawkeyes)
Pine Tar Record/ 1068-876(12 Seasons)
7 Division Titles/ 1 Wild Card
2 NL Championships
1 World Championship

tk21775 came into Pine Tar and took over one of the tougher rebuilds. The previous owner was consistently at the bottom of the league, but didn't sign draft picks and didn't sign any notable IFA's in the previous few seasons. The owner also had traded away really good players or just let them walk in free agency with little return. Almost the entire team that tk21775 has built was his from the ground up. Even more impressive, he took a team that had never made the post season and won the division title in just his 3rd season with the team. Now rather than being a bottom feeder, this team is a regular among the best teams in the NL and have made the post season in 8 of the past 10 seasons. I know that this is a rehash of his previous nomination post, but these are really good reasons for voting for tk21775.



alogman1(Durham Doormats)
Pine Tar Record/ 1566-1350(18 seasons)
7 Division Titles/ 3 Wild Card
2 AL Championships

alogman1 has been in control of this franchise for a long time now. While things weren't always great, the team did always have a plan. Once that plan started to take hold, it put Durham among the elite teams in Pine Tar. Unfortunately that hasn't worked it's way into a World championship. That shouldn't take anything away from this franchise owner though. 8 straight post season appearances and four 100 win seasons speak for themselves. Also worth mentioning is that this team never dropped below 66 wins during the time it took alogman1 to rebuild the franchise and get them into position to win all of those games. This is another owner that shows Hall of Fame qualities and should get consideration for the way the franchise has been run in these 18 seasons.



Flucie(St Louis Arch Angels)
Pine Tar Record/ 847-773(13 seasons)
7 Division Titles
1 AL Championship/ 1 World Championship

When Flucie took over this team, they hadn't sniffed the post season since back in season 1. They'd won 108 games combined over the previous 2 seasons before he came in. His first 2 seasons were rebuild seasons and then his third season he won the division title. It was the start of a run that seen the team take the division in 3 straight seasons and 5 of the next 7 seasons. Season 23 was the top of the pyramid for this team and owner. They won a franchise record 97 games, won the AL title and then went on to take the World Championship. In the seasons since that they have won 2 more division titles and lost in the ALCS last season. Flucie has the fewest career wins among this seasons inductees, but this is a championship owner that pushes for a division title every season.



tmfran(Dover Dinklebergs)
Pine Tar Record/ 973-647(10 seasons)
8 Division Titles/ 2 Wild Cards
2 AL Championships

tmfran made it onto the last ballot and it was mentioned about what was done in the short time while in control of this franchise. Well, now it's been 10 seasons and tmfran has only made an even better case for enshrinement. Dover has made the playoffs in all 10 seasons and has even been to 2 World Series. Although they haven't won a World title, this franchise has been ranking near the top of the AL in all 10 seasons with tmfran at the helm. It's been a pretty impressive run and should make a strong case for enshrinement.



Phillies26(Philadelphia Moneymakers)
Pine Tar Record/ 2231-2143(27 seasons)
5 Division Titles/ 4 Wild Cards

OK, I know, Phillies26 hasn't won a World title or a league championship. Only making the playoffs 9 times out of 27 seasons may not be very impressive either. While those are major accomplishments that can get an owner into the Hall of Fame, Phillies26 adds something that isn't shown on the standings or career accomplishments. Phillies26 is the type of owner that makes Pine Tar such a great league. Phillies26 has been around since season 1 and has always fielded a competitive team. There has only been one season that the franchise has drifted below 74 victories. In 18 seasons they have won more than 80 games. The franchise has many times been the victim of being in a division with a really good team ahead of them. As a clear sign of this owner being Hall worthy, Phillies26 has the most victories of any owner that isn't in the Hall yet.

Owner Hall of Fame Rules

We are going to do another vote for owner hall of fame. All 32 owners in the league are eligible to vote, and I will outline the rules as originally posted by prezuiwf with a few changes. The votes of current and active Hall of Fame members toe64, Starbuckdc, greygoose123, bobbyj7 and rxw1, along with the league commissioner(myself) will be used to break a tie. The max number of owners to be voted on will be 5 as selected by the league commissioner based on the rules listed below. Along with the poll there will be a blog post describing each owners accomplishments and reasons for being selected as potential inductee's.

As per the original rules post:

"...in order to qualify, an owner must have had his team for at least 5 years (unless no suitable candidates exist with 5 years experience to round out the 5 nominees). Length of time with the league and amount of success are both factors for nomination-- owners who have taken their team to the playoffs many times, and those who have had success while in the playoffs, will be preferred, although exceptions may be made for owners who have only been to the playoffs a few times but have reached or won the World Series multiple times. Also, an owner must still be with his team at the time of the vote in order to qualify for nomination; bpdelia, for example, is not eligible for nomination even though he brought home 2 championships because he is no longer an active owner in the league."

There will still be an option for "blank ballot." If that option ends up winning, there will be no inductee into the Owner Hall of Fame that year (so as to not force owners to vote someone in if they feel no one is deserving).

Where'd They Come From?

As I've been playing around trying to rebuild my franchise, I keep wondering if it is better to put more of my budget into the amateur draft or international free agents.  Another regular season is "in the books", so I decided to take a look at when and how the MVP and Cy Young finalists were acquired.  Below is a breakdown and some observations.  Feel free to comment if you have any input.

AL MVP Finalists:

Vinny Hill (Boston): S19 Draft – 4th Pick, drafted by Hartford – acquired by trade

Raymond Petrov (Dover): S14 Draft – 4th Pick, drafted by Trenton – acquired by FA signing

Billy Haynes (Durham): S14 Draft – 17th Pick, drafted by Durham

Bo Long (Fresno): S19 Draft – 17th Pick, drafted by Salem (Fresno)

Russell Powell (Rochester): S16 Draft – 2nd Pick, drafted by Chicago (Rochester)

NL MVP Finalists:

Carlos Zorrilla (Oklahoma City): S18 Draft – 3rd Pick, drafted by Oklahoma City

Keith Williamson (Colorado Springs): S20 Draft – 5th Pick, drafted by Colorado Springs

Jo-jo Frandsen (Iowa City): S18 Draft – 1st Pick, drafted by Vancouver – acquired by trade

Jin-Chi Yamamoto (Oklahoma City): S23 Draft – 3rd Pick, drafted by Oklahoma City

Joakim Valbuena (Iowa City): S20 IFA – $13.1M, signed by Trenton – acquired by trade

AL Cy Young Finalists:

Moises Olmedo (Boston): S21 IFA – $19.5M, signed by Boston

Butch Simmons (Kansas City): S11 Draft – 11th Pick, drafted by Atlanta – acquired by FA signing

Rock Randall (St. Louis): S15 Draft – 1st Pick, drafted by St. Louis

Nash Casanova (Boston): S15 Draft – 6th Pick, drafted by Boston

Tim Daubach (Fresno): S21 Draft – 3rd Pick, drafted by Los Angeles (Fresno)

NL Cy Young Finalists:

Aurelio Ozuna (Fargo): S20 IFA – $32.9M, signed by Montreal – acquired by trade

Julio Valdivia (Scranton): S26 IFA – $21.9M, signed by Scranton

Preston Reese (Albuquerque): S20 Draft – 289th Pick, drafted by Louisville – acquired by FA signing

Orlando Nieves (Colorado Springs): S13 IFA – $16.5M, signed by Nashville – acquired by trade

Brendan Taylor (Iowa City): S17 Draft – 2nd Pick, drafted by Iowa City

Observations:

-75% of players were taken in the amateur draft, 25% of players were international prospects.

-Of the 15 players drafted: 14 were taken in the 1st round, 11 were taken within the first six picks.  The only player NOT drafted in the first round was Preston Reese, who is a diamond in the rough.

-60% of the players were acquired before Season 20, 20% were acquired during Season 20, and 20% after Season 20.  Interesting that Julio Valdivia was just picked up as recently as last season!

-60% of the players are currently playing for the same team by which they were acquired. 

-Average signing bonus for the five International Free-Agents was $20.8M.