Season 20 AL West Preview

AL West
Last season this division was won by St Louis. The team had the worst record of all of the division winners, but that didn't stop them from making a post season run. They became the first team in the division since season 1 to make it to the ALCS. The run ended there with a loss to Dover, but the team showed everyone what could be to come from this franchise. Anaheim finished at an average 81 victories as they fell 3 games short in the race for the division title. Salem finished third and Vancouver fourth. Heading into this season all of the owners in the division return and we will have a third consecutive season with the same group of owners in the West. That's especially nice since this is the division that has seen the most turnover in league history. In all the division has had 30 different owners.

St Louis Arch Angels
Season 19 Record: 84-78(AL West Champ; ALCS runner up)
5 Season Record: 391-419
Owner: Flucie(391-419, 3 division titles)

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.250	30		Fielding %	.988	4		ERA	4.19	14
Home Runs	199	17		Double Plays	397	20		Opp. Avg.	.262	13
Ops.	.729	23		+ Plays	103	2		Stike Outs	980	29
Runs	729	15		- Plays	11	2		Saves	46	15
Steals	211	4		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.409	22		1	1	1		1	1	1

Key Additions- P Sean Shipley(promoted), Rock Randall(promoted)


Key Losses- RP Mel Lloyd(FA)

Coming off the most successful season in franchise history, the fans in St Louis have high expectations for this club. The next step for them is the World Series after losing in the ALCS last season. They stayed fairly quiet in the off season, but the promotion of Sean Shipley looks like it will be a big move.

Offensively, St Louis, was average in season 19. The team average was bad, but they did hit some homers and stole a lot of bases which led to them being in the middle of the league in runs scored. If they could get the team average up some then the offense would be real tough. Looking at them this season looks pretty much the same. Lou Jefferies is this teams only true hitter. Everth Carreras and Neil Roberts add some pop. Grade- C


The defense was one of the best in the league last season. They ranked near the top in fielding, plus plays and minus plays. The loss of Ramon Martins glove will hurt and Vic Diaz isn't quite the shortstop. That alone has me thinking this team takes a step back. They are pretty solid at other positions though and that helps ease the loss. Grade- B+


The pitching on this team was pretty average a season ago. They ranked right in the middle of the league in ERA, opponent average and saves. The addition of the youngsters Shipley and Randall is a step in the right direction. This rotation has the potential to be pretty tough when you add Jim Kelly to that mix. The bullpen is solidly above average, but I don't think they are among the best in the league. Grade- A-


This team is going to be tough this season defensively and in the rotation, but the offense isn't going to strike fear into many teams. I think they'll be tough to knock from the top of the division and with a couple moves to help the offense could be a very good team. A fourth straight division title is in reach for them.


Anaheim Annihilation
Season 19 Record: 81-81
5 Season Record: 401-409
Owner: donniefenn92(321-327)

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.265	15		Fielding %	.986	11		ERA	4.14	12
Home Runs	193	20		Double Plays	394	20		Opp. Avg.	.243	5
Ops.	.739	20		+ Plays	83	8		Stike Outs	1085	10
Runs	776	16		- Plays	21	6		Saves	52	10
Steals	130	8		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.413	19		1	1	1		1	1	1

Key Additions- C Julio Palmeiro(tr-Tre), 1B Rheal Beck(promoted),


Key Losses- 1B Miguel Flores(FA), RP Damaso Infante(FA), RP Bert Jordan(FA), 1B Zeke Decker(FA), IF Rex Billingsly(FA)

Anaheim has been hovering around the .500 mark for quite some time now. Last season they finished with 81 victories and that was some progress. They really have to decide whether to go for it and make a big move or start to rebuild and get some prospects for the long run.The team had some big losses in the off season and gained some draft picks in the process. They have 8 of the first 81 picks in this seasons draft. If we see a deep draft, then this could be a big building block for the franchise.


This team loss some weapons offensively in the off season. That isn't saying much since they were a pretty average team on offense last season. The losses could drop them to the bottom of the league though. The team has some good young hitters in Jim Christman, Jody Andrews, Rheal Beck and Julio Palmeiro though. Besides these four the team doesn't have much else. They won't have much power and hitting, but they do have plenty of speed if they can get on base enough to use it. Grade- C-


Anaheim had a pretty good fielding team last season. They ranked 11th in fielding percentage and were top 10 in plus and minus plays. The team will feature a great glove at shortstop in Pedro Berroa and Bronson Baptist should be a pretty good centerfielder. They even have solid gloves at other positions and should finish as a top 10 defense again. Grade- A-


The pitching was above average last season. They had a couple losses in the bullpen through free agency, but this still looks like a good staff. The rotation features Diego Benitez, a young hurler that has had some low ERA's the past couple seasons. Lazy Sweeney isn't an ace, but he is pretty solid and can be counted on for double digit victories. Patrick Wilson lacks good control, but he's tough to hit and excelled as a starter for this team last season. The bullpen has a few good arms also as pitching is a strength for Anaheim. Grade- B+


Anaheim is a solid team, but the offense has me wondering if they can compete over the long haul. They have a few good bats, but an injury to any of them means that this team will struggle to score runs. The defense is good enough to help them win some games and the pitching will help keep the games low scoring enough to give the offense a chance. I don't really think they make the post season, but they could give St Louis a scare.


Los Angeles Regulators
Season 19 Record: 65-97
5 Season Record: 378-432
Owner: bobswagger91(378-432; 2 division titles)

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.276	5		Fielding %	.977	30		ERA	6.12	31
Home Runs	226	10		Double Plays	406	16		Opp. Avg.	.300	32
Ops.	.343	6		+ Plays	44	23		Stike Outs	1013	26
Runs	846	6		- Plays	100	30		Saves	26	31
Steals	101	15		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.440	7		1	1	1		1	1	1

Key Additions- SP Willie Cairo(promoted), IF Corky Whitehead(FA), IF Tino House(FA), 1B Miguel Flores(FA), RP Bernard Hoffman(FA)


Key Losses- 1B Wilfredo Leon(FA), C Felipe Reynoso(FA), OF Neifi Mathews(FA), SP Ruben Cruz(FA)

Well, after a few disappointing seasons in Salem, the team moves back to LA, where they experienced a bit more success. This team is still in rebuild mode, but they look like they are trying to improve upon the 65 wins in each of the past 2 seasons. They had some losses in the off season, but also made some nice signings.

Last season, this franchise featured a really good offensive attack. They did lose quite a bit of that offense in the off season, but they added some pretty good players in those spots. The team will hit pretty good, but they lost a lot of power that they didn't replace. David Lind is the only power hitter on the team and he won't hit enough to be a real threat. The additions of Miguel Flores, Tino House and Corky Whitehead give the team some good hitters to add to Rob Lee, Alejandro Torres and rookie Bret Richardson. Grade- A-


Defensive was a big issue for this team last season. They ranked as one of the worst in the league. The addition of Ramon Martin gives them a solid shortstop and Johnny Mateo could be a solid centerfielder. Whitehead and House also have good gloves if they aren't used as shortstops or centerfielders. The team looks like the improved the gloves quite a bit and should finish at least near the middle of the league defensively this season. Grade- B-


I'm not sure this team even had a pitcher on it's team last season. They were awful. Well, they were pretty bad, but surprisingly they weren't the worst. The team did add a reliever in Bernard Hoffman and promoted a starter in Willie Cairo, so they at least have 2 pitchers this season. Actually the staff looks better this season, but they could use some rotation help. I think the bullpen will be fine though. Grade- C


This franchise looks a ton better than last season, and look like they'll have the best offense in the division. The fielding has improved a lot and the pitching looks better, but is still not very good. If the offense can put up 6 runs a game then this team could challenge St Louis, but that is lofty expectations. I'm thinking they continue the rebuild for another season and may make the move next season.




Vancouver Canucks
Season 19 Record: 53-109
5 Season Record: 319-491
Owner: skplayer07(114-210)

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.266	14		Fielding %	.981	21		ERA	6.26	32
Home Runs	197	18		Double Plays	515	1		Opp. Avg.	.294	31
Ops.	.756	25		+ Plays	61	15		Stike Outs	954	31
Runs	749	22		- Plays	38	17		Saves	26	31
Steals	116	9		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.423	15		1	1	1		1	1	1

Key Additions- IF Al Nen(FA), 1B Charles Torres(FA)


Key Losses- Chul Zhang(FA)

Vancouver tied for the worst record last season, but they end up with the second pick in this seasons draft. After 3 really bad seasons, this team should be ready to start making the move up the win column. They don't want another 100 loss season.

Offensively this team was a bit below average last season. They had a decent average, and decent amount of homers, but they didn't score runs well and the OPS was pretty low. They did flash some speed on the bases though. The team added some power with the addition of Torres and Al Nen will get on base for them. Henry Siddall is the player that this offense will rely on for a lot though. I think this offense is probably the second best offense in the division and should do pretty well this season. Grade- B


Vancouver was just below average defensively last season, but man could they turn a double play. They averaged over 3 of them a game. That's pretty good. The team still lacks quality gloves up the middle though and that puts a strain on other positions. Dietz will likely play short, but he'd make a real good thirdbaseman. McEnerney has the glove for centerfield, but his range makes him a better leftfielder. Until this team finds a shortstop and/ or centerfielder then I have to grade them low. Grade- D+


If LA was a bad pitching team then Vancouver was just sickening. They ranked at or near the bottom in most categories last season. This is the area the team should be trying to improve, but I don't see much of it. They added reliever Courtney Cashman and that will help, but he's only decent. The rotation is hurting, but Omar Siqueiros will help a little bit. The bullpen does look better though, but it'll be taxed from overuse due to the starting pitching. Grade- D


Vancouver has a good offense, but the defense and pitching are going to keep this team from doing much. Do I think they can improve from last season? The answer is yes, but not by a lot. I think the team is a couple seasons away from any help coming out of the minors and that is when they should start to compete again.




Predictions
St Louis is looking like the team to beat in the West. They will look to improve upon last season, which will be pretty tough to do since they have to make the World Series to accomplish that. Anaheim is a solid team that could end up better than last season, but I think they will fall short of the division title. LA is moving in the right direction and have the offense and defense to be tough, but the pitching is not good enough. They'll likely battle for a while, but fall out of the race around mid season. Vancouver is still rebuilding and not likely to work their way out of the bottom this season.

1.) St. Louis
2.) Los Angeles
3.) Anaheim
4.) Vancouver

Season 20 Owner Hall of Fame Candidates

bnags
Record (1148-958)
World Series Championships (1)
League Championships (2)
LCS Appearances (4)
Division Titles (8)
Best Record (112-50)

bnags has been around since way back in season 6. He started his time in Pine Tar as the owner of Houston Writ of Sepulture and the team went 63-99 for a last place finish in the division. Not happy with that, he picked the team up and moved them to Florida where they became the Pelicans for the next 2 seasons. With very little success in Florida they moved to Nashville in season 9 to become the Nala Bears, which has since been shortened to Nalas. That move was what got this owner kick started into putting together a top notch team. After the move the team climbed the ranks each year to where they are now, at the top. The past 6 seasons have brought 100+ wins each season and one World Series title with 2 appearances in the Series. This owner has built a power house team over the seasons and they are set up to continue that. With 8 straight division titles, bnags has proven dominance in the AL South and has been one of the top AL teams over that time.


qtip32
Record (738-720)
World Series Championships (0)
League Championships (1)
LCS Appearances (1)
Division Titles (3)
Best Record (106-56)

While qtip32 hasn't had a ton of success, it has been amazing the steady climb that the team has made each season since taking over the franchise. The franchise in Trenton had never won the division title and had only 2 post season appearances before qtip32's time. Back in season 11, the first season as owner, the franchise struggled to a 58-104 record. Over the next 5 seasons the team would improve, but in season 15 they just missed out on the first post season appearance for this owner. In season 16 they got over that hump and even won the division. That started what is now a four season run of post season appearances. In season 17 the franchise went to their first ever World Series, but couldn't pull of the championship. Last season the franchise pulled in a franchise most 106 victories to continue the move up this team has had since the start of qtip32's tenure.


bobbyj7
Record (646-488)
World Series Championships (2)
League Championships (2)
LCS Appearances (2)
Division Titles (4)
Best Record (112-50)

When bobbyj7 took over the Jackson franchise it was a mess. At that point the team had just one winning season in 12 seasons. Then bobbyj7 took over and slowly got this team in the right direction. The first season was rough as the team went 69-93, then the second season was a bit better at 83-79. It was in just the third season with the franchise that bobbyj7 took them to their second post season appearance by winning the division title at 97-65. In season 17 they won the title again and broke the 100 win mark. In season 18 they won 112 games and went on to become World Champs. They would then follow that up last season after winning 99 games in the regular season. This team has moved up quick look like they have staying power thanks to the ownership of bobbyj7.

This should be an easy voting season. I'm only nominating 3 owners and a no vote button. These 3 are the top deserving candidates and really there are others, but the accomplishments for them are a bit behind these 3. Best of luck to the candidates.

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 prez with a few changes. The votes of current Hall members toe64, Starbuckdc, greygoose123 and rxw1, along with the league commissioner(myself) will be used to break a tie. This will be done before every even numbered season to make it a more exclusive club of owners. 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).

Season 19 Update-NL South

National League South
What a race we've had this season in the NL South? With 14 games remaining it looks like Jackson has finally got a grip on the division lead, but it hasn't been easy. Louisville and Charlotte have both been close this season and I believe Louisville actually led the division at the all star break. All 3 teams have been very tough this season. If the season ended today they would all be in the post season.

Jackson has won the division the past 2 seasons and 3 of the past 4. Right now they look like they have a good grip on another division title, but nothing is set in stone quite yet. They don't have the divisions best expected win percentage as they are playing 10 points higher than what is expected of them. Offensively this season they have scored the second most runs in the NL with 775. They have a really good mix of power and speed on this team. The team MVP this season has to be Jared Glynn. He has 49 homers, 148 RBI, 96 runs, 17 steals, .273 average, .323 OBP and .582 Slg. He's not on the league MVP ballot right now, but he should be. Jeff Moore is also having a fine season with 24 homers, 45 doubles, 114 runs, 32 steals, .301 average, .358 OBP and .530 Slg. The pitching rotation is pretty strong for these guys. Rube Clark(18-6, 3.22), and Bobby Ray Ingram(16-4, 2.94) are Cy Young candidates. Raymond DeWitt(17-7, 3.23), and Dusty Lindsey(13-8, 3.48) aren't too far off from having as good a season as Clark and Ingram. The bullpen has been a disappointment for this team. Ubaldo Bennett with 40 saves in 44 tries and 4.61 ERA is having a solid season, but that ERA is a little high. Courtney Cashman with a 3.96 ERA has done a solid job this season. Those are the only 2 relievers that are even doing solid for this team. The others have ERA's over 4 and some over 5. The team has a great offense and starting rotation, but this bullpen could be what kills them in the post season.

In Louisville the franchise is trying to bring home just the third post season appearance in the franchise's history. It's been since season 8 since they last made an appearance and this season they are oh so close. Leading the wild card race right now, they can't let up. They are only 5 games out of first in the division and while that may be a bit too much to overcome, they need to keep the foot on the gas in what is shaping up to be a wild finish for the wild card spots. Offensively this team is in the bottom half of the NL in runs scored and that surprises me with that ballpark. Andres Andujar is having a pretty good season though in just his second season in the big leagues. He has 30 homers, 110 RBI, 88 runs, 16 steals, .299 average, .362 OBP, and .553 Slg. The teams off season addition of Daryl Bonham has seemed to pay off as he is hitting .300, with a .365 OBP and 17 homers, 87 RBI, and 75 runs. Rookie Desi Vasquez has had a nice start to his career with 14 homers, 43 runs, .315 average, .381 OBP, .538 Slg in all of 95 games. The pitching rotation has some big time starters in it. Bret O'Leary(14-10, 4.22), and Roland Sweeney(9-13, 3.83), I would expect a bit more out of than what they've done this season. Ariel Mateo(12-9, 3.45), Al Manto(14-8, 2.95), and Vin Segui(12-6, 3.45) have all had very nice seasons though and have stepped it up. The bullpen has some pitchers having pretty good seasons as well. Benji Contreras has 36 saves in 43 tries with a 3.54 ERA. Ed Rhodes has been pretty good with a 3.19 ERA in 98.2 innings. Luis Ramirez has a 2.37 ERA and Ramon Chang a 3.55 ERA. They have the pitching staff to get them into the post season, but they need the offense to step it up a bit, especially if they intend to make a post season run.

Charlotte is also at the top of the wild card race right now. They are trying to make it back to back wild card appearances and right now they have the second best expected win percentage in the NL. Offensively they have scored the third most runs in the NL with 748. They have a chance to have 6 players with 20+ homers this season and 4 with 20+ steals. That's a pretty balanced offense. Craig Adkinson is having a pretty solid season with 34 homers, 103 RBI, 82 runs, .275 average, .323 OBP, .483 Slg. Storm Mahoney doesn't hit enough, but he has 44 homers, 119 RBI, 92 runs, 28 steals, but his .238 average and .309 OBP could be better. Alan Wilson is the guy that gets on base for this team with his .311 average, and .417 OBP.   The pitching staff is 5th in runs allowed this season. The rotation has been pretty solid, but the bullpen has been the strength. The rotation features Oscar Osterbrock(14-7, 3.59), Travis Bush(15-6, 3.61), Valerio Duran(12-8, 4.38) and Orber Torres(13-10, 3.49). All have been pretty good this season. Tony Zapata has 40 saves this season in 43 tries with a 2.62 ERA. Wilkin Ontiveros(2.89), Ruben Molina(2.97), Jim Hitchcock(2.59), Jackson Ruffin(3.21) and Bernard Newman(3.84) have been extremely tough on opponents this season coming out of the bullpen. This is a well rounded team that should continue to make a push for a post season spot and could even make a nice run in the post season if things go right for them.

Texas has had a struggle this season as the new ownership group that started the season ended up bailing on the team and giving them away to a new ownership group. With all things considered, the team had a pretty good season. Offensively, Carl Esposito, has had a pretty good season with 34 homers, 113 RBI, 88 runs, .296 average, .383 OBP, and .523 Slg. Chin-Hui Wanatabe has also had a pretty good season with 31 homers, 91 RBI, 75 runs, .285 average, .355 OBP, and .538 Slg. The pitching staff has been an area of concern for this team and will likely be a focus in the off season. Jesus Amezaga is the only pitcher that has really had a good season with 24 saves in 31 tries and a 3.10 ERA, but he's only done that with 29 innings pitched.