NL North Season 36 Previews

NL TEAM PREVIEWS
Last season the NL was won by the Atlanta franchise for the second straight season. That set up a first in Pine Tar history with a World Series rematch against Salem. The results were flipped this time though and Atlanta ended up on the losing end. Another rare thing also happened last season. For just the second time in Pine Tar history, there was not a 100 game winner. The last time that happened was way back in season 3. With the league trending towards more parity you would think it was even less likely to have a repeat World Series. 3 of the 4 division champs in the NL repeated last season. The only change at the top was in the West with Seattle taking the top spot from previous champion Albuquerque. The worst team in the NL was Louisville, taking that spot from the Philadelphia who was the season 34 basement dweller. Now onto the previews.

NL NORTH
Pawtucket Patriots(Owner HCal11-1st season)
Season 35/ 93-69(Division Champ, NLCS runner up)

ghutton 9's take-This team has won 8 straight division titles and are hoping to make it 9. The offense looks really good. They have some great hitters and should have great obp's. The power on the team comes from 2 players and that may be the only weakness they have on offense, if you can even call it that. This team should have one of the best offenses in the league this season. The team isn't among the best defensively, but they aren't bad. The shortstop situation isn't great but they'll get by. I think they'll be a bottom half of the league defense, but barely. The rotation isn't strong, but it's above average. They don't have a shutdown ace, but they do have about 4 starters that are good. The bullpen is real good though and has some depth. The pitching staff as a whole is good. I think Pawtucket will once again battle for the top spot in this division. If they don't get it then they should take one of the wild cards. This is a pretty good team.

Iowa City Hawkeyes(Owner tk21775-21st season)
Season 35/ 87-75

ghutton 9's take-The offense is looking pretty good for this team. They have good power, good hitting and guys that can get on base. I think they could finish in the top 5 of the NL. The defense is also looking pretty good. They have a really good shortstop and solid gloves all around. The rotation is led by Omar Mercedes and should be among the best in the league. They have 3 top end starters and even a few mid rotation starters that could be aces on a weaker team. The bullpen looks pretty good as well. This might be the best pitching staff in the NL. I think Iowa City could make a real push for the NL title this season. It is a well rounded group that should be tough to beat and has a chance to bring home a World Championship.

St Louis Miracles(Owner ranscott64-7th season)
Season 35/ 78-84

Owner outlook- I took this franchise over in season 31(despite what the history says). When I took over, the minors were the absolute worst I've ever seen and the ML roster was aging and not good. I set out to retool the minors(which I've done, every minor league team in the system made the playoffs last season). Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the ML club over the hump. I've looked at team like Pawtucket. How do you get 3 players on your team rated 90+? Maybe a part of my problem is my team never really bottomed out. Had a few 78 win seasons but maybe that's not good enough to truly embark on a rebuilding program. In any case, I anticipate an 81-81 season and third place. If I luck out, I may win 85 or 86 and sneak in as a wild card.

ghutton9's take-To start, I must say that I've proved that a team dosen't have to bottom out to win a championship. It's hard to do, but surely possible. Timing is everything. When to sell, when to buy and when to overpay for players. When you are a piece or two short then it might cost you to make that jump for those final pieces, but the payoff is worth it. Onto the preview. The offense looks solid. They have some really good contact type players and a few guys with above average power. They also have some players with good batting eyes. They also have some really good speed. The one thing I see that they are missing is a 3 or 4 hitter that can get on base and hit for power. Besides that this is a fairly average offense. I could see them making a move that could change that though and put them in the upper half of the league. The defense is solid, but they have one player that can handle shortstop and it looks like he's not really a full time player for them. They could also use a true centerfielder that has a better glove than what they have currently. They have good gloves in other spots, but due to the weakness up the middle I see them as just about average. The rotation is solid. They lack a top end starter, but they have at least 4 middle rotation type guys. The bullpen is anchored by Kelvim Redmond and not much else. I'd rate this as a below average pitching staff that could move into the upper half of the league due to the park. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team win 85 games. Then again I also wouldn't be surprised to see them win 75 games. A move or two could really change the look of this team as I think they are only a few pieces away from being a division title contender.

Wichita Tornadoes(Owner pinetaar-10th season)
Season 35/ 72-90

Owner outlook- This will be another rebuilding season. Didn't sign any big free agents, and got a little luck in the rule 5 draft with a couple players that will make the roster. There has been some bad luck and poor choices with draft picks and IFA's after the changes in scouting were made to the game. The prediction is a 70 win season and near the bottom of the division. The offense will be near the bottom in homers and slugging, but has some good speed. The pitching will be worse after the departure of last seasons Cy Young Ben Boyer. The ballpark will help the pitching out.

ghutton9's take-Outside of Zack Wathan this offense has little to offer. He's a good piece to build around, but the team needs more guys that can get on base if they are going to use speed as a ways to win. Dee Dee Kelly is coming off of an awful season and should get on a lot more than last season, but there really isn't much offense on the team. The make up for it a little with defense. They have good gloves at most positions but they lack a true shortstop with good range, glove and arm. That makes this a middle of the league defense. The starting rotation is on the weaker side, but I really like the bullpen. I see 4 to 5 pitchers in the pen that will give them good depth later in games. I think the pitching will be closer to the middle of the league due to that and the ballpark. Overall this is a below average team that has a few nice pieces to build around. I could see them winning 70 games this season but with some luck they could push that number up into the higher 70's.

Prediction
Iowa City
Pawtucket
St Louis
Wichita


NL EAST
Atlanta Atlanta Apaches(Owner Rattlers-2nd season)
Season 35/ 97-65(Division Champ, NL Champ)

Jacksonville Juice(Owner greygoose123-36 seasons)
Season 35/ 95-67(Wild Card)

Cincinnati Firestorm(Owner jbburner-36 seasons)
Season 35/ 92-70(Wild Card)

Philadelphia Moneymakers(Owner Phillies26-36 seasons)
Season 35/ 74-88

NL SOUTH
Houston Heaters(Owner az99-1st season)
Season 35/ 89-73(Division Champ)

Jackson Juggernauts(Owner bobbyj7-24th season)
Season 35/ 83-79

Texas Galveston Wave(Owner erichanville-12th season)
Season 35/ 73-89

Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's(Owner Arfy-21st season)
Season 35/ 66-96

NL WEST
Seattle Strikers(Owner ghutton9-30th season)
Season 35/ 83-79(Division Champ)

Albuquerque Komodo Dragons(Owner csudak-17th season)
Season 35/ 76-86

Oklahoma City Prairie Dogs(Owner brentcnb-24th season)
Season 35/ 74-88

San Francisco Journey(Owner downboy-1st season)
Season 35/ 69-93

S35 Mid-Season Blog

Midseason Classic
Season 35 All-Star Game: National League 6, American League 2
HR Derby Winner: Willie Tarasco (Strikers)
All-Star Game MVP: Neifi Gil (Jibaros)
Winning Pitcher: Jesus Dali (Apaches)
Homeruns: Gil, Doug Mitchell (Juice), Dion Pagnozzi (Thunder)

Teams with the most All-Star selections:

Atlanta Apaches (Rattlers) - 8
Kansas City Yardbirds (holleybard) - 5
Salem Volanoes (jkenned) - 5
Boise Coursers (godao) - 5
Jacksonville Juice (greygoose123) - 3
Cincinnati Firestorm (jbburner) - 3
Albuquerque Komodo Dragons (csudak) - 3
Syracuse Orange (joekendall) - 3
New York Sultans of Swat (bluenoser44) - 3

Teams with zero All-Star selections:

Chicago Black Sox
Boston Screaming Babies
El Paso Walkers
New Orleans Jazz
Colorado Springs Iron Horseman
Iowa City Hawkeyes
Texas Galveston Wave
Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's
Oklahoma City Prairie Dogs

All-Stars by Division
NL East - 15
AL West - 11
AL North - 8
AL East - 7
NL West - 7
NL North - 5
AL South - 4
NL South - 3

*Links are posted - click on an individual player's name to open their HBD profile
First Time All-Stars – American League

P - Ernesto Ozuna (Orange)
P - Omar Colon (Dinklebergs)
P - Andres Navarro (Coursers)
P - Alberto Rivas (Thunder)
P - Alberto Blasco (Yardbirds)
P - John Carter (Magnitude)
2B - Victor Lee (Oracles)
3B - Alex Moreno (Coursers)
CF - Willie Johnson (Sultans of Swat)
DH - Eric Miller (Yardbirds)

First Time All-Stars – National League

P - Rigo Jimenez (Moneymakers)
P - Ben Boyer (Tornadoes)
P - Jesus Dali (Apaches)
P - Carlton Trachsel (Firestorm)
P - Javier Beltran (Apaches)
C - Zack Wathan (Tornadoes)
1B - Willie Tarasco (Strikers)
2B - Jeimer Parra (Apaches)
LF - Darrin Phelps (Miracles)
CF - Scooter Dickerson (Komodo Dragons)
RF - Doug Mitchell (Juice)

All-Stars Making Their 5th Appearance or Greater
C - Bengie Trajano (Doormats) - 9th Appearance
P - Juan Sierra (Apaches) - 9th
P - Geronimo Estrada (Apaches) - 8th
RF - Roger Byrne (Sultans of Swat) - 7th
2B - Eugenio Canseco (Monkeybutlers) - 7th
P - Lonny Gonzalez (Volcanoes) - 6th
P - Yoshinori Zhou (Magnitude) - 6th
SS - Wendell Werth (Merchants) - 6th
P - Hades Phillips (Firestorm) - 6th
SS - Bartolo Ortiz (Apaches) - 6th
LF - Vicente Palmeiro (Komodo Dragons) - 6th
P - Aurelio Ozuna (Volcanoes) - 5th
SS - Lefty Twitchell (Volcanoes) - 5th
LF - Michel Pena (Volcanoes) - 5th
P - Moises Olmedo (Apaches) - 5th
3B - Neal Hartzell (Komodo Dragons) - 5th

Record Breakers
Listed below are the Pine Tar Season 35 league leaders in various statistical catagories, their projected total after the remaining 61 games, and the Pine Tar all-time record holders for those categories.  Players who have an opportunity to tie or break a record have been noted with bold font.
*Links are posted - click on an individual player's name to open their HBD profile

Category - Player		League Leader - S35 Total		Projected Total		Pine Tar Record Holder - Total
Batting Average		Valerio Martinez (BOI) - .352		.352		Randy Podsednik - .398
Homeruns		Michael Chong (MIL) - 42		67		Jim Blair - 69
Runs Batted In		Michael Chong (MIL) - 97		156		Bob Wood - 203
Stolen Bases		Fernando Espinosa (SYR) - 56		90		Brandon Kline - 166
Runs Scored		Wesley McDonald (DUR) - 86		138		Ronald Clyburn - 169
OPS %		Valerio Martinez (BOI) - 1.093		1.093		Frank Martin - 1.240
Pitching Wins		Aurelio Ozuna (SAL) - 14		22		Rich Meyers, Rock Randall - 25
Earned Run Avr		Ben Boyer (WIC) - 1.94		1.94		John Rucker - 1.79
WHIP		Lonny Gonzalez (SAL) - 0.88		0.88		Tim Daubach - 0.87
OAV		Lonny Gonzalez (SAL) - .176		.176		Tim Daubach - .177
Saves		Richard Huang (NY1) - 33		53		3 Tied - 54
Pitching Strikeouts		Yoshinori Zhou (MIL) - 137		220		Warren Hargrave - 273
Complete Games		David Chantres (SYR) - 5		8		D.Shipley, W.Sizemore - 15
IF Plus Plays		Lefty Twitchell (SAL) - 20		32		Travis Fiore - 40
OF Plus Plays		Vitas Witt (DOV) - 16		26		Hank Truman - 37
OF Assists		3 Tied - 9		14		Ariel Villano - 27
Caught Stealing %		Cesar Durazo (OK) - .44		.44		Justin Carson - .612
Catcher ERA		Tomas Urena (CIN) - 3.12		3.12		Nolan McClellan - 2.34

S34 Mid-Season Blog

Midseason Classic

Season 34 Pine Tar All-Star Game: American League defeats the National League 7-2
HR Derby Winner: Neifi Gil (Roughnecks)
All-Star Game MVP: Phillip Bruske (Yardbirds)
Winning Pitcher: Lonny Gonzalez (Volcanoes)
Homeruns: Bruske, Santo Herrera (Black Sox), Neal Hartzell (Komodo Dragons)

Teams with the most All-Star selections:

Houston Roughnecks (bagwellbuff) - 6
Salem Volcanoes (jkenned) - 5
Nashville Merchants (blapo21) - 5
Kansas City Yardbirds (holleybard) - 4
Scranton Red Barons (reggie988) - 4
Jacksonville Juice (greygoose123) - 4
Syracuse Orange (joekendall) - 3
San Juan Marichals (sermonauthor) - 3

Teams with zero All-Star selections:

Boise Coursers
Colorado Springs Iron Horseman
Philadelphia Moneymakers

All-Stars by Division
**This is much closer than the past few years
AL North - 9
NL South - 9
AL South - 8
NL North - 8
NL East - 8
AL East - 7
AL West - 6
NL West - 5

*Links are posted - click on an individual player's name to open their HBD profile
First Time All-Stars – American League

P - Richard Huang (Sultans of Swat)
P - Marcus Ledee (Yardbirds)
P - Bert Jordan (Thunder)
P - Alfonso Diaz (Orange)
P - Tomas Cora (Oracles)
P - Quilvio Benitez (Screaming Babies)
C - Mac Braden (Magnitude)
1B - Santo Herrera (Black Sox)
3B - William Nakano (Black Sox)
3B - Scott Craig (Dinklebergs)

First Time All-Stars – National League

P - Rick Cooper (Jaggernauts)
P - Graham Hausmann (Tornadoes)
P - Travis Morris (Hawkeyes)
P - Rondell Collins (Marichals)
P - Norberto Barajas (Prairie Dogs)
P - Earl Magill (Galveston Wave)
C - Alex Chong (Miracles)
1B - David Uribe (Red Barons)
SS - Wilfredo Zapata (Red Barons)
CF - Samuel Johnston (Roughnecks)
CF - Jack Westbrook (ARF ARF ARF ARF's)

All-Stars Making Their 5th Appearance or Greater
P - Sticky Farquhar (Juice): 11th Appearance
P - Geronimo Estrada (Marichals): 7th Appearance
LF - Gus Justice (Juice): 7th Appearance
P - Alex James (Merchants): 6th Appearance
RF - Roger Byrne (Sultans of Swat): 6th Appearance
P - Wilt Sizemore (Roughnecks): 6th Appearance
2B - Eugenio Canseco (Red Barons): 6th Appearance
3B - Jim Hawpe (Wildcats): 6th Appearance
P - Yoshinori Zhou (Volcanoes): 5th Appearance
P - Lonny Gonzalez (Volcanoes): 5th Appearance
SS - Wendell Werth (Merchants): 5th Appearance
SS - Bartolo Ortiz (Marichals): 5th Appearance


Playoff Tidbits

-Nine Pine Tar clubs are looking to end playoff droughts as they are within striking distance of a postseason berth at the midway point:
Chicago: 16 seasons
Kansas City: 11 seasons
Jackson: 10 seasons
St. Louis: 8 seasons
Tampa Bay: 6 seasons
Wichita: 6 seasons
Dover: 5 seasons
Iowa City: 4 seasons
Cincinnati: 3 seasons

-Five division leaders are looking to extend their current streak of consecutive division titles:
Salem: 6 consecutive AL West titles
Scranton: 6 consecutive NL North titles
Nashville: 5 consecutive AL South titles
Milwaukee: 5 consecutive AL North titles
San Juan: 3 consecutive NL East titles

-Seattle has a 6-game lead in the NL West with a surprisingly low payroll of $48 million.  Of the remaining seven division leaders, Scranton's payroll is $71 million, while everybody else is greater than $90 million.  On the other side, Boston is 6 games below .500 with a payroll of $116 million and Texas is 8 games below on a $101 million player budget.

-The AL North is looking for their first playoff wildcard berth since Season 22.  You heard that correctly...11 seasons of only sending 1 team to the postseason.  Kansas City is currently in the second wildcard position, while Chicago is 3 games behind.

-Some of the American League teams feel comfortable in seeing that league powerhouse Salem is ONLY on pace to win 106 games this season, while Nashville is on pace to win less than 100.  These two teams have put up win totals of 110 or greater SIX times in recent Pine Tar seasons.  Although nobody really knows what to expect come playoff-time after an 83-win Boise team advanced to the World Series last season.

Early Trade-Deadline Moves
-Seattle added power to its lineup by trading for 1B Willie Tarasco, who has already hit 12 homeruns in 39 games with the Strikers.  Seattle leads the NL West by 6 games.
-Cincinnati, who are currently sitting 1 game out of the NL East lead, strengthened its bullpen by acquiring Hades Phillips (5 time all-star, 414 career saves).
-Wichita ranks 15th in the NL in runs scored, but made a move to improve its offense by adding all-star 3B Jim Hawpe, who has a .383 on-base percentage and 55 RBIs this season.  The Tornadoes are below .500, but only 6 games behind division-leading Scranton.
-St. Louis looks to be dealing as the trade deadline draws closer.  They have sent SS Jhonny Castro to Nashville and RP Andy Ganzel to New York in the hopes of building for the future.  St. Louis is 5 games out of first place in the NL North.

Around The League 2-12-16

PROMOTIONS
Cookie Tapia-Milwaukee Magnitude
Tapia is a 1b/lf with some great hitting abilities. He could put up MVP type numbers offensively. He can hit for a high average, get on base and he will hit a lot of homers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win multiple MVP awards and he has a good chance to win the AL rookie of the year this season.

Phillip Braun-Boise Coursers
Braun is strictly a DH. Offensively he has good contact and a good batting eye. He will hit some homers, but he's about average with his power. He should hit well and get on base enough to make him a good play as a DH.


Jesus Dali-San Juan Marichals
This is a nice call up for the Marichals. Dali is going to be a really good starting pitcher in the league for quite a while. He has good control and really good splits. His top 2 pitches are above average. His stamina is a little low, but he has good durability. With room to grow a little still, Dali should become a top end of the rotation starter.


Other notable callups-
Benito Rodriguez-El Paso Walkers
Vic Dickerson-Jacksonville Juice
Hub Winkler-Boston Screaming Babies


KEY INJURIES
Mo Lee-Houston Roughnecks
Tim Daubach-Boston Screaming Babies
Dick Kohlmeier-Nashville Merchants
Gio Esposito-Tampa Bay Thunder
Delanor Guthrie-Kansas City Yardbirds


Waiver Claims
Kameron Moore-Omaha Oracles
Jose Lopez-El Paso Walkers



INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS
Saul Pescado-Durham Doormats
This guy is a 20 year old leftfield/firstbaseman type IFA. He looks like he will have average pop(15-20 hr), and the ability to get on base at a decent clip. He's not an allstar caliber player, but he could put up decent enough numbers to make it on an allstar team or two. Especially in a hitters park like Durham

Edgmer Bournigal-Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's
Bournigal projects as a decent mid rotation starter. He should have good control with solid splits. He should pitch enough groundballs to be effective in Louisville, but his pitches are not very good. At worst he will pitch at the back end of the rotation in a few years.

Harry Alou-Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's
Another pitching prospect signed by Louisville in the past couple weeks. I see a trend. This guy has some concerns with the possiblity of injuries. His durability looks lower and will hold him back some. He projects to have good control with decent splits. He also has good velocity with a couple of average pitches. Alou could end up pitching at the back end of a rotation or in a long reliever type role. He does have big league potential though.


OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
The league has seen 4 players hit for the cycle this season. Boone Brow of Syracuse, Rich Miller of Boise, Buddy Berry of Milwaukee and Stan Stroud of Nashville have accomplished the feat.

Jim Hawpe-Colorado Wildcats is hitting a .350 with a .411 obp. He also has 11 steals and 12 homers.

Williams Nakano-Chicago Black Sox leads the league in triples with 6 and also has 17 doubles and 14 homers. His 56 runs scored are second in the league, and he ranks 7th in steals with 22.

The longest hitting streak this season belongs to Maikel Martinez with 27 games in a row.

3 pitchers have 9 wins at this point and they are Yoshinori Zhou, Rymer Tavarez and Kendry Martin.

Rodrigo Andujar-Houston Roughnecks is the first pitcher to 20 saves. He has 20 in 21 opportunities and also has a .84 ERA.

Ben Boyer-Wichita Tornadoes has just a .90 WHIP through 13 starts and a 1.39 ERA.

Julio Fuentes-Colorado Springs has 7 minus plays at second base. This is because he's left handed. He has great range and glove, but a lefty can't play the position.