AL EAST
Once begrudgingly called the AL Beast, most would pencil in mighty Boston for the NDL championship game and simply begin playing for the bragging rights of 2nd place. Every empire eventually crumbles and that is the case here. It's been a couple seasons since the Kings of Swing have stood atop the league and now new teams are fighting it out for the right to call themselves the Beasts of the East.
Miami - Wadden has built his team up for this exact moment. Winning the East last season with a well assembled offensive group, he should be able to hold onto the title of East Champs this season as well. Where he is lacking is a solid starting rotation. His team will be relying on putting up enough runs to outpace his opponents. The pitching will be good enough to hang on but will struggle with teams that can keep pace with his offensive output. RP Mark Miller is a phenomenal shut down guy, but rumor has it Wadden wants to convert his 12 stamina reliever into a starter....
New England - Saw some signs of life last year with young emerging talent. For me it's a bit of a toss up here between NE and the next team. Having a year of playing together and chemistry I'll pencil the Spitters in as the team to follow up behind Miami. It'll be interesting to see how they set up Becker and Sampson as both are great talents and need to be on the field. To make the next move, GM Riccio is going to need to focus on pitching.
Atlanta - Call me crazy, but kdog made some great moves this off season. I suppose the years...and years....and years of sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else have fun finally ignited the flame and he's now ready to try and challenge for a possible playoff wildcard. The Bobcats have some exciting young bats in their lineup with Blackshaw, Sexton, and Walker and also added Jason Dixon during the off season. The pitching staff won't blow you away, but is a huge improvement, especially with the additions of Cruz and Murphy. If Atlanta can keep the score close in the late innings those two should provide a chance for the young team to walk away with a W. I'm excited to see what this team does in the division.
Boston - There's not much to believe in Beantown right now. A team that is working on righting the ship financially will spend a few seasons at the bottom of this list but don't believe for a second that won't be back. The farm system is already coming together and will provide a light at the end of the tunnel for GM Krensta. The big story line here though will be Jorge Marino. Will this baseball god spend his final years in Boston or will someone finally pay up for the storied legend?
Grand Rapids - Ummm...... Next.
AL Central
Nashville - The Hustle will definitely be in a dog fight for the Central lead all season. I believe the strength of their pitching staff is slightly ahead of MJ and with the emergence of superstar Kline leading the offense they should be able to ever so slightly hold off any challengers for the division title. If Warner is able to put it together this season that will help solidify Nashville's spot at the top for possibly the next several years.
Moose Jaw - The starting rotation is not quite as good as the Hustle's, but the bullpen is better. If it does come down to close games throughout the season between these two than the Diamond Dogs could surpass them and take the title off the play of Roberts and Carr. I just don't feel that will be the case though. Moose Jaw's strength is in its bats. They have the ability to absolutely punish opposing pitchers and these guys are young. If GM Godlien can get a little bit better on the mound there is no telling what this team could do. In fact, the more I look at the lineup the more inclined I am to switch them with Nashville....
Philadelphia - They have Winebrenner. This changes everything! I don't feel like re-writing Nashville and Moose Jaw, but they should be swapped. Ok, now back to Philly. They have quietly put together a nice pitching staff. Some of it is young, very young, talent but the talent is there. SP Rodriguez will be a household name in a couple of seasons, 3B Martinez, CF Walshe are up and coming bats, and still some talent in the farm system. They're not challengers just yet but their time is coming. And they have Winebrenner.
Sheltown - Four years removed from a title, the last few pieces of talent are all on the block. Another team that is trying to avoid financial hardship and begin the rebuild process. There is some talent on the team in the likes of Harris, McBride, Martinez, and Johnson but it's not enough to be competitive in the Central. Young Lane Sykes can't stay off the IR and Pete Daniels is on the block. The pitching staff will be in shambles through the season. But they're still better than....
Lincoln - Seriously. How has this GM not been fired? This has got to be nepotism....
AL West
This division is just brutal. It is quite possible this division finishes with the three best records in the AL. They boast three of the better pitching staffs, two of the lineups that have proven to be deadly and one that has improved dramatically over the off season. Fortunately for the other AL teams, they will have to beat up on each other in order to survive and advance.
Steel City - Why are they here? Because no one has unseated them yet. A solid power lineup and a pitching staff that now has Quick back for the season. Get past their starting rotation and now you face Valdez and Aguilar. The addition of CF Potts during the off season was a big win for STC and a huge disappointment for every other West team. Meredith, Young, O'Rorke, De Los Santos, the names go on and on and on. I keep believing this team is getting old and will start to slip but it hasn't happened yet. I'm starting to believe it won't.
Richmond - The self proclaimed king of baseball. Always believes his team is the best. If the ratings aren't high he'll tell you that doesn't matter it's all about stats. If the stats aren't there he'll tell you it's about the ratings and how good they are....yeesh... William has assembled a very solid squad with few weaknesses. The bad news is he's going from Richmond to Poormond this coming off season. Who am I kidding? That's good news. His #1-#4 spots in the starting rotation are lights out. The addition of SP Jeremy McGuire was a coup for the Geeks. You'll have to go pretty deep in his lineup to find a weak bat. Yep, the makings of a champ are all here. But...we all know how this song ends. The Bleeks greatest struggle has always been closing out games. Let's just all sit back and enjoy watching it fall apart again.
Cookeville - Solid pitching staff with a superstar in the making in Jose Rodriguez, a solid bullpen with Delgado, Stewart, and Randolph. Score early, it's going to be difficult to score late. The lineup is starting to come together and is much improved from last season. The additions of Lopez, Perez, Vargo, and Brown add the much needed punch this team lacked a year ago. Most predict they'll play 3rd fiddle in the division though. With a few lucky breaks they could definitely work their way up in those standings however.
Rhode Island - Hard to believe this team had such high expectations a season ago and just a year removed are a shell of themselves. A huge sell off at the end of the season was needed to save themselves from financial devastation. The Red Wolves still have a player or two that will help keep them around, but lack enough star power to keep them relevant. David Hewitt is most likely entering the final year of his contract (TO for 2061), Nick Hudson is a young 2B that could become a star, Alejandro Fernandez may have enough left in the tank for another season of closing games out...but after that there isn't much. Seeing these three traded off is also a possibility as the season moves on.
Montreal - Espichan, Sellers, Flores, and Santos. That's it. One of those is a relief pitcher. The rebuild continues.
PLAYOFFS
Miami
Moose Jaw
Steel City
Richmond
Cookeville
Nashville
AL Champs
Steel City
Now for the NL....
Spoiler!
