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PVBL: Washington Sea Dogs
DL Preview
April 13, 1999
Picard Division
---------------
Binghamton Mets
They say they're making a run at the playoffs. And I just peek through
the cracks and find out how.
Lineup:
Arnold O'Neill occasionally does things besides run, but not much. Biggio
is a little better than last year - by about 15 contact points.
Thome/Bagwell is one of the most potent combos in the DL, maybe the most.
The rest of the lineup has good power, but past Mieske no contact.
Weiner's rating: B/B+. I like the lineup for the top 5.
Rotation:
I don't think they need a single starter in trade, though I'd still start
five.
Andy Ashby: He's the only 5-pitch pitcher that's also a one-pitch guy.
Great fastball, fair other pitches but he does have five of them.
Bobby Witt: Great pitches, mediocre control, good endurance. A good
starter who usually pitches at a spectacular level.
Brad Radke: Better than Ashby, Radke combines a solid fastball with better
side pitches and excellent control to go with good endurance.
Frank Rodriguez: Not as good as Ashby, Rodriguez has a solid fastball
with fair side pitches. Good control and arm strength.
Weiner's rating: B+. All the pitchers are quality, but only Witt might
be an ace. Solid rotation though.
Weiner's rotation: Same, with Mark Thompson. Young pitchers get BETTER.
Bullpen:
I kinda like what he's doing with the pen...that doesn't mean it's any
better. He's got Dillone up and has him unassigned; considering Dillone's
the best pitch pitcher in the pen, that might not be such a great thing.
Weiner's rating: C-. Not a very strong pen; he neds a couple more guys
for stability, much less strength.
Weiner's pen: long: Curt Woods middle: Brocail, Dillone, setup: Bass,
Myers, closer: Rojas
Farm/Bench:
Maybe I should just cut and paste this: if he had a pitching bench, he'd
have a bullpen. hitting bench is decent, with moderate outfielders in the
majors and fair depth in the minors. Farm on both sides is virtually
nonexistent, Hal Grilli isn't a bad prospect and neither is Fred Bass.
GM/Player Ops:
He picked up Bobby Witt for what seems like Shawn Green...that's not MY
favorite move, but...I think he got cremated with the Davis+Whiten+Cloud
deal, and he seems as if he's gone a little down since last season despite
the Bagwell/Thome combo. Having to start Sipin shows.
Weiner's rating: C.
Overall: B-. That isn't actually low on the Picard food chain, but it's
low enough. Needs pen help to become a real contender.
==========================================================================
Duluth Bjork
What's scary is that the Bjork traded Frank Thomas and might still win the
division. Not bloody likely, however.
Lineup:
You have to be smoking something to trade for Scott Brosius and sit him on
the bench. Mike Tucker's the only legit leadoff candidate on the team.
Caruso's fine, A-Rod is the man. Newfield's solid power/contact,
Gonzalez/Lee/Kent are fair, and out of order. Spiers and Nicol finish
fine.
Weiner's rating: B-. A-Rod's amazing, but there ain't a lot of contact
besides him and Newfield. Takes a major jump if you replace Gonzalez with
Brosius.
Rotation:
Phoney and Hallony.
Jeff Hallony: Searing pain enters my brain whenever I think of
thee...Hallony. Just the next great pitcher in the league; Hallony is
already tremendous. Two spectacular pitches to go with secondary pitches.
Esteban Loaiza: Two solid pitches, and four of them; good ratings with
mediocre endurance. A good #3, a fair #2.
Fernando Hernandez: Below-average control, but he mixes it with good
pitches. A good #4, a fair #3.
Garth Kitchens: It's that or Garth's kitchen. Three fair pitches to go
with good arm strength and fair control; he's a fair #5...a good #6. :)
Chris Gott: A nice end-of-the-rotation workhorse; he's really the #4
starter on this staff. Or the #3. Blegh pitches, but very good ratings.
Weiner's rating: D. Remember...there's that "rest of the league"
comparison thing. Ya never know, it could come together, but...
Weiner's rotation: Same, but replace Kitchens with Isringhausen.
Bullpen:
Six quality pitchers in the pen, and no problems. Stieb could also
replace Gott in the rotation this season, since he'll probably retire next
year.
Weiner's rating: B+.
Farm/Bench:
A real farm, unlike some of the ant farms in the division. Hugh Coleman,
Caruso, Dmitri Young and Mike Johnson are all excellent prospects. His
hitting bench is good, with lots of speed, defense and hitting - too much
if you consider Brosius - and if his pitching was...
GM/Player Ops:
Traded away a good lineup for a better bunch of prospects, dealt Frank
Thomas with almost nobody to take over for him...it's a bizarre set of
events. On the other hand, he does have a very bright future, if only a
mediocre present.
Overall: C. This is just not a good franchise yet. They need to trade
hitting prospects for pitching, et al. Once they do, it becomes an
extremely potent team, but it'll take time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento Knights
But they're not ALL-Knighters.
Lineup:
Mad power without a whole lot of leadoff. Sounds like Death Valley.
Brian Hunter's a solid leadoff guy, Ruben Rivera's a speedy, powerful #2.
In fact, #2-8 average well over 80 power. Devi Cruz provides defense at
#9.
Weiner's rating: B+. Hunter's good enough if he hits...and the rest
aren't no-contact hitters.
Rotation:
Only Morris is over 23 years old. That's really scary.
Kerry Wood: Read the papers. :P His control's at 53, which means that
he's already a star. Put that up to 60-65, and he's Darryl Kile on
steroids.
Myles Tauscher: Never been less than spectacular, Tauscher's one of the
mediocre tools-but-great skills pitchers. Pitches are excellent, control
is good, and his arm strength is major-league average.
Gary Niles: See Randy Johnson, age 19. Huge arm, reasonable control,
great fastball. All he needs is time.
Matt Morris: The best pure pitcher on the staff right now, Morris has
good ratings to go with very good pitch ratings.
Frank Callahan: If he's the worst of them, I'd hate to face the best.
Reasonable control, three good pitches.
Weiner's rating: B+. All of them are quality, and within two years, this
is a solid A++ rotation.
Bullpen:
He should do himself a favor and get Harrison out of the majors. Besides
that, it's a lot of solid arms. Very little that's spectacular about this
bunch, but most of them have skills in one area or another.
Weiner's rating: B+. Getting a theme here? :)
Weiner's pen: long: Williams, Ardell, middle: Matthews, Mlicki, setup:
Hutton, Finley, closer: Clingman
Farm/Bench:
You read a lot of the farm in the rotation, but he's also got Amby Jones
in the minors. Hitting farm's almost all grown up, but Deivi Cruz has
potential to be a good shortstop. Their hitting bench is spectacular,
pitching bench poor.
GM/Player Ops:
Can you do a better job than this? Yeah, but not much. Having given the
horrible bunch a chance to make the playoffs this season is enough for me
to stand up and cheer.
Weiner's rating: A+.
Overall: B+. He's got a team that can make a little noise, although
they're gonna have to win the division - most likely - to take a playoff
spot.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spokane Pirates
If Galena is the Empire, Spokane is the Evil Empire.
"Because good is dumb."
Lineup:
They've gotta be in the best hitters park ever created by man. Derek
Bell's an acceptable leadoff guy; Sanchez sucks at #2. McGwire/Anderson
is great. Then Matheny and Stedronsky strike out a lot, Mabry tries to
clean up Brady and Boone and Strawberry are just fair.
Weiner's rating: C-.
Weiner's lineup: Bell/Mabry/Brady/McGwire/Straw, then the rest.
Rotation:
David Cone: The man can pitch and pitch and pitch. As a union leader, he
can also bitch and...:) Good pitches with good arm strength.
Juan Guzman: A personal favorite of mine, Guzman has excellent ratings to
go with good pitches.
Jack McDowell: What the hell is he doing ahead of MAddux? :) Good pitch
ratings to go with solid raws, good endurance.
Greg Maddux: Super pitches, great control. Only average arm strength
(and should have better endurance) but he's still one of the best
anywhere.
Jamey WRight: A good fifth starter Wright combines very good ratings with
average pitches. I like his endurance in the #5 spot.
Weiner's rating: A. It's one of the better rotations in baseball.
Bullpen:
Mark Clark is one of the better starters not to be starting. The pen
itself is questionable, with guys like Alston and Armstrong there, but
most of the guys are definitely quality. HE should definitely bring up
Pulsipher.
Weiner's rating: B+. With Pulispher over Mills or Armstrong.
Weiner's pen: long: Armstrong, middle: Pulsipher, Clark, setup: Shuey,
Blair, closer: Benitez.
Farm/Bench:
No farm to speak of other than Jamey Wright and Pulispher on the pitching
side; they're actually rather old. No real pitching bench, so the depth
is questionable, but Clark is definitely good starter depth, as is
Pulispher. Hitting bench sucks, without much saving grace.
GM/Player Ops:
He got seriously screwed when Molitor retired on him, so I'll take it easy
on him. He did dump Eric Davis, which wasn't a very wise move. He also
weakened his bullpen, but he DID strengthen his starting rotation. Still,
he's got an immense amount of work to do...he'd do better by dumping his
rotation and starting over from scratch.
Weiner's rating: N/A. You lose Molly, you get a break from The Man.
Overall: B-. Like I said, not too bad, but the lineup will sink him as
often as the pitching will help him, so it's a BAD B-. He's in real
trouble.
==========================================================================
Vero Beach Bums
It would be weird if they took as much of a hit as they did and were STILL
the class of this division...or maybe not that weird.
Lineup:
It's an all new lineup with much the same cast; I'll add Grissom for
logistic purposes. Greg Jefferies is a blegh leadoff guy, Grissom a
stunning #2. Nevin/King/Jordan is solid, if unspectacular. Hollins, then
probably Hudler, Gant (or Carr) and Martinez round it out.
Weiner's rating: B-. Not a lot of power, a moderately good 2-5.
Rotation:
Best rotation in the division, which isn't saying much.
Albie Lopez: Put the words Cy and Young together and it looks something
like this guy. Good ratings to go with excellent pitches make him a
really strong ace.
Ismael Valdes: About as good as Lopez, Valdes's pitches aren't as good.
He's a powerful starter, a killer #2.
Willie Adams: Also not quite as good as Lopez, Adams has less arm
strength but some of the best pitches in all of baseball.
Kevin Ritz: I call him "Mr. Destiny," he's the luckiest sonovabitch in
baseball. Reasonable arm strength, poor control, terrible pitches, always
pitches reasonably well and I'll never explain it.
Orlando Hernandez: A decent #5, Hernandez has mediocre control and
endurance but good arm strength and good pitches. Better as a starter.
Weiner's rating: B+.
Weiner rotation: Lopez/Valdes/Adams/Hernandez/Hardie. Hardie's got the
same pitches but far superior ratings.
Bullpen:
Hoffman's a solid closer, the rest of them are fairly talented. This is
not an enthralling bullpen either. I like Angel Miranda, but he's not
developing like I thought he would. Bottenfield should really be in the
majors.
Weiner's rating: B.
Weiner's pen: long: Ritz, middle: Miranda, Bottenfield, setup: Cummings,
Weathers, closer: Hoffman
Farm/Bench:
He actually has one of the top prospects in the minors, with Harry Hoch.
And I really like Tankersley and Goltz on the pitching side. I'm actually
mildly impressed with the youth of the rotation too, and when they add
Tankersley, it'll be a mid-20s rotation that's very solid.
Bench is fair, with about four catchers that are solid backups, a depleted
Ron Gant, but not much else. Gant had been living sort of a charmed life
too. Pitching bench is terrible.
GM/Player Ops:
Yawn. Did he even make a move all last year? I do know he watches the
waiver wire like a hawk, and picks up some pretty ok talent there. With
his record, that's impressive. However...I do have a bone to pick. He
chose not to protect Vizquel - and in that was his downfall. If he leaves
Jeff King open, he keeps Vizquel and drops a solid first baseman, a good
tradeoff.
Weiner's rating: C.
Overall: B. With this rating in mind, one would think I'm picking
Sacramento to win the division, but I don't know. Sacramento doesn't have
a Lopez/Valdes/Adams combo, which is at least the second most potent 1-3
in the league.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Projected records for the Picard
Vero Beach 87-75
Sacramento 86-76
Binghamton 81-81
Spokane 72-90
Duluth 64-98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riker Division
--------------
Houston Hellraisers
They finished with one of the bottom 8 records last year. I'm still
working on that one.
Lineup:
Edgar Renteria gets better every year. Wil Cordero is a solid second
base. Then, let the fireworks begin - Piazza, Martinez, Belle, Castilla
and Canseco is easily the most power-packed, power-average oriented 3-7
in either league. Colbrunn and Devo provide hitting and defense. Slow as
hell, but they're stylin' on the home-run trot.
Weiner's rating: A. A+ if they weren't so bloody slow.
Weiner's lineup:
Edgar/Devo/Piazza/Belle/Martinez/Castilla/Canseco/Colbrunn/Cordero
Rotation:
Like I said, I'm still trying to figure out how they lost.
Pat Hentgen: Probably the best starter in the DL, Hentgen's got it all;
ratings, pitches, great endurance, and just 27.
Tom Glavine: Seen worse, but seen better too. Solid ratings and pitches,
but he's more of the #3 or #4 on this staff.
Mariano Rivera: Simply one of the best raw ratings guys in either league.
Needs his pitches to be better to be truly overpowering.
Todd Stottlemyre: I miss you, Todd. Good arm strength and endurance,
good pitch ratings, mediocre control. Stottlemyre/Finley...those were the
days.
Cal Eldred: A fairly solid #5 starter - moreso if you consider the
no-hitter - Eldred's complimentary pitches to his fastball aren't great
but there are three of them.
Weiner's rating: A-. You're not gonna see much better in this league.
Bullpen:
Todd Richie's better than either Roger McDowell or Grady Norris, but sure.
With as good a rotation as he has, he should try to pick up one or two
more top relievers and just rock the house. It's a fairly good pen.
Weiner's rating: B.
Weiner's pen: long: McDowell, middle: Juden/Hernandez, setup:
Juden/Richie, closer: Thomas
Farm/Bench:
If you expected him to have a farm with a major-league team like that,
forget about it. He's got nothing on either side. Almost everyone's
mid-to-late 20s, so he's not real old but he's not real young either. Has
the mark of a contender for sure. Hitting bench is absolutely top-notch;
they go extremely deep there. Pitching bench is nonexistent mostly.
GM/Player Ops:
In Jay's style, downgraded the pitching for hitting. No complaints.
Weiner's rating: B.
Overall: A-. With Punxatawney losing yet another hitter, these guys look
like the division frontrunners if their pitching performs well enough.
==========================================================================
Punxatawney Groundhogs
And they win again, and again, and again...:)
Lineup:
Some of their players are finally starting to grow into themselves. Dave
Martinez and Tony Batista are a killer 1-2 combo. Jose Valentin's a
strong player who always plays above even that. Klesko/Berroa/Giambi is a
strong 4-6, and Rolen is an excellent #7. Dan Wilson and Robin Jennings
round out what is honestly as good a lineup as Houston's.
Weiner's rating: A/A-.
Rotation:
Now that Bobby Thomas has kicked his crack addiction, they're ready to
move on.
Rocky Coppinger: One of the great, grand poombahs of young pitching.
Coppinger combines excellent arm strength with good control and good
pitches, and is still only 22.
Jon Lieber: Low endurance, but makes up for it with great control.
Good arm strength, fantastic pitch ratings. One of the few starters with
a legit 90 pitch.
Sean Bergman: The economy-class Jon Lieber. Worse in every category, but
still a strong starter.
Bobby Thomas: Another guy with a legitimate 90 pitch, Thomas is simply a
decent arm with great pitches and control again.
Scott Aldred: Always been better out of the pen, but good pitches
combined with good ratings seem to bely that. He could be a very solid
arm.
Weiner's rating: B+/A-.
Bullpen:
One of the best-looking bullpens in either league, this pen doesn't have a
single guy with bad ratings or bad pitches. Considering it also closes
out with one of the league's top five closers in Rickey Botallico, and
it's a magnificent pen.
Weiner's rating: A+.
Farm/Bench:
Pitching bench is solid, with Hampton a good backup starter and a few pen
guys in the minors. Billy Ashley sucks, but the hitting bench has a
goodly amount of people who can both hit and field. Prospectwise...well,
outside his major leagues, just not a whole lot; people like Burright and
Bluma are okay on the pitching side, and Jack Jackson is good on the
hitting side. Rolen/Batista is perhaps the best pair of young players in
the game.
GM/Player Ops:
Added Wilson and Martinez, subtracted people through free-agency. No
great losses, some solid gainers. Shapiro is, year in and year out, one
of the PVBL's top GMs, and always keeps his team extremely competitive.
Weiner's rating: A.
Overall: A-/A. He keeps slipping every year, but it's not his fault. He
can't help the fact that he loses players to free-agency. Houston should
be more competitive than ever this season, so he has his work cut out for
him again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Springfield Atoms
They're much like SCUD - they finished their mission last year, and now
it's time to blow up.
Lineup:
I guess all things considered, they're not really that bad. George
Milligan's the endless overachiever, and Fox is a reasonable #2.
Hill/Fielder/Sherid/Ripken isn't really THAT bad, but don't give 'em to
me. Greg Myers, Midre Cummings and Mike Kinkade round it out.
Weiner's rating: C+. Not enough power.
Weiner's lineup:
Kinkade/Milligan/Hill/Fielder/Sherid/Ripken/Myers/Fox/Nixon. Better
defensively too. Cummings sucks.
Rotation:
How'd they do it last year? The #1 rotation in the DL. Considering #2, I
found that pretty annoying.
Joey Hamilton: Funny...he doesn't look THAT good. The best starter in
all of the PVBL last year - and robbed of a Cy Young - Hamilton has
tremendous raw ratings but just good pitches. Still one of the greats.
Justin Thompson: Thompson's come a long way. Very good ratings,
especially for a lefty, and good pitches. Getting better all the time.
Livan Hernandez: The largest collector of second-place ROY votes,
Hernandez Combines good ratings with good pitches to be a very
high-quality #3 starter.
Mark Gardner: I've seen worse than Gardner, who at least has good
pitches, but his ratings are atrocious. Needs to be perfect to be good.
Jim Deshaies: He's a year older and a year weaker. Good pitches, poor
ratings. Could get destroyed.
Weiner's rating: B-. I'm not in love with Livan yet, and the latter two
are blechy.
Weiner's rotation: Hamilton/Thompson/Hernandez/Tapani/Deshaies.
Bullpen:
Finally, somebody gave Dad Humphrey a good home. They've got guys in the
minors, so showing guys like McMichael and Tewksbury the door doesn't look
like that much of a chore. If you have one exceptional closer and you use
two, you're depleting your middle relief.
Weiner's rating: B+.
Weiner's pen: long: Gardner, Hasegawa, middle: Manuel, Myers, setup:
Stanton, Humphrey, closer: Consedine.
Farm/Bench:
One of the few major age problems in the PVBL, almost all of their
starters are over 30 save Mike Kinkade. It's not so much a problem in
Deadwood as it is in Springfield, for sure. Kinkade is one of the top
prospects, maybe THE top prospect, in all of baseball. Joe Dickson looks
good on the hitting side, and Livan and Thompson have time to grow on the
pitching side.
Their hitting bench is solid, with lots of depth, and their pitching bench
is reasonably stocked, if the pitchers aren't really top-notch.
GM/Player Ops:
The lineup used to be better. Ditto on the pitching rotation. So what
did he do right? He got a little younger, picking up Kinkade, Livan and
Consedine. He's moving in the right direction, but it's unfortunate that
he had to do it in a year where he might have contended if he DIDN'T get
younger.
Weiner's rating: B-.
Overall: B-. They're just not gonna win that many games again...in the
long run, they should be better than Tampa, but they're in deep trouble.
=========================================================================
Tampa Bay
Throw this man a Lifesaver, gentlemen, and I don't mean mint.
Lineup:
Michael Coleman is the logical leadoff guy, but Harold Reynolds is a
little weak to be the #2. Jaha is a solid power/average guy; Blauser is
a good shortstop. Wilkins and Stairs are the same player. Hayes, Mouton
and Obando round it out in a mediocre fashion. Boring, contactless
lineup.
Weiner's rating: C.
Weiner's lineup:
Coleman/Blauser/Jaha/Stairs/Obando/Wilkins/Hayes/Mouton/Reynolds. Logical
progression of hitters at the front, power in the middle.
Rotation:
Rick Reed was a great pickup. Gives them a pitcher and everything.
Rick Reed: Just drafted and already a great pitcher. Very good ratings,
solid pitches, knowing this team, will be traded soon.
Don Osborne: Pretty poor arm strength, but makes up for it everywhere
else. Extremely solid pitches, great control.
Carlos Perez: Pitches are good, control is good...endurance isn't.
Should be solid, but not spectacular.
Tony Saunders: Had better be good, 'cause he got him for Troy Percival.
Two pitches, reasonable ratings, but doesn't look spectacular either.
Still young.
Carlos Castillo: Is developing his pitches, so he's no longer awful. Now
he's just mediocre. Good control, decent arm strength and endurance.
Weiner's rating: C+.
Weiner's rotation: Reed/Belcher/Saberhagen/Perez/Osborne. Terribly
mismanaged for a non-contender.
Bullpen:
Marc Valdes is a name that will forever live in PVBL infamy - more later.
Pavlik doesn't need to be anywhere near the majors, Gooden would have been
my choice at closer. Excluding the fact that half the rotation's
accidentally in there, it's a well-managed bullpen besides Pavlik, which
isn't bad, and Christansen, who needs to be there somewhere.
Weiner's rating: B-.
Weiner's pen: long: Castillo, middle: Saunders, Christiansen, setup:
Valdes, Plesac, closer: Charlton, Gooden
Farm/Bench:
Everyone on the hitting bench can do something, Charles Johnson field,
Brogna hit, et al. Has about five good young pitching prospects and a
very, very deep pitching bench. Hitting prospects aren't great, but he's
got time to get them yet.
GM/Player Ops:
Made one of the worst trades in league history last year when he dealt
Esteban Loaiza and Frank Thomas to Duluth for Marc Valdes and John Jaha.
Made a reasonable age-saving deal, shipping Burkett and Baines to
Washington for Stairs, Charles Johnson, Jack Whitehurst and Joe
Richardson. Swapped Percival for Saunders and a draft pick. No gripes
here other than their avoidance of the FA Plan...blechy.
Weiner's rating: C. They didn't fail.
Overall: C+. They've got a chance to win 70 games. I think.
==========================================================================
Projected records for the Riker
Houston 95-77
Punxatawney 92-70
Springfield 69-93
Tampa Bay 55-107
==========================================================================
Data Division
-------------
Home of the reigning DL Champion Washington Sea Dogs. Better known as the
Big Ol' Hams. :)
Calgary Cowboys
Starting with the worst and working our way up.
Lineup:
Hippauf gets better every year, and is very fast. Brent Gates is all
right as a #2. Then, Green/Thomas/Gonzalez is one of the best 3-4-5s in
all of baseball...but it dies immediately afterward, with
Cullop/Jensen/Elster/Alfonso. Mismanaged, too.
Weiner's rating: B+. A serious tribute to the big guys and Hippauf.
Weiner's lineup:
Hippauf/Guillen/Green/Thomas/Gonzalez/Elster/Gates/Alfonso/Jensen.
Guillen HAS to play over Cullop.
Rotation:
Why does this team have problems? Feast your eyes, gentlemen.
Cliff Magrane: If this guy's an ace, I'm a monkey's uncle. Good pitches,
solid ratings, excellent control. Not bad, but more like a #3 starter.
Hal Cruz: One of the best prospects in all of baseball. Cruz has good
stuff and a good arm, but his control isn't there yet. In a couple years,
he's a legit staff ace though.
Paul Wagner: Good arm, good pitches, mediocre control. Could be solid,
could get destroyed.
Jose Barnowski: Good arm, average control, mediocre pitches at best. A
fairly reasonable #3-4 starter.
AJ Sager: Always pitches better than he should. That shouldn't bother
Calgary much. Poor arm strength to go with moderate control and good
pitches.
Weiner's rating: D. Nothing spectacular, and it's not even all solid.
Bullpen:
I'm impressed that he's got Hal Cruz up over Glendon Rusch; shows real
promise as a GM. But Rusch still deserves a spot in the pen over Josias
Elliott, one of the league's biggest dogs. Other than Rusch, a
spectacularly managed pen. This guy clearly shows he's played this game
before.
Weiner's rating: B+. I like this pen.
Weiner's pen: Absolutely the same, but with Rusch over Elliott.
Farm/Bench:
He has a very good prospect pitching base, with Cruz and Rusch and
Barnowski and Magrane all under 24. His pitching bench leaves a lot to be
desired, but that's not his concentration anyway. Hitting bench is awful,
hitting prospects are too besides Mike Dashiell, Alfonso, Guillen and
Jensen.
GM/Player Ops:
Has done a smashup job so far, should be very effective as a GM. Needs to
get a couple drafts under his belt to be competitive.
Weiner's rating: N/A.
Overall: C. This is the worst team in this division, and may
subsequently get beaten up. But it's not a bad team by any accounts.
==========================================================================
Larimer Knights
We'll ignore the injury bug.
Lineup:
Miguel Friantague is a moderate leadoff guy...missed him by a touch two
years ago. Merced is a solid #2 hitter. Giles gets better every year;
Edmonds/Sorrento is legitimate power/contact. Dykstra is fair at DH.
Stinett/Bell/McLemore round it out acceptably. Offerman's the best
leadoff guy, but he's laid up.
Weiner's rating: B+. Good contact everywhere.
Weiner's lineup:
Offerman/Merced/Giles/Edmonds/Sorrento/Stinnett/Friantague/Bell/McLemore
Rotation:
Tim Davis, ace by trade.
Tim Davis: Easily the worst #1 starter in the PVBL, Davis is a one-pitch
guy with moderate ratings and good control. Fair at best.
Chris Haney: The real ace, Haney combines steadily-improving pitches with
good ratings. One of the more solid lefties around.
Paul Quantrill: Not enough endurance to be an ace, but a very solid arm.
Very good pitch ratings, good arm strength and above-average control.
Jose Lima: No overpowering pitch, and that will hurt him. Throws two
solid pitches with good control, but also has weak endurance. Best
option.
Ugueth Urbina: Don't understand why the #2 starter is at #5, but that's
none of MY business. Urbina's easily got the best ratings on the staff,
and with very good pitches, he's a really solid arm.
Weiner's rating: B. A decent-looking rotation, if one without upward
potential.
Weiner's rotation: Haney/Urbina/Quantrill/Lima/Bob Bliss
Bullpen:
Lots of AAA guys I'd rather see than Bill Fischer or Jay Hensiek.
Forget reliever - Dellaventura might be the best pitcher, period, in
either league. Sacrifices ratings for pitches even though he doesn't have
to.
Weiner's rating: B.
Weiner's pen: long: Springer, Kane, middle: Davis, North, setup: Ruebel,
Geraghty, closer: Dellaventura.
Farm/Bench:
He has a very effective bench, though he is starting his utility guy, Jay
Bell. Pitching bench is excellent when you consider he could change
the five people in his pen with another five - other than Dellaventura, of
course.
His prospects are a little weak on the hitting side; Giles has room to
grow yet, and Pete Thompson looks good, but Howie Paulette is losing
prospect status. On the pitching side, Urbina, Bliss, North, and
Lima are all pretty young.
GM/Player Ops:
Nothing. Honestly, if I were getting married, I wouldn't do anything
either.
Weiner's rating: A+++. Mazel Tov. :)
Overall: B. It's a reasonably solid team in what just happens to be a
spectacular division. He'd be very competitive in the Picard.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richmond Panthers
Currently your 1999 Data Division leader. Now all he has to do is keep it
up for 155 more games.
Lineup:
Jim Eisenreich is one of the most consistent leadoff men in the league,
and his computerization cured his Tourette's. Clayton's a decent #2,
Martinez is an excellent #3. Craig Paquette is a powerful cleanup guy.
Bragg/Conine is fair, and there's gotta be some way to get Manowski off
third base - move Conine there? Duncan and Flaherty finish it up
adequately. Other than Manowski, defensively sound.
Weiner's rating: B/B+.
Weiner's lineup:
Eisenreich/Duncan/Martinez/Paquette/Bragg/Conine/Manowski/Flaherty/Clayton
Rotation:
Every year, the rotation gets better...and older.
Curt Schilling: One of the best in the league, Schilling combines superb
pitch ratings with superb raw ratings. If anyone in the league can look
like a Cy Young before the season starts, it's Schilling.
Roger Clemens: Arm strength slipped a little, but the pitches are still
good, the endurance is still great and the control is decent. Still a
top-notch pitcher.
Hideo Nomo: If not Washington or Vero Beach, the best 1-3 in the league.
Nomo combines very good ratings with excellent pitch ratings and excellent
endurance to form a deadly 1-3.
Bob Wolcott: After those guys, Wolcott doesn't look so good. But he's a
pretty good #4 starter, with great control and fairly good pitch ratings.
Arm strength is just fair.
Robert Person: One of the better 5th starters around, Person combines
good raw ratings with good pitches. His endurance is weak, but he's a #5.
Weiner's rating: A. This is always a killer rotation.
Bullpen:
With that much depth, how does he get off putting Key, Dunning and Mercker
in the majors? Whatever the case, this is a pen that pales in comparison
with the rest of the team; it's just not that solid. Bring up the AAA
guys, and it's still not that solid. Lucked out by keeping Bud Black
another year.
Weiner's rating: C+.
Weiner's pen: long: Hacker, Leiter, middle: Black, Pate, setup:
Aberson, Johnson, closer: Eischen. Jimmy Key should NOT close, even if
you keep him in the majors.
Farm/Bench:
His pitching bench is excellent, as you may have noted from all the arms
that changed in my version of his pen. Hitting bench is definitely
above-average, with just about everybody used somehow. His farm is awful,
however...it speaks volumes that his best overall prospect is Harry Wall.
GM/Player Ops:
Added Clemens for Fryman and kickers, added Mariano Duncan for Ben Hamlin,
added guys like Charlie Pate and others. Basically did a good job last
year, but he'll hurt for moving Hamlin because his pen is still very weak.
One of the few people I might recommend moving an ace, which is something
I NEVER recommend.
Weiner's rating: B.
Overall: B/B+. A great rotation without a great lineup or pen isn't
gonna win in a division like this. Still a solid team with some promise.
======================================================================
Phoenix Gila Monsters
Derek Jeter and Paul Konerko for Ed Sprague and Ray Lankford? Puh-leeze.
Lineup:
Jeter's a killer leadoff guy, but has never performed up to expectations.
Stewart's a fairly good #2. Justice/Mondesi/Whiten/Konerko is a very
solid 3-6. Davis, Miestro and Gonzalez round it out very well. It's an
extremely solid lineup.
Weiner's rating: A. Not quite the A+ either, but extremely powerful.
Rotation:
Always solid...with one spectacular.
Shane Reynolds: Always a Cy Young candidate, Reynolds has just average
arm strength but outstanding pitch ratings and great control.
Wilson Alvarez: Also blessed with great control, Alvarez has good pitches
and good arm strength. A very solid #2.
Pedro Astacio: One of these years, somebody's gonna actually take this
guy, but it hasn't happened yet. Excellent control, very good pitch
ratings, decent arm strength.
Steve Avery: Or at least they'll take HIM. Very good arm strength,
excellent control, good pitches.
Chan Ho Park: Still don't like him. Never will.
Weiner's rating: A-. A, A-, A-, A-, C.
Weiner's rotation: Danny Jackson/Greg Swindell/Matt Whiseant/Mike Baney/
John Beall.
Bullpen:
A solid, but not spectacular group. Can't understand why he's going with
five guys in the pen, but that's just me. They're all decent, with both
pitches and ratings, but none are spectacular at all.
Weiner's rating: B+. Lots of solid arms.
Weiner's pen: long: Jack Birrer, middle: Scott Gonzalez, Ben Marquis,
setup: Bob Shaeffer, Dave Veres, closer: Jeff Montgomery.
Farm/Bench:
Besides the stolen Oort Cloud and James Brosius, not much in the minors
either in pitching or hitting. But his lineup is very young, with guys
like Konerko and Jeter, Gonzalez and Shannon Stewart.
His bench is solid on the hitting side; pitching side, it's got a lot of
mediocrity with very little cream.
GM/Player Ops:
Another one of those top GMs, Bridges keeps me on my toes incessantly.
Did another "great" job this year, though I hate to see it.
Weiner's rating: A+.
Overall: A-. That might even be better, but I underrate this team every
year. Chan Ho Park's gonna be solid, but doesn't pitch very long or
collect many quality starts. It could easily be another banner year over
here.
==========================================================================
Washington Sea Dogs
What happens to a dream deferred? Sometimes, it grows.
Welcome to the 1998 DL Champions.
Lineup:
Lance Johnson is the best leadoff guy in either league. Mickey Kelly is a
solid #2. Barry Larkin is a great #3, Robin Ventura provides much-needed
- and mostly absent - power at the #4 hole. Knoblauch's an awesome #5
hitter, Baines is good mop-up, Damon, Young and Petrick round it out
acceptably. Ventura makes the lineup a force, and they're the best
defensive team in the majors.
Weiner's rating: A. Tons of speed and contact without being powerless.
Would be more like a A-/B+ without Ventura.
Weiner's lineup: You're lookin' at it, baby. :)
Rotation:
The second-best rotation in the league last year - somehow.
Ben McDonald: Very good arm strength, very good control, excellent pitch
ratings. Almost an unfair 59 SC to go with it.
Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz: The Cy Young runner-up and Rookie of the Year
last season, Mack is a force on the mound. Good arm strength, very good
control and fantastic endurance. Solid pitch ratings too.
Shawn Estes: Maybe the man on the rotation, Estes has exceptional arm
strength and endurance, very good pitch ratings and - finally - solid
control. WAs the breakout pitcher of 1998.
Chad Ogea: Decent arm strength, excellent control, excellent pitch
ratings. Perhaps the best #4 starter around.
John Burkett: Privileged information says that Washington goes with a
five-man rotation after April. Burkett has poor arm strength, but makes
up for it nicely with good control and superb pitch ratings. A solid #5.
Weiner's rating: A+. No serious holes anywhere.
Bullpen:
Washington's bullpen was a bit of a weakness last season, but it now
features closer Ben Hamlin and setup guy John Wetteland. One of the
deepest pens around, Washington can throw as many as 12 quality guys at
you.
Weiner's rating: A. Loss of Ayala hurt enough to lack the plus.
Weiner's pen: Sans Burkett, you're looking at it too. :)
Farm/Bench:
As mentioned, the pitching bench is extremely deep, and they have Ben
Hamlin and Nealy Becker for backup starters. Hitting bench is just
mediocre, but all the people on it can hit and field. Perhaps the
most important thing about Washington's versatility is that everyone in
the lineup can field at least three or four positions.
Washington's farm is one of the better ones in the majors; on the hitting
side, they have Dennis Abreu, the top shortstop prospect in the minors,
and Johnny Damon, Mickey Kelly and Ben Petrick in the majors. On the
pitching side, Mike Baldwin and Buddy Moisan are two of the better
pitching prospects around, and Leefenhaufenhauz and Estes are, perhaps,
the two best young starters in the majors.
GM/Player Ops:
OK, I'm gonna sound like a jerk now, but I was the best GM in either
league last season. How do I figure?
A 14-game turnaround, a lineup that went from 11th to 6th and had Lance
Johnson for only a month, a rotation that went from 6th to 2nd. A bullpen
that was weak and got bolstered. Gutsy moves like dealing Chuck Finley
for Baldwin and Kelly, getting Lance Johnson and Harold Baines and John
Burkett. And with the acquisition of Robin Ventura, finally a cleanup
hitter.
And, finally, I made it to the World Series against all odds, beating
teams 12 games better than me.
So if I want to sit back and gloat a little...I'm being objective about
it. And I put myself up to very high standards.
Weiner's rating: A++.
Overall: A. Besides the massive powerhitters of Phoenix, I don't see how
Washington's not gonna win the division this year. They're superior in
all aspects but offense - if not substantially better than a very fine
Phoenix team - and much better defensively.
==========================================================================
Predicted records for Data Division:
Washington 102-60
Phoenix 100-62
Richmond 87-75
Larimer 82-80
Calgary 59-103
--written by Aaron Weiner
