2000 CDBL PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary!" PREDICTED PLAYOFF TEAMS - Arkham Investigators (Aaron Pennant) Tualatin Thunder (Paige Pennant) Encinitas Surfers (Gehrig Pennant) San Diego Rude Dawgs (Tiant Pennant) Point Lomas Friars (AP Conference Wildcard) Alphaville Cautions (GT Conference Wildcard) Dedham Destroyers (League Wildcard #1) Avila Dragons (League Wildcard #2) Aaron Division ----------------------- 1. Arkham Investigators -- Is this the year Ken Griffey Jr gets his ring? Junior is in for another great season, and has Jorge Posada, Derrek Lee, Jose Valentin and Dmitri Young to support him. Ryan Dempster, Kirk Rueter and Randy Wolf help form a solid rotation. Bob Wickman should be a decent closer, although relief options start to get thin after this. The division will not likely be a strong as it has been in the past, so this may be Arkham's chance to grab the pennant. 2. Point Lomas Friars -- The Friars are loaded with hitters this year with the likes of Jason Giambi, Luis Gonzalez, Matt Lawton, Greg Vaughn and Tony Womack. Starting pitching is a bit weak, as Kevin Millwood will not be in his stellar 1999 form. Dave Veras and Greg Swindell lead a strong bullpen. The pennant is up for grabs this year, and Point Lomas will contend. 3. Elk Grove Trout -- Elk Grove has quite a few quality hitters this year. Magglio Ordonez, Darren Erstad, Travis Fryman, Brad Fullmer and Garrett Anderson will all compete for all-stars spots this year. A trio of young arms in Freddy Garcia, Barry Zito and Jarrod Washburn help fill out the rotation, and Brian Anderson can eat innings. John Rocker leads a strong reliever bunch. Like the two other teams listed above, this year the pennant is up for grabs, so Elk Grove will be looking to take it. 4. Montreal Voltigeurs -- When you were one of the worst teams in the majors in 1999, you can only go up. Rafael Palmeiro will return for another strong season, and will be joined by Juan Encarnacion, Jose Vidro and Danny Bautista. Jeff Weaver will eat up some innings, but the rest of the pitching is thin. Still, this year it will be good enough for a middle of the pack finish. 5. California Kamados -- After 2 years of utter dominance, things come crashing down for the Kamados in '00. Derek Jeter and Scott Rolen may wind up all stars, and Luis Alicia, Tino Martinez and Ray Lankford will contribute, bug the rest of the lineup is iffy. Woody Williams can pitch, and Derek Lowe can close any game handed to him, but the rest of the pitching is a disaster. 6. Manhatten Beach Mashers -- Similar to California, Manhatten Beach will crash to earth in '00 after a lofty '99. Cliff Floyd and David Ortiz gives the fans something to watch, but the rest of the roster is filler while they rebuild. Paige Division ----------------------- 1. Tualatin Thunder -- Is this the year of Jeff Bagwell & Mike Piazza? Both sluggers are excellent in 2000, and are joined by Carlos Lee, Barry Larkin, Shawn Green and Eric Chavez. Bartolo Colon leads the rotation, and Darren Dreifort and Pat Hengten help fill out a solid if unspectacular rotation. The bullpen is top notch, with Mariano Rivera and Jose Jimenez leading a deep reliever roster. Tualatin has the tools to compete in the playoffs this year. 2. Madison Muckrakers -- With a trio like Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez and Andruw Jones, the Muckrakers will score some runs. Mark Grace and Ron Gant add to the lineup. Rick Ankiel is a bright spot in the rotation, and David Wells and Mike Sirotka will help keep the ball in the park. Roberto Hernandez and Mike Remlinger gives Madison plenty of options in the bullpen. The talent is there for Madison to make some noise this year. 3. Springfield Isotopes -- The Isotopes have a strong hitting lineup, featuring Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada and Bernie Williams. Mark Kotsay and Todd Zeile will help score runs. Curt Schilling will anchor the rotation, but Dave Burba, Mike Moehler and Brian Bohanon are merely innings eaters. Steve Karsay and Curtis Leskanic lead a solid if unspectacular bullpen. The Tualatin pennant is up for grabs this year, and if the team gels they will compete for it. 4. Seattle Decaf -- The Decaf have a deep hitting lineup. Mark McGwire, John Olerud, Tony Batista, Omar Vizquel and Mark Quinn help Seattle with a solid 1-8 lineup. Livan Hernandez is a workhorse ace, and Rick Reed, Albie Lopez and Makoto Suzuki give Seattle a solid rotation. Danny Graves should excel at the closer spot, although reliever depth after that is a little thin. Seattle may not place many all-stars this year, but they'll given everyone a run for their money. 5. Chicago Black Sox -- The Black Sox have a punishing lineup, with opposing pitchers having to face Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, Sean Casey, Gabe Kapler, Adrian Beltre, and Ben Grieve. They also have an ace in Mike Hampton who could compete for the Cy. But the starting pitching gets thin after that, and the bullpen will need to prove itself. With a few lucky bounces the Black Sox could see themselves higher in the division. 6. DBL Fishbiscuits -- Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield, Jim Thome and Larry Walker are all-star caliber hitters, but a dearth of talent everywhere else will make it a long season for the Fishbiscuits. Gehrig Division ----------------------- 1. Encinitas Surfers -- The mighty trio of Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina return for another campaign. With Chuck Finley the Surfers have one of the league's strongest rotations. Armando Benitez and Billy Koch lead a strong bullpen. Steve Finley and Charles Johnson provide strong bats, and Ellis Burks and Will Clark provide good hitting on a part time basis. The pitching is the definite star of this team, and the Surfers are the odds on favorite for the pennant this year. 2. Concord Minutemen -- The Minutemen should score plenty of runs, as the lineup features the likes of Moises Alou, Chipper Jones, Delino DeSheilds, Javy Lopez and Fred McGriff. Mark Gardner and Jim Parque lead a slightly iffy rotation, but Robb Nen leads a strong bullpen. For the Minutemen to succeed they'll have to hit their way to a pennant. 3. Topeka Stingers -- Jeff Kent and Richie Sexson lead the offense for Topeka this year. They're joined by Paul O'Neill, Mike Lowell and Brian Daubach. Javier Vazquez and Andy Pettitte lead a rotation that won't rival the Surfers, but should be decent. Bob Howry leads an OK bullpen. The Stingers may not catch the Surfers this year, but should still be competitive. 4. Hong Kong Cavaliers -- Carlos Delgado, Roberto Alomar, Dante Bichette and Rich Aurilia lead a high-octane attack at the plate. Pedro Martinez is still the best pitcher in baseball, but the rest of the staff is a trainwreck. This year Pedro will be counted on to win all the games. 5. Anchorage Gold Diggers -- Jason Kendall is a great hitter, but the rest of the offense will struggle to keep up with the opposing teams. Brad Radke anchors the rotation, but the pitching will not be able to win with low run support. 6. Albuquerque Maul -- After years of contending, the '00 Maul are too old or to ineffective to contend this year. Albert Belle and Dean Palmer will rack up more lifetime stats, but that's about it. Tiant Division ----------------------- 1. San Diego Rude Dawgs -- The '00 edition of the Rude Dawgs is stocked with talent. Frank Thomas, Carl Everett, Nomar Garciaparra, Bobby Higginson and Tim Salmon are all poised to have strong years. Tim Hudson, Darryl Kile and Glendon Rusch lead a strong rotation. Gabe White and Jim Mecir lead a no-name but competent bullpen. The pre-season favorite to take the division. 2. Alphaville Cautions -- Luis Castillo will steal tons of bases, and Mike Sweeney, Shannon Stewart, Richard Hidalgo and Phil Nevin form a solid middle of the lineup. Al Leiter is an ace, and Robert Person and Jim Abbott help fill out a strong rotation. Kazuhiro Sasaki leads the bullpen. Strong contenders for the pennant this year. 3. Dedham Destroyers -- Power hitters like Todd Helton, David Justice, Troy Glaus, Geoff Jenkins and Brian Giles may help Dedham lead the league in home runs. Gil Heredia, Rick Helling and Denny Neagle will help eat innings in the rotation. Trevor Hoffman is an elite closer. The Destroyers will generate a lot of runs, it's just a question of if their pitching can keep the score down. 4. Avila Dragons -- Alex Rodriguez, Jim Edmonds and Mo Vaughn lead a strong offense. Johnny Damon can hit and steal a lot of bases. Roger Clemens once again anchors the rotation, and gets help from Jamey Wright and Chuck Smith. Keith Foulke solidifies the closer spot, but the relief pitching gets a bit thin after that. The Dragons should have a winning record this year, but will have to face a very competitive division battle. 5. Boston Bulldogs -- Edgar Martinez, Edgardo Alfonzo and Bobby Abreu are 3 solid hitters for the Bulldogs, and the bench is fairly deep as well. Randy Johnson, Chan Ho Park and Kris Benson form one of the stronger starting trios in the majors. Paul Shuey and Mike Williams lead the bullpen. The Bulldogs have talent, for sure, it is just a question of how well they do in this competitive division. 6. Austin Longhorns -- Jeff Cirillo, Paul Konerko, Ryan Klesko and Juan Gonzalez gives the Longhorns some lively bats. Tom Glavine once again anchors the rotation, but the pitching gets really thin after that. In such a strong division, it will be difficult for Austin to contend.