2002 CDBL PREVIEW "Your mileage may vary!" Predicted AP Conference Wildcard: Springfield Isotopes Predicted GT Conference Wildcard: San Diego Rude Dawgs Predicted #1 League Wildcard: Madison Muckrakers Predicted #2 League Wildcard: Elk Grove Trout Predicted World Series: Fishbiscuits over Bulldogs ******************************************************************************* Aaron Division - 1st - California Kamados (Last Season - 81-81, T-3rd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Derek Jeter, 4430 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Jamie Moyer, 1674.0 IP The terrors of the late 90's are back to contend for a title in 2002. Scott Rolen, Mark Bellhorn, Derek Jeter and Adam Dunn are one of the most talented infields in the game, all players who can hit for power and talk a walk. The real stars of the team are the starting rotation. Roy Halladay, Jamie Moyer, Derek Lowe and Woody Williams form one of the best rotations in the majors. Octavio Dotel should make for a fine closer, although the bullpen depth is a little thin at the moment. Still, they'll have some large leads heading into the 9th inning so a few extra runs in relief won't hurt too much. 2nd - Elk Grove Trout (Last Season - 69-93, T-5th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Tony Gwynn, 9568 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Chuck Finley, 2158.0 IP The Trout feature one of the better outfielder combinations in the game. Magglio Ordonez, Garret Anderson and Shannon Stewart can all hit better than .300 with some power behind their swing. Barry Zito, Jarrod Washburn and AJ Burnett are all workhorses who should rack up plenty of wins. Chris Hammond, Joey Eischen and Darren Holmes lead a capable bullpen. 3rd - Point Lomas Friars (Last Season - 91-71, 2nd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Tim Raines, 6459 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Ramon Martinez, 938.1 IP Power is the name of the Point Lomas game. Jason Giambi, Ryan Klesko, Luis Gonzalez and Troy Glaus can mash with the best of them. Eric Young and Dave Roberts can swipe plenty of bases, making the Friars a very competitive rotissere team. Kevin Millwood and Andy Pettitte give them some arms in the rotation but may have trouble stacking up with the stronger teams in the division. The Friars should feature one of the deeper bullpens in the league, even if none of them are marquee names. 4th - Manhatten Beach Mashers (Last Season - 81-81, T-3rd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Rickey Henderson, 6181 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Frank Viola, 1256.2 IP The Mashers are stocked to the brim with sluggers all throughout the lineup. Jacque Jones, Edgardo Alfonzo, Junior Spivey and David Ortiz are all quality hitters, even if none are favored for an all-star appearance. Odalis Perez is a legit staff ace, and Kenny Rogers can eat some innings. Troy Percival and John Smoltz leads a marquee bullpen. The Mashers should do well but they've got their work cut out for them in this competitive division. 5th - Arkham Investigators (Last Season - 98-64, 1st place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Ken Griffey Jr., 8072 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Kevin Appier, 1907.1 IP The Investigators have got some bats. Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee, Jose Valentin and Reggie Sanders can hit the long ball. Paul Lo Duca is decent for a catcher. But the rest of the lineup doesn't get on base much, which may stall the offense. With Randy Wolf, Kirk Rueter, Mark Buehrle and Ramon Ortiz Arkham has a solid 4 man rotation. Arthur Rhodes is a viable closer, although the bullpen could use some more depth. Arkham has talent enough to finish higher in the division depending on how the other teams do. 6th - Montreal Voltigeurs (Last Season - 69-93, T-5th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Rafael Palmeiro, 5847 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Denny Neagle, 961.1 IP The Voltigeurs traded depth for stardom, acquiring Manny Ramirez in an off-season deal. Ramirez, Paul Konerko and Jose Vidro should combine to score some runs. Jeff Weaver is their staff ace, but the rest of the rotation is going to struggle to keep the score down. Jorge Julio could get some savees as closer for when those opportunities arise. *********************************** Paige Division - 1st - DBL Fishbiscuits (Last Season - 107-55, 1st place, 2001 CDBL Champs) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Larry Walker, 7121 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Floyd Bannister, 1065.2 IP Finally reaching the promised land last year, the Fishbiscuits made some moves to try and defend their crown. Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Bernie Williams, Jim Thome and Albert Pujols are back, and they're joined this year by Bret Boone. Should be one of the top scoring lineups in the league. Tom Glavine, Elmer Dessens, Rodrigo Lopez and Wade Miller are quality starters (certainly for the run support they're going to get) and Tim Worrell lead a capable bullpen. 2nd - Springfield Isotopes (Last Season - 89-73, 2nd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Barry Bonds, 11180 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Curt Schilling, 2242.2 IP Champions in 2000, they barely missed out on the playoffs last year and are contenders again. Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Gary Sheffield and Mark Kotsay lead a high powered offense. Robin Ventura and Scott "as played by Star Lord" Hatteberg add to the lineup. Curt Schilling adds his grit and pitchitude in the ace position, but the rest of the rotation is very shaky. Scott Stewart, Steve Karsay and Mike Remlinger lead a good bullpen. 3rd - Madison Muckrakers (Last Season - 85-77, 4th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Joe Carter, 6234 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: David Wells, 1984.2 IP Trading all-pro Manny Ramirez for a bevy of players, Madison is looking for team depth to carry them to the post-season. Torii Hunter, Cliff Floyd, Andruw Jones and Rafael Palmeiro makes this a feared lineup, and Luis Castillo and David Eckstein are capable tablesetters. Ivan Rodriguez helps them at the plate and behind the plate. The big question this year will be pitching. David Wells can soak up a lot of innings, but is he an ace? The rest of the rotation only gets worse from there. The offense will be counted on to outscore the competition this year in Madison. 4th - Tualatin Thunder (Last Season - 88-74, 3rd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Jeff Bagwell, 8006 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Steve Avery, 1393.0 IP Always on the edge of contention, the Thunder seek to make the playofs for the first time since 1995. Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Shawn Green and Eric Chavez form the all-top baseball card team. Bartolo Colon is an ace, and Mark Prior is a good start (when he does start). Rest of the rotation is iffy. They have two lights out closers in Kazuhiro Sasaki and Mariano Rivera, and a deep bullpen. But will it be enough to make it to the post-season? 5th - Chicago Black Sox (Last Season - 65-97, 5th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Gary Gaetti, 6766 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Jack McDowell, 1524.0 IP Owners of the #1 overall pick, the Black Sox look to rise in the division. Vladimir Guerrero is as franchise as they come, and Mo Vaughn, Adrian Beltre, Jermaine Dye will help the team score some runs. John Lackey is their ace of the future, but the pitching staff of the present is a little weak. Jason Isringhausen leads a strong and well stocked bullpen. 6th - Seattle Decaf (Last Season - 61-101, 6th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Fred McGriff, 6003 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Ken Hill, 1531.0 IP Last season was a little rough, and 2002 doesn't look to be much better. John Olerud is a quality hitter, and Tony Batista can smack some home runs, but the team is short on walks and power. Rick Reed is an "OK" pitcher, but the rest of the staff will struggle to contain the ball. Billy Wagner is an all-star caliber closer, but save opportunities may be hard to come by. *********************************** Gehrig Division - 1st - Hong Kong Cavaliers (Last Season - 92-70, 2nd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Roberto Alomar, 9780 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Pedro Martinez, 1981.1 IP The Cavaliers look to score a lot of runs with the likes of Pat Burrell, Todd Walker and "Team Carlos" (Delgado, Beltran, Lee). Aaron Boone joins Beltran as a 30-30 threat. Pedro Martinez once again capably mans the ace position, and is joined by Brian Lawrence, although the rotation gets steadily more shaky after that. Ugueth Urbina and Armando Benitez give Hong Kong plenty of options in the bullpen. 2nd - Carlsbad Surfers (Last Season - 54-108, 6th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Ozzie Smith, 5083 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Greg Maddux, 3589.2 IP Call them the "25 homer" squad. Ellis Burks, Raul Ibanez, Jose Hernandez, Steve Finley and Tim Salmon should all be good for about 25 home runs. No longer led by the big 3 pitchers, the Surfers feature the big 1 in Greg Maddux. Steve Trachsel, Chris Reitsma and Andy Ashby round out a rotation that will be competitive in this relatively weak division. Juan Acevedo and Scott Williamson gives Carlsbad some options in the bullpen. 3rd - Topeka Stingers (Last Season - 94-68, 1st place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Jeff Kent, 6105 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Charles Nagy, 1725.2 IP Winning the division last year, winning it again in 2002 is not out of the picture. Jeff Kent is still amongst the top second basemen in the league, and Richie Sexson can hit plenty of home runs. Aubrey Huff and Jeff Conine add to the lineup. Matt Morris and Jason Schmidt are solid starters this year, and Russ Ortiz and Javier Vazquez help Topeka to one of the better rotations in the division. Billy Koch is a standout reliever, although the bullpen gets a little thin after that. 4th - Albuquerque Maul (Last Season - 85-77, 4th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Albert Belle, 6996 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: John Smoltz, 2540.1 IP The offense will be a lot of spit and tape this year. Mike Lowell, Jay Gibbons and Juan Pierre are OK hitters but won't remind anyone of the Fishbiscuits. The Maul do feature a solid trio of starters in Roy Oswalt, Matt Clement and Kevin Appier. Byung-Hyun Kim and Jose Mesa are solid closers and the rest of the bullpen looks remarkably capable. 5th - Anchorage Gold Diggers (Last Season - 67-95, 5th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Chuck Knoblauch, 6645 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Brad Radke, 1380.0 IP The Gold Diggers have a case of the "blah's" on offense. Jay Payton has some potential, and Mike Cameron is a power threat, but the rest of the lineup is non-descript. Robb Nen could shine as closer, but only if he gets some leads to defend. Chuck Finley is an OK pitcher but the rest of the starters will struggle to win games. 6th - Concord Minutemen (Last Season - 91-71, 3rd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Kirby Puckett, 7651 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Jimmy Key, 1789.0 IP Concord has some bonafide franchise hitters in Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman, and Fred McGriff is still good for 30 home runs and 100 RBI. But the rest of the hitting lineup is bad, bad, bad. Mike Mussina is due for an off-year but can still pitch 7 innings a game. Mike Williams can close, but there won't be many save-able games with the rest of the pitching staff. *********************************** Tiant Division - 1st - Boston Bulldogs (Last Season - 81-81, 3rd place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Edgar Martinez, 7487 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Randy Johnson, 2855.2 IP The Bulldogs will be driving most of their offense through Bobby Abreu, who can hit a home run, take a walk and swipe a base. The rest of the lineup is a patchwork of roleplayers such as Jeremy Giambi and an aging Edgar Martinez, but the quality of the patchwork is pretty high. The pitching for Boston in 2002 is amazing. Randy Johnson may win the Cy this year, and Mark Mulder, Tim Wakefield and Orlando Hernandez make for a formidable rotation. Jose Jimenez and Danny Graves leads a bullpen that is strong from the top to the bottom. 2nd - San Diego Rude Dawgs (Last Season - 63-99, 5th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Cal Ripken, 8982 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Bruce Hurst, 2031.0 IP San Diego has one of the best shortstops in the game in Nomar Garciaparra, and he's backed by Frank Thomas, Shea Hillenbrand and Ben Grieve. Where the Rude Dawgs really shine is with pitching. Tim Hudson is a franchise ace, and Vicente Padilla, Al Leiter, Kip Wells and Paul Byrd form one of the best rotations in the league. Eddie Guardado leads a great bullpen. 3rd - Avila Dragons (Last Season - 98-64, 2nd place, GT Conference winner) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Jim Edmonds, 4667 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Roger Clemens, 1738.0 IP Coors Field will once again get plenty of use with this lineup. Alex Rodriguez could threaten the home run record, and Jim Edmonds, Kevin Millar, Eric Hinske and Johnny Damon will help the Dragons score plenty of runs. Brian Daubach and Mark McLemore only add to the offense. Roger Clemens will once again soak up some innings in the ace position, but the team will need a lot of run scoring to get wins. The bullpen is quite good, and Keith Foulke should save his share of games. It is wide open in the Tiant division, and the Dragons could easily finish 1st as they could 4th. 4th - Alphaville Cautions (Last Season - 109-53, 1st place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Terry Steinbach, 5467 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Roger Clemens, 2340.1 IP The offense will be a low scoring one this year, and the Cautions will be depending an awful lot on Mike Sweeney. Juan Encarnacion and Trot Nixon will add a little pop to the lineup. Where Alphaville really shines this year is on pitching. Tomokazu Ohka, Damian Moss, Kerry Wood and Joel Pineiro form an above average pitching rotation. Buddy Groom and Ben Weber lead a competent bullpen. 5th - Dedham Destroyers (Last Season - 68-94, 4th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: David Justice, 5128 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Doug Drabek, 2410.1 IP The Destroyers have got some pop in their lineup. Todd Helton is an all-pro first baseman, and Brian Giles and Brad Wilkerson have power and can get on base. If only the rest of the lineup were like them! Hideo Nomo is a legit ace, but the starters get pretty poor after that. Trevor Hoffman and Eric Gagne are all-star quality closers, but the rest of the bullpen is not. 6th - Milwaukee Pilots (Last Season - 58-104, 6th place) Franchise Leader in Plate Appearances: Juan Gonzalez, 6506 PA Franchise Leader in Innings Pitched: Tom Glavine, 2762.1 IP The Pilots feature Ichiro Suzuki at the top of their lineup, able to get on base and swipe a few, and all-star catcher Jorge Posada joined the team in the off-season. Vernon Wells has a little bit of pop, and Rafael Furcal can swipe a few bases, but the rest of the lineup will struggle to score runs. The pitching staff is majorly iffy and that could translate into big losses for Milwaukee this year.