1985 CDBL PREVIEW (In order of predicted finish, which has an experimental error of +/- 5 or 6 places!) PRE-SEASON FAVORITE FOR MVP: Don Mattingly, Topeka Stingers PRE-SEASON FAVORITE FOR CY YOUNG: Doc Gooden, PV Stallions PRE-SEASON FAVORITE TO WIN IT ALL: Topeka Stingers over the Arkham Investigators in the CDBL World Series **************************************************************************** Aaron Division: 1. Arkham Investigators: Arkham finished 3rd in the division last year with an 87 win season and failed to make the playoffs. This year they've regrouped for another run, and it could be their year to win the division. The hitting lineup is loaded with stars. Wade Boggs should be unbelievable as a tablesetter, and should score plenty of runs thanks to the guys behind him. Kirk Gibson, George Bell and Bob Horner should all be good for 30 dingers. Add in Keith Moreland, Bill Doran and Ken Griffey, and you've got one of the best top to bottom hitting lineups in the AP conference. Not only does Arkham have the hitting, but they've also got the pitching. Jerry Reuss, Tom Seaver, Dan Petry and LaMarr Hoyt are all innings workhorses who will keep the other side from scoring runs. The choice of relievers is a little iffy, but if you are up 7-2 in the 8th inning, who cares who closes the 9th? OVERALL: Meet your 1985 Aaron division pennant winner. 2. Milwaukee Mashers: Last year Milwaukee easily won the Aaron division pennant with a 100-62 record, 10 games better than the next team. However, the next team in the division was the Nettles ToWiggins, who upset Milwaukee in the conference finals to make a world series appearance. Many of the stars who were on the '84 squad make another appearance in 1985. Topping the list is Rickey Henderson, who should have a stellar season of .400+ OBA/.500+ slugging with a rediculous amount of stolen bases. Mike Young is back to drive in runs, and Chris Brown should get the nod at third base. Pitching will be the key for Milwaukee. The Mashers should have the best pitching staff in the division. Rick Reuschel, Ron Darling and Mike Krukow are all ace starters, and Milwaukee have several good closer candidates. OVERALL: With Rickey & the available pitching, Milwaukee are definite contenders for the division title. 3. Nettles ToWiggins: The ToWiggins finished second in the Aaron division last year, but they made it count in the post-season by defeating the Mashers in the conference finals before losing to the Mountaineers in the CDBL world series. In the off-season, the ToWiggins had the philosophy of "if you can't beat 'em, trade for 'em". Nettles traded for 1984 CDBL world series co-MVP Gary Carter, who will anchor a dynamite hitting lineup. Joining Gary Carter will be 2nd baseman supreme Ryne Sandberg, Pedro Guerrero (who could be the ToWiggins' best player this year), 1st baseman Keith Hernandez, and outfielder Claudel Washington. The Nettles' lineup should be one of the best in the division. The starting pitching is where things get a bit shaky for the ToWiggins. Staff ace Frank Viola is still around, but he's likely to be a bit mediocre this year, as will be most of the starting pitchers. Nettles does boast quite a good staff of relievers, led by last year's closer supreme Craig Lefferts. OVERALL: Punishing hitting lineup, but lack of ace starters may hinder the Nettles ToWiggins from trouncing the rest of the division. 4. Elk Grove Trout: It's not as if the Trout are a bad team this year .. it's just that they have so much competition. The strength of Elk Grove will be pitching. Mike Moore (247 IP, 3.46 ERA) is a quality staff ace, and Oil Can Boyd and Brit Burns are capable starters. Young'un Sid Fernandez should see a great year in the rotation and has a bright future. The Trout also have a great bullpen staff. But the Trout will be limited this year by hitting. There's simply no stars in the batting lineup. Granted, 2B Lou Whitaker (.362 OBA/.456 SLG) is close, and infielder Julio Franco will soon be a star, but there's simply no George Bell's or Rickey Henderson's in the lineup. OVERALL: Great pitching, but anemic offense will hinder the Trout's pennant hopes. (Put Elk Grove's pitching & Nettles ToWiggins' hitting together and you have the 1985 CDBL champs!) 5. Philadelphia Liberty: Not gonna happen this year. They have a few good hitters in Willie McGee (MVP material?) and Tim Wallach, but pitching will be the team's downfall. Better luck next year. OVERALL: See last paragraph. **************************************************************************** Paige Division: 1. Dewey Beach Lush: MVP Eddie Murray is back, and he brought some friends with him. When Murray was named MVP in 1984, the imaginary media had a field day, wondering out loud why a player on a non-contending team was deemed MVP. Murray will make another run at MVP this year, but Dewey Beach's record will be much, much different. The hitting staff is punishing. Alongside Eddie Murray are sluggers Jesse Barfield and Dave Parker, and all 3 are capable of smacking 30 homers. Third baseman Paul Molitor has come off the DL long enough to man 3B and provide clutch hitting and defense. On pitching, Mike Scott, Shane Rawley and Ed Lynch form a strong 1-2-3 combo, with Jay Tibbs and Floyd Bannister bringing up the back of the rotation. The Lush boast an arsenal of top notch relievers, although none of them are Dan Quisenberry in the innings department. OVERALL: Quite a few hitting stars, and enough starting pitching and relievers to take the pennant. 2. DC Riots: This year DC brings to the table a strong pitching staff and a hitting staff just good enough for pennant contention. Cy Young winner Bert Blyleven is back, and should be good for 300+ innings of starting work. And if Blyleven ever wanted to take a break, that'd be OK, because the Riots have Scott Garrelts and Dan Quisenberry to shut the other team down in the late innings. Mountaineer import Dennis Eckersley, Steve Trout and Atlee Hammaker rount out the staff. On offense, everything will be centered around likely all-pro outfielder Tim Raines, who will boast a .300+ average, .400+ on base average, a high slugging average, and will steal bases by the bushel. The Riots have a ton of "less-than-star-quality-but-way-better-than-filler" hitters, who have decent batting & base averages, and have slugging averages in the mid 400's (most notably outfielders Jose Cruz and Robin Yount, 3B Carney Lansford and 1B Cecil Cooper). OVERALL: DC will be breathing down Dewey Beach's neck all season, and don't be surprised if DC winds up at the top of the standings as of game #162. 3. Albuquerque Apaches: Formerly the Shiner Beercats, the 1984 franchise will likely go down as the worst offensive showing in league history (they scored less than 3 runs a game). A move out of the cavernous Astrodome will make sure that won't happen again. The Apache offense has a little bit of everything this year. Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Gary Gaetti provide the power this year, and Willie Wilson and Steve Sax provide the speed. They're nothing fancy, and should keep the ballgames close. What will decide Albuquerque's fate this year is pitching. Dave Stieb is a prototypical ace, with a ton of innings who will shut down the other team. Bob Knepper, rookie Teddy Higuera and Walt Terrell round out a better than average starting rotation. The bullpen has workhorse Dennis Lamp, with Bill Dawley and Ron Davis also providing quality innings. OVERALL: No chance of finishing dead last this year, and is a strong contender for finishing in the top half of the division. 4. Fargo Flames: Formerly the Westport Knuckeleheads, the 1984 franchise had a tiny 2.79 team ERA, something which is likely to never be matched again. Several of the key pitchers return for Fargo in 1985, although they will be hard pressed to match their feat of 1984. Fargo may have the best bullpen in the majors, for two reasons: Tim Burke and Willie Hernandez. Put them together, and you have 200+ innings of mid 2 ERA ball. Most of the starting pitching isn't too slouchy either. Joaquin Andujar can go toe to toe with the aces of the leagues, and John Denny & Mountaineer acquiree Steve Bedrosian will be competitive against the other side's #2 & #3 starters. John Butcher, Bill Krueger and Tim Birtsas bring up the last two spots, where Fargo hopes the other team isn't playing Doc Gooden. On offense, a lot of things will go right thanks to Mike Schmidt, who will try his hand at shortstop this year, and will likely earn 1st all-pro honors doing so with a 30+ homer, .500+ slugging year. His partner in crime this year is outfielder Mike Marshall, who will demonstrate that for this year at least, he knows how to hit right handers as well as he knows how to hit lefties. The rest of the hitting staff isn't much to write home about, but they'll keep Fargo in the game. OVERALL: Quite a bit of text for a #4 team, eh? That means that don't be surprised to see Fargo in a higher spot at the end of the season. 5. Hurdle Mills Hurdlers: By all accounts, Hurdle Mills should have won it all last year. They had the best record in the league (103-59) and were fundamentally strong. But, they got bounced out of 1st round playoffs by the ToWiggins. Unfortunately, they'll pay for the 1984 season this year. Dwight Evans is still a force (29 homers), and he'll have some friendly competition in the homer department by new draftee Tom Brunansky. Tim Flannery, Steve Garvey and Lee Lacy hope to add to the offense mix. On pitching, Goose Gossage and Dave Smith form a killer 1-2 reliever punch, but their starting pitching is mush. OVERALL: Oh, for it to be 1984 once again.. 6. Norwood Irish: The Irish have hit rock bottom and have started digging. Pitching's bad, and hitting's bad. Norwood will have problems putting full time people into the field. The Irish loaded up on prospects, but many of them will be too expensive to keep when they finally pay off 2/3 years down the line. But they'll have a great shot at getting a minor league sensation like Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux next year. OVERALL: Like Mr. T might say, "AH PITY THE FOOL WHO HAS TO MANAGE THIS TEAM!" **************************************************************************** Gehrig Division: 1. Topeka Stingers: Alright, show of hands: How many thought Topeka was gunning for 1985 to start with? All of you? Yep. Topeka is a well-oiled machine this year. First, let's talk about the offense. Normally, a team will have a few good sluggers, and the rest filler material. Not here. The opposing pitchers won't get many breaks. George Brett and Don Mattingly man the corner infield spots, and will likely compete against each other to see who will be league MVP. Or maybe it will be ol' man Carlton Fisk, who will outdinger them both at the catcher spot. Topeka landed rookie Vince Coleman in the draft, who will steal more bases this year than many teams will as a whole. I won't even go into Tommy Herr or Mike Davis, who would merit more discussion for other teams, but they're not the stars on this team. On the pitching side, Topeka have Bryn Smith, Kevin Gross, and Charlie Liebrandt as all potential aces, and will have a field day in the win column given the support the offense will provide. Don Sutton and Rick Aguilera are no slouches either. And let's not forget, Dave Righetti was 1st runner up in the fireman of the year award last year, and is just as good this year ... only problem is, he may not get as many save opportunities this year, since Topeka will likely blowout a lot of teams. OVERALL: Hitting is great, pitching is great, relief is great. Topeka fans will definitely enjoy this season. Pre-season pennant favorites, and pre-season championship favorites, too. 2. Albuquerque Stingrays: Albuquerque almost but not quite made the playoffs last year. Now they've reloaded and are back for another shot. The Stingrays had the 2nd best pitching staff in the league last year, and most of the key staff are back, including Fernando Valenzuela, who will challege for the Cy Young this year. Jack Morris and Bill Gullickson are above average starters, and Ken Dixon and Joe Cowley are decent #4 & #5 starters. Albuquerque has several options in the bullpen, including Bill Stanley and Ed Nunez. The offense doesn't have any Don Mattingly's in the lineup, but the hitting is stocked at each position. 1B Steve Balboni is an easy bet for 30+ homers, and at least five other hitters are good bets for 20+ homers. OVERALL: Albuquerque is stocked in pitching, and has quality hitting. Chances are they won't catch Topeka in the standings, but don't be surprised if Albuquerque winds up in the post-season as a wildcard. 3. PV Stallions: Pitching, pitching, pitching. Let me say that again. Pitching, pitching, pitching. The Stallions have it in excess this year. Not even the Topeka Stinger offense will be able to shut down Doc Gooden, who will be a treat to watch this year. Charlie Hough and Bobby Welch could be ace starters on several teams. The relief corps is stellar as well, led by 100+ inning super-closer John Franco (these relievers certainly have a lot of stamina!). All-in-all, the Stallions may have the best pitching staff in the league. So why is PV listed as #3 in the division? Well, to win games, you have to score more than your opponents, and that may be a slight problem for this franchise. Reggie Jackson will try his best to drive in runs, and his near 30 homer power will help. 1B Greg Walker and catcher Ernie Whitt also have some pop in their bat. But the rest of the lineup won't strike fear into the hearts of the opposing team. OVERALL: PV hopes to win a lot of 2-1 games this year, and hope Doc Gooden can carry the team to the post-season. 4. San Mateo Traffic: At least the worst thing in San Mateo this year won't be the "Traffic". After finishing dead last in the league last year, San Mateo (formerly of Santa Clara) will see a rebound in the standings. #1 overall pick Jose Canseco will be a big help down the road, but for now he'll primarily watch the games from the sidelines. Kirby Puckett has gone from being terrible vs. everyone to just being terrible vs. right handed pitching. Lots of veteran power on this team (Tony Armas, Dave Kingman, Fred Lynn, Ozzie Virgil and 3B Jim Presley). Pitching will be a strong suit for this team. Danny Cox is a capable ace, and Nolan Ryan will strike out many. Bullpen is tremendous, led by Bob James and Tom Henke. OVERALL: Someone has to come in 4th, but it might not be San Mateo. Whereever they finish up in the standings, they should see a winning record. 5. Homestead Gray's: In 1984 Homestead clinched a wildcard spot, but that probably won't happen in 1985. But they'll still have their shining moments. Orel Hershiser will be a gem to watch, and will be nearly unbeatable. Too bad you can't clone him a couple more (or 9) times. Ron Guidry is a good #2 starter, although his weakness for giving up the homer may hurt. Other than that, the rest of the pitching staff is forgetable. In 1984 Homestead's hitting was Alvin Davis and a bunch of wet rags, and that's pretty much how 1985 is this year. Unfortunately, Alvin Davis will be hard pressed to break 20 homers this year. Homestead have quite a few low/mid 300's on base average-slash-low 400's slugging percentage hitters, which won't remind anyone of Topeka. OVERALL: They had their fun in 1984, but Homestead will probably be looking at the 1985 playoffs from the sidelines. 6. Wasatch Mountaineers: Where's the beef? One year, Wasatch won the pennant on their way to winning the 1984 CDBL world championship title. The next, they're fielding a AA ballclub. Franchise key players such as Dennis Eckersley, Dave Kingman and Gary Carter were traded away for prospects and draft picks. Wasatch have several players such as Howard Johnson, Kevin McReynolds and Lenny Dykstra who have better seasons ahead, and do have some quality draft picks coming up for what should be one of the best rookie crops to ever grace the CDBL. That's what the fans will have to remind themselves this year while they're getting pounded by Topeka. OVERALL: How the mighty have fallen. But the question is, can they get back up? Only time will tell. **************************************************************************** Tiant Division: 1. Dark Valley Destinies: Last year Dark Valley platooned their way to the pennant. Can they do it again this year? No reason why not. A good chunk of their hitting lineup will be on a platoon basis again, with a few players seeing time vs. both sides (such as Jack Clark and Darryl Strawberry, who should smack 30 homers this year). On pitching, the Destinies will start one John Tudor, who is an ace among aces. Dave Dravecky could be the #1 starter for many teams, but is the #2 guy here. Rickey Mahler and a host of other decent starters round out the staff. The bullpen is a strong asset on this team, led by Donnie Moore and Don Carman. OVERALL: Should see lots of good hitting thanks to platoon, a strong Tudor-led starting pitching staff, and a strong bullpen. 2. Boston Bulldogs: Through much of the season Dale Murphy was threatening to bring the pennant to Boston all by himself. In '85, Murphy is still in peak performance, and he has help this year. Along with Murphy's 35+ homers will be 3B Darrell Evans, who should break 40+ homers this year without being too much of a Dave Kingman impression. Boston also will get good seasons out of 1B Bill Buckner, OF Brian Downing and a bevy of platoon players. Boston will throw out Doyle Alexander, Dave LaPoint and Mike Witt on the mound 3 out of 4 days, and all three pitchers stand a good chance of walking off the mound with a win. Bobby Ojeda is adequate as a #4 starter. One possible weak spot is the lack of a dominant closer (or a bullpen, for that matter). OVERALL: Plenty of good hitters, some good starting pitching, but they better hope to be up 5-0 in the 7th inning. 3. Earl Weavers: Lots of stars on this team. The infield super-combo of Cal Ripken and Juan Samuel is back this year (although Samuel came back in the draft after being cut, thus saving the Weavers a few $$$ down the line). Lance Parrish and Gorman Thomas are also good for 30 taters. Overall, the lineup is strong, with decent hitters just about everywhere. On pitching, the Weavers have a strong trio of Eric Show, Tom Browning and Danny Jackson, with Joe Niekro and Bruce Hurst filling innings at the #4 & #5 spots. Jeff Reardon and Mark Davis form a strong relief combo. OVERALL: Some nice hitters & some decent pitchers. #3 in the division may be a little too low for the Weavers. 4. Athens Phalanx: Yeow, check out the pitching on this team. Sitting at #1 on the staff is Bret Saberhagen, who will have opposing hitters running for cover. Andy Hawkins is an above average starter as well. Other than Danny Darwin (200+ innings with a sub 4.00 ERA), the rest of the starting pitching staff will be made up of part timers (including one Roger Clemens). Tom Niedenfuer will be a workhorse closer and is a definite candidate for fireman of the year. But the amazing thing about the pitching staff is that there is quality from top to bottom. Athens will have one of the best pitching staffs in the league this year. Hitting? Unfortunately, while the pitching will be stellar, the offense will be rather ho-hum. Phil Bradley will put up nice AVG/OBA/SLG numbers and could smack 30 homers, but there isn't much else to write home about. OVERALL: The pitching is great, but the offense could be better (much like the Westport Knuckleheads of 1984 .. who just happened to make the playoffs!). 5. Philadelphia Pineapples: Philadelphia probably won't be as competitive as the other 4 teams in the division, but they'll give it a shot. Dave Winfield should put in a good year, hitting lots of homers and driving in lots of runs. He'll get some support from Kent Hrbek and Al Cowens as well. On pitching, Mario Soto is back to anchor the staff, but the rest of the starters are mediocre bordering on bad. On the other hand, Philadelphia has a great bullpen, with Jesse Orosco, Al Holland, Carlos Diaz, and Steve Ontiveros all expected to do well. OVERALL: OK hitting, ho hum starting pitching, great relief staff. May not win the pennant, but might not find themselves at #5 either.