1986 CDBL Preview "Your mileage may vary!" Pre-season predictions: Pennants - Milwaukee Mashers, Arizona Aztecs, San Mateo Traffic, Boston Bulldogs Wildcards - Arkham Investigators, Dewey Beach Lush, Tamalpais Mountaineers World Series - Traffic over Investigators MVP - Wade Boggs Cy Young - Roger Clemens AARON DIVISION PREVIEW 1. Milwaukee Mashers: Last year's champs show no sign of fading. Rickey Henderson is still the man in Milwaukee, and offers 30 homer power this year along with a stolen base pace approaching triple digits. Retreads Steve Balboni and Alvin Davis will meld together into a very potent force at 1B. SS Alan Trammell goes from liability in '85 to contributor in '86. 1985 MVP and triple crown winner for the rival Friars Pedro Guerrero joins the Mashers this year in limited action. Mike Krukow and Kirk McCaskill are interchangable as the staff ace, and Tom Hume and Dale Mohorcic are rock solid as relievers. OVERALL: Milwaukee has a winning track record, and they still have plenty of horses. A pennant title would not be unexpected. 2. Arkham Investigators: Arkham was predicted to be first in the '84 and '85 preview, but they finished middle of the pack in both years. How can a team with this much talent be that bad? 3B Wade Boggs should have his best season yet, and will contend for MVP honors. He'll get a lot of run opportunities, with sluggers George Bell, Ken Griffey Sr. and Kirk Gibson behind him. 2B Jim Morrison and 1B Ken Phelps add to the hitting attack. The ace for Arkham this year is Ron Darling, with Storm Davis, Floyd Youmans and Curt Young also expected to contribute to the starting rotation. Arkham boasts two very competant closers in Tom Henke and Jesse Orosco. OVERALL: Arkham has the hitting, and they have the pitching, now can they just put them together? 3. Point Lomas Friars: Formerly known as the Nettles ToWiggins, 1985 was the Friar's season. They finished the season 102-60, good enough for the best record in the league and the Aaron division pennant. Point Lomas took a big hit in the off-season when triple crown winner Pedro Guerrero left for rival Milwaukee. The hitter of note for this year will be OF Von Hayes, who should put up solid numbers but certainly won't be a triple crown candidate. 1B Keith Hernandez will also have a good year. C Gary Carter and 2B Ryne Sandberg will be solid this year, although not as good as they were in 1985. On the pitching side of things, starters Bob Forsch and Rick Honeycutt can compete with the 1-2 starters on any other team in the division. The Friars likely will not have any relievers in the fireman of the year running, but they'll be able to save plenty of games with a committee. OVERALL: It'll be a bit of a letdown from 1985, but Point Lomas is still in the hunt. 4. Philadelphia Liberty: The Liberty have not been very good at all so far in CDBL history, losing an average of 88 games in their 2 years of existance. Philadelphia is hoping for a better performance in '86. Philadelpha has two of the best table-setters in the league in Brett Butler and Bill Doran, who can get to first base and steal second. OF's Joe Carter and Harold Baines, 3B Jim Presley and rookie 1B Wally Joyner all have extra base power and should see plenty of RBI opportunities. The main drags against the Liberty this year is pitching. Mark Gubicza is a quality starter, but will face many of his games against the Roger Clemens of the league. The other starters are nothing to write home about. The Liberty do have a fair amount of relievers who should keep them in the game. OVERALL: Their hitting looks good, the pitching looks shakey, but this should be the Liberty's best season yet. 5. Elk Grove Trout: The Trout should be much, much higher than this, but the Aaron division is going to be tough. The Trout feature hitting machine Tony Gwynn, and neo-full time hitting machines Ron Hassey and Denny Walling. Power comes from OF Rob Deer, who will either knock the ball out of the park or go out swinging. On the pitching side, Sid Fernandez gets the ace honors this year, and should do a good job. So why the last place pegging? A few too many crummy pitchers at the bottom of the barrel who will have to get appearances, and a bevy of quality teams above them. OVERALL: They may be pegged as finishing last, but it won't be a down-and-out last, and they could certainly finish higher. *************************************************************************** PAIGE DIVISION PREVIEW 1. Arizona Aztecs: Arizona meandered along for most of last season, but poured it on in the last few weeks to take their first ever pennant. Their last squad was good enough to win 83 games, and this one should be even better. The lineup is packed with good hitters, led by the core of 3B Gary Gaetti, Andre Dawson and Jim Rice. Steve Sax breaks out this year as an extremely competant table setter. 1B Dave Kingman is one dimensional, but he does his dimension (homers) very well. Their pitching is among the best in the division. On the pitching side, they have two dominant starters in Teddy Higuera and Bob Knepper. Tom Browning and Phil Niekro anchor the other half of the rotation. Arizona boasts a bevy of quality relievers. OVERALL: 1986 will prove 1985 was no fluke. A repeat pennant with a much better record. 2. Dewey Beach Lush: The Lush have never had a winning record. This year should be the first. The Lush have a bonafide ace in Mike Scott, and 2 studs in Floyd Bannister and Mike LaCoss. Joaquin Andujar isn't too bad, and a lot better than most other team's #4 starters. Steve Farr and Dan Schatzeder are decent relievers, although they may give up the long ball a little too much. 1986 is Jesse Barfield's year. The outfielder is likely to win the home run crown and make the obligatory run for MVP. Dave Parker joins him as a home run threat, and 1B Eddie Murray, OF Mike Davis and 3B Paul Molitor are threats at the plate too. They will have to build up the team stamina. They looked to be easy winners of the pennant in '85, but stumbled badly in the 2nd half to lose the pennant by 3 games. OVERALL: They have hitting. They have pitching. That should translate into a winning record, and contention for a pennant, barring a late season collapse. 3. Fargo Flames: The team that Mike Schmidt build. The franchise infielder is back for another season, and he's as good as ever. Schmidt will contend for the homer crown and the MVP. The Flames have a lefty killing lineup, which should help when they meet up with the Arizona Aztecs. But their hitting vs. righties is a little weak, which will cause problems. On the pitching side, none of their starters will remind anyone of Roger Clemens. They'll be forced to go to their bullpen quite a bit, which is actually a good thing, because closer Steve Bedrosian and relievers Tim Burke and Kent Tekulve can pile on a large number of quality innings for the entire season. OVERALL: The hitting and pitching isn't quite as deep as the first two teams in the division, but it should still make for an interesting season. 4. Hurdle Mills Hurdlers: Still trying to get back to their superb 1984 level, Hurdle Mills has a long road ahead of them this season. Dwight Evans is still the man in Hurdle Mills, but his performance is slowly slipping as he gets older. Other than that, nobody is of note for a full season, but with platooning Hurdle Mills may do a lot better than expected. They do have a staff ace in Rick Rhoden, who is an innings workhorse. Bruce Ruffin won't be able to pitch a full season, but when he does, he'll be among the best in the league. Closing duties are in capable hands in Dave Smith. OVERALL: They're predicted to be 4th, but if their platoon situation pays off they could go much, much higher. 5. DC Riots: Tim Raines looks to have a stellar year, with high batting averages and tons of stolen bases. Robin Yount will put in a decent season as well, but the talent after that drops off. By far the biggest hurdle is pitching, with a rotation full of ho-hums and no real standouts to speak of. OVERALL: It'll be a long year for DC, but watching Tim Raines scorch the bases will be fun. 6. Springfield Isotopes: No. Springfield is going to hit rock bottom and start digging. OVERALL: They've got a young Barry Bonds, but no. Check back in a couple of years. **************************************************************************** GEHRIG DIVISION PREVIEW 1. San Mateo Traffic: That 1st round pick in '84 is starting to pay off. Kirby Puckett has ridden the bench more than appearing at the plate so far, but 1986 will see a change to that. Puckett and 1985 1st round overall pick Jose Canseco are two of the more exciting outfielders to appear in the game. San Mateo boasts the best middle infield in the game, with 2B Tony Bernazard and SS Tony Fernandez. OF Fred Lynn and 1B Bob Horner may be cornerstones on other franchises, but they are merely support players in this roster. On the pitching side, San Mateo boasts not 1, not 2, not even 3, but *4* legit ace pitchers in Vida Blue, Danny Cox, Jimmy Key, and Nolan Ryan. Reliever Mark Eichorn is stellar with starter's innings, and Frank Williams, Calvin Schiraldi and Rob Murphy all have unbelievable performances. OVERALL: There always seems to be a team that runs wild over the others in the league. 1984 was the Hurdlers. 1985 was the Stingers. 1986 will be the Traffic. 2. Tamalpais Mountaineers: From world series champs to league chumps, Tamalpais has been to the mountain and to the valley. This year looks to return them to the former. The Mountaineers boast a lineup full of heavy hitters. Don Baylor, Kevin McReynolds, and Darrell Evans are all longball threats, and Lenny Dykstra, Ozzie Smith can get to the bases with great frequency. The Mountaineers have a deep pitching staff, although few stand out on their own. The ace by default is Scott Garrelts. Still, the pitching staff is among the better ones in the league. OVERALL: The hitting is good, and so is the pitching. Expect the Mountaineers to make an appearance in the playoffs this year. 3. Albuquerque Maul: Formerly known as the Stingrays, Albuquerque made it to the playoffs last year on the back of Steve Balboni. Balboni's gone, but in his place is equally stellar Glenn Davis. Joining Glenn Davis to punish the opposing pitchers (though homers or the wind of their bats if they don't connect) are 3B Larry Parrish and OF Pete Incaviglia. The Maul are fairly solid throughout the lineup, and should be above average. The pitching is deep, too, with Jack Morris, Fernando Valenzuela and Bill Gullickson each vying for the ace position. Plenty of relievers are available to handle closing duties with ease. OVERALL: A solid this team this year, maybe even good enough for 2nd in the division. But they'll have to exceed expectations to challenge the Traffic. 4. Topeka Stingers: '85 was Topeka's year, winning 99 games en route to the pennant. 1B Don Mattingly is the franchise this year, backed up in the core of the order by OF Kevin Bass and 3B George Brett. Lots of other decent hitters grace the lineup, including rookie OF Ruben Sierra and catcher Ernie Whitt. Vince Coleman can't hit worth a lick, but he'll challenge the stolen bases record this year. Closer Dave Righetti is back, and once again will challenge for fireman of the year. The starting rotation won't win any prizes, which is the primary reason for Topeka's low ranking this year. Don Sutton is the ace by default. OVERALL: Theys still have the hitting, but the pitching isn't as deep as in '85, which will make a pennant difficult. 5. PV Stallions: Oh, cruel fate. The Stallions have been blessed with a fine pitching staff, only to be doomed with an underpowered offense. The Stallions have one of the best rotations in the league in Doc Gooden, Bobby Welch, Tom Candiotti and Charlie Hough. They've even got a solid bullpen in Jon Franco, Roger McDowell and Doug Disk. They are capable of a shutout every game, which is a good thing. They're gonna need to do so. The big problem is the hitting. These guys couldn't slug their way out of a paper bag. OVERALL: Fantastic pitching, but crummy hitting will do them in. 6. Homestead Gray's: It's not that the Gray's are that bad, it's just that they don't feature the jam-packed star lineup of a Traffic or Investigators. Other than 2B Frank White, there isn't any hitting all-stars among them, but they'll be able to stretch their hitting at bat's a little with platooning. Oil Can Boyd and Orel Hershiser duel for the ace spot, but would rank as the 3rd pitcher in the rotation for a pennant winner. OVERALL: Nothing terribly bad, just not enough horses to contend this year. *********************************************************************** TIANT DIVISION PREVIEW 1. Boston Bulldogs: Boston was in a knock-down, drag-out fight for the Tiant pennant last year, and won by a 1 game margin. Not content to settle for a mere pennant, they battled their way to an appearance in the world series. Was it a fluke? Sources point to no. Dale Murphy is still the man in Boston, and he has plenty of support. 1B Leon Durham, OF Oddibe McDowell, OF Brian Downing and 3B Brook Jacoby probably won't make the all-star team, but as a whole they'll put up the runs. The Bulldogs are merely good on offense, but are merely great on the pitching side. Bobby Ojeda and Mike Witt can match up with any ace in the league, and David Palmer is a better than average 3rd starter. There really isn't a stinker in the bunch. Lots of candidates for closer, too. OVERALL: Thanks to Dale Murphy and a great pitching staff, the Bulldogs will win their 2nd consecutive pennant. 2. Missouri Mules: Formerly known as the Athens Phalanx, the Mules get the honor of hosting Roger Clemens' first dominating season. Clemens is practically an automatic win every time he starts, and he'll start a lot. Danny Darwin is a great pitcher in his own right, and will be even better in the #2 slot. Rick Horton and Todd Worrell combined are as good as a full starter, and will make the 8th & 9th innings an easy win for Missouri. On the hitting side, OF Phil Bradley is back, who doesn't hit homers but puts up nice stats anyways. The long ball threat is Doug DeCines, who won't remind anyone of Mike Schmidt but he'll do. The hitting talent drops off after that, but it might be enough to be in the ballgame each night. OVERALL: Amazing pitching, but the hitting will determine how well the Mules do. 3. Hollywood Stars: A tumultuous off-season resulted in a change of ownership and a new name and location, but the team formerly known as the Earl Weavers should see their best opportunity yet at a pennant. The Stars feature 4 potential all-stars, infielders Cal Ripken and Juan Samuel, and outfielders Eric Davis and Andy Van Slyke. Eric Davis has his first full season, and it's a doozy. Davis could reach 30 homers and steal 100 bases. Cal Ripken and Juan Samuel could each make the all-star team. Unfortunately the hitting talent drops off deeply after that. On the pitching side, Bruce Hurst, Danny Jackson and Dennis Rasmsusen can compete with anyone in the league as starters, and Mark Davis is a solid closer ... but a good chunk of the pitching staff could be a big liability. OVERALL: They have some all-star caliber players, and some not-so-all-star players. Can they find the right mix to translate that into a pennant? 4. Dark Valley Destinies: King of the platoon. Dark Valley won the pennant in '84 and almost did again in '85 thanks to a dominant platoon situation. Despite the platooning, there are several individuals who will stand out. First off, there's Darr "rrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy" yl Strawberry, the talented but troubled outfielder who will smack plenty of homers. He's joined by equally talented slugger Danny Tartabull, acquired in an off-season trade. On the pitching front, ace John Tudor returns, although he's the only starter who will be there every 5th day. The rest are part- or almost-full timers, and most of them are pretty good. OVERALL: Dark Valley may not have as many all-star contenders as other teams, but the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. If Dark Valley wins the division, I would not be surprised. 5. Philly Pineapples: A franchise struggling, they'll struggle mightily this year too. But with prospects like David Cone and Bo "knows" Jackson, their past is behind them, and their future is ahead of them. And, I suppose, their present is right in front of them. OVERALL: Mix bad hitting, bad pitching, a few prospects and a 1987 1st round pick, and let cook a few years. Out comes a reborn franchise.