1987 CDBL Season Preview "Better late than never" Aaron Division 1. Milwaukee Mashers - 1986 (82-80, 4th) - Frank Viola and Rick Reuschel power a strong pitching staff, while Bobby Thigpen and Andy McGaffigan will hold down the late innings. Rickey Henderson is injured this year, but Alan Trammell, 1B Alvin Davis and back-from-injury Pedro Guerrero lead a capable hitting lineup. 2. Arkham Investigators - 1986 (92-70, 2nd) - Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Maybe this year will be different? George Bell may hit 50 homers and contend for MVP honors. Wade Boggs is still one of the best table settings out there. Kirk Gibson and Ken Phelps also add punch to the lineup. No real starters stand out, but should be OK, at least until Jose Rijo improves. Henke is a top-tier closer. 3. Point Lomas Friars - 1986 (97-65, 1st) - King of the hill for the past two years. Last year's MVP Tim Raines returns in top form, and will get support from 2B Ryne Sandberg and OF Von Hayes. The pitching staff is a group effort, with Bert Blyleven being the team's lone workhorse. The team will still contend, but they may need another Tim Raines to spur the effort. 4. Philadelphia Liberty - 1986 (72-90, 5th) - It's Wally World time. Wally Joyner has his breakout season at 1B, and the Liberty have one of the top OF's in the league with Joe Carter, Harold Baines and Brett Butler. Overall solid hitting lineup. Rick Sutcliffe, Dave Stewart and Mark Gubicza head up a workhorse rotation. No real relievers to scare the opposition, but Larry Anderson, Bill Wilkinson and Tim Stoddard will do OK. The Liberty may be picked 4th, but have the potential to place much higher. 5. Elk Grove Trout - 1986 (87-75, 3rd) - Tony Gwynn will contend for a batting title, Will "the Thrill" Clark will provide plenty of punch and Julio Franco and Lou Whitaker are one of the better double-play combos in the league, but the lack of a bonafide ace and overall quality pitching depth will hurt. Mike Henneman and Mitch Williams will do pretty good in relief, though. Paige Division 1. Dewey Beach Lush - 1986 (93-69, 1st) - Last year's champs are still packed to the gills with talent. Cy Young winner Mike Scott will be dominant once again, and the rest of the pitching staff is pretty good, too. Jesse Barfield, Larry Sheets and Eddie Murray lead a very solid hitting lineup. No real holes with this team. 2. Taos Shaman - 1986 (84-78, 2nd) - Andre "Hawk" Dawson has a career year, and could hit 50 homers. 3B Gary Gaetti and Rob Deer join in with the power, while Steve Sax, Willie Wilson and Billy Hatcher will steal lots of bases. Ted Higuera and Walt Terrell anchor the rotation, and the Shaman do have quite a few closer candidates. 3. DC Riots - 1986 (46-116, 6th) - The Riots set new league records for futility last year, but bounce back with a vengence. The roster is full of hitters who hit .270/.350/.450, and any excess can be traded to fill in holes. Doyle Alexander is a bonafide ace, and the rest of the pitching staff will be vey competitive. No chance of losing 116 games this season. 4. Fargo Flames - 1986 (82-80, 3rd) - 3B Mike Schmidt has been a Fargo mainstay for years, and is as good as ever. Schmidt gets help in the power department with Tom Brunansky and Fred Lynn. Andres Galarraga and Greg Brock form a stellar 1B platoon. For the pitching, Jim Clancy and Bill Wegman are a good 1-2 starter combo, and Tim Burke and Steve Bedrosian are one of the top reliever combos in the league. 5. Springfield Isotopes - 1986 (63-99, 5th) - Barry Bonds was abyssmal as a rookie, but will improve this year and for years to come. In the mean time, Bonds will get support from CF Devon White and C Benito Santiago. Mitch Webster, Harold Reynolds, White and Bonds will steal a lot of bases. Mark Langston and Joe Magrane will anchor the rotation, and while they have yet to hit their full potential, they should still be pretty good. Lee Smith and Doug Jones may not be ultra-dominant closers, but should do OK. 6. Hurdle Mills Hurdlers - 1986 (71-91, 4th) - Talent crash in the off-season meant little talent was kept. Dwight Evans is still chugging along, and Danny Cox (picked up in the off-season) will be good, but there isn't enough horsepower this year to contend. Gehrig Division 1. San Mateo Traffic - 1986 (92-70, 3rd) - The Traffic have had 90+ win seasons for the past two years, and this year should be no exception. Their hitting staff is packed with sluggers like Kirby Puckett, Tim Wallach, Jose Canseco, and Ozzie Virgil. Tony Fernandez's hitting ability and stolen base talent will make him an ideal table-setter. The pitching staff is among the best in the league, with Jimmy Key and Nolan Ryan being nearly unstoppable. Rob Murphy and Mark Eichhorn are top-notch relievers who can throw over 100 innings each. The team to beat this season. 2. Ocean Beach Surfers - 1986 (95-67, 2nd) - Good-to-bad-to-good in the past 3 years, the Surfers will remain good this year. OF Danny Tartabull was acquired in the off-season, and will team with Kevin McReynolds, Darrell Evans and Chili Davis to form a killer middle-of-the-order lineup. SS Ozzie Smith gets on base and steals them too, and 3B Buddy Bell will also contribute to the lineup. On the pitching side, there's no real ace standout, but they have an above average rotation from top to bottom. Scott Garrelts and Jeff Robinson are uber-relievers who will make the 7th-9th innings a non-issue. The only downfall is the disappointing season of last year's #1 pick Greg Maddux. It's expected that bum will get his waiver papers anyday now. 3. Albuquerque Maul - 1986 (84-78, 4th) - A team that's posted a winning record every year in existance, the Maul should continue the trend. The team is loaded with sluggers, with 1B Glenn Davis, OF Pete Incaviglia, and 3B Larry Parrish forming the core. OF Chet Lemon and OF Lloyd Moseby provide slugging power as well, and Willie Randolph should see lots of scoring opportunities. The Maul have a legit ace in Jack Morris, and Dave Stieb and Fernando Valenzuela are decent starters. The rest of the pitching staff is "OK". The Maul will feature above-average hitting with overall average pitching. 4. Topeka Stingers - 1986 (96-66, 1st) - The Stingers have been kings of the Gehrig division for the past two years, but their pitching staff took a hit in the off-season which will hurt. Charlie Liebrandt is back and is as good as ever, but Topeka will miss the Sutton's and Kevin Gross's of yesteryear. On hitting, they've still got the power. Don Mattingly leads the bunch once again, and gets support from 3B George Brett and young OF Ruben Sierra. 5. PV Stallions - 1986 (79-83, 5th) - As always, it is about the pitching, but it'll be a tale of two pitching staffs for PV. On the one hand, you've got Doc Gooden and Bobby Welch, who ace-quality starters, with Charlie Hough, an innings eating workhorse, along with closer John Franco, who should be decent. On the other, you've got a ton of relievers who will sport 5+ ERA's and will be an adventure every time they come out to pitch. The hitting should be "OK", with Chico Walker being the only hitter who will approach 30 homers. Lots of part-timers and platoon players on this team, so the hitting may actually be better than expected. 6. Homestead Gray's - 1986 (61-101, 6th) - It's been a rough couple of years, but there's still hope on the horizon. Great things are expected of SS Barry Larkin, but in the meantime the offense will come from rookie catcher Matt Notes, Keith Moreland and Dion James. Orel Hershiser puts in another ace season, and Homestead has great expectations from recent draftee Dave Righetti, but the rest of the pitching staff needs some work. It'll likely be another long year for the Gray's, but there's only one way to go from here. Tiant Division 1. Dark Valley Destinies - 1986 (95-67, 1st) - Last year's CDBL champs are back for a possible repeat. Unlike Destinies teams in the past, this is a team where platooning will be kept to a minimum. Darryl Strawberry will be the man, and Jack Clark and off-season acquisition Howard Johnson will also put in great seasons. There are lots of guys on this team who will hit the wrapper off the ball and get on base. On the pitching side, Dave Dravecky gets the ace honors this year. 2nd year pitcher Doug Drabek is maturing nicely and will be an ace soon enough. Other than that, most of the pitchers are good, although the ones at the fringe (who are there to eat up innings) will be very scary (to the Destinies, that is). In that case, they'll have to win a lot of 9-7 games. 2. Missouri Mules - 1986 (84-78, 3rd) - It's all about the pitching. The Mules have one of the most fearsome rotations in the league, with ace Roger Clemens, Bret Saberhagen, Danny Darwin and Zane Smith. Todd Worrell is a capable closer, but it's the rotation that gives the Mules one of the best pitching staffs in the league. On the hitting side, rookie Mark McGwire is going to have a breakout year, hitting homers like there was no tomorrow. He'll get help from longtime Mules slugger Phil Bradley and catcher Terry Steinbach. The Mules hitting staff isn't the most impressive there is, but with this pitching staff, it doesn't have to be. 3. Boston Bulldogs - 1986 (85-77, 2nd) - This is still Dale Murphy's team, and this is Dale Murphy's year. Murphy has tons of power and will contend for MVP honors. Brook Jacoby, Mike Greenwell, Kevin Mitchell, Leon Durham, Brian Downing and Carlton Fisk will give the Bulldogs one of the better lineups in the league. On the pitching side, Mike Witt will come down to earth from his great '86 year, but isn't completely terrible. Jose DeLeon and Kelly Downs are also pitchers to watch out for. But, other than that, there's a lot of BP-pitchers on the staff. Still, if the pitching staff gels, the Bulldogs could finish in the money. 4. Hollywood Stars - 1986 (79-83, 4th) - Early investments are going to start paying dividends for the Stars. The prospects drafted oh-so-long ago are breaking out Eric Davis is a premier slugger, and 2B Juan Samuel is going to be a terror at the plate. Davis, Samuel, and Andy Van Slyke (an excellent hitter in his own right) will steal bushels of bases. Let's not forget John Kruk and Bobby Bonilla, who should sport OPS's near 900. Danny Jackson and Don Carman will anchor the rotation, but they won't remind anyone of Roger Clemens. Dan Plesac should get his share of saves. Overall, the hitting is a little better than average while the pitching is a little worse than average, but the Stars will be very competitive this year. 5. Orange Whoop - 1986 (63-99, 5th) - A franchise that's never had much luck, but there's a foundation for the future. The Whoop drafted David Cone in 1986 and Tom Glavine this year to form a formidable 1-2 punch in years to come. Cone is actually the Whoop's best pitcher, and may end up the team closer. Mike Boddicker is the team ace, but would probably fit in better as a #3 starter on a contender.