1994 CDBL PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary" Aaron Division Preview: Tie-1st - Arkham Investigators & Manhatten Beach Mashers: The two juggernauts continue to bash heads in '94. Arkham has a slight edge in pitching (Bret Saberhagen and Jose Rijo lead a strong rotation), while Manhatten has a slight edge in hitting (Kevin Mitchell, Paul O'Neill and Tim Wallach all fearsome sluggers this year). Both will contend for the pennant and 100 win seasons. 3rd - Elk Grove Trout. Lots of contact on this team with Tony Gwynn, Gregg Jefferies and Felix Jose, but they won't launch a lot of balls out of the park. The rotation is steady but won't pitch many shutouts. Should contend for a wildcard. 4th - Savannah Shoeless Joe's: Their pitching is on the weak side, with a heavy dependence on Pat Hentgen to carry the team. Rafael Palmeiro, Kirk Gibson and Tim Salmon have some thump in their bats so they will be fun to watch. 5th-6th - Point Lomas Friars, California Kamados: Both teams suffer from pitching which will lead to opposing hitters padding their stats when they face them. Looking forward to '95 already! **************************************************** Paige Division Preview: 1st - Dewey Beach Lush: They'll either be spectacular or average. Their top notch hitting (Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield and many more) will score tons of runs, but their lack of pitching will make for plenty of high scoring games. Perhaps a 20 win season for Kevin Gross? 2nd - White Rock Mighty Pugs: Is it their year, finally? Steve Trachsel and Mark Portugal head up a decent rotation, John Franco can close with the best of them, which Julio Franco, Ivan Rodriguez and Joe Carter provide the hits. 3rd - Springfield Isotopes: Barry Bonds and friends return for another year. Bonds will be his usually great self and make his teammates around him better. Scott Kamieniecki and Mark Clark lead a journeyman rotation. Tie-4th - Tualatin Thunder and Largo Longshots: Both teams have some standouts (Moises Alou and John Wetteland for Largo, Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza for Tualatin), but Tualatin is lacking a bit in pitching and Largo lacking a bit in hitting to get placed at the top of the previews this year. Tie-4th, part 2 - Brainerd Blue Ox: Fred McGriff is a standout in the lineup, but other than Wil Cordero the rest of the hitting lineup won't remind folks of Dewey Beach's lineup. Zane Smith and Ken Hill should do well in the rotation, and the pitching could surprise. **************************************************** Gehrig Division Preview: 1st - Encinitas Surfers: Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown and a bunch of filler lead the rotation, but the first two will make this one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Andres Galarraga and Mickey Tettleton will make sure enough runs get scored to win the game. 2nd - Concord Minutemen: Jose Canseco and Kirby Puckett, step right up! The deadly duo continue to anchor the lineup, and will get some help from Carlos Baerga and Bip Roberts. Shane Reynolds and Billy Swift lead a pitching staff that will make the Minutemen a playoff contender this year. 3rd - Topeka Stingers: Mo Vaughn, Dante Bichette and Jeff Kent makes this a lineup to be feared. Wilson Alvarez and Chuck Nagy are ace-level starters, but the latter half of the rotation could be an anchor on this potentially playoff-bound ship. 4th - Albuquerque Maul: With Albert Belle, Raul Mondesi, Cecil Fielder and Travis Fryman, this lineup has some pop. John Smoltz is OK as a starter, but there's no real ace on the pitching staff. 5th - Boulder County Trustafarians: Tremendous speed on this team, but can Ruben Sierra knock them all in? Tom Gordon, Kenny Rogers and Jim Abbott are workhorse starters, but they could use a Maddux-type to anchor the rotation (couldn't we all!). Trevor Hoffman should be great as a closer. 6th - Hong Kong Cavaliers: The good news is Pedro Martinez is ready to anchor their starting rotation for the forseeable future. The bad news is that the rest of the team is not ready for him yet! **************************************************** Tiant Division Preview: 1st - Avila Dragons: 2nd year expansion team planned to make '94 their year. Chili Davis, Wade Boggs and Will Clark lead a team who knows how to hit the ball. Roger Clemens, Andy Ashby and John Smiley are a power trio of starting pitchers. Tied-2nd - Dedham Destroyers & Boston Bulldogs: Both teams have lots of quality players. Boston has Jeff Conine, Ray Lankford and Hal Morris in their batting lineup, while Dedham has David Justice, Ryan Klesko and Paul Sorrento. Boston's starting rotation features the likes of Jeff Fassero, Randy Johnson and Jimmy Key, while Dedham has Doug Drabek, Bobby Jones and Rickey Bones to rely on. Avila will need to keep their performance up all season long, otherwise one of these teams will claim the pennant. 4th - San Diego Stars: Bobby Bonilla, Paul Molitor and Cal Ripken will help score some runs for the Stars. Ramon Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Aaron Sele and Bob Scanlan are an amazingly deep and effective rotation, and there are plentiful candidates for the closer spot. 5th - Orange Whoop: They have some all-star quality hitters (Kenny Lofton, John Olerud, Jay Buhner, and Juan Gonzalez), and some not-so-all-star quality hitters (just about everyone else). David Cone is a capable ace, and Tom Glavine isn't too bad either. But with the Tiant division looking like it is this year, it may take some deals to move out some of the lower performers for the Whoop to move up in the standings. 6th - Birmingham Cloverleafs: Matt Williams and Bob Hamelin give the Cloverleafs some crunch at the corner positions. John Burnett and Andy Benes are decent starters. But it may not be enough to contend in this competitive division.