1997 CDBL PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary!" (Especially this year! Lots of close teams this year) ******************************************************************************* Aaron Division - 1st - California Kamados (Last Season - 33-129, 6th place) After a couple of rough rebuilding years, the Kamados are looking to contend this year. Jose Offerman and Derek Jeter provide a double play combo that can get on base, and Eric Davis and Scott Rolen have the bat power to drive them in. Glenallen Hill and Brian McRae add to the hitting depth. Jamie Moyer, Bartolon Colon and Omar Daal lead a deep rotation. The bullpen is a bit no-name, but a quality closer should emerge from the group. 2nd - Arkham Investigators (Last Season - 113-49, 1st place, 1997 AP Conf Champ) After making it to the world series last year, Arkham hopes for another shot at the playoffs in '98. Ken Griffey Jr should have another monster year, with support from Matt Lawton, Travis Lee and Jorge Posada. Brian Bohanon, Francisco Cordova and Hideki Irabu form a solid and formidable rotation. Tom Gordon leads a solid and deep bullpen. 3rd - Portland Commanders (Last Season - 77-85, 4th place) Perhaps a new city and name is just what this team needs. Rafael Palmeiro, Tim Salmon and Bobby Higginson dig the long ball, and Darryl Hamilton should get on base enough to benefit from all that firepower. Carlos Perez and Scott Erickson are innings workhorses, and Tony Saunders could also have a good season. The bullpen is excellent, with Jeff Shaw, Scott Radinsky and Kerry Lightenberg leading a talented group of relievers. 4th - Manhatten Beach Mashers (Last Season - 100-62, 2nd place) The Mashers will enjoy another monster year from Mark McGwire, and Jeromy Burnitz, Robin Ventura and Todd Walker will also help score some runs. Sean Bergman, Chris Peters and Justin Thompson head up the rotation, and Gregg Olson leads the bullpen. 5th - Point Lomas Friars (Last Season - 69-93, 5th place) Greg Vaughn, Jason Giambi and Mike Stanley lead a bevy of talented sluggers. Luis Gonzalez, Dave Nilsson and Jeff King add to the mix. Mark Gardner leads a group of innings eaters in the rotation, and the bullpen features Ricardo Rincon, Mark Leiter and a group of other solid relievers. 6th - Elk Grove Trout (Last Season - 85-77, 3rd place) The Trout offense is big on finesse, with Tony Gwynn, Darrin Erstad and Garrett Anderson going for the high singles, low home run approach. Travis Fryman is their big slugger, and should be good for 30 homers. Chuck Finley is a bonafide ace, and Tim Belcher and Aaron Sele should chew up some innings. Troy Percival is a big closer, but after Matt Mantei the bullpen gets a little thin. ******************************************************************************* Paige Division - 1st - DBL Fishbiscuits (Last Season - 80-82, tied for 3rd place) The team with the talented (if expensive) core hopes that this is their year. Larry Walker, Craig Biggio, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome form one of the top hitting lineups in the league, and 2nd in career RBI draftee Cal Ripken Jr can contribute in the lower half of the order. Pitching has always been the weak link for this team, but a combination of Pete Harnisch, Orlando Herandez and Masato Yoshii will make DBL very competitive. Jeff Tabaka and Doug Henry lead a capable bullpen. 2nd - Tualatin Thunder (Last Season - 80-82, tied for 3rd place) The Thunder certainly are near the top of the league when it comes to star power. Mike Piazza, Barry Larkin and Jeff Bagwell sell baseball cards by the boatload, and Shawn Green and Brian Jordan have big bats as well. Brian Moehler and Bobby Jones will eat innings, but none of the starting rotation is in contention for the Cy Young award. However, the bullpen, featuring Ugueth Urbina, Mariano Rivera and Rod Beck, is deep and talented. 3rd - Madison Muckrakers (Last Season - 97-65, tied for 1st place) Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, Scott Brosius and Ivan Rodriguez leads a strong and deep lineup that should score plenty of runs. David Wells and Rolando Arrojo are a strong 1-2 punch in the starting rotation. Paul Quantrill, Dave Veres and Shigetshi Hasegawa lead a strong and deep bullpen. 4th - Springfield Isotopes (Last Season - 97-65, tied for 1st place) Barry Bonds is his usual stellar self, and has help from Bernie Williams, Stan Javier and some combination of Mark Grace and Tony Clark. Curt Schilling is a more than capable ace, logging workhorse like innings. Jeff Fassero is a nice #2, but the rotation gets a bit thin after that. The bullpen may be a little shaky this year. 5th - Chicago Outlaws (Last Season - 67-95, 6th place) With bats like Vladimir Guerrero, Moises Alou, Eric Karros and Rondell White, the Outlaws will be scoring plenty of runs. Ray Durham is a strong table-setter as well. With his run support Al Leiter could win 20 this year, but after Carl Pavano and Brian Anderson the starting pitching gets thin. Turk Wendell may be their best reliever, and the rest of the bullpen is a little thin as well. 6th - Seattle Decaf (Last Season - 74-88, 5th place) Derek Bell should have a good year in the outfield, and Fernando Vina is a more than capable top of the order hitter, but the rest of the lineup will struggle to manufacture runs. Andy Benes, Darren Dreifort and Kevin Millwood help form a competent starting rotation, and Mike Jackson leads a deep bullpen. Still, run support may be an issue for this team. ******************************************************************************* Gehrig Division - 1st - Encinitas Surfers (Last Season - 93-69, 2nd place) The pitching trio of Greg Maddux, Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina are likely to be the top trio of starters for any team at any point in CDBL history. With Doug Brocail, Mike Timlin and a bevy of other talent relievers, the Surfers may have the top pitching staff in the league. Andres Galarraga has a powerful bat at first base, and Ellis Burks and BJ Surhoff are also decent hitters. Tony Fernandez can make contact with the ball and get on base. The rest of the hitters are nothing to write home about, but with this pitching staff they don't have to be. 2nd - Albuquerque Maul (Last Season - 96-66, 1st place) With the likes of Albert Belle, Will Clark, Raul Mondesi and Dean Palmer, the Maul will not go hurting for offense. Ricky Henderson and Delino DeShields provide the top of the other presence. John Smoltz leads the rotation, which also features new acquisitions Denny Neagle and Todd Stottlmyre. Rich Loiselle and Jerry DiPoto lead the solid if unspectacular bullpen. 3rd - Hong Kong Cavaliers (Last Season - 63-99, 6th place) Vinny Castilla, Carlos Delgado and Matt Stairs are a powerful middle of the order combination, and Edgar Renteria and Roberto Alomar are a speedy, high average double play combination. Pedro Martinez should once again be one of the best pitchers in the league, and with Bret Saberhagen, Jon Lieber and Chris Carpenter, the pitching staff should be able to hold their own. The bullpen could be a little shaky, as there is no clear closer candidate. 4th - Concord Minutemen (Last Season - 80-82, 3rd place) It's a blending of the young and the old in Concord, as longtime slugger Jose Canseco joins youngsters Chipper Jones and Javy Lopez in an offense that should have some pop. Troy O'Leary and Tino Martinez will contribute to the mix. Shane Reynolds is a legit ace, and Ismael Valdes, Joey Hamilton and Jesus Sanchez form a quality rotation. Between John Wetteland and Billy Wagner the Minutemen have the 9th inning locked down. 5th - Anchorage Gold Diggers (Last Season - 79-83, 4th place) With speedsters like Kenny Lofton, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Kendall and Randy Winn, the Gold Diggers will be a speed and contact hitting team. Paul O'Neill should have a good year, and their power source will be 3B Ken Caminiti. Kenny Rogers is a top ace, and Omar Olivares and Brad Radke round out the rotation. Trevor Hoffman is a potential fireman of the year candidate, but the rest of the bullpen is suspect. 6th - Topeka Stingers (Last Season - 70-92, 5th place) Just like most other teams, the Stingers have a group of talented sluggers, including Mo Vaughn, Dante Bichette and Jeff Kent. But after those 3 the hitting gets a bit thin. Mike Hampton and Andy Pettitte will keep Topeka competitive at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starters will struggle. After world class closer Rob Nen and Steve Kline, the bullpen gets iffy. ******************************************************************************* Tiant Division - 1st - Avila Dragons (Last Season - 87-75, 3rd place) Alex Rodriguez, Jim Edmonds and Johnny Damon give Avila a young core that should benefit them for years to come. But after the terrific trio, the quality of hitting in the lineup drops way down. Roger Clemens, Andy Ashby and Jason Schmidt help form one of the top rotations in the league, and Juan Acevedo, Jason Christiansen and a horde of other quality relievers gives Avila one of the deepest bullpens in the league, and overall one of the best pitching staffs in the league. If Avila is able to capture the pennant, they will do so with their pitching. 2nd - Toronto Royals (was Orange Whoop) (Last Season - 80-82, 4th place) Juan Gonzalez is in line to have a monster year, and Jeff Olerud and Jeff Cirillo are the kind of high contact walk machines that most clean-up hitters can only dream of. Ryan Klesko, Mike Lansing and others will help the Royals score runs. On the pitching side, Tom Glavine and David Cone once again are a strong 1-2 combo, and Sterling Hitchcock is a decent #3. Jay Powell and Alan Mills leads a solid if unspectacular bullpen. 3rd - Boston Bulldogs (Last Season - 97-65, 2nd place, 1997 CDBL Champions) Boston won it all last year, and are in contention to do it again. Ray Lankford, Bobby Abreu, Edgar Martinez and Edgardo Alfonzo will add to a high octane offense. Randy Johnson once again is an ace, and Chan Ho Park is an OK #2. Boston will also get a half year's performance out of young Matt Morris. John Johnstone would make a decent setup man, but he may be asked to handle closing duties with the thin bullpen. 4th - Dedham Destroyers (Last Season - 66-96, 5th place) Young Todd Helton should burst onto the stage in '98, and joining him in the lineup are veterans David Justice and Damian Easley. After those players, the offense may have difficulty manufacturing runs. Dustin Hermanson is a decent ace, and Jose Lima, Dave Burba and Juan Guzman round out a solid rotation. Stan Belinda and Donne Wall lead a bullpen that isn't the best, but isn't the worst either. 5th - Alphaville Cautions (Last Season - 60-102, 6th place) The Cautions are in the middle of a multi-year rebuild, but they should start seeing some dividends in 1998. Rusty Greer and Cliff Floyd are quality hitters, but the rest of the lineup needs some seasoning. Rookie Kerry Wood nabs the ace spot by default. 6th - San Diego Rude Dawgs (Last Season - 101-61, 1st place) After winning 101 games last year, the Rude Dawgs decided their run was over, jettisoning many long time players for draft picks. It looks to be a rebuilding year, but with talent like Nomar Garciappara and new acquisition Frank Thomas, San Diego will be back.