2006 CFOD SEASON PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary!" "Better Late Than Never!" Mantle Division (in order of predicted finish): 1 - Angry Candy: These guys are always good. And 2006 is no exception. Though Chipper Jones and Todd Helton are getting up there in years, they are still very good. As is Bobby Abreu. And youngster Jason Bay. And walk machine Kevin Youkilis. Runs won't be a problem for the Candy. Bronson Arroyo is a quality pitcher who will see lots of usage in the rotation. Kelvim Escobar is a decent #2. The rest of the rotation and the bullpen? Well, hopefully they'll be able to win with offense. 2 - Arlington Arthropods: Manny Ramirez and young Prince Fielder will bop in the runs. Carlos Reyes will steal plenty of bases. Ryan Zimmerman adds to the offense ... the Arthropods have assembled a young core of hitters which should mesh well into the future. John Smoltz and Eric Schmidt are a solid veteran 1-2 punch in the rotation. Who will be closer? Only time will tell. But the Arthropods should have one of their better years in 2006. 3 - San Francisco Shriners: The Shriners went on a search to acquire as many players who could hit 24 home runs as possible, and they succeeded in a big way. Nobody is going to win a slugging title on this team, but lots of people have pop. Johan Santana continues his reign as "best pitcher alive", and Aaron Harang emerges as a quality #2 guy. The Shriners hope Randy Johnson bounces back in 2007, this year will be a bit rough. Brian Fuentes and Joe Borowski gives them options at closer, but they probably won't contend for Fireman of the Year. 4 - Bakersfield RamJets: Last year they surprised a lot of folks by making it to the world series. Can they do it again in 2006? Miguel Tejada, Ivan Rodriguez and Gary Matthews gives Bakersfield dependable production in the typically hard to fill middle field spots. The batters in the corner spots can hit a little but probably will be sitting home at the all-star break. John Lackey is a good ace, and J.J. Putz can close with the best of them, but the rest of the pitching staff is merely OK. 5 - Springfield 'Isotopes: Raul Ibanez and Richie Sexson will keep pitchers honest, and Reed Johnson and Juan Rivera provide lots of hitting and power without the home runs. Sal Capuano is an OK starter, but would be a better #4 starter rather than going against the Johan Santana's fof the world. The rest of the pitching is a bit shaky. 6 - Mechan Syndicate: The Syndicate always seem to field high ERA, even higher scoring teams. Unfortunately for the Syndicate, only one of those is true this year, and it's the bad one. Nate Robertson is a good starter, but too many in the rotation are batting practice- worthy. Adam Dunn, Miguel Cabera and David Wright form a solid young core, but Cabrera and Wright play the same position. The rest of the hitters won't remind anyone of Barry Bonds in his prime. Koufax Division (in order of predicted finish): 1 - Boston Brewins: Trade Albert Pujols? Are you kidding? They did just that, nabbing 1B Justin Morneau and more, and it may play into a 1st place finish in 2006. Vernon Wells and Bill Hall give the lineup some pop as well. Their pitching is the best in the division, with Boston putting Brandon Webb and Josh Johnson at the top of the rotation. 2 - Cincinnati Rock: Derek Jeter and Chase Utley form the top hitting double-play combination in the majors. Carl Crawford is the rare top of the order base runner who can get on base and steal a couple as well. Frank Thomas is the hired gun to knock them all in from the 4 spot. Roy Oswalt is your standard issue staff ace, and Carlos Zambrando is a #2 pitcher who would be #1 on quite a few teams. Tom Gordon won't exactly scare anyone at closer, but he gets the job done. Boston will need to step it up or Cincinnati will slide into the top spot. 3 - Somerville Sluggers: Perennially predicted to do worse than they usually do, this year the bar is set a little higher. Andruw Jones, Grady Sizemore and Nick Johnson will generate plenty of runs, and the rest of the order are no scrubs, either. Roy Halladay is a staff ace of a capable rotation. Closer duties are up in the air, but there are several worthy candidates. 4 - Oregon Wet Sox: Lyle Overbay and Edgar Renteria lead a team that won't win with the 3-run homer, but lots of hit and runs. Juan Pierre should steal a lot of bases. Chien-Ming Wang isn't a household name yet, but can pitch. The other starters? Not so much. Billy Wagner will lock things down as the closer, though. 5 - Hillsborough Regulators: Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome and Alfonso Soriano give the Regulators some pop not seen since the Giambi days of early 2000. Jimmy Rollins should be able to score plenty of runs. Chris Young and Justin Verlander lead a young and fairly talented rotation, but their bullpen is very lean right now. They may have quite a few late inning heartbreakers if additional help isn't brought in. A decent closer or two and they'll zoom up the division rankings. 6 - Missouri Mudfish: They won their division last year, a franchise first. They traded for Albert Pujols in the offseason. Pujols, Nick Swisher and the pennant ceremony should bring fans back to the stadium. But their lack of pitching, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, will hurt their chances of repeating as division champs. Ruth Division (in order of predicted finish): 1 - California Coneheads: After missing the playoffs for the first time in team history, the Coneheads are back with a vengence in 2006. Scott Kazmir leads a squad that is short on Randy Johnson-esque war horses, but a deep squad of talented hurlers. Carlos Lee and a relatively uninjured Barry Bonds leads a capable offense. 2 - Paxtang Pitbulls: Perennial contenders, this year is no different. A-Rod and Carlos Delgado are joined by Torii Hunter and Matt Holliday in the power squad. Derek Lowe leads a solid rotation, and BJ Ryan and Chris Ray will make sure the 9th inning remains scoreless for the other team. 3 - Carolina Lightning: Check out the guns on this team. Ryan Howard is a monster at the plate, and almost every part of the batting lineup is capable of taking it out of the park. One of the more high-octance offenses in the league. Mike Mussina leads a decent staff, who will benefit from the run support. 4 - San Diego Termites: Bring on the vet squad! The league's perennial "mature" team continues on in 2006. Paul Konerko can knock them in, Carlos Guillen can score the runs. Chris Carpenter is a more than capable ace, and Barry Zito is a nice #2. Question is, is there anyone on the staff who can step up to be a dominant closer? 5 - Miami Mangos: The Mangos have good players like Nomar Garciaparra and Paul Lo Duca, but they won't be mistaken for Ryan Howard. Eric Bedard, Tom Glavine and Dontrelle Willis all give decent performances, but don't put up ace seasons. The closer position is a toss-up as well. 6 - Topeka MooseDogs: Aramis Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and Johnny Damon will put fans in the seats with their hitting, and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez will lock down the 9th when Topeka has the lead, but with their starting pitching getting those 9th inning leads may be a problem. Young Division (in order of predicted finish): 1 - Rocklin Thunder: The Thunder look to bounce back from an awful 2005 to contend for another title in 2006. Lance Berkman, Travis Hafner and Carlos Beltran lead the sluggers, although most of their starting rotation are half-year wonders (but playoff elligible) 2 - San Franciso Piazza's: Catcher Joe Mauer, Robinson Cano, and Ichiro Suzuki lead a high hit, low power offense that should manufacture the runs for the Piazza's. Kevin Rogers and several quality relievers lead an effective pitching staff. This could be their best year since '95. 3 - Seattle Moshers: Seattle has slugger David Ortiz in the middle, with Joe Crede and Michael Young providing support. CC Sabathia leads a pitching staff that will make the Moshers a formidable opponent. 4 - Brookfield Brouhaha: The Brouhaha are always a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and this season is no different. Expect the no-name squad to cause problems again in '06. 5 - Oregon City Pioneers: Vladir Guerrero and Adam LaRoche gives the Pioneers some punch, and the latter innings won't be a problem with Mariano Rivera leading one of the better bullpens in the league. All that remains is for an ace starter to emerge. 6 - Park City Climbers: They were 2005 CFOD champs, but 2006 will be a hangover year for them ... lots of rebuilding projects going on here.