2007 CFOD PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary" Mantle Division Preview - By Predicted Order of Finish: #1 - Angry Candy 'Candy regulars Chipper Jones, Todd Helton and Bobby Abreu help power one of the league's most potent batting lineups. Aaron Rowand and off-season acquisition Chase Utley only add to the carnage. Kelvim Escobar, James Shields and Bronson Arroyo lead a staff that can allow fewer runs than the Angry Candy will score, and Jose Valverde and Mariano Rivera lead a strong relief roster. One of the leading contenders for a world series appearance. No pressure. #2 - Arlington Arthropods Jose Reyes and Curtis Granderson can get on base and run them well, and Prince Fielder and Manny Ramirez can knock them in. John Smoltz is back in the rotation and should have a year reminiscent of his 90's performances. Yovani Gallardo, Tom Gorzelanny and Rich Hill round out the young and talented starting rotation. Rafael Betancourt should be able to close with the best of them. #3 - Bakersfield RamJets Ivan Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada still anchor key points in the infield, but they're starting to get a little long in the tooth. Thankfully they'll have a healthy Derrek Lee driving in runs and playing first. The RamJets have a fearsome 1-2 punch in the rotation with John Lackey and Brad Penny, and JJ Putz should be a stellar closer. The RamJets may not have the offensive firepower of the Angry Candy or Arthropods, but they could contend thanks to their stellar pitching staff. #4 - Mechan Syndicate What a bevy of talented young sluggers on this team. David Wright is playing at an all-star level and will only get better. Troy Tulowitzki is a promising young shortstop and Adam Dunn brings the thunder and lightning in the outfield. Dan Haren should do well this year in the rotation, but the rest of the starters will struggle to win games. A few acquired starters during the season could see the fortunes of this team rise. If the Syndicate can bring a lead with their back-of-the rotation starters into the 9th, victory will be assured with the closing capabilities of Lee Gardner. #5 - Springfield 'Topes Raul Ibanez, Eric Byrnes, Adam LaRoche are a trio of sluggers with a "little" pop (~20 homers), so the 'Topes may be depending on smart base running to manufacture runs this year. Dustin Pedroia should have a great year in the infield, getting on base and smacking doubles. Tim Hudson is back in fine form, and Mark Buehrle should have a good year in the rotation as well. The relief pitching is a little shaky. #6 - San Francisco Shriners For the first time since .. well, a long time, the Shriners enter a season without either Sammy Sosa or Randy Johnson on their roster. Adrian Gonzalez provides the punch in the middle of the lineup, but expect the Shriners to struggle for runs until players like import Jason Bay get their mojo back. Starter Johan Santana is as stellar as ever, and Aaron Harang is a great 2nd starter in the rotation. Manny Corpas will bring the heat as the closer, but don't expect the tail end of the starting rotation to win may games with their run support. Koufax Division Preview - By Predicted Order of Finish: #1 - Somerville Sluggers When the Sluggers get picked to finish in the bottom of the division, they do well. What happens when they get picked to win it? The Sluggers have a large amount of talented sluggers on their roster this year. Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Pena, Grady Sizemore and Adrian Beltre can knock the rawhide off the baseball, and Kazuo Matsui and Orlando Cabrera are a double-play combination that can get on base. Fausto Carmona is a young ace who should do well, as will veteran Roy Halladay. The tail end of the rotation should be able to hold their own as well. While there are no no marquee names in the relief pen, their bunch of no-names should be able to secure the win in the 9th inning. #2 - Missouri Mudfish Could Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera carry this team by themselves? Luckily in 2007 they won't have to. Placido Polanco and Jorge Posada add hitting and slugging to a lineup which should be able to score some runs. Not to mention Barry Bonds. Javier Vazquez, Jason Marquis and phenom Felix Hernandez likely won't be all-stars, but they are good enough that they could be pennant winners. Relievers Jeremy Accardo and Joakim Soria are lights-out closers. #3 - Cincinnati Rock Rookie Ryan Braun brings his bat to a team already full of hitters. Derek Jeter, Carl Crawford and BJ Upton lead a lineup that doesn't depend on people to hit 50 home runs in order to score a lot of runs. Roy Oswalt, Josh Beckett and Oliver Perez are scary-good in the rotation, and Carlos Marmol is likely to join those starters on the MK all-star team. #4 - Hillsborough Regulators Surprising many (but not themselves), the Regulators won the pennant last year. They could contend again this year. Alfonso Soriano, Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye can bash the ball, and Jimmy Rollins and Chone Figgens will make run scoring *very* easy this year. Chris Young could surprise folks in the rotation, and Justin Verlander will throw workhorse innings with a respetable ERA. Huston Street brings a marquee name to the relief pen. #5 - Oregon Wet Sox Jeff Bagwell and Nomar Garciaparra, we miss you! Mike Lowell, Edgar Renteria and Alex Rios anchor the lineup, but the Wex Sox will be hard pressed to meet the offensive output of the Sluggers and Mudfish in the division. Chien-Ming Wang and Jon Garland should put in good years in the rotation, but may suffer from lack of run production. Dependable Billy Wagner should put in another good year as Wet Sox closer. #6 - Boston Brewins 2006 was a banner year for the Brewins, who made their first ever world series appearance. 2007 will be a bit of a recovery year. Other than Justin Morneau and Jose Vidro, the rest of the hitting lineup is merely "OK". Brandon Webb is great as an ace starter, but the rest of the rotation gets dicey after that. Similarly, Francisco Cordero could have himself a nice season as closer, but the rest of the relievers are thin after that. Ruth Divison Preview - By Predicted Order of Finish: #1 - Paxtang Pitbulls The murderer's row is back. Alex Rodriguez is joined by Matt Holliday, Brandon Phillips, Torii Hunter and acquisition Lance Berkman to scare the stuffing out of opposing pitchers. Jake Peavy is a favorite to win the Cy this year, and Gil Meche and Derek Lowe should enjoy plenty of wins this year. Reliever Jason Isringhausen leads a good reliever corps who will only have it easier thanks to the plentiful run support that Paxtang brings this year. #2 - Carolina Lightning With Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard and Garret Atkins in your lineup, what else could you want? Lots of high batting average, high on base average players for the rest of the lineup. Adam Wainwright and Ian Snell won't remind anyone of Pedro Martinez in his prime, but they'll keep the score down and pitch lots of innings. Joe Nathan is a lights-out stopper. #3 - California Coneheads A rebuilding year? A reloading year? A business as usual year? 2007 will be different for the Coneheads, who are in years past used to coming in with a Piazza-Thomas-Glavine-like assault force. Carlos Lee and catcher Victor Martinez would be welcome on any team in the league, but the rest of the hitters lack that certain something that the Coneheads are used to. Cole Hamels, Scott Kazmir and Ben Sheets are all capable starters who will keep the Coneheads competitive. It seems most teams this year have an uber-closer. California is no different, featuring Takashi Saito as their 9th inning cincher. #4 - Topeka MooseDogs Superstar shortstops seem to come once every 10 years. A decade ago, Paxtang vaulted to perennial contender on the back of Alex Rodriguez. Could the MooseDogs be poised to do the same with Hanley Ramirez? Aramis Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and Brian Roberts add some punch to the lineup. AJ Burnett, Joe Blanton and Andy Pettitte will eat innings and give the sluggers a chance to outscore their opponents. Matt Capps and Francisco Rodriguez are stellar relievers, but depth gets thin after that. #5 - Miami Mangos Brad Hawpe isn't necessarily a name you think of when you think of anchor hitters, but he can get the job done and should be counted on for 30 home runs and 100 RBI. Jeff Francoeur is a young slugger who will only get better with age. The Mangos have assembled a team of nice arms. Erik Bedard can match up with any ace in the league, and John Maine is a great #2 starter. The tail end of the rotation isn't too bad, either. No big names in the pen, but several good candidates for a closer who can notch the save. The Mangos may not lead the league in runs, but their pitching staff should keep them competitive. #6 - San Diego Termites Time for some B-12 shots? The Termites won 90 games and a playoff spot last year, but their roster could use a little rest. Jeff Kent and Carlos Guillen can still bring it at the double play combination. Carlos Delgado and Jack Cust still have a little bit of pop left, but they'll hit .250. The rest of the hitters will be lucky to break 10 home runs. Carlos Silva, Jake Westbrook, Jarrod Washburn and Barry Zito could probably do well if they had the Pitbull's hitting, but may struggle for wins this year due to run support. Young Divison Preview- By Predicted Order of Finish: Predicted Order of Finish: #1 - Seattle Moshers A lot rests on the broad shoulders of CC Sabathia. The young ace should come into his own this year to lead a talented (and mostly young) rotation. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum as the youngsters, Greg Maddux as the knowledgeable vet. None of the relievers are blow-your-socks-off good, but there's a lot of good depth to be had with the division's strongest pitching staff. "Big Papi" David Ortiz once again anchors the lineup. Along with Jose Guillen and Michael Young, the Mosher hitters are not barn-burners but should be able to score enough to win with the amount of pitching that they have. #2 - Rocklin Thunder Last year's champions, the Thunder still have enough energy in the tank to contend in the post season again. Dan Uggla, Carlos Beltra, Corey "Sunglasses at Night" Hart and Ryan Garko may not mimic last year's "thundering" bats, but they will score quite a few runs. Jared Weaver, Jeff Francis and a few duct-taped pitchers round out a capable rotation, and Jonathan Papelbon and Troy Percival give the Thunder 100 innings of no-run relief. #3 - San Francisco Piazza's The prodigal son has arrived! Mike Piazza makes an appearance on the team that bears his namesake (albiet a few years after he's been effective). Veterans Hideki Matsui and Ken Griffey Jr have some gas left in their tank, and youngster Robinson Cano is impressive at 2nd. And let's not forget Ichiro Suzuki, the human hitting machine that brings scoring at the top of the order. Curt Schilling and Noah Lowry anchor the rotation, which could use just 1 more solid starter to make them incredible. Closer Trevor Hoffman will strike fear into the hearts of opposing batters in the 9th inning. #4 - Brookfield Brouhaha Always aligning with the total being greater than the sum of its parts, the Brouhaha feature some strong pitching in hopes of putting them in the upper division. Jeremy Guthrie, Orlando Hernandez, Doug Davis and Miguel Batista form a solid if not totally spectacular rotation, and their group of no-name relievers should be able to get things done. It's been awhile since they've had an Edgar Martinez monster in the middle of their lineup .. and in many respects they are still waiting. They do have a indian summer year from Frank Thomas to help score runs, and Khalil Greene helps provide some punch at shortstop. #5 - Oregon City Pioneers Vladimir Guerrero has been one of the best hitting outfielders in the game for quiet some time, and 2007 is no exception. But most of his teammates in the lineup can't match the starpower that Guerrero provides. Ted Lilly should eat up a lot of innings with a not-too-bad-era, but the rest of the pitching staff could struggle to keep runs under control. Bobby Jenks could have a really good year at closer. #6 - Park City Climbers Just 2 seasons removed from a world championship, the Climers are in rebuilding mode. Paul Konerko has plenty of power and should be able to hit 30 home runs, but will do so with a low batting average. Russell Martin is a very promising young catcher who could make the all-star team. Dustin McGowan could have a good year on the mound, but the rest of the rotation will struggle .. a lot. Late innings could be rough as well as there's not a stopper in a bunch. But at least the Climbers can look forward to a really high draft pick this year!