2010 CFOD SEASON PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary!" ****************************************** Mantle Division Preview - 1st - Angry Candy (last season: 111-51, Mantle division winners) No bombers on the team this year, but guys like Kevin Youkilis, Magglio Ordonez, Chase Utley and Manny Ramirez hit for average, get on base, and hit for the occasional extra base. Troy Hudson anchors the rotation, which is a little sparse after Hudson. But Billy Wagner, Mariano Rivera and Neftali Feliz form the best bullpen in baseball. 2nd - Mechan Syndicate (last season: 96-66, #1 league wildcard, 2009 CFOD champs) CFOD champs for 2 years running, you can never count them out. Adam Dunn provides the thump, and Troy Tulowitzki and David Wright provide additional big bats. Daric Barton and Justin Upton provide additional offense. David Price, Ryan Dempster and Dan Haren round out a solid rotation. Ramon Ramirez and Kyle Farnsworth lead a light bullpen, who won't be taxed much with the rotation they have. 3rd - Arlington Arthropods (last season: 90-72, 4th place) Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman, Nick Swisher, Kelly Johnson, Corey Hart .. these Arthropods love the long ball. Yovani Gallardo, Barry Zito and Bronson Arroyo won't win any awards, but they'll eat innings and keep Arlington in the game. The bullpen is a bit dicey, so look for Arlington to win a lot of games 8 to 6. 4th - San Francisco Shriners (last season: 98-64, MK conference wildcard) Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Rolen gives the Shriners some punch this year. But the rest of the hitting lineup may have trouble manufacturing runs. The stars of the team are the rotation, which features the likes of Johan Santana, Dallas Braden and Johnny Cueto. Brian Wilson and Matt Capps head a solid bullpen. 5th - Springfield 'Topes (last season: 75-87, 6th place) Offense could be a problem for Springfield this year, featuring such marquee names like Raul Ibanez and David Murphy, along with an injured Dustin Pedroia. Jonathan Sanchez anchors a capable rotation, along with Mark Buehrle and John Lackey. Rafael Soriano and Mike Adams head up the bullpen. 6th - Bakersfield RamJets (last season: 81-81, 5th place) Jayson Werth is the marquee hitter on this team, and Ike Davis and Aramis Ramirez will also contribute to the offense. But the rest of the lineup will have trouble scoring runs. Ricky Romero and Carl Pavano anchor a capable rotation, but the bullpen is a bit thin and the RamJets could have trouble in close games. ****************************************** Koufax Division Preview - 1st - Walcott Walruses (last season: 86-76, 2nd place) Matt Holliday, Luke Scott, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez give the Walruses hitting roster some oomph. All can hit for average, take a walk or two and hit the long ball. Felix Hernandez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Justin Verlander and Tommy Hanson form one of the best rotations in the majors. Evan Meek and Kyle McClelland should be able to mop up whatever innings the starters leave them. 2nd - Pig's Eye Pirates (last season: 98-75, Koufax division winners) Jose Bautista will be a pleasant surprise to the offense, which also features Andre Ethier, Evan Longoria and Alfonso Soriano (if only Justin Morneau wasn't battling injuries!) Josh Johnson is a legit ace, and Chad Billingsley and Jake Westbrook join a decent rotation. Hon-Chih Kuo, Johnny Venters and Sean Burnett may not be household names, but they do form the best bullpen in the division. 3rd - Somerville Sluggers (last season: 75-87, 4th place) Rickie Weeks and Adrian Beltre give the Sluggers some power, with the rest of the lineup giving a decent effort. The real strength of the Sluggers this year is the pitching. Roy Halladay is a Cy contender, and Jon Garland and Mike Pelfrey are above average starters. Joel Peralta and Grant Balfour help give Somerville a low profile but still effective bullpen. 4th - Missouri Mudfish (last season: 51-111, 6th place) When you have Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton on your team, you are going to score some runs. Stephen Drew and #1 draft pick Jason Heyward will add to the offense. Max Scherzer and Gavin Floyd help form a rotation that will keep Missouri competitive, but the lack of workhorses may hurt. Joaquin Benoit, Santiago Casilla and Darren Oliver give the Mudfish a veteran bullpen presence. 5th - Minneapolis Malice (last season: 80-82, 3rd place) Joey Votto will have a nice breakout year, and will get some support in the lineup for Alex Rios. How the rest of the lineup will respond remains to be seen. Jon Lester and Shawn Marcum anchor a good rotation, and Sergio Romo and Matt Belisle will give Minneapolis options in the bullpen. 6th - Cincinnati Rock (last season: 68-94, 5th place) Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun gives Cincinnati their own version of the Bash Brothers. After those two, the hitters start to get a bit dicey. Roy Oswalt is a solid ace at the top of the rotation, and the rest of the starters are solid if unspectacular. Matt Thornton and Jon Rauch lead a competent bullpen. ****************************************** Ruth Division Preview - 1st - California Coneheads (last season: 100-62, Ruth division winners) What's scary about California's offense is that it doesn't depend on any one all-star, but rather a whole lineup of quality hitters like Victor Martinez, Shin-Soo Choo and Billy Butler. Clay Buchholz, Cole Hamels and Anibal Sanchez help gives California a playoff-worthy rotation, and Andrewy Bailey, Chris Perez, Joakim Soria and Carlos Marmol make up one of the best bullpen in the majors. 2nd - Paxtang Pitbulls (last season: 61-101, 6th place) Miguel Cabrera is once again the big bat in the lineup, but much of the offense this year is on speed. Andrew McCutchen, Jose Reyes and Dexter Fowler are more likely to hit a triple and steal a base than to smack a home run. Gio Gonzalez is the staff ace, and John Danks and Ian Kennedy gives Paxtang a competitive rotation. John Axford and Francisco Rodriguez gives the Pitbulls some good choices in the bullpen. 3rd - Topeka MooseDogs (last season: 93-69, #2 league wildcard) With names like Hanley Ramirez, Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui, the MooseDogs hitters are high on the recognition factor. Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Cahill give Topeka solid young starters at the top of the rotation. David Aardsma and Ryan Franklin probably won't contend for the Fireman of the Year, but they should get the job done. 4th - Austin Bridge Bats (last season: 64-98, 5th place) Lots of big hitters on the team this year. Ryan Howard, Mark Napoli, Vernon Wells, Vladimir Gurrero and Delmon Young should help Austin score plenty of runs. Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia lead a competitive rotation. Clay Hensley and Takashi Saito lead a competitive bullpen. 5th - San Diego Termites (last season: 87-75, 3rd place) Paul Konerko should have another monster season, but the rest of the lineup either has average without power or walks, or power without average and walks, so run manufacturing could be an issue. Chris Carpenter is a legit ace, but after Jeff Niemann the rotation gets a little thin. Brad Lidge leads a solid bullpen. 6th - Miami Mangos (last season: 82-80, 4th place) Miami's biggest star, Kendry Morales, is injured this year, which puts a huge damper on their lineup, which could struggle to score runs. Matt Garza and Randy Wolf form a decent rotation, and the bullpen is stocked with quality relievers, but the lack of run production will place a lot of stress on the pitching to keep the score down. ****************************************** Young Division Preview - 1st - Seattle Moshers (last season: 100-62, Young division winners, RY conf champs) With Michael Young, Hunter Pence, Adam LaRoche and Carlos Quentin, the Moshers won't win any all-star awards for hitting but they'll help get the job done. The rotation is once again anchored by Cy candidates Matt Cain, CC Sabathia and Tim Lincecum, with Derek Lowe eating up innings for good measure. Brandon Lyon, Kerry Wood and Sergio Mitre are more than capable of holding a lead. 2nd - Rocklin Thunder (last season: 80-82, 3rd place) With guys like Dan Uggla, Jay Bruce, Colby Rasmus and Carlos Pena, the Thunder should have plenty of runs scored. Jered Weaver, Nelson Liriano, Clayton Richard and Phil Hughes gives Rocklin a deep rotation. The bullpen is a bit of a patchwork, but could surprise. 3rd - Park City Climbers (last season: 73-89, 4th place) JD Drew, Ryan Raburn, Jim Thome and Casey McGehee helps give Park City a deep lineup capable of generating runs. Cliff Lee, Colby Lewis and Ervin Santana help round out an above average rotation, and the bullpen is stocked with quality arms like Tim Stauffer Peter Moylan. 4th - San Francisco Piazza's (last season: 95-67, RY conference wildcard) The Piazza's have one of the best offenses in the division, with Robinson Cano, Joe Mauer, Ichiro Suzuki, Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell all capable of putting up gaudy stats. Journeyman Livan Hernandez should have one of his best seasons yet, and Jason Vargas will help keep things competitive. The bullpen is an advantage for this team, featuring quality arms like Daniel Bard, Heath Bell and Brian Fuentes. 5th - Brookfield Brouhaha (last season: 60-102, 5th place) The Brouhaha have some quality hitters this year. Torii Hunter, Nick Markakis, Chris Young and Alex Gonzalez will all contribute to the lineup. R.A. Dickey, Hiroki Kuroda and Jeremy Guthire anchor a quality rotation. The bullpen doesn't feature any marquee names, but they should be able to hold on to leads in the late innings. 6th - Tualatin Pioneers (last season: 51-111, 6th place) #2 overall pick Mike Stanton will help in the hitting lineup, but after Carl Crawford the lineup will really struggle to score runs. Mat Latos and Brett Myers lead an above average rotation, but the pitching will have a difficult time winning games with their run production.