************************* CFOD MID-SEASON REPORT ****************************** Mantle Division - 1st place team #1 - 46-38 - Mechan Syndicate - Pre-Season Placement: 4th In the preseason the Syndicate's pitching was supposed to be their downfall. Apparantly it's not that much of a hinderance. The 4.33 team ERA is certainly below par, but it's not too far off from the league average. Scott Sanders and Dave Burba are on pace for 15 games in the win column. The offense has been spectacular as usual. Barry Bonds is threatening several leagure records, and Bonds, Palmiero and Roberto Alomar are all on pace to crank out 30 homers each. 2ND HALF PREDICTION: No major franchise players are in danger of burning out early, although some of the pitching replacements will be a step down. The Syndicate are in prime position for a pennant and/or a playoff spot. ------- 1st place team #2 - 46-38 - Charlottesville Squids - Pre-Season Placement: 1st Well, so much for a runaway pennant. The Squids have 4 starters who could win 15 games, but all the starters have ERA's over 3.5. Premier closer John Wetteland joined the team in a trade, although his first few appearances have been rather rocky. Gary Sheffield has been in a season long slump, with only a .432 slugging average. Still, the Squids are tied in first place with a few players who can still turn it around in the 2nd half. With former Barracuda Jose Offerman on board, the Squids boast one of the better 1-8 batting orders in the league. 2ND HALF PREDICTION: Expect a few of the slumping players to burst out, and for the Squids to pick up steam as other teams deal with burnouts. Still my pick for the pennant winner. ------- 1st place team #3 - 46-38 - Reservoir Dogs - Pre-Season Placement: 3rd The Dogs are playing as if they are in the deadball era. The Dogs are dead last in team batting average, and close to it in on base average and slugging average ... but their pitching staff is the best in the league. Mariano Rivera is the best closer in the league, and should continue to be so. All of their starters are in the 3.5-4.0 ERA range, which, in this age of 24 team leagues, is downright amazing. Their hitting, on the other hand, is not so amazing. Ron Gant seems to be the only person who doesn't have lead in his bat. Still, it is rather impressive that Harold Baines hits .256/.327/.357 and still has 46 RBI. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Burnouts will be a key for this team. Harold Baines and a few key role player batters are in danger of burning out early. More importantly, Rivera, Taylor, Springer and Adams are all in danger of going out early, which could really hurt a pitching staff that has to win a lot of 3-2 games. Several key batters picking up their games could offset any pitching losses. ----- 4th place team - 43-41 - Springfield 'Topes - Pre-Season Pred: 2nd The 'Topes are currently 4th in the division, but they are only 3 games behind the division leaders. The 'Topes are on pace to have their best season yet. Bobby Higginson has been amazing, hitting .380/.431/.673 and could have 30 homers and 100 RBI's. Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and a slew of other 'Tope batters are having excellent seasons. The only holes appear to be at third and second, where Chris Gomez and Mickey Morandini are having sub-par seasons. On the pitching front, some of the players who were expected to have Cy Young caliber years have been mediocre at best. Kevin Brown and Andy Pettitte are a combined 13-13, and Pedro Astacio has been terrible, going 3-10 with a 5.76 ERA. Still, the 'Tope pitching is around the league average .. but so is the 'Tope hitting. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Unless some moves are made to get some more talent, the 'Topes are likely to run out of steam in their playoff hunt. Still, look for the 'Topes to have their best season yet. ----- 5th place team - 39-45 - Toronto Towers - Pre-Season Pred: 5th The pre-season prediction had the Towers pegged at 5th, but that they could vary anywhere in the division. So far, that's been the case. The Towers zipped up and down the standings until they settled down into the 5th slot. But it appears that they could spend the rest of the season down here. The two Tower mainstays, Tim Salmon and Kenny Lofton, have both been super, as usual. But the rest of the hitters have been struggling. Chilli Davis and Ed Sprague were expected to be big sluggers, but they've both been slugging under .420. (Chilli Davis has since been traded). The pitching has been terrible as well, with a near rock-bottom team ERA of 4.84. Starter Mark Gardner made an appearance in the no-star game before being traded to the Brewins. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - As more and more Tower players are traded to other teams, the Towers will drop like a rock .. but not with the same velocity as some other teams. With prospects like Russ Davis and "Corky" Guerrero panning out, the Towers will try to make '97 a season to remember. ------ 6th place team - 38-46 - San Francisco Shriners - Pre-Season Pred: 6th Ouch. The Shriners have lived up (or down, depending on how you view it) to pre-season expectations. The pitching, stellar the year before, is now in shambles. Jaime Navarro, a decent pitcher just the year before, now has a 5-9 record with a 5.99 ERA (and a no-star game appearance). John Wetteland, a premeir closer over the years (and probably will wind up the all-time best closer ever in the CFOD), has been traded to the Squids. The hitting frontline isn't much better. Marty Cordova was supposed to be their top slugger, but he's only hitting .238/.310/.361. Rex Hudler and Butch Huskey have been the big bats for the team, but they won't be able to last for the whole season. Eric Young has been putting in a good performance with a .400+ OBA and is on pace to score 100 runs. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Things don't look good for Shriner fans in '96. Look for the cellar-dweller year to continue. **************************************************************************** Koufax Division 1st Place Team - 49-35 - Somerville Sluggers - Pre-Season Prediction: 1st The Sluggers have played to form so far in '96, although for most of the 1st half they were playing catch-up to the Rock. The Sluggers have only been "average" in terms of runs scored, but they've been putting up some good stats. Chuck Knoblauch and Barry Larkin were the middle infield starters in the all-star game, and both could put up 100 run/100 RBI seasons. Willie McGee and Rich Amaral are the only true sinkholes of the team, but that could be corrected with a few trades. The real stars of the team have been the pitching. Pre-season concerns about Tim Wakefield were unfounded, as Wakefield has pitched his way to a mid-season 2.98 ERA with a 7-5 record. Pat Hentgen was an all-star starter, going 10-5 with a 3.54 ERA at the break. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Sluggers are in fine form, although there are a few areas which they could improve. If they plug these holes, they could leave the rest of the division in the dust. ---- 2nd Place Team - 47-37 - Cincinnati Rock - Pre-Season Prediction - 3rd '93 seems like just a bad memory. Throughout the first half the Rock have been the team to beat, only recently slipping out of the top spot. Ellis Burks has been on fire, with a .336 BA, .600 + slugging, 18 homers and 60+ runs and RBI. Fred McGriff has rebounded from a terrible '95 to put up what should be a 100 run/100 RBI season. One of the big weaknesses of the team is in the production from the catchers. Sandy Alomar is below .300 in BA, OBA and SLG, and is on pace to put up bad RBI & run numbers. Marc Newfield has a nice slugging average, but it hasn't translated into RBI's. Overall, the Rock's offense is (okay everyone, repeat after me) average. Kevin Ritz has been amazing so far for the Rock, with a tiny 2.66 ERA and a 10-1 record. In fact, when you look at it, the Rock have almost performed exactly the same as the Sluggers. Both teams have better than average 3.61 ERA's, and are both middle of the pack in runs. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The race in the Koufax division may wind up being a contest of who can improve themselves better via trades. At any rate, the Rock (barring any sudden collapses) should make it into the post-season. ---- 3rd place team - 42-42 - Boston Brewins - Pre-Season Prediction: 6th What a difference a week makes. Just a week ago the Brewins were made up of guys who were halfway good, possibly an outside shot at a playoff spot, but were destined for the scrap heap in '97. A front-office shakeup changed all that. Almost in an instant, the face of the team changed. Wally Joyner, Jeff Conine and Devon White are out, and Matt Stairs, Mark Gardner, Cecil Fielder and Glenallen Hill are in. This all translates into a huge drop in '96, but for a gain in '97, as the value of Conine and White is much lower in '97. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - With the newly-revamped roster, expect the Brewins to take a dive to the bottom half of the standings. ---- Tie- 4th place team - 39-45 - Hillsborough Regulators - Pre-Season Pred: 2nd The Regs have put together a disappointing season so far. Big bats like Dean Palmer have not come through, and pitchers who were expected to dominate like Denny Neagle have instead been put on course for a 20 loss season. Mark Clark currently has a 5-9 record with a 5.63 ERA, instead of a 9-5 record and 3.56 ERA. "Rocket" Roger Clemens and Randy Myers have been the only two bright spots in a mediocre pitching staff. Clemens was an all-star this year, with a 2.38 ERA and 11 wins to his credit at the break. On the hitting side, Orlando Merced, Jason Giambi and Jeff Kent have each put in fine seasons so far, but it's only led to an average offense. Combined with an average pitching staff, and you wind up with an (everyone .. ) average record. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - If Neagle, Clark and Palmer each caught fire, the Regulators could suddenly find themselves in the playoff hunt. But if the miracle doesn't happen, the Regulators are finished for '96. ------ Tie-4th place team - 39-45 - Zippys - Predicted finish - 5th After '95, anything would be an improvement. And so far, it has. In platoon duty, Olerud has been spectacular, on pace for a 100 RBI season. Catcher Dave Nilsson was an all-star this year, slugging over .500. Still, the Zippys are rebuilding, so that means some weak spots, including some sort of ghastly 8-man platoon at 3B. Their offense still needs a little work. What was expected to be one of their strong points have turned into a weak one: pitching. Eric Hanson was a no-star this year, with a 6+ ERA and a 3-8 record. The whole team ERA is a wiltering 4.54. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Zippys have had a goal to finish in the upper half of the division. With the Brewins soon to be shooting to the bottom, the Zippys could make that goal come true. ----- 6th place - 35-49 - Oregon Wet Sox - Predicted Finish:4th Things have not gone well for the Wet Sox in '96. Despite all-star efforts by Jeff Bagwell, most of the team is hitting like a 98 lb. shortstop. Fryman: .236/.284/.344. Garret Anderson: .262/.285/.342. Fernando Vina: .232/.275/.285. Ordonez: .237/.249/.289. All 4 players were starters in the no-star game, and the team tied for the most no-star players on the team. Pitching has been rotten as well. Staff ace Mike Mussina has a 6+ ERA and a no-star appearance. The only bright spot in pitching has been the relief corps, with 4 relievers under a 3.61 ERA. Still, when your team is down 8-3 in the 7th, good relievers won't help you. Things are bad now, but with guys like Nomar Garciparra maturing for '97, Wet Sox fans have a lot to look forward to. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - It'll be a race to see who finishes at the bottom of the standings: The Wet Sox or the Brewins. The Wet Sox have a 7 game lead. On your mark .. get set .. ggggg'h! ******************************** Ruth Division - 1st Place - 55-29 - California Coneheads - Pre-Season Prediction: 1st This one is a no-brainer. What makes this season different from any other is the fact that now the Coneheads are actually fighting to win the pennant. The high-octane Coneheads offense is back, as usual. Every position, with the exception of shortstop, will see 100 RBI and/or 100 runs for the player at that position. Shortstop has been a bit of a problem area, but the Coneheads have usually won the game by the time the shortstop comes up to bat. The Conehead pitching staff is also one of the better ones in the league. The Coneheads boast three ace starters, Tom Glavine, Alex Fernandez and John Smoltz, each who were 1st team all-stars. The 5th starter used to be a problem, but will be corrected with the addition of former Brewin Mark Leiter to the team. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Coneheads are a shortstop away from being the perfect team. Still, they face some tough competition, and may have to make a few more deals to stay on top. ----- 2nd place - 54-30 - Boston Whaleheads - Pre-Season Prediction: 2nd What a difference a year makes. In '95 the Whaleheads were woeful, hitting nothing but the bottom of the standings with 112 losses. Things have changed. The Whaleheads have already exceeded their win total from a year ago. Four players, Griffey, Hundley, Sosa and Alex Rodriguez are all on pace to smack 40 homers. And best of all, they are doing this with several gaps in the lineup. Jose Canseco is a major disappointment in left field, and there is still a hole at second base. Third used to be a problem, but former Barracuda Tim Naehring should fit the bill. What is surprising is the fact that the Whalehead pitching may be better than their hitting. Jeff Fassero has been the man so far this year, with a 12-3 record and a 2.75 ERA. Cal Eldred, Frank Rodriguez and Omar Olivares have also pitched well. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Whaleheads can still be the best team in the league. A new left fielder and second baseman can go a long ways, but they also will need pitching help when Eldred goes down. Still, as they are, the Whaleheads will continue to be one of the elite teams in the league. ---- 3rd place - 52-32 - Carolina Lightning - Pre-Season Prediction: 4th So much for predictions. Who'dathunk that the Lightning would have the 3rd best record in the league right now? The Lightning have benefitted from some better-than-expected performances out of Gross and Gordon. David Cone was the ace for the first part of the year before burning out and being traded. Mike Trombley has been the best closer in the conference, saving 22 games so far. On the hitting front, things have gone well. Cal Ripken and Dante Bichette were all-stars this year, and Mo Vaughn, Todd Hollandsworth, Derek Bell and Matt Williams have put in above-average seasons. To improve things even more, pitcher Tim Belcher and all-star slugger Jay Buhner have been brought on board. How Hollandsworth, Bell, Bichette and Buhner will all get PT is beyond me, but their offense is packed, and they've managed to replace Cone's pitching. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Things will hit a small bump when Matt Williams burns out, but you can expect to see the Lightning in the post-season. ---- 4th place - 40-44 - San Diego Termites - Pre-Season Prediction: 3rd When you are in a division with the 3 best teams in the league, it can be hard to win games, and that is what has happened to the Termites. By all accounts, the Termites should be doing better. Their offense scores more runs than the pitching allows. A Wells-Burkett-Valdes-Hamilton-Drabek rotation is one of the deepest staffs in the league. Bonilla was traded to the Moshers for Ventura and Hamilton, and Ventura has actually been an improvement so far. Galaragga, Jordan and Klesko have each put in fine seasons. The main holes are at shortstop and catcher, where Jeff Reed was a no-star this year. Still, the Mosher-Termite trades are fairly recent, and the second half could be an entirely different thing. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Look for the Termites to rise and make a serious run for a league wildcard. ---- 5th place - 27-57 - Miami Mangos - Pre-Season Prediction: 5th How can the three best teams be in the same division? When you also have 2 of the worst teams. Here is the first "worst team". The Mangos are stocked to the gills with the best of 1990, but so far it hasn't translated into runs. Joe Carter, Ryne Sandberg, Todd Zeile and Geronimo Berroa have put up good to mediocre (emphasis on mediocre) numbers, and most are probably destined to be on other playoff teams. What has really been the problem area for the Mangos is pitching, which is the worst in the league. No Coors field effects here. Staff ace Alan Benes was the starting pitcher in the no-star game. At least Mango fans know that Benes will get better over time. In fact, quite a few Mango pitchers will have better '97's, but certainly won't have any better 96's. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Almost a certain lock on the #2 overall pick. Why only #2? Because of the #1. Which .. --- 6th place - 23-61 - Oakville Barracudas - Pre-Season Prediction: 6th Wow. Scrubs in '93. Zippys in '95. It can't get much worse, can it? Yes it can. Meet the 1996 'Cudas, who are threatening to set several records for batting futility. Once the 'Cudas realized that they weren't going anywhere, they cleaned house in a major way. Only Dave Veres and Rondell White remain from the '95 squad. 15 players who were on the roster at some point in time in 1996 are no longer there. The '96 'Cuda lineup features the fearsome bats of Darryl Hamilton, Lenny Harris and Alex Gonzalez. Pitching was actually not too bad, at least until most of the key pitchers were traded away. Still, there is a method to the madness. The Barracudas are now loaded with the likes of Michael Tucker, Willie Greene, Pat Meares and Jason Kendall, all cheap players who should make '97 a better year. And with the #1 overall pick, too. 2ND HALF PREDICTION -- It isn't a question of whether they will be the worst team in the league. It's a question of will they be the worst team in league history? ***************************** Young division - 1st place - 51-33 - Brookfield Brouhaha - Pre-Season Prediction: Tie for 1st This is the year. This is finally the year that the Brouhaha wins the pennant. For awhile now, the Brouhaha have been one of the better teams in the league. The only problem is, the Moshers, Climbers, or whomever would be ahead of them. Well, no longer. The Brouhaha have an above average offense, and it can only get better. Despite not having any hitting all-star players (and a few no-stars), the Brouhaha have several star hitters, including Edgar Martinez (.664 slg, 22 HR, 67 runs, 59 RBI), Dave Martinez (.362 avg, 49 runs), and Bernard Gilkey (69 RBI). The team has been disappointed somewhat by the performances of Jeff Cirillo and Jose Valentin, both no-stars, but Cirillo has scored 50 runs. To improve things, the Brouhaha have been active on the trading front, bringing in Benito Santiago (who is finally hitting), and Brewin slugger Jeff Conine. Pitching has been good as well. Lira, McDonald and Hershiser have each kept their ERA in the mid 3's, which has allowed them to pass leads onto a relief staff that's the best in the business. The Brouhaha have *7* relievers with ERA's under 3. To improve matters, Barracuda pitcher Mike Hampton has been brought on board, and it is hoped that a trade to a pennant contender will do him some good. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - You can take it to the bank. Brouhaha, Young Pennant Winners in '96. ----- 2nd Place - 46-38 - Rivendell Thunder - Pre-Season Prediction: 5th So much for predictions. A little Mark McGwire goes a long way. McGwire has been the MVP so far, with a .732 SLG, 37 homers, 76 runs, 79 RBI performance .. in only 284 at bats! Marquis Grissom could slug 40 homers, and Randy Velarde could score 110+ runs. Benito Santiago was traded for Terry Steinbach, who has taken a liking to the Thunder, hitting .327/.419/.505 for the team. The team has holes in the offense, for sure, most notably 2nd base, left field and right field. And Mark McGwire isn't going to be able to play a full season. But Julio Franco is waiting for his chance to play, and he won't be too much of a step down. The pitching staff is average, with only reliver Tim Scott having a record that isn't .500. But there's no 3-10 guys on the roster, either. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - If the Thunder get an outfield transplant, things could get interesting. As it stands, they'll be in the hunt for a wildcard spot. ----- 3rd place - 44-40 - Park City Climbers - Pre-Season Prediction: Tie for 1st. Ah, Coors field is a wonderful place. It skews stats so far that you can't tell if you have a really mediocre hitting club helped out by the thin air, or a really good pitching staff held back by all the baseballs leaving the park in a hurry. The Climbers had 4 all-stars this year, center fielder Eric Davis, 3B man Ken Caminiti, 2B man Mark McLemore, and outfielder Rusty Greer. The Climbers by far score the most runs in the league, and will get at least 100 runs and/or 100 RBI at each position ... probably both. Pitching? Well, that's another story. Their 5.10 team ERA is 2nd worst in the league. Several Climber relievers were no-stars, and Rafael Carmona was LVP of the no-star game. Todd Stottlemeyer, Kenny Rogers and Pedro Martinez should each win over 15 games despite having ERA's higher than 4.5. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Climbers have stayed put in a league where it has become apparant that the contending teams need to trade to improve themselves. As it stands, the Climbers are in the thick of it for the wildcard races, but probably won't make it without a few more trades. ----- 4th place - 40-44 - Sacramento Fish - Pre-Season Prediction: 4th The Fish are an interesting franchise. Here is a team that has an offense almost entirely made up of part time players. Mike Macfarlane has been the only full-time standout, knocking in 47 RBI. And yet the team has been able to keep in the middle of the pack in runs. The team has also been able to keep middle of the pack in pitching (which may explain their middle of the pack record). Danny Darwin is having an all-star season, current at 9-5 with a 2.56 ERA. The Fish are at a crossroads. They can either mortgage the future entirely and make a last- ditch playoff run, or they can junk it and build for '97. So far, they've traded Willie Greene and a pick for Dave Hollins and Chilli Davis, but that could be interpreted either way. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - It's anyone's guess. The addition of Chilli Davis gives the Fish their best hitter, which could result in a rise in the win column. But the Fish could also decide to junk it, which ordinarily would cause them to drop in the standings, if it were not for the following two teams ... ---- 5th place - 36-48 - Seattle Moshers - Pre-Season Prediction: Tie for first What the *@#)@# went wrong? Why does Greg Maddux have a 3.79 ERA? Why does Kevin Appier have a 5.68 ERA? Why have Terry Steinbach and Benito Santiago each stunk of rotten eggs while in a Mosher uniform, then break out of the slump instantly when they were traded? Why do the Moshers have an atrocious 6-21 record in one run games? Mosher management couldn't answer these questions, and so they broke up the team. Ventura. Steinbach. Buhner. All life-long members of the Seattle Moshers, since '91. Gone. Doug Drabek, 1st round pick. Gone. In their places are a bushel of draft picks, Bobby Bonilla, and David Cone. The addition of Cone will give the Moshers a frightening 1-2-3 pitching combination (hopefully) for '97, and Bonilla gives them a potential all-star third sacker. Buhner was an all-star outfielder for the Moshers, who have since replaced him in the lineup with .... Terry Pendleton. Joey Hamilton and Doug Drabek have been replaced with the fearsome combo of John Wasdin and Bob Wolcott. How the mighty have fallen. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - Appier and Maddux will improve a bit, but it will be too-little-too-late to prevent the Moshers from having their first ever losing season. ---- 6th place - 31-53 - San Francisco Piazzas - Pre-Season Prediction: 6th What's a baseball fan in San Francisco to do? You've got two choices: The Shriners or the Piazzas. The Piazzas had an amazing '95, winning their first ever pennant, upsetting the Coneheads in the playoffs, and making a world series appearance. Player slumps, combined with the low draft spot associated with a pennant winner, has resulted in the Piazzas crashing into the basement. The Piazzas have an anemic 286 runs scored. Raul Mondesi and Javy Lopez should each smack 90+ RBI's, but that's about it. Pitching is average, but with a poor offense, it doesn't help. Chuck Finley is 4-12 with a 4.34 ERA. The Piazzas tied with the Wet Sox and Barracudas for most no-star players with 6 each. 2ND HALF PREDICTION - The Piazzas will wait '96 out, then come back with a revitalized David Justice and Tony Clark to make a run in '97