2012 Frick League, Pacific Division Preview

[njherdfan]

Last year, the Pacific Division of the Frick League featured a down-to-the-wire race, in which three teams had a chance to win the division up until the season’s final week. This year should provide a race which is just as compelling. In order to analyze who has the best chance of winning the division, let’s take a look at which teams have the strongest lineups, defense and pitching.

LINEUP

1. Long Beach Surfers: There are a number of teams in the MBWBA with terrific offenses. You just wouldn’t know it when you look at Long Beach’s offensive statistics. There is no shortage of statistics to illustrate the offense’s dominance, but this stat does a good job: last year’s team’s average OPS was .847, which is just a notch below elite. Last year Long Beach had THREE players, Paul Barfoot, Alberto Guzman, and Rogelio Morales, put up an OPS over 1,000. That is amazing, and there is no question that Long Beach’s offense is best in not only the division, but in the MBWBA. Also, they managed to score 1041 runs last year. That’s an average of over six per game.

2. Seattle Storm: Although Seattle’s offense isn’t close to Long Beach’s level, no team’s offense is. Despite Seattle’s apparent offensive mortality, their offense is still quite good. Last year’s team scored 886 runs, and Seattle’s offense boast terrific offensive depth and a superstar in Trey Williams. In any other division, Seattle’s offense might be the best, but Seattle’s fans will gladly settle for second in this case.

3. Las Vegas Hustlers: Last year’s Hustlers team scored 857 runs, which is still a very impressive total. Although Las Vegas traded Ruben Venegas, who was a key cog in last year’s lineup, Las Vegas still boasts very solid depth and experience throughout its lineup. As a result, Las Vegas’s lineup can’t be taken lightly by any opposing team.

4. Calgary Marauders: The Marauders’ offense was not great last year, as it only put up 745 runs, and to make matters worse (in the interim) the Marauders traded star infielder Roman Empire to divisional rival Seattle. Although Calgary’s offense wasn’t great last year and only accumulated a total of 8.8 WAR, Terry Cochran had an excellent season and was responsible for more than one third of Calgary’s offensive WAR. Cochran is a special talent, and he will be counted on to lead any type of offensive resurgence.

STARTING ROTATION

1. Las Vegas Hustlers: Although the Storm might have something to say in response to this ranking, the presence of Davey Acheson, who is truly elite, makes Las Vegas the top choice for this spot. Perry Eccles is also a terrific 2nd pitcher who is only 25 years older. If he continues to progress this year, then Vegas’s rotation could be scary. Behind those two, Scott Turner and a number of other starters will compete for innings to see who can contribute to the team’s rotation.

2. Seattle Storm: Although the Storm don’t have an ace like Acheson, they do have very good starting pitching depth. Morgan Ackerman, Domingo Beccera and Cedric Ayers all provided quality innings last year, and they will be counted on to do the same next season. A key to Seattle’s rotation will be Esteban Benitez, who appears to be on the bringk of becoming a very good starting pitcher.

3. Long Beach Surfers: In many ways, Long Beach’s rotation is the opposite of Seattle’s. Although Long Beach doesn’t have very much depth in its rotation, it does have an ace in Jim Schmidt. Unfortunately, there isn’t much behind Schmidt in the rotation. If Schmidt can find some support behind him in the rotation, Long Beach’s rotation could be quite good. If not, then there’s no reason that Schmidt still can’t accumulate wins on his own.

4. Calgary Marauders: Last year’s rotation was not great, and with the departure of Russell Vanness to Las Vegas after a significant injury, this year’s rotation will be headed by Steve Thomas.

BULLPEN

1. Las Vegas Hustlers: Although it’s difficult to rank bullpens before the season starts, the primary reason for Las Vegas’s high ranking is the dominant work of closer Paul Hogan. There is a good argument for other teams occupying the top spot, but for now, the Hustlers maintain this spot because of the work of Hogan.

2. Long Beach Surfers: The Surfers have a terrific one-two punch of lefty Neil Huggins, who does a great job of getting hitters out without recording many strikeouts. Huggins generally records these outs in order to get the ball to superstar closer Chris Malone. Take it from Seattle’s GM; it would be great to have a closer of Malone’s caliber at the back-end of every bullpen.

3. Calgary Marauders: Calgary’s bullpen consists of Paul Stroud and not much else, but Stroud is a great piece of any bullpen. He has been consistently excellent throughout his time in Calgary, and there is no reason to expect that to change in 2012.

4. Seattle Storm: Although there are a few talented pitchers in Seattle’s bullpen, the absence of a dominant closer hurts the team. Every Seattle fan can attest to how stressful it was watching Herbert Coolen pitch last season, and this year promises more of the same drama.

PREDICTION

Although there is no clear favorite this year, there is one very important fact to note: this article is being written by Seattle’s GM, so I’m obviously going to pick them to win.

1. Seattle Storm: Although last year’s Storm outscored its Pythagorean Expectation, Seattle’s fans expect that more experience should lead to an even better record.


2. Long Beach Surfers: Although Long Beach’s pitching staff is not great, its offense is so good that its pitching issues should not matter very often. Expect the offense to score a ton of runs, and the pitching staff to let up nearly as many.

3. Las Vegas Hustlers: It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Las Vegas end up atop this division, but as of now, they can’t be considered the favorite. With rumors swirling that Las Vegas’s GM is hoping to make a trade to shake up the team’s core, we will all have to wait and see what the 2012 Hustlers team looks like.

4. Calgary Marauders: Calgary appears to be engaged in a rebuilding effort, and as a consequence of that effort, they will likely struggle this year, particularly when you consider the talent of the other three teams in the division.

[Al-Hoot]

nice preview!