Quick Hitter JL Midwest Preview

[aaronweiner]

Madison Wolves

The Madison Wolves won this puppy last year, and with a huge move to add Chet Steadman to the roster and a lot of outstanding young position players including Bopper Kengos, John Catron, Charles Puckett, the team looks primed to go out there and take another division title. Whether they'll win 85 games this year is anyone's guess, however. We're not sure what else to write about Madison; they're probably the class of this division, but they're not as good as Baltimore or Louisville or even likely Valencia; if they added another starting pitcher they might be closer.


Chicago Black Sox

The Chicago Black Sox were the happy recipient of two excellent hitters from Madison in exchange for Steadman, and having finished in a tie for second place last year, the two-time MBBA Champions would like nothing better than to make it back to the playoffs. The lineup received a huge boost with the addition of Masuichirou Bunjiro and Alphonso Torres and adding their 66 homers should make them much more consistent this year. The rotation will clearly miss Steadman, who along with Jeff Kiplinger made up one of the more deadly duos in the league. However, with a rotation that still includes some promising players and a talented bullpen headed by star closer Richard Wasson, the Black Sox could be due for a comeback season.


Omaha Barnstormers

The Omaha Barnstormers tied for second place last year with an all-time best record of 71-91. We're not sure which situation is worse, but we've got our vote in on the all-time best part. Here's the thing: Omaha has improved, but it's impossible to tell how much at this point in time. The lineup, for example, is about as good as last year's model, but it could be considerably better, or even slightly worse. On the pitching side, we're not sure how good Dr. Kenneth Noisewater or Arturo Garza will be this season, though the latter has a really good chance of being special. We think that Santiago Colon could be better in the bullpen. What does seem clear to us is that they haven't improved as much as Madison or Chicago, and they're not going to win the wild card. That could happen next year: the bottom line on Omaha is that they need to manage their salaries better, but they're about to get $20 million back next year in salaries of overpaid players. That could be exactly the shot in the arm they need to really make a run in 1999.


Phoenix Talons

The Phoenix Talons have been making big waves this offseason, but it's hard to endorse a team that didn't have one pitcher below a 4.63 ERA last year (Emile Yost) or have a single player who's an outright favorite to hit .300 (Ben Calfo or Corey Gehringer are most likely) or hit 35 homers (Joe Belinda might still have it in him, but we wouldn't bet on it). That said, the pitching staff has improved; we can see possible jumps from Andy Nebraska and especially David Klopp this season, and we think that while some of the bullpen might have overachieved last year, it's still a very solid group. The best thing about Phoenix is their farm, currently ranked fifth in the league and probably climbing - and they'll have a chance to climb even higher after this year's disastrous record.


Prediction

Chicago and Madison ought to fight this one out until the end; it's possible that the division winner will again not have as many as 85 wins, but this year we think it's probable, and we think it'll be Madison. It should be fun to watch at any rate, or at least laugh and point. We think Omaha's a year away and Phoenix is, um, away.

[scottsdale_joe]

Ach!
I had one done and forgot to post it.
It was close enough to your version to make it redundant.

[elligator]

Thanks for the rundown, Aaron.

I think Madison is due for a much improved season. We've improved the rotation tremendously, and we massively overhauled our defense, particularly in the outfield, without losing too much at the plate...in fact, with the addition of Puckett, I don't think we've lost much at the plate at all. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably have re-signed Brock Lee at 1B, but Dakiki is a stellar defensive catcher, and Reyes is a better hitter than Lee.

I think we'll win 90+ this season. If I can add another pitcher or if Wright can continue to improve to his potentials, we could be able to make a run deep into the playoffs. I'd take our hitting with anyone's.

We're still looking for our centerfielder, but we have several irons in the fire.

I saw both guys I dealt to Chicago came out like gangbusters...ouch.