Albuquerque Dukes- One of the most talented teams in the AL. Albuquerque won the American League Championship by defeating the surprise team of the AL; El Paso. Led by Philip Parrish the Dukes managed to win the AL West Division pretty convincingly. Next season will be a true test for the Dukes, they will have to prove they are for real and not just lucky. They also have to show that by getting huge names work. Not seeing any HUGE prospects in the farm. Are the Dukes prepared for the long haul?
Boise A's- Formerly in Vancouver moved to Boise, Idaho in season 2 under new management and immediately started making a huge impact. They traded for Valerio Pizzaro, one of the most dangerous hitters in the AL to add to the power of Winston Ripken. Boise was thought to be one of the major players and potential AL West division winner. During mid/late season ownership changed and they kept falling behind the Dukes further.. Boise is up for sale and the new owner is going to be in for a long season trying to figure out how to out play the Dukes.
San Francisco Seals - For 2 seasons SF has been one of the tougher teams to beat in the AL. Unfortunately being in the AL West they don’t get the credit they deserve. They finished 3rd this season and didn’t make the playoffs as they did the season before. San Francisco is also on the market this upcoming season. The new owner atleast gets to take on a team that has a huge upside and some good players to build from like Brandon Stairs and Lee Florie. The farm system also has some good players like Damon Broome and Cy Alexander. Look for SF to make a comeback this year.
Colorado Grizzlies- Colorado, probably the most potent offensive teams due to the stadium effects will return with original ownership. Blade Stevenson was very close to capturing the AL MVP after having Ralph Hume, formerly of Colorado capture it in season 1. Colorado has a way of breeding the strong hitters. Season 2 was a bad season for Colorado finishing last in the AL West. Look for season 3 to be an improvement.
El Paso Sun Kings- Led by Timothy Simpson and Teddy Collier, El Paso shocked the entire AL by defeating Montreal in the Playoffs. El Paso also came very close to beating Albuquerque to win the AL Championship. With Huntington and St. Louis improving every day.. Can El Paso keep up this tempo or will they fade in season 3?
Huntington Heroes- Erv Hines, Kelvin Christiansen and Abraham Inge are the future of this team. Huntington has one of the scariest teams in the AL. They can beat anyone at any given time. With the new season on the way and missing the playoffs, Huntington is searching for a way to come out on top. Will Huntington make some huge moves? Or will they try to keep things in house and see how things play out?
St. Louis Maroons- St. Louis had a less then stellar year compared to the season 1 performance but they have a lot of guys to build a dynasty from. They traded away Spike Logan but managed to pick up one of the best pitchers in the AL with Ramon Martin. St. Louis has had some successful drafts picking up RF Al Gonzales in the season 1 draft. The future is looking bright for St. Louis.
San Juan Senators- San Juan has had a lot of struggles in the first 2 seasons. They will be searching for another owner going into season 3 much like Boise and SF. A positive note for San Juan is that they can only get better. They have a ton of young talent it’s just a matter of whether a new owner will come in and do something with them. If the new owner chooses to trade to build the ML squad that’s an option or he could even build for the future. We will see who gets the team and the plans they have in place in just a few days.
Boston Beaneaters- The most under performing team in the AL.. Season 1 AL Champs didn’t even sniff the playoffs in season 2. They traded away all the talent that got them to the ALCS. Pitching was a big loss for them also in season 2. They traded off Bernie Alvarez to Tampa Bay and picked up some big bats. Unfortunately that didn’t pay off.. What needs to be figured out right now, Is the AL an offensive based league? Or does having a balanced team benefit you? Boston will have to figure that out next season.
Baltimore Lords- Baltimore has one of the best owners in the world. Proving you don’t have to make tons of big moves to win games. Going 88-74 only to lose the playoff berth by way of tiebreaker, Baltimore is now a legitimate threat in the AL. Look for Joaquin Martinez to hit over 50 home runs next season. Baltimore is only warming up.
Philadelphia Stars- Winning 13 more games in season 2 then they did in season 1. Philly made the playoffs! They lost in the Division Championship series to Albuquerque but they were another surprise team. Nobody would’ve guessed they would win the AL East over Boston. And nobody thought that pitching staff would perform like it did. Demasco Sanchez and Hank Cunningham led the way only allowing an average of around .250 batting average against opposing teams. Philly still has work to do, we will just have to wait and see if they will continue to be a force in the AL.
New York New York Yankees- What can be said about New York? They simply just have had the worst luck getting a win. The owner went with the building for the future approach and by doing so picked up some good players in the drafts. With the owner potentially leaving and another new owner having to take over. Will this be the death of New York or will this be the rebirth they were desperately needing?
Montreal Shamrocks- Philip Maxwell, Ralph Hume, Larry Wakefield and Bruce Shea... Just about every AL Award winner from Season 1 was acquired by Montreal.. After a huge season in season 1 winning 109 games everyone probably thought they were the team to beat....They were.. they lost the ALCS in season 1 to Boston.. Fast forward another season only to see the 107 winning team in season 2 drop the ball again in the playoffs. Montreal has been heard leaking rumors of a potential Philip Maxwell trade. What will that do to the offense if they lose him? What would people be willing to give up to get him if this is true?
Minnesota White Caps- Very very dangerous.... And viewed by win/loss as the 2nd best team in the AL. Minnesota being in the same division as Montreal hindered the importance of the way they played. When you mention them you know they are going to be a hard team every time you play them. Max Lopez and Poseidon Weber proved to be worth the money spent on them. Also Otto Judd's huge offensive display secured their place in the Playoffs. The owner has decided they couldn't return for season 3 and has now put it up for sale. What we expect from here is a new owner to have a hard time stepping into the shoes of nick. But, with that team and the way they play.. it will not be as hard to come close.
Seattle Pilots- Seattle has had 2 seasons of around 70 wins.. they are not reducing in performance but certainly not gaining. The owner of this team is one I would believe could turn this all around. They have tons of potential and I feel they have a shot at being one of the best teams in season 3. Look for Pedro Moraga to have a great year!
Kansas City Blues- Early in the season had the AL North scared... They were just on fire.. but that fire started dwindling as the season went on. Tony Santana and Clarence Vaughn both had pretty good seasons. However I think pitching was the reason this team started struggling down the stretch. Next season, we will see if they improve the pitching or if they plan on keeping things the same. They are serious contender and shouldn't even be questioned. next season will be another hard road but can Kansas City keep up?
No comments:
Post a Comment