In what has turned out to be the most difficult season since he entered the league, Miracle GM Renner has fired his drafting staff and is looking for upgrades. The rumor that he has been in contact with Matt Millen to oversee the 2012 draft is completely false. One rumor that can be substantiated is that the Miracles will be much younger next season. Drafting veterans with long track records has obviously not panned out for us, Renner was quoted as saying. With that being said, preparation has already begun on the 2012 draft. We do have some quality players under contract for next season and we are excited at the prospect of having a high draftpick in what will be an extremely deep draft. Our first order of business will be drafting someone in the first round that we feel confident will fill our 5 year contract. Alex Rios was a young player on the rise and this most definitely did not pan out for us. We were very thankful that we were able to move Alex to give us more flexibility next season. Our OF looks to be in pretty good shape with Ethier/Victorino/Zobrist/Choo locked up through next season although Zobrist could easily be our starting 2B next season depending on the draft. After a difficult second season young SS Ian Desmond has made some strides as of late and will be a pivotal player for the 2012 Miracles. Our closers will be in the capable hands of Rivera/Bell. The other current contracts, Aaron Hill and Julio Borbon will be on the trading block unless they can prove to able to hit consistently at the big league level. While Hill has great ability and could still turn it around in the final year of his contract Borbon will be able to be had very easily at the next Winter Meetings this coming January. The Miracle staff will be looking to fill their 5 yr and two 3 yr contracts with the first three picks. While the Miracles have been one of the more active teams as far as trading goes this next season they may play it a bit closer to the vest. Only time will tell. Pre Pre season pick for the Miracles in Round One....Mark Teixeira or Robinson Cano. Meanwhile....are you ready for some Football!!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Miracle Predictions
Let's get right to it. Having already given my predictions for each division I will close this prediction section with overall rankings.
Strongest Divisions...
1. East--with three of the top teams from 2010 in this division I see two of these team making the postseason this coming year. They slightly edge out the number two division...
2. Texas--I also project two teams from this division to make the playoffs.
3. West--I see a major drop off from the top two divisions to this one. Included here is the team I project as the weakest in the league for 2011.
4. Great Lakes--Greatly improved from 2010 this division still has some making up to do.
Top Six Teams...
1. Dallas...similar to 2010 has Doyle learned from the past and be able to make moves necessary to compete long term or will he be happy being a really good team all year and missing out on the big prize?
2. Michigan...This is the best opportunity this team has had since entering the league. Making moves during the year has never been a problem but does Renner make the right ones this year?
3. Springfield...The best of the West, unless you listen to Adrian.
4. Gaylord...Easily the best team coming out of the Great Lakes division will make a strong push for the whole enchilada.
5. San Antonio...another team whose final position may be determined by how active he is during the season.
6. Oviedo...you can never discount a defending champion. Drafting last Reynolds has still been able to field a very good team, and if/when Doyle proves to not being able to learn from the past it will be no surprise to me if Reynolds steals this division.
Lottery Teams...
13. Olivet...Three first round picks have set Larry up for 2012.
14. Atlantic...One of our two virgin owners will take his knocks in 2011.
15. South Texas...Great teams are measured by how many championships they have. Much like the Redbirds this team has ZERO championships. The big difference this year is Doyle will have a shot at it. At the end of the day having the second best record all time means exactly....NOTHING.
16. Arizona...Thank you Arizona. You saved our beloved commish from the basement. The funny thing about predictions though....all of these that I have posted along with $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee.
I look forward to seeing others views on the upcoming season. The preseason fantasy is a nice touch. I will be out of contact for probably at least a week. I'm going in for surgery and unlike Berg I am not having a lobotomy.
Strongest Divisions...
1. East--with three of the top teams from 2010 in this division I see two of these team making the postseason this coming year. They slightly edge out the number two division...
2. Texas--I also project two teams from this division to make the playoffs.
3. West--I see a major drop off from the top two divisions to this one. Included here is the team I project as the weakest in the league for 2011.
4. Great Lakes--Greatly improved from 2010 this division still has some making up to do.
Top Six Teams...
1. Dallas...similar to 2010 has Doyle learned from the past and be able to make moves necessary to compete long term or will he be happy being a really good team all year and missing out on the big prize?
2. Michigan...This is the best opportunity this team has had since entering the league. Making moves during the year has never been a problem but does Renner make the right ones this year?
3. Springfield...The best of the West, unless you listen to Adrian.
4. Gaylord...Easily the best team coming out of the Great Lakes division will make a strong push for the whole enchilada.
5. San Antonio...another team whose final position may be determined by how active he is during the season.
6. Oviedo...you can never discount a defending champion. Drafting last Reynolds has still been able to field a very good team, and if/when Doyle proves to not being able to learn from the past it will be no surprise to me if Reynolds steals this division.
Lottery Teams...
13. Olivet...Three first round picks have set Larry up for 2012.
14. Atlantic...One of our two virgin owners will take his knocks in 2011.
15. South Texas...Great teams are measured by how many championships they have. Much like the Redbirds this team has ZERO championships. The big difference this year is Doyle will have a shot at it. At the end of the day having the second best record all time means exactly....NOTHING.
16. Arizona...Thank you Arizona. You saved our beloved commish from the basement. The funny thing about predictions though....all of these that I have posted along with $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee.
I look forward to seeing others views on the upcoming season. The preseason fantasy is a nice touch. I will be out of contact for probably at least a week. I'm going in for surgery and unlike Berg I am not having a lobotomy.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Texas Division Preview
In the last of the series, I will take a quick look at the Texas division which includes our last new owner, Ben Femmel, owner and operator of the Hackensack Bulls. The 2010 Texas Division was argueably the toughest and most balanced in the league and this year it looks as though it will be a strong division again. With all four owners living in San Antonio I'm sure there will be several tops secret meetings over beers throughout the season....providing Berg can get the occasional kitchen pass.
Offense...
1. Hackensack-Werth, Heyward, Pedroia, Mauer. Strong from top to bottom with several options at UTL. Only real weekness may be at 3B.
2. Michigan-Adrian Gonzalez, Victorino, Rios lead the 2011 Miracles. Balance from top to bottom. No huge weakness.
3. San Antonio-ARod, Tulowitzki, Delmon Young lead a veteran group. Lots of age here. Losing time to the DL could cripple this group.
4. South Texas-Fielder, Jeter, Upton head up what looks to be a rebuilding year in South Texas. Berg usually makes the moves necessary to be competitive.
Pitching...
1. San Antonio-Halladay, Johnson, Papelbon. Nice group slightly edges out the #2 staff in this group. Getting Santana back later on will be a nice boost.
2. Michigan-Jimenez, Hudson, Rivera. Well above average RP's lead a very solid group of starters for the Miracles.
3. Hackensack-Lester, Wainwright, Latos. Can Latos recreate 2010? Femmel certainly believes he can. Time will tell. If Sale closes it will improve this group, but again relying on a rookie can be dicey.
4. South Texas-The starters, Billingsley, Wandy, Baker, Floyd are very workmanlike in their approach. Solid if unspectacular. Bergs relievers on the otherhand.....well as has been mentioned before the draft in 2012 will be exceptional.
Bench...
1. Michigan-With so many draft picks early it isn't a surprise that Renner has some solid backups all around. Mixing and matching might be tough but compared with previous years it will be a nice problem to have.
2. San Antonio-Sankey still has a couple of guys to pick up but what he has on his bench is nice, including some solid SP.
3. Hackensack-The late pick of Podsednik might turn out to be a real steal, if he signs somewhere. Solid all around.
4. South Texas-Another pattern here? Berg does boast one of the worst contracts ever given in eMLB, so he does have that going for him. Other than that there are some decent players.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Joe Mauer
1B-Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder
2B-Dustin Pedroia
3B-Alex Rodriguez
SS-Troy Tulowitzki
OF-Shane Victorino, Alex Rios, Jayson Werth, Jason Heyward, Delmon Young
SP-Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Latos, Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Chad Billingsley
RP-Mariano Rivera, Jose Valverde, Bobby Jenks, Heath Bell, Jonathon Papelbon.
Preseason All-Stars by team
Hackensack-8
San Antonio-7
Michigan-6
South Texas-2
Predicted order of finish...
1. Michigan-The best balance of any team in the division will lead them to the division title.
2. San Antonio-We will see how far the vets can take this team.
3. Hackensack-Good mix of youngsters and vets. Youngsters will really need to step up for this team to climb higher in the standing.
4. South Texas-With Berg seemingly looking to 2012 that will give him more time to focus on upgrading the league website. Oh yea, there is the other two additions that may steal some of his time.
Tomorrow I will put out my annual list of the complete order of finish 1-16 and my predictions for the Playoff Teams and the Lottery Teams.
Offense...
1. Hackensack-Werth, Heyward, Pedroia, Mauer. Strong from top to bottom with several options at UTL. Only real weekness may be at 3B.
2. Michigan-Adrian Gonzalez, Victorino, Rios lead the 2011 Miracles. Balance from top to bottom. No huge weakness.
3. San Antonio-ARod, Tulowitzki, Delmon Young lead a veteran group. Lots of age here. Losing time to the DL could cripple this group.
4. South Texas-Fielder, Jeter, Upton head up what looks to be a rebuilding year in South Texas. Berg usually makes the moves necessary to be competitive.
Pitching...
1. San Antonio-Halladay, Johnson, Papelbon. Nice group slightly edges out the #2 staff in this group. Getting Santana back later on will be a nice boost.
2. Michigan-Jimenez, Hudson, Rivera. Well above average RP's lead a very solid group of starters for the Miracles.
3. Hackensack-Lester, Wainwright, Latos. Can Latos recreate 2010? Femmel certainly believes he can. Time will tell. If Sale closes it will improve this group, but again relying on a rookie can be dicey.
4. South Texas-The starters, Billingsley, Wandy, Baker, Floyd are very workmanlike in their approach. Solid if unspectacular. Bergs relievers on the otherhand.....well as has been mentioned before the draft in 2012 will be exceptional.
Bench...
1. Michigan-With so many draft picks early it isn't a surprise that Renner has some solid backups all around. Mixing and matching might be tough but compared with previous years it will be a nice problem to have.
2. San Antonio-Sankey still has a couple of guys to pick up but what he has on his bench is nice, including some solid SP.
3. Hackensack-The late pick of Podsednik might turn out to be a real steal, if he signs somewhere. Solid all around.
4. South Texas-Another pattern here? Berg does boast one of the worst contracts ever given in eMLB, so he does have that going for him. Other than that there are some decent players.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Joe Mauer
1B-Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder
2B-Dustin Pedroia
3B-Alex Rodriguez
SS-Troy Tulowitzki
OF-Shane Victorino, Alex Rios, Jayson Werth, Jason Heyward, Delmon Young
SP-Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Latos, Jon Lester, Adam Wainwright, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Chad Billingsley
RP-Mariano Rivera, Jose Valverde, Bobby Jenks, Heath Bell, Jonathon Papelbon.
Preseason All-Stars by team
Hackensack-8
San Antonio-7
Michigan-6
South Texas-2
Predicted order of finish...
1. Michigan-The best balance of any team in the division will lead them to the division title.
2. San Antonio-We will see how far the vets can take this team.
3. Hackensack-Good mix of youngsters and vets. Youngsters will really need to step up for this team to climb higher in the standing.
4. South Texas-With Berg seemingly looking to 2012 that will give him more time to focus on upgrading the league website. Oh yea, there is the other two additions that may steal some of his time.
Tomorrow I will put out my annual list of the complete order of finish 1-16 and my predictions for the Playoff Teams and the Lottery Teams.
Friday, February 11, 2011
East Division Preview
Another division that has been shaken up a bit. We have the third new owner, Matt Squirre of the Atlantic Surge, joining what was last year 3 of the better teams in the league along with the Defending Champion New Jersey Mets, now known as the Oviedo Knights. The Dallas Redbirds and Rochester Red Sox round out what is sure to be a very interesting division to watch.
Offense...
1. Dallas-Cano, Howard, Holliday highlight a very topheavy group. This group can bash with the best of them in the league.
2. Rochester-Youkilis, Braun, CarGo slide in just a touch below the Redbirds. I like the Redbirds a bit better unless they slot their two speed guys in together too much. With both in the lineup the edge probably goes to Rochester or the next team which is...
3. Oviedo-Bautista, Hart, Reyes. If it all comes together...wow. If not....wow. Balance is the word here.
4. Atlantic-An interesting group headlined by Torii Hunter....enough said.
Pitching...
1. Dallas-All four teams in this division have good pitching. There isn't a lot that seperates all of the them. For this exercise, Dallas lands on top with Price, Greinke and a stable of solid RP.
2. Rochester-Haren, Kershaw and Axford highlight another good group.
3. Atlantic-Scherzer, Hudson, Nolasco head a good group of hurlers. Some young mixed in with the vets. This group could come together nicely.
4. Oviedo-I should like this group more than I do, I just can't put my finger on it. Oswalt heads a group that if it has bounceback years (Broxton) and can find the plate a bit more often (Morrow) and continues a solid 2010 (McDonald) could shoot to the top of this list.
Bench...
1. Dallas-He has all the bases covered and some solid pitching in reserve.
2. Oviedo-Somehow ended up with 35 players on the roster. Does have some dead weight to shed but has some jewels in there. Let's see if Mike can coax Manny into the wayback machine.
3. Atlantic-It has been proposed that Matt may place a 3 yr on his KC 3B. If he does then I really picked a bad week to give up crystal meth.
4. Rochester-Someone has to be here...right? I like Barton and Westbrook but after that...yawnnnnnnn.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Brian McCann
1B-Kevin Youkilis
2B-Robinson Cano
3B-Pedro Alvarez
SS-Jose Reyes
OF-Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Jose Bautista
SP-David Price, Roy Oswalt, Max Scherzer, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke
RP-Chris Perez, Andrew Bailey, John Axford, David Aardsma, Jonathan Broxton
Preseason All-Stars by team
Oviedo-6
Rochester-6
Dallas-5
Atlantic-3
Predicted order of finish...
1. Dallas
2. Oviedo-these two spots could easily flip flop, especially if Dallas relies too much week in and week out on excessive speed in lineup. Like the old saying, "Speed Kills"
3. Rochester-if the top two teams beat each other to death, this team could slide in head first and take the division.
4. Atlantic-The lottery in 2012 will be amazing.
Offense...
1. Dallas-Cano, Howard, Holliday highlight a very topheavy group. This group can bash with the best of them in the league.
2. Rochester-Youkilis, Braun, CarGo slide in just a touch below the Redbirds. I like the Redbirds a bit better unless they slot their two speed guys in together too much. With both in the lineup the edge probably goes to Rochester or the next team which is...
3. Oviedo-Bautista, Hart, Reyes. If it all comes together...wow. If not....wow. Balance is the word here.
4. Atlantic-An interesting group headlined by Torii Hunter....enough said.
Pitching...
1. Dallas-All four teams in this division have good pitching. There isn't a lot that seperates all of the them. For this exercise, Dallas lands on top with Price, Greinke and a stable of solid RP.
2. Rochester-Haren, Kershaw and Axford highlight another good group.
3. Atlantic-Scherzer, Hudson, Nolasco head a good group of hurlers. Some young mixed in with the vets. This group could come together nicely.
4. Oviedo-I should like this group more than I do, I just can't put my finger on it. Oswalt heads a group that if it has bounceback years (Broxton) and can find the plate a bit more often (Morrow) and continues a solid 2010 (McDonald) could shoot to the top of this list.
Bench...
1. Dallas-He has all the bases covered and some solid pitching in reserve.
2. Oviedo-Somehow ended up with 35 players on the roster. Does have some dead weight to shed but has some jewels in there. Let's see if Mike can coax Manny into the wayback machine.
3. Atlantic-It has been proposed that Matt may place a 3 yr on his KC 3B. If he does then I really picked a bad week to give up crystal meth.
4. Rochester-Someone has to be here...right? I like Barton and Westbrook but after that...yawnnnnnnn.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Brian McCann
1B-Kevin Youkilis
2B-Robinson Cano
3B-Pedro Alvarez
SS-Jose Reyes
OF-Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Jose Bautista
SP-David Price, Roy Oswalt, Max Scherzer, Dan Haren, Zack Greinke
RP-Chris Perez, Andrew Bailey, John Axford, David Aardsma, Jonathan Broxton
Preseason All-Stars by team
Oviedo-6
Rochester-6
Dallas-5
Atlantic-3
Predicted order of finish...
1. Dallas
2. Oviedo-these two spots could easily flip flop, especially if Dallas relies too much week in and week out on excessive speed in lineup. Like the old saying, "Speed Kills"
3. Rochester-if the top two teams beat each other to death, this team could slide in head first and take the division.
4. Atlantic-The lottery in 2012 will be amazing.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Great Lakes Division Preview
This was a much maligned division last year and took a lot of verbal abuse from the rest of the league. That should change this year, especially when the division includes four of the premier 1B in the league. We welcome back a former owner, Chris Broskey, who I am somewhat familiar with since I took over his "old" team a few years ago. Best of luck to all.
Offense...
1. Charlotte-Led by Votto, Hanley Ramirez, Utley. Excellent overall.
2. Gaylord- Pujols, Crawford, Aramis Ramirez. Whenever you have the best player in the game your offense can't be too bad.
3. Olivet-A well balanced group led by Dunn, Stubbs, and Morales. Pretty solid up and down with the exception of SS. Rayburn qualifying at 2B is a bonus since he won't put on an IF glove all year.
4. Mid Michigan-Led by Miguel Cabrera this is a pretty good group but in comparison to the others in the division they land here.
Pitching...
1. Gaylord-Hamels, Kuroda, and a solid relief corp land this group in the top spot in the division.
2. Mid Michigan-Lincecum, Lee, Wilson. After this group there is a good size drop off in talent.
3. Olivet-Shields and Hanrahan head the starting and relief corps. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
4. Charlotte-As good as Charlotte's offense is the pitching is that poor. With the exception of Verlander(stud) the rest of the group is decent but forgetable.
Prediction--the team that steps up in the pitching department during the year will take this division.
Bench...
All fairly close but it breaks down like this...
1. Olivet-Pretty good backups all around.
2. Mid Michigan-couple of extra WW pickups will round out this bench nicely.
3. Gaylord-Good IF backups with some pitching to boot.
4. Charlotte-Too many question marks on this bench to rely on.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP
C-Victor Martinez
1B-Albert Pujols
2B-Chase Utley
3B-Aramis Ramirez
SS-Hanley Ramirez
OF-Michael Bourn, Drew Stubbs, Carl Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki, Nelson Cruz
SP-Tim Lincecum, James Shields, Cole Hamels, Justin Verlander, Cliff Lee, John Danks
RP-Brian Wilson, Joel Hanrahan, Joakim Soria, Francisco Rodriguez, Huston Street
Preseason All-Stars by team
Gaylord-7
Mid Michigan-5
Charlotte-5
Olivet-4
Predicted order of finish...
1. Gaylord
2. Mid Michigan
3. Charlotte
4. Olivet
Next up...
EAST DIVISION
Offense...
1. Charlotte-Led by Votto, Hanley Ramirez, Utley. Excellent overall.
2. Gaylord- Pujols, Crawford, Aramis Ramirez. Whenever you have the best player in the game your offense can't be too bad.
3. Olivet-A well balanced group led by Dunn, Stubbs, and Morales. Pretty solid up and down with the exception of SS. Rayburn qualifying at 2B is a bonus since he won't put on an IF glove all year.
4. Mid Michigan-Led by Miguel Cabrera this is a pretty good group but in comparison to the others in the division they land here.
Pitching...
1. Gaylord-Hamels, Kuroda, and a solid relief corp land this group in the top spot in the division.
2. Mid Michigan-Lincecum, Lee, Wilson. After this group there is a good size drop off in talent.
3. Olivet-Shields and Hanrahan head the starting and relief corps. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
4. Charlotte-As good as Charlotte's offense is the pitching is that poor. With the exception of Verlander(stud) the rest of the group is decent but forgetable.
Prediction--the team that steps up in the pitching department during the year will take this division.
Bench...
All fairly close but it breaks down like this...
1. Olivet-Pretty good backups all around.
2. Mid Michigan-couple of extra WW pickups will round out this bench nicely.
3. Gaylord-Good IF backups with some pitching to boot.
4. Charlotte-Too many question marks on this bench to rely on.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP
C-Victor Martinez
1B-Albert Pujols
2B-Chase Utley
3B-Aramis Ramirez
SS-Hanley Ramirez
OF-Michael Bourn, Drew Stubbs, Carl Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki, Nelson Cruz
SP-Tim Lincecum, James Shields, Cole Hamels, Justin Verlander, Cliff Lee, John Danks
RP-Brian Wilson, Joel Hanrahan, Joakim Soria, Francisco Rodriguez, Huston Street
Preseason All-Stars by team
Gaylord-7
Mid Michigan-5
Charlotte-5
Olivet-4
Predicted order of finish...
1. Gaylord
2. Mid Michigan
3. Charlotte
4. Olivet
Next up...
EAST DIVISION
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
West Division Preview
This division is pretty much a total makeover from previous seasons and includes one new owner, Joshua, of the Arizona Desert Swarm. First I'd like to say good luck to all the new owners this year. Each came in with varying approaches to setting up their new squads based on existing players that they may or may not have wanted. To Joshua I say good luck since I don't see his Desert Squad team faring too well in this division, this year.
Within each division I broke it down based on hitting/pitching/bench. This division breaks down like this, IMHO.
Offense...
1. Julian-Zimmermann, McCutchen, Choo lead a very balanced squad. I like this offense a lot.
2. Springfield-Rollins, Morneau, Uggla. Very nice group. Health of course is an issue but with these predictions I will assume all will be ok.
3. North Texas-This will be a team I watch closely all season. While others strive for balance, Adrian has approached this from the point of view of having some great players, Teixeira, Wright, Hamilton and filling in the rest with lower end or end of career players. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
4. Arizona-Longoria, Pence, Kemp. Pretty solid. But when compared to the other teams here it just doesn't hold up, not when it looks like Matt Joyce could be a full time OF.
Pitching...
1. Springfield-Sabathia, Liriano, Marmol lead a good if unspectacular staff. They do edge out North Texas for best in the division.
2. North Texas-Hernandez, Hanson, Feliz is another solid core. If Feliz becomes a starter (I hope not) his RP staff will take a huge hit. As it stands now his only reserve is Brandon Webb. I'd look to add a couple of pitchers with his two open roster spots.
3. Julian-Weaver and Gallardo head up this stafff. With no closer currently his starters and relievers will have to put on their big boy pants and really perform. It appears as though they are in a good division to do that.
4. Arizona-Is there a pattern forming here? I actually like the starters quite a bit, Cain, Carpenter, Buchholz. It's the RP corp that falls a little flat to me. Nunez, Gregg are good but after that big ???
Bench...
This is where many changes will occur all year long...but right now...
1. Springfield-Solid OF and SP depth here.
2. North Texas-Backups for all offense positions. No pitching depth.
3. Julian-Belt will be good, just not this year. Another team with a roster spot open. May want another RP here.
4. Arizona-Way too many MI here. I know he has his reasons, I just don't see it.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Buster Posey
1B-Mark Teixeira
2B-Dan Uggla
3B-Evan Longoria, David Wright
SS-Jimmy Rollins
OF-Hunter Pence, Matt Kemp, Shin-Soo Choo, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Hamilton
SP-Matt Cain, CC Sabathia, Francisco Liriano, Jered Weaver, Tommy Hanson, Felix Hernandez
RP-Leo Nunez, Kevin Gregg, Carlos Marmol, Hong Chih Kuo, Neftali Feliz
Preseason All-Stars by team
North Texas-8
Arizona-6
Springfield-5
Julian-3
Predicted order of finish...
1-Springfield
2-North Texas
3-Julian
4-Arizona
Next up...
GREAT LAKES DIVISION
Within each division I broke it down based on hitting/pitching/bench. This division breaks down like this, IMHO.
Offense...
1. Julian-Zimmermann, McCutchen, Choo lead a very balanced squad. I like this offense a lot.
2. Springfield-Rollins, Morneau, Uggla. Very nice group. Health of course is an issue but with these predictions I will assume all will be ok.
3. North Texas-This will be a team I watch closely all season. While others strive for balance, Adrian has approached this from the point of view of having some great players, Teixeira, Wright, Hamilton and filling in the rest with lower end or end of career players. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
4. Arizona-Longoria, Pence, Kemp. Pretty solid. But when compared to the other teams here it just doesn't hold up, not when it looks like Matt Joyce could be a full time OF.
Pitching...
1. Springfield-Sabathia, Liriano, Marmol lead a good if unspectacular staff. They do edge out North Texas for best in the division.
2. North Texas-Hernandez, Hanson, Feliz is another solid core. If Feliz becomes a starter (I hope not) his RP staff will take a huge hit. As it stands now his only reserve is Brandon Webb. I'd look to add a couple of pitchers with his two open roster spots.
3. Julian-Weaver and Gallardo head up this stafff. With no closer currently his starters and relievers will have to put on their big boy pants and really perform. It appears as though they are in a good division to do that.
4. Arizona-Is there a pattern forming here? I actually like the starters quite a bit, Cain, Carpenter, Buchholz. It's the RP corp that falls a little flat to me. Nunez, Gregg are good but after that big ???
Bench...
This is where many changes will occur all year long...but right now...
1. Springfield-Solid OF and SP depth here.
2. North Texas-Backups for all offense positions. No pitching depth.
3. Julian-Belt will be good, just not this year. Another team with a roster spot open. May want another RP here.
4. Arizona-Way too many MI here. I know he has his reasons, I just don't see it.
Preseason Division All-Star Team. Extras in a position occurred if they were too close to seperate. Five OF will be listed along with five SP and five RP.
C-Buster Posey
1B-Mark Teixeira
2B-Dan Uggla
3B-Evan Longoria, David Wright
SS-Jimmy Rollins
OF-Hunter Pence, Matt Kemp, Shin-Soo Choo, Andrew McCutchen, Josh Hamilton
SP-Matt Cain, CC Sabathia, Francisco Liriano, Jered Weaver, Tommy Hanson, Felix Hernandez
RP-Leo Nunez, Kevin Gregg, Carlos Marmol, Hong Chih Kuo, Neftali Feliz
Preseason All-Stars by team
North Texas-8
Arizona-6
Springfield-5
Julian-3
Predicted order of finish...
1-Springfield
2-North Texas
3-Julian
4-Arizona
Next up...
GREAT LAKES DIVISION
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Miracle Predictions
Over the next few days the Miracle staff will be publishing their preseason predictions for each divison and finally culminating with postseason predictions and overall rankings. The West division will be published Wednesday, East divison on Thursday, Great Lakes division on Friday, Texas division on Monday. Tuesday I will publish my postseason playoff teams and lottery teams based on current rosters. Beyond next Tuesday I will be out of contact for at least the next 2+ weeks. I should be back online ready for the season around the middle of March.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Michigan Miracle Mock Draft
With the "soft opening" of the eMLB 2011 draft set to begin on Monday it's time for the Michigan Miracles to weigh in with their version of the first round.
1.1 South Texas Heat--Roy Halladay--With Berg resigned to being in the 2012 Lottery I have 5 reasons why he won't take Fielder and place a 5 yr on him. Those reasons are HanRam, Mauer, Howard, Reyes, Tex. Any of those 5 players Berg may decide is a better option for his open 5 yr. Top shelf SP may be a better option this season. Plus Berg told me he was taking Halladay...he wouldn't lie to me.....would he??
1.2 Mid Michigan Tigers--Keith will take a long look at available options once Halladay is taken off the board but Utley just makes too much sense here to pass up.
1.3 Charlotte Orios--Tim Lincecum--With Utley gone Chris will pair Lincecum with the recently acquired Justin Verlander. Quite a combination.
1.4 San Antonio Fire Ants--Prince Fielder--Sankey gets his wish and grabs Fielder while explaining to Butler why he will have to DH this year. There is an awful lot of offense stabled in the Fire Ant camp this preseason.
1.5 Olivet Killer Eagles--Matt Kemp--The first of Larry's 3 first rounders turns out to be the best OF in the draft. After a down year where he couldn't get out of Torre's doghouse, Kemp looks to thrive playing for Donny Baseball.
1.6 Arizona Desert Swarm--Jayson Werth--The best OF available IMO takes his skills out west. I look for a big year from Werth in 2011.
1.7 Flying Squirrels--Jimmy Rollins--Completing a very balanced offense the Squirrels will now have to begin looking for some pitching from here on out.
1.8 Hackensack Bulls--CC Sabathia--Ben said he wanted to build his team up with pitching and stated he wanted CC. Well here he is. Wainwright, Lester, Sabathia. Wow. Good luck Texas Division. Wait a minute.....that's me...Damn It!!
1.9 Olivet Keller Eagles--Adam Dunn--Really a no brainer here. Big numbers going to a team that can really use him.
1.10 Rochester Red Sox--Matt Latos--Not a tough choice between Latos and Buchholz. Nice grab at 1.10
1.11 Rochester Red Sox--Derek Jeter--Rich may be a homer but taking Buchholz would be foolish here IMO. It may hurt his clicker finger putting Jeter into the lineup each week but with a bounceback year he will soon learn to live with it.
1.12 Flying Squirrels--Clayton Kershaw--Adam takes a great pitcher with his second pick in this round With his offense already in the fold, a solid pitcher to toe the rubber makes a lot of sense.
1.13 Olivet Killer Eagles--Heath Bell--The best RP on the board comes off and packs his bags for Southern Michigan. Nice haul for Larry with Kemp, Dunn and now Bell. This teams looks a lot better already.
1.14 South Texas Heat--Kendry Morales--After passing on Cecil at 1.1 Berg is all smiles after finding that Morales is still available. When questioned on the subject Berg admits that since the Heat is looking at cutting costs this year the team just couldn't justify the amount of food that would have to be available in the clubhouse just to feed Fielder.
1.15 Dallas Redbirds--Pedro Alvarez--After making very little noise during the Winter Meetings, Doyle chooses Pedro Alvarez with his first round pick. Sounds like a North Texas pick but this kid had an excellent September and is an up and comer. Time will tell.
1.16 Hackensack Bulls--Mariano Rivera--The only question now is when will the next closer get taken? Two great Yankees will be moving to Hackensack. Both CC and Rivera will be checking out MapQuest to find out where the hell Hackensack is.
That's my take on the first round, comments are always appreciated. Thanks to Hoyle for spotting a glaring error so I could fix it before too many of you saw it. Of course we all remember last year when I got every pick correct in round one so when all of these turn out correct as well it should come as no surprise to anyone. All right, maybe I got a couple of them right last year. It's always fun to put this together and gives me a little better feel as to the players I may be selecting in round 2. Good luck to all and let the games begin.
1.1 South Texas Heat--Roy Halladay--With Berg resigned to being in the 2012 Lottery I have 5 reasons why he won't take Fielder and place a 5 yr on him. Those reasons are HanRam, Mauer, Howard, Reyes, Tex. Any of those 5 players Berg may decide is a better option for his open 5 yr. Top shelf SP may be a better option this season. Plus Berg told me he was taking Halladay...he wouldn't lie to me.....would he??
1.2 Mid Michigan Tigers--Keith will take a long look at available options once Halladay is taken off the board but Utley just makes too much sense here to pass up.
1.3 Charlotte Orios--Tim Lincecum--With Utley gone Chris will pair Lincecum with the recently acquired Justin Verlander. Quite a combination.
1.4 San Antonio Fire Ants--Prince Fielder--Sankey gets his wish and grabs Fielder while explaining to Butler why he will have to DH this year. There is an awful lot of offense stabled in the Fire Ant camp this preseason.
1.5 Olivet Killer Eagles--Matt Kemp--The first of Larry's 3 first rounders turns out to be the best OF in the draft. After a down year where he couldn't get out of Torre's doghouse, Kemp looks to thrive playing for Donny Baseball.
1.6 Arizona Desert Swarm--Jayson Werth--The best OF available IMO takes his skills out west. I look for a big year from Werth in 2011.
1.7 Flying Squirrels--Jimmy Rollins--Completing a very balanced offense the Squirrels will now have to begin looking for some pitching from here on out.
1.8 Hackensack Bulls--CC Sabathia--Ben said he wanted to build his team up with pitching and stated he wanted CC. Well here he is. Wainwright, Lester, Sabathia. Wow. Good luck Texas Division. Wait a minute.....that's me...Damn It!!
1.9 Olivet Keller Eagles--Adam Dunn--Really a no brainer here. Big numbers going to a team that can really use him.
1.10 Rochester Red Sox--Matt Latos--Not a tough choice between Latos and Buchholz. Nice grab at 1.10
1.11 Rochester Red Sox--Derek Jeter--Rich may be a homer but taking Buchholz would be foolish here IMO. It may hurt his clicker finger putting Jeter into the lineup each week but with a bounceback year he will soon learn to live with it.
1.12 Flying Squirrels--Clayton Kershaw--Adam takes a great pitcher with his second pick in this round With his offense already in the fold, a solid pitcher to toe the rubber makes a lot of sense.
1.13 Olivet Killer Eagles--Heath Bell--The best RP on the board comes off and packs his bags for Southern Michigan. Nice haul for Larry with Kemp, Dunn and now Bell. This teams looks a lot better already.
1.14 South Texas Heat--Kendry Morales--After passing on Cecil at 1.1 Berg is all smiles after finding that Morales is still available. When questioned on the subject Berg admits that since the Heat is looking at cutting costs this year the team just couldn't justify the amount of food that would have to be available in the clubhouse just to feed Fielder.
1.15 Dallas Redbirds--Pedro Alvarez--After making very little noise during the Winter Meetings, Doyle chooses Pedro Alvarez with his first round pick. Sounds like a North Texas pick but this kid had an excellent September and is an up and comer. Time will tell.
1.16 Hackensack Bulls--Mariano Rivera--The only question now is when will the next closer get taken? Two great Yankees will be moving to Hackensack. Both CC and Rivera will be checking out MapQuest to find out where the hell Hackensack is.
That's my take on the first round, comments are always appreciated. Thanks to Hoyle for spotting a glaring error so I could fix it before too many of you saw it. Of course we all remember last year when I got every pick correct in round one so when all of these turn out correct as well it should come as no surprise to anyone. All right, maybe I got a couple of them right last year. It's always fun to put this together and gives me a little better feel as to the players I may be selecting in round 2. Good luck to all and let the games begin.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Miracle Wrap-Up
GM Chris Renner spent the past two weeks molding and remolding the 2011 and beyond version of the Michigan Miracles. We had a couple of ideas of things we wanted to accomplish during the meetings and once those were completed other opprotunities came along that we just couldn't pass up. By the time it was over the Miracles had traded their first round pick (1.5), Ian Kinsler (a spectacular but fragile 2B) and Austin Jackson (probably set for a regression in 2011) along with a small number of late, late, late round picks. In return the Miracles have 2 extra picks in round 2, and one extra pick in rounds 3, 4 and 6. Between draft pick 2.6 and 7.5 (79 selections), the Miracles have 11 of them. Couple that with the 11 contracted players the Miracles picked up and we see that the vast majority of the entire Miracle roster will be complete by the end of round 10. The players picked up along the way to complement the extra draft picks include pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez, Scott Kazmir, Jose Valverde and Joe Nathan. The only new bat that was brought in was Julio Borbon of the Texas Rangers who does seem to be slated to start the year in CF for the AL Champion Rangers. Borbon should put up solid numbers in avg, runs and stolen bases (providing he gets consistent playing time). As the meetings went along it became apparent that the top two closers available in this years draft, Rivera/Bell, would probably be gone before Renner makes his first selection. This prompted a late Sunday pair of trades that brought to Michigan, Nathan and Valverde. An earlier trade for Jimenez allows Renner to select the best possible players when the time comes. Overall an extremely busy winter meetings for Renner and his staff and only time will tell how all of these moves will pan out. Early indications show that the entire staff is very happy with how the team looks before the draft.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Winter Meetings VII
GM Chris Renner has made deals early and often this offseason in getting ready for the eMLB draft coming up in February. Not happy with his finishes the last couple of years Renner has decided to use this years draft to make improvements to his club. Starting with trading away pick 1.5 in the draft deals snowballed from there. By the time he was done Renner had traded away Miracle favorite Ian Kinsler for a first and fifth rounder, Austin Jackson for a fourth round pick and pick 1.5 for what amounts to 4 draft picks. The Miracles now enjoy 13 picks within a span of 87 spots in the draft beginning with pick 1.16. The Miracle braintrust is very excited about revamping this years team along with putting together a solid core for the future. Renner stated that there is still a chance of trading out of the 1.16 spot if there might be a team that wants in there. Adding a second rounder and another pick is not beyond the realm of possibility. Any teams interested should contact the Miracles. Whether he deals the 1.16 pick or not the 2011 draft should be very interesting. Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Winter Meetings VI
Those closest to the Miracle braintrust believe that GM Chris Renner is not done remolding his team for 2011 and beyond. One of the tasks that Renner wanted to accomplish was to pick up a end of the rotation starter. They were able to do that acquiring Scott Kazmir for what amounts to bus fare. The Miracles hope to get out of him exactly what any team hopes to get out of a 5th or 6th starter in eMLB. While it has been known that Renner may move Austin Jackson for a draft pick another name has surfaced in trade rumors. That is none other than the just acquired Billy Butler, who came to Michigan in the trade involving the Miracles #1 draft pick. This storyline
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Winter Meetings Part V
With the winter meetings slated to begin tomorrow the Miracles have been fairly quiet in pre meeting trades. Miracles GM Chris Renner states that only one move is pending but it is a rather large one that will set up the Miracles for the 2011 season. Once the winter meetings begin things have a way of heating up for the Miracles. Historically they have made several trades during this time. Many of the Miracle players have been inquired about and Renner has always stated that no player is "untradeable" although sometimes his asking price seems rather high. Maybe that is because he really doesn't want to trade that particular player but you never know what type of offers are out there if you take a player or a draft pick off the table. Renner would still like to acquire one more 3 yr contract before the end of the winter meetings and would be open to moving an outfielder, Austin Jackson is the player that could be headed out of Miracle camp.
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