Season 15 Free Agency Preview

Matty Posada none none Age: 31 B/T: S/R Born: Higuey, DO Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Stewart Mouton none none Age: 32 B/T: R/R Born: Trenton, NC Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Who will bolster their rotation with these former Cy Young winners?

Season 15 Free Agency Preview
Season 15 is upon us, and it's time to get rolling with offseason free agency.  This year's class is heavily weighted towards pitching, and is top heavy with two Cy Young award winning studs in 3 time winner Posada and one-time winner Mouton.  The hitting class is fairly weak, but there are a few good finds out there nonetheless.  It will be an interesting free agency period for sure, good luck to all, here's the complete top 10!  No, make that a top 11!  We missed a key player on our first go-around.

1. Matty Posada, 31, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.63 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $95 million

Possible Destinations:  Chicago (AL), Pittsburgh, Detroit, Oklahoma City

Signed with Nashville - 5 years, $102.8 million

It's not often that the opportunity comes along to land a 3-time former Cy Young winner, but alas the opportunity is for the taking this off-season.  Posada is elite across the board and sure-fire ace.  At his next destination he will be looking to cement his legacy as one of, if not the, greatest pitcher in Kenny Powers history.  He will not come cheap, however. 

2. Stewart Mouton, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.64 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $90 million

Possible Destinations: Nashville, Seattle, Chicago (AL), Durham

Signed with Honolulu - 5 years, $91 million

Mouton, a former Cy Young award winner himself, seems every bit as elite as Posada.   He has the same incredible career ERA, and great ratings across the board.   He hardly is a consolation prize if you don't land Posada, he could be just as good.  Someone will land an ace by signing Mouton, but again it will be costly. 

3. Chipper Nippert, 31, SS
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 41 HR 120 RBI average
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $62 million

Possible Destinations: Helena, Oklahoma City, New Britain, Durham

Signed with Seattle - 5 years, $75.5 million

Despite lackluster splits, Nippert has managed to flat out crush the ball throughout his career thanks to elite contact and power.  Still, the subpar splits may lead to some variability in batting average, but he should still crush a ton of home runs.  His biggest asset is his plus fielding ratings that making him a realistic play at shortstop.  That kind of power and contact at shortstop is pretty rare, making him a major asset to whomever lands him.  Age is a slight concern, but he should be able to put up similar numbers for a few more seasons, if not more.  

4. Brooks Michaels, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.07 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $58 million

Possible Destinations:  Oklahoma City, New Britain, Detroit, Helena

Signed with Durham - 5 years, $42.5 million

Michaels is not quite as elite as the top 2, but can still be a solid add to a rotation.  The big difference between Michaels and the top 2 is pitch quality, but he is still a great SP.  His career ERA suffered a bit in Dover, so he is better than it indicates, and he is only 29 years old, which means he should be just as effective at the end of his contract as he is now.  

5. Herbert Davis, 35, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.48 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $36 million

Possible Destinations: Durham, Seattle, Honolulu, Oakland

Signed with Seattle - 3 years, $22.8 million

Davis is an innings eater RP that is still going strong at age 35.  Hard to say that he really has any weaknesses in his arsenal, as we give him plus ratings across the board.  Age may be a slight factor at this point, particularly if teams are thinking of a 5 year deal, but he should still be extremely solid for the next few seasons for sure.  

6. Harry Vargas, 37, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.60 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $22 million

Possible Destinations:  Pawtucket, Scranton, Buffalo, New Britain

Signed with Helena - 2 years, $13.3 million

Still going strong at age 37, showing little signs of decline in his output, Vargas will be a solid add to just about any rotation.  He's yet another pitcher with strong ratings across the board in this free agent class.   The question is, how much longer can he produce at an elite level, and how much will owners be willing to pay given that fact.  

7. Jose Alonso, 33, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .295 career AVG
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $30 million

Possible Destinations:  Chicago (AL), Oklahoma City, Tampa Bay, Nashville

Signed with Pittsburgh - 3 years, $26.25 million

In a very weak free agent class of hitters, Alonso earns the nod as one of the top offensive players available.  He is great in the field, and should work anywhere except SS, which is exceptional for this stage in his career.  He has elite contact, and is great against righties and has a solid batting eye at the plate.  He should have a few good years left in him, and has championship experience, winning 4 rings with OKC.  

8. Reid Fassero, 33, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.83 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $27 million

Possible Destinations:  Seattle, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Cleveland

Signed with Pittsburgh - 2 years, $4.5 million

A returnee from last year's list, Fassero didn't exactly conquer the world during his 1 year deal in Cleveland.  Still, he's a very solid RP capable of eating a lot of innings, so that definitely has value.  Although not as good as Davis, he is two years younger and is capable of bettering his mediocre performance from last season. 

9. John Saitou, 35, SP
No Designation
Key Stat: 3.43 career ERA
Salary Over/Under:  3 years, $27 million

Possible Destinations:  Scranton, Pittsburgh, Oakland, St. Louis

Signed with Detroit - 2 years, $10.4 million

Saitou, although not as elite as some of the other options in the class, could be a nice, cheaper alternative to some of the big guns that will be more expensive.   His last two seasons in Pawtucket weren't great, but he still has very good control, and pitch quality, and nice splits.  He doesn't keep the ball down or throw with a great deal of velocity, but can still be a sold #3/#4 type for at least a few more seasons. 

10. Edwin Pierzynski, 28, 3B
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 186 career HR
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $32 million

Possible Destinations: Helena, Nashville, Honolulu, Toronto

Signed with Pittsburgh - 5 years, $34.3 million

Pierzynski isn't exactly an elite hitter, but in this weak offensive free agent class, he makes the top ten.  His last few seasons have been disappointing at the plate, but he still has plus power, and a good batting eye.   His mediocre contact and RH split, are a bit of a drain on his batting average, and that is his downside.  He can still play a decent 3rd base in the field, and is only 28 years old.  

11. Pep Hasegawa, 32, DH
No Designation
Key Stat: 285 career HR
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $9 million

Possible Destinations:  Durham, Chicago (AL), Helena, Pittsburgh

Signed with Tampa Bay - 3 years, $9.3 million

Pep is one of the best hitters available with great power and nice splits.  His contact and batting eye are mediocre, which has resulted in him struggling some years.  That, and the fact that he played most of his career in Seattle, but even a move to St. Louis didn't help much.  I guess we still think he's capable of doing better, and would be a nice addition as a DH in the AL.  

Season 14 Wrap Up

Oklahoma City Bombers (NL) tisi29 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Oklahoma City wins it all again in an even-numbered season!

Like clockwork, Oklahoma City took home their 4th consecutive even-numbered season World Series title.  That's not to say it was an easy road, as they were down 3 games to none in the ALCS to Honolulu.  Apparently, they forgot it was an even-numbered season until Game 4, as after that there was no stopping them, as they won 8 games in a row to take the crown, beating fellow number 1 seed Pawtucket to take the crown.  Pawtucket had a great season as well, but it appeared after the amazing comeback, Oklahoma City was a team of destiny, and there was no stopping them.  Congrats to both owners on great seasons, and the good news for all of the owners is that it is an odd-numbered season coming up, so it's anyone's title to take!

Individual awards were also handed out for Season 14, let's take a look at the winners. 

Most Valuable Player
American League -  Jason Tolbert, New Britain - .334 AVG 35 HR 127 RBI
Tolbert won a very close MVP race in the AL with a fantastic season at the plate.  The 28 year-old takes home his first MVP with his best season yet in his 6th full season in the majors.  He also made the All-Star team, his 2nd, and won a Silver Slugger, also his 2nd.  Tolbert looks to have many more productive seasons ahead of him. 

National League
J.C. Ganzel, Honolulu - .303 AVG 51 HR 119 RBI
Jeremy Randall, Buffalo - .299 AVG 44 HR 110 RBI
Speaking of very close races, the NL MVP race ended in a tie, and resulted in co-MVPs.   Ganzel crushed the ball all season for Honolulu, and also made the All-Star team (2nd), won a Silver Slugger (2nd) and took home a Gold Glove in RF (1st).  Extremely impressive, he's an elite talent and at jsut 26 years old, could get back here again.

Meanwhile, Randall caught games for one of the best pitching staffs in the league, while being extremely productive at the plate.  On top of this being his 3rd MVP win, only the 3rd player in Kenny Powers history to do so, he also won his 5th Silver Slugger and made his 5th All-Star team.  At just age 27, he has a decent chance of becoming Kenny Powers' first ever 4-time MVP. 

Cy Young Award
American League - Matty Posada, Detroit - 21-6 1.84 ERA 220 K
Posada was dealt to Detroit in the off-season, as Louisville began its rebuild process, and the deal yielded high dividends for Detroit.  Posting a microscopic ERA and a solid strikeout total, Posada took home his 3rd Cy Young Award, having won the previous two with Louisville.   He also made his 7th All-Star appearance, and is still only 30, so he will be shooting for the rare feat of 4 Cy Young awards, which has been done by only one other player. 

National League - Alberto Campos, Tucson - 21-4 2.79 ERA 203 K
Touted as the top prize in this past off-season's free agent class, Campos did not disappoint and lived up to his massive contract by taking home his first Cy Young award.  Campos was dominant in Tucson all season, and made his 6th All-Star appearance as well.  Luckily for Tucson, he's still got 4 years left on his contract!

Rookie of the Year
American League -  Brett Leach, Madison - .283 AVG 53 HR 135 RBI
A young 23-year old slugger, Leach helped anchor one of the league's most potent offenses with a tremendous rookie season in which he crushed 53 homers.  He also made the All-Star team.  The Rookie of the Year race wasn't even close, as not many rookies put up such elite numbers.   Look for him to continue to win awards in seasons to come. 

National League - Alex Sanchez, Tucson - .287 AVG 48 HR 127 RBI
In another blowout win, Sanchez took home the Rookie of the Year award in the NL, with similarly impressive numbers as his AL counterpart.   His elite power should enable him to produce many more similar stat lines in future seasons, of which there will be many, as he is only 21 years old. 

Fireman of the Year
American League -  Jay Borbon, Nashville - 2.90 ERA, 41 SV - 3rd win
National League - Damaso Perez, Vancouver - 2.96 ERA, 41 SV - 1st win

That's a wrap for Season 14, hope to see you all back for Season 15, after a hopefully quick rollover!  

Season 14 Final Power Rankings

A little late with these, my apologies, but better late than never!   Let's jump right into the rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	101	61	1	Another great season in the books for them
2	New Britain	98	64	4	Solid down the stretch all around
3	Pawtucket	98	64	9	Best record down the stretch, to cap off a great season
4	Tucson	96	66	7	Very well balanced team this season
5	Honolulu	93	69	5	Solid numbers across the board and a nice finish
6	St. Louis	94	68	11	Pitching really stepped it up this season
7	Madison	95	67	2	Struggled down the stretch, despite improved pitching
8	Detroit	90	72	3	Under .500 since the last rankings, but a good season
9	Buffalo	96	66	6	The 2nd half of the season did not go great for them
10	Little Rock	86	76	14	Stepped it up down the stretch, nice finish
11	Arizona	88	74	10	Offense was really good, and pitching held its own
12	Tampa Bay	89	73	13	Pitching is outstanding, but offense held them back some
13	Nashville	85	77	15	Had a nice finish to the season to move above .500
14	Memphis	89	73	8	Offense is the worst of the contenders, but nice pitching
15	Rochester	84	78	12	Outstanding pitching, but mediocre overall down the stretch
16	Cincinnati	79	83	22	Excellent finish, showing improvement across the board
17	Portland	75	87	23	Also had a great finish, numbers better all around
18	New York	78	84	25	Great stretch run, but the offense may be a concern still
19	Seattle	79	83	18	Not good at all the 2nd half of the season after nice start
20	Pittsburgh	75	87	17	Rough stretch run, the offense folded at the end
21	Texas	81	81	19	Pitching needs improvement to take a step forward
22	Jacksonville	75	87	21	Pitching fell apart a bit down the stretch
23	Cleveland	75	87	24	Really nice finish, going over .500 since the last rankings
24	Chicago (AL)	73	89	26	Showed all around improvement down the stretch
25	Vancouver	79	83	16	Things really fell apart for them at the end
26	Toronto	73	89	20	Their offense didn't produce enough to contend this season
27	Indianapolis	63	99	31	Over .500 down the stretch, which is a good sign
28	Oakland	64	98	29	Pitching is a major issue, but offense is pretty good
29	Burlington	64	98	27	Need to find some more offense to move up
30	San Francisco	63	99	28	Collapsed down the stretch in every way
31	Louisville	58	104	30	They're rebuilding so hopefully they made progress there
32	Chicago (NL)	56	106	32	Not quite there yet, but should be making progress

Season 14 Power Rankings # 3

Before we start full speed ahead down the stretch in Season 13, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  There was a change at the top, as preseason #1 Oklahoma City reclaimed the top spot with a stellar 30-13 record since the last rankings.   The only team that managed to match that feat was offensive juggernaut Madison, who comes in #2, followed by an equally powerful Detroit team at #3.  Previous #1 Buffalo fell the way of their predecessor Memphis in taking a bit of a step back after claiming the top spot, falling to #6.  They are still very capable of bouncing back.  Good luck to everyone down the stretch, here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	81	44	2	Stepped it up to reclaim the top spot, looking strong
2	Madison	78	47	6	Great run lately, with elite offense and better pitching
3	Detroit	72	53	7	Offense is solid as ever and pitching has improved
4	New Britain	73	52	3	Numbers down a bit, but still getting the wins
5	Honolulu	71	54	4	Offensive numbers are down, but hanging in there
6	Buffalo	78	47	1	Not a good stretch at all, but certainly can bounce back
7	Tucson	72	53	9	Major jump in offense since last rankings is a good sign
8	Memphis	72	53	11	An up and down season looks to be back on the upswing
9	Pawtucket	72	53	12	Improved pitching has helped them as of late
10	Arizona	67	58	19	Nice leap up the rankings, as pitching has improved a lot
11	St. Louis	71	54	10	Holding steady here numbers have been consistent
12	Rochester	66	59	14	They're the league's top pitching staff, and offense is up
13	Tampa Bay	68	57	5	Pitching has taken a bit of a hit since the last rankings
14	Little Rock	62	63	16	Very nice improvement across the board as of late
15	Nashville	62	63	20	Playing solid since the last rankings, pitching is better
16	Vancouver	65	60	21	Another team on the rise, with improved pitching
17	Pittsburgh	60	65	15	Numbers are better than record, tough schedule perhaps
18	Seattle	62	63	8	Since the last rankings:  Just. Plain. Awful.
19	Texas	64	61	13	Pitching has fallen off, and so has their record
20	Toronto	62	63	17	Holding steady around .500, can they take it up a notch?
21	Jacksonville	58	67	22	Over .500 since last rankings, getting better offense
22	Cincinnati	57	68	25	Playing better lately as the offense shows signs of life
23	Portland	52	73	28	Nice improvement overall and over .500 since last rankings
24	Cleveland	56	69	29	Also over .500 since last rankings, pitching is improving
25	New York	56	69	32	They're coming alive as well, better across the board
26	Chicago (AL)	54	71	24	Things fell off overall for them since the last rankings
27	Burlington	53	72	26	Holding steady, with not much change in the numbers
28	San Francisco	54	71	18	Offense has taken a big hit, and it's sent them reeling
29	Oakland	49	76	23	Pitching staff has been lit up lately, but offense is decent
30	Louisville	46	79	27	They're rebuilding, so this was pretty much expected
31	Indianapolis	44	81	30	Numbers look better, but it hasn't translated to Wins
32	Chicago (NL)	43	82	31	Better pitching, but the offense hasn't produced lately

Season 14 Power Rankings # 2

With a little more than half of Season 14 in the books, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings.  The story since the first rankings has been the incredible play of Buffalo, going 33-9 since the last rankings to pull out in front of the pack.  They have been bringing it on every level as of late, it has been quite the impressive run.  Oklahoma City comes in at #2, still playing very well.  New Britain stepped it up to leap from #10 up to # 3.   Previous #1 Memphis fell to #11 as their pitching staff's incredible start could not be maintained.  Here's the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Buffalo	59	23	2	They have been outstanding on every level as of late
2	Oklahoma City	51	31	3	Playing solid ball and winning games, still elite
3	New Britain	49	33	10	Their pitching is getting it done, leading to a nice bump
4	Honolulu	48	34	4	Their pitching has taken a hit lately, but still winning
5	Tampa Bay	47	35	11	Playing incredibly well, one of the best teams in pitching
6	Madison	48	34	12	It's all about offense here, but pitching has improved some
7	Detroit	46	36	14	Maintained it's hot offense, while the pitching stepped up
8	Seattle	46	36	18	Major improvement in pitching since last rankings
9	Tucson	47	35	5	Pitching took a hit, but offensive production increased
10	St. Louis	48	34	8	Their pitching took a nice turn, but offense has been down
11	Memphis	46	36	1	The pitching staff's incredible start has leveled off a bit
12	Pawtucket	46	36	6	Numbers fell off a bit across the board here, but still solid
13	Texas	45	37	23	Nice jump as the pitching really has come together lately
14	Rochester	42	40	15	Their pitching is amongst the best, but bats are a concern
15	Pittsburgh	41	41	19	Offense improved here, but the pitching fell of a little
16	Little Rock	40	42	20	Offense is great, but the pitching has been shaky lately
17	Toronto	41	41	22	Bouncing back a bit after a pretty rough start to the season
18	San Francisco	41	41	21	.500 for the 2nd straight rankings, pitching is on the up
19	Arizona	39	43	7	Rough stretch as of late, pitching fell off since last rankings
20	Nashville	38	44	17	Numbers were pretty stable, need pitching to step it up
21	Vancouver	40	42	9	It's been pretty bad as of late, numbers down overall
22	Jacksonville	36	46	16	Their pitching got roughed up, resulting in a bit of a drop
23	Oakland	35	47	29	Playing better, as the offense improved significantly
24	Chicago (AL)	37	45	13	Rough stretch, as their offense has fallen off a bit lately
25	Cincinnati	35	47	24	Hanging in there, they could use some offensive production
26	Burlington	35	47	26	Major fall off in offense, must have played a lot at home
27	Louisville	33	49	31	Showing signs of life with improvement across the board
28	Portland	29	53	32	Pitching is stepping up, with numbers a lot better lately
29	Cleveland	32	50	25	The numbers are down overall, resulting in them dropping
30	Indianapolis	30	52	27	Pitching isn't bad, but the offense isn't there quite yet
31	Chicago (NL)	29	53	30	Actually improved some after a horrid start so we'll see
32	New York	33	49	28	The rebuild here is still in process, they're not quite there

Season 14 Power Rankings # 1

We're a quarter of the way through Season 14, and thus far it's been a tale of two leagues.  The AL has shown tremendous parity this season, with a number of division races within a couple of games from top to bottom, while the NL has had a number of teams with tremendous records, that have broken away from the pack early.  In fact, so much so that the top 5 teams in the rankings all come from the NL.  At the top, with the world's top pitching staff, and a 7-1 record vs. the #2-4 teams, Memphis becomes just the 4th different team to land on top of the rankings with an amazing 28-12 start, jumping up all the way from #15.  Buffalo comes in at #2, and dethroned #1 Oklahoma City comes in at #3, but they are still a major threat, make no mistake.  Honolulu and Tucson round out the top 5.   And now, here's the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Memphis	28	12	15	#1 in ERA and beating the top teams, so they get the nod
2	Buffalo	26	14	3	Probably top team by the numbers, but 0-3 vs. Memphis
3	Oklahoma City	23	17	1	Still looking great, and may have been a bit unlucky so far
4	Honolulu	24	16	4	Solid through the first quarter, pitching has been great
5	Tucson	25	15	6	Holding their own in a very top heavy NL
6	Pawtucket	25	15	9	AL's top team right now, getting it done with offense
7	Arizona	22	18	2	Pitching started off slow for the defending champs
8	St. Louis	26	14	25	Hanging in well with the NL's top teams, nice pitching
9	Vancouver	26	14	26	Another surprise team cracks the top 10 with a nice start
10	New Britain	21	19	11	Offense is looking solid, the record should improve
11	Tampa Bay	20	20	7	Tremendous pitching, if the offense picks it up, look out
12	Madison	21	19	8	Their pitching has been getting lit, but offense is top notch
13	Chicago (AL)	22	18	20	Doing well so far, getting nice offensive production
14	Detroit	21	19	22	League's top offense has them with a winning record
15	Rochester	20	20	13	Nice pitching, but the offense hasn't shown up yet
16	Jacksonville	20	20	24	Great pitching, and numbers show record can improve
17	Nashville	20	20	18	Pretty average across the board, but still in it
18	Seattle	20	20	16	Pitching not getting it done, but AL is loaded with offense
19	Pittsburgh	19	21	10	Not bad so far, will be better if offense turns it up
20	Little Rock	19	21	12	Pretty decent numbers, so a rebound wouldn't be suprising
21	San Francisco	20	20	30	Hanging in there in the AL West so far, a nice surpise
22	Toronto	18	22	5	Not looking good so far, but potential is there to heat up
23	Texas	18	22	17	Pretty mediocre start, but offense is capabale of more
24	Cincinnati	16	24	14	It's tough in the NL right now, with a lot of great teams
25	Cleveland	17	23	19	Middle of the pack in most categories right now
26	Burlington	17	23	31	Showing signs of improvement, which is good to see
27	Indianapolis	17	23	32	Actually tied for the division lead right now
28	New York	18	22	27	Numbers not looking great, but hanging in record wise
29	Oakland	16	24	23	Pitching staff showing signs of improvement, a good sign
30	Chicago (NL)	11	29	28	Rough start may be a bit of bad luck, and tough schedule
31	Louisville	14	26	29	Clearly in rebuild right now, so not that much of a surprise
32	Portland	10	30	21	Bad start, but they actually have a pretty decent offense

Season 14 Preseason Power Rankings

Offseason free agency is over, and Spring Training is almost complete, so it's time for the Preseason Power Rankings!  A lot of familiar names at the top of the rankings, Oklahoma City is #1 and defending champion Arizona is #2 and Tucson and Tampa Bay bolt into the top 10 with some bold offseason moves.  We'll see how well they hold up throughout the season, but for now, here are your Kenny Powers Season 14 Preseason Power Rankings!

		Season 13
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	111	51	Roster looks very strong again, plus it's an even season
2	Arizona	102	60	Defending champs should be in the picture again
3	Buffalo	97	65	Near the top the last few seasons, and should be again
4	Honolulu	101	61	Returning most of a well-balanced team from last season
5	Toronto	92	70	Strong in both pitching and hitting and should contend
6	Tucson	80	82	Was a major player in the FA market, and should improve
7	Tampa Bay	82	80	Added some FA's, but OKC in division is always tough
8	Madison	86	76	Loaded offense, the pitching was shaky last season
9	Pawtucket	87	75	We'll see if pitching improves here too, great offense
10	Pittsburgh	82	80	Active in free agency, as original owner returns to team
11	New Britain	92	70	Bounced back last season, can contend this season
12	Little Rock	81	81	Surprised they fell out of it last season, should be better
13	Rochester	87	75	Excellent pitching staff looks to excel yet again
14	Cincinnati	87	75	May need more offense this year to move up
15	Memphis	87	75	Always near the top in pitching, which should continue
16	Seattle	90	72	It's tough to get offense in Seattle, which they need to do
17	Texas	87	75	Offense was stellar last year, and should be good again
18	Nashville	82	80	Great offense may be aided by some offseason pitching adds
19	Cleveland	68	94	Signed some pretty good free agents, so should improve
20	Chicago (AL)	73	89	Took steps to improve pitching, so should be better
21	Portland	63	99	Signed last year's NL MVP, which is a good sign for them
22	Detroit	73	89	Not really active in FA, we'll see what they can do
23	Oakland	65	97	Picked up some pretty good FA's, so should improve
24	Jacksonville	66	96	May still be rebuilding, we'll see how they do
25	St. Louis	75	87	Lost a good bat in R.Young, so we'll have to wait and see
26	Vancouver	78	84	Campos won't be back, which is a major blow
27	New York	73	89	Showed improvement last season, so could be even better
28	Chicago (NL)	73	89	Pretty quiet this offseason, so not so sure what to expect
29	Louisville	78	84	Seem to be starting a rebuild, so looking to the future
30	San Francisco	66	96	New ownership should take this team in a better direction
31	Burlington	67	95	Lost a few players to Free Agency, we'll see how they do
32	Indianapolis	61	101	Seem to be rebuilding still, so hard to tell what they will do