Here is the first week's stats from Baseball Prospectus.  The Gunslingers have a .917 OPS for, and an .818 OPS against.  They are both pretty high, and I'm hoping that the spread increases as the year wears on.  I don't like the fact that I'm being out-homered.  That should never happen.

Miggy Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Kosuke Fukudome, Russell Martin, Carlos Quentin, and Chris Snyder are off to rip-roaring starts.  Aaron Hill has a bad hammy, but Snyder is benefiting from the loss of Miguel Montero to a ruptured meniscus.  Hunter Pence went 0 for his first 12 before homering.  The Astros are just awful this year.

Among the starting pitchers, Mark Buehrle,  Kevin Millwood (despite the four homers allowed), Kenshin Kawakami, and Brian Matusz all started strong.  The bullpen has been a complete disaster, though, with several pitchers yielding multiple runs in their outings.  Looks like I'll have to clean house and start over again next year, as usual.  

In the Minors, Alex White had a terrific pro debut for Kinston (high A), going five innings without allowing a run and striking out seven.  Justin Smoak has a couple of early homers, and Grant Green is tearing up the California League with an 1.111 OPS.  Mike Trout was 1 for his first 13 and then 3 for his last 6 (all singles) after a huge spring.  Martin Perez has yet to make his first start with Frisco (AA).

BATTERS (Change Display Statistics)

Name	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	CS	SB	TB	BB
Bobby Abreu	.276	.300	.448	.748	29	3	8	1	1	0	0	13	1
Miguel Cabrera	.522	.621	.783	1.403	23	6	12	8	2	2	0	18	6
Kosuke Fukudome	.400	.429	.650	1.079	20	3	8	2	1	0	1	13	1
Adrian Gonzalez	.333	.429	.708	1.137	24	4	8	3	2	0	0	17	3
Aaron Hill	.125	.222	.250	.472	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
Russell Martin	.364	.611	.727	1.338	11	5	4	1	1	0	0	8	6
Hunter Pence	.095	.095	.238	.333	21	2	2	2	1	0	0	5	0
Carlos Quentin	.333	.538	.611	1.150	18	7	6	3	1	0	0	11	5
Alexei Ramirez	.182	.182	.227	.409	22	1	4	0	0	0	0	5	0
Chris Snyder	.300	.300	.700	1.000	10	2	3	5	1	0	0	7	0
Andres Torres	.000	.250	.000	.250	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Juan Uribe	.350	.440	.450	.890	20	5	7	4	0	1	1	9	4
David Wright	.263	.481	.474	.955	19	4	5	3	1	0	2	9	8
TOTAL	.298	.404	.513	.917	228	42	68	32	11	3	4	117	36

PITCHERS (Change Display Statistics)

Name	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	SO	ERA	WHIP	BS	Hold	R	ER	PA	AB	H	HR	TB	BB	UBB	IBB	HBP	SF	SH	DP	H9	SO9	HR9
Mark Buehrle	.216	.259	.275	.534	2	2	15.0	2	0	0	4	2.40	0.93	0	0	4	4	55	51	11	0	14	3	3	0	0	0	1	4	6.60	2.40	0.00
Luke Gregerson	.429	.500	.571	1.071	2	0	1.3	0	0	0	1	20.25	3.00	0	0	3	3	8	7	3	0	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	20.25	6.75	0.00
Kenshin Kawakami	.217	.250	.304	.554	1	1	6.0	0	1	0	1	3.00	1.00	0	0	3	2	24	23	5	0	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	7.50	1.50	0.00
Nick Masset	.214	.389	.429	.817	4	0	4.0	1	0	0	6	11.25	1.75	0	0	5	5	18	14	3	1	6	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	6.75	13.50	2.25
Brian Matusz	.143	.350	.143	.493	1	1	5.0	1	0	0	7	3.60	1.40	0	0	2	2	20	14	2	0	2	5	5	0	0	1	0	0	3.60	12.60	0.00
Jose Mijares	.444	.500	1.111	1.611	4	0	2.0	0	0	0	2	9.00	2.50	0	2	2	2	11	9	4	2	10	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	18.00	9.00	9.00
Kevin Millwood	.269	.283	.538	.821	2	2	12.7	0	1	0	11	2.13	1.18	0	0	6	3	53	52	14	4	28	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	9.95	7.82	2.84
Jamie Moyer	.333	.357	.593	.950	1	1	6.0	1	0	0	0	7.50	1.67	0	0	5	5	28	27	9	2	16	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	13.50	0.00	3.00
Darren Oliver	.167	.167	.667	.833	3	0	1.7	0	0	0	1	5.40	0.60	0	0	1	1	6	6	1	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5.40	5.40	5.40
Ramon Ramirez	.556	.600	1.000	1.600	3	0	1.3	0	0	0	0	33.75	4.50	0	0	5	5	10	9	5	1	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	33.75	0.00	6.75
Francisco Rodriguez	.182	.308	.182	.490	3	0	3.0	0	0	0	3	0.00	1.00	0	0	0	0	13	11	2	0	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	6.00	9.00	0.00
Jonathan Sanchez	.368	.429	.421	.850	1	1	4.3	0	0	0	6	6.23	2.08	0	0	3	3	22	19	7	0	8	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	14.54	12.46	0.00
Ben Sheets	.341	.429	.561	.990	2	2	11.0	0	0	0	4	4.09	1.91	0	0	6	5	49	41	14	1	23	7	7	0	0	1	0	2	11.45	3.27	0.82
TOTAL	.283	.348	.470	.818	29	10	73.3	5	2	0	46	4.91	1.47	0	2	45	40	317	283	80	12	133	28	27	1	1	2	3	6	9.82	5.65	1.47

PADRES VS. D'BACKS - LIVE BLOG

I am at Chase Field in Phoenix for game 3 of this scintillating early season matchup between San Diego and Arizona. Why? Because I can.

I parked in Level 4 of the attached parking garage. That's more for my information than yours. White Malibu, temporary plates. Got it.

The first thing I did was buy a Chris Snyder t-shirt. He's a Gunslinger, of course. I'm currently watching him play catch with a guy named Sherlock. He gets a rare start tonight, which worked out pretty nice.

My seats are two rows from the field down the left field line. If I'm ever getting a foul ball, this has got to be the game.

Padres lineup tonight:
Cabrera, SS
Eckstein, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B (the other Slinger in the house)
Blanks, LF
Headley, 3B
Venable, RF
Hairston, CF
Torrealba, C
Correia, P

For the D'backs:
Johnson, 2B
Drew, SS
Upton, RF
LaRoche, 1B
Reynolds, 3B
Young, CF
Parra, LF
Snyder, C
Kennedy, P

Correia was one of the few decent starters available in the 2010 draft. I think somebody has Kennedy, but I forget who.

I nearly lollygagged my way to a late arrival because of the curious Arizona non-daylight saving time zone.

The roof is staying open! I'm going to freeze my ass off.

The Mets are returning the favor tonight and getting pasted 6-1 by the Marlins.

Man, I have never been this close to a major league field.

Alexa Juarez did the National Anthem. I'm almost positive she was reading off the centerfield scoreboard. Play ball!

Top 1st
Ian Kennedy Circle-K's the side around a David Eckstein double. Eckstein stood on second base very grittily and possibly scrappily as well.

SDG 0, ARI coming up

Bottom 1st
Leadoff homer for former Brave Kelly Johnson, to straightaway center. Nice shot! Correia gets the rest in order, including a couple of 3-unassisteds to Gonzalez.

SDG 0, ARI 1

Top 2nd
A pair of quick singles by Headley and Venable, followed by a cheap homer to shallow left by Scott Hairston as the Pads take the lead.  Kennedy retired the final three, striking out two more. I'm pretty sure this time we really do get something free for five more K's.  Meanwhile gnats have descended en masse. I'd rather have Nats, although they would be more boring.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Bottom 2nd
Gerardo Parra doubled off the wall, but the rest of the Snakes hit routine flies, and left Parra stranded.

The Mets have made it 6-5, and are still batting! They won't win.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Top 3rd
Eck almost hit it here twice before grounding out.  The Mets tied it! They won't win.

A-Gon hit a double right in front of me. Kennedy struck out the next two, to give him seven. Now some kids in hot dog costumes are racing.  I'm taking relish. Mustard won. Typical.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Bottom 3rd
Kelly Johnson is halfway to the cycle with a single, and then erased on a fielder's choice. Another FC ends the inning.

K-Rod negotiates the top of the 9th for the Mets. They won't win.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Top 4t:h
Hairston hits a grounder to third, Reynolds boots it, and somehow it's scored a hit. Now Hairston is halfway to the cycle. Hairston is also erased on a FC that should have been a DP. Correia rips a single to
left. Hairston's reach-on-error is finally corrected. The Padres manage to not strike out, but don't score either.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Bottom 4th
Arizona wastes a single by Chris Young.

The Mets are still batting in the bottom of the 9th. They won't win.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Top 5th
I peed and then got a caramel apple. The Pads went 1-2-3 while I went #1.

SDG 3, ARI 1

Bottom 5th


Kelly Johnson screws up the cycle with...another homer! This one was a two-run shot, and the game is tied.

The Mets are trailing 7-6. They won't win.

SDG 3, ARI 3

Top 6th
Jordan Norberto now pitching for Arizona.

Guess what? The Mets lost.

Norberto gets two outs, and now Blaine Boyer is in there. I have no idea why they lifted Norberto. It's a little early for situational pitching changes. Only A. J. Hich knows.  Great play by Stephen Drew to his right! Pads out 1-2-3 again.

SDG 3, ARI 3

Bottom 6th


Chris Young the outfielder hits a two-out solo home run while Chris Young the pitcher watches in the dugout.

SDG 3, ARI 4

Top 7th
Aaron "The Big Suck" Heilman now pitching for the D'Backs. This should be interesting.  Heilman, just to piss me off, gets the Pads out in order.  I'm staying to see Snyder's next AB, and then I have to beat the
Suns/Spurs traffic from next door and get to bed by 10pm. I'm a wild man.

SDG 3, ARI 4

Bottom 7th
Snyder singles! And that'll end it on a good note. Blue Malibu, Level 3, right?

(The D'Backs went on to win 5-3 while I was driving all over creation trying to get back to the hotel.)

TEAM EVALUATIONS: ASSASSINS

Team: Assassins

Conference: Liberty

Division: North

2009 Record: 89-73, 2nd Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Derrek Lee

2B Alberto Callaspo/Luis Castillo

SS Jimmy Rollins

3B Pablo Sandoval

LF Manny Ramirez/Chris Dickerson

CF Matt Kemp

RF Ichiro Suzuki

C Jorge Posada/Chris Iannetta

DH Mark Reynolds

Great lineup.  The only hole is maybe LF defense, and the fact that Manny can't play everyday, but other than that, it looks solid as can be.  These guys will seriously rake.

Starting Rotation:

Johan Santana

Scott Baker

Jason Hammel

Aaron Cook

Ryan Rowland-Smith/Josh Outman

Probably the biggest weakness on a very strong team.  Santana is obviously an ace, but he only made 25 starts, meaning there will be too many starts by the other guys, who aren't nearly as good.  Rowland-Smith and Outman will combine for a very capable 5th starter.

Bullpen:

Burke Badenhop

Sean Burnett

Kiko Calero

Manny Corpas

Brandon Lyon

Ryan Madson

A lot of depth here, and other than Corpas, all capable of high-leverage innings.  Calero was a draft-day steal.

Closer:

J.P. Howell

Not a superior closer, but still should be more than adequate.

Minors:

None.

The Assassins will not be getting younger any time soon, so they better get it together this year.

I don't think the Assassins quite have what it takes to topple the Sawyers for the Liberty pennant, but they should at least get to compete for it.  I think they will win the North division on the strength of the lineup and lose in the Conference Championship series because of the lack of starting pitching.

Predicted Record: 92-70

AND SO IT BEGINS...AND SUCKS

The Gunslingers are off to a typical start for 2010.  Ramon S. Ramirez came in to face Derek Jeter, and gave up a single.  He retired Nick Johnson to end the 6th inning, but then came back in the 7th to ignite the Bombers third and final scoring rally of the night by giving up a leadoff walk to Mark Teixeira and a double to A-Rod before giving way to lefty Hideki Okajima.  Okajima allowed both inherited runners to score on a ground out and a single.  Thus, while Okajima's line looks good, Ramirez's looks like day-old doody (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO).  The vagaries of relief pitching strike again.  I wouldn't mind it if I also had Okajima and got the benefits of his "scoreless" inning of work, but of course, he is on another team.  I can't really complain, though.  My guy came in to face four batters and three reached base.  Any way you dissect it, it's not a good outing.

On to better news.  Here are the final Spring Training stats for the Gunslingers:

How about that Mike Trout?  Nobody has torn through the southwestern US like that at such a young age since Billy The Kid.  All four hits were for extra bases!

The offense and pitching both finished strong, if you recall from last week's numbers.  We raised the OPS from .830 to .868 and lowered the ERA from 5.05 to 4.24.  The WHIP is still pretty bad at 1.42, but I love the SO/BB ratio.  I'm still very concerned about Adrian Gonzalez and Bobby Abreu.  Bobby had all sorts of aches and pains and could be in his first big decline year, and Adrian is only half-heartedly thinking about his future with the Padres, which should be brief.  I also don't like the looks of Kevin Millwood.  We'll find out a lot more about him this afternoon.

TEAM EVALUATIONS: HIGHLANDERS

Team: Highlanders

Conference: Liberty

Division: North

2009 Record: 103-59, 1st Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Kevin Youkilis

2B Skip Schumaker/Nick Punto

SS Erick Aybar/Nick Punto

3B Chipper Jones/Mark DeRosa

LF Lastings Milledge/Skip Schumaker

CF Marlon Byrd

RF Jeff Francoeur

C Jason Kendall/Ryan Hanigan

DH Hideki Matsui/Kyle Blanks

Youk, Chipper, Byrd, Aybar, and Matsui are a solid base, but there are some real sinkholes in there with Kendall, Milledge, Punto and Francoeur.  It'll be difficult to keep all of those guys out of the lineup because of usage issues, which will severely detract from run production.

Starting Rotation:

Jered Weaver

Jeff Niemann

Doug Davis

Ricky Romero

Jose Contreras/Chad Gaudin

Rick VandenHurk/Dustin Nippert

Weaver is a borderline ace, and Niemann will be one soon, but the rest of the rotation is below average and will struggle mightily.  The less Contreras pitches, the better, and there are some slightly better options.

Bullpen:

Kris Medlen

Brandon Morrow

Chad Gaudin

Dustin Nippert

Really thin and terrible.  No lead is safe with this pen.

Closer:

Ramon Troncoso

Probably the league's worst.

Minors:

Ike Davis

Kyle Drabek

Jeremy Hellickson

Ryan Kalish

Angel Salome

Davis should be a viable option at 1B when Chipper retires and Youk moves to 3B.  Drabek is on the fast track to the top of the Blue Jays rotation. and Hellickson will get his shot with the Rays this year.  Kalish is a high-OBP guy that fits in well with the Red Sox prototype.  Salome dropped behind Jonathan Lucroy in the Brewers catching depth chart, but still has some promise.  The two excellent pitching prospects are especially sorely needed.

The Highlanders find themselves in a very deep hole after last year's superb showing.  I'm projecting them to take the biggest fall, and to actually reverse their win and loss totals from last year.  That may be overly harsh, but there are some really good teams in their conference, and their overall OPS and WHIP do not portend much success this year.

Predicted Record: 59-103

WRIGHT HERE ALMOST RIGHT NOW

David Wright went deep off Marlins ace Josh Johnson, and Aaron Hill left the yard against Phillies ace Roy Halladay.  Bring on Johan Santana, Jair Jurrjens and whoever the "ace" of the Nats might be, we'll take on the whole NL East!  Juan Uribe added his third spring homer to the fiesta (Andres Torres hit yet another double in that game).  Russell "Turtle" Martin emerged from his shell and got back into real spring baseball, going 0-for-2.  Absolutely none of my pitchers appeared yesterday.

Only three more days until it counts!  The Yankees and Red Sox have a Sunday night game, and thankfully, it's not in Japan or some other ridiculous place.  Ramon S. Ramirez will be the only eligible Gunslinger, assuming he goes north.  The two highest payrolls in the game, and I have a total of one guy, a non-closer reliever, from either team.  Maybe that's where I've failed.  Well, that's one of the ways I've failed, for sure.

TEAM EVALUATIONS: QUAKES

Team: Quakes

Conference: Patriot

Division: West

2009 Record: 67-95, 3rd Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Daniel Murphy

2B Macier Izturis/Delwyn Young

SS Yunel Escobar

3B Aramis Ramirez/Josh Fields

LF Raul Ibanez

CF Willy Taveras/Scott Podsednick

RF Garrett Anderson

C Ramon Hernandez/Nick Hundley/Chris Coste

DH Magglio Ordonez/Mike Jacobs/Jim Thome

That's a really poor lineup, especially with Taveras, Podsednick and Anderson putting the "out" in outfield.  Escobar, Ibanez and Ramirez in a limited role will be helpful, but the rest are below par.

Starting Rotation:

Ted Lilly

Justin Verlander

Ryan Dempster

A.J. Burnett

Hiroki Kuroda/Clayton Richard

Not bad at all.  In fact, quite good.  Lilly, Dempster, and Verlander are a quality trio, and the rest will fill in with average to above-average innings.

Bullpen:

Chad Durbin

Mark Lowe

Edward Mujica

Joe Smith

John Rauch

Not anything special, but not a mess by any means.  They should keep the Quakes in the game most of the time.

Closer:

LaTroy Hawkins

Hawkins had a great year last year, but didn't actually close a lot of games for the Astros, so that will limit his effectiveness in this role in Strat.  He should be decent at worst, though.

Minors:

None

Not a good sign.  Ian Desmond will be a rookie at SS this year for the Nationals, but this is one position the Quakes don't really need, as young and talented as Escobar is.

It will be a long, tough year for the Quakes as they navigate the same division as the Chuggers and Mammoths.  With that starting pitching, I expect they will do decently outside the division, but may lose 90% of their games against the beasts of the Patriot West with such a weak lineup.

Predicted Record: 77-85

START THE SEASON ALREADY!

It was a pretty auspicious day in Gunslingers-land.  First, Miguel Cabrera slugged a couple of homers off a guy I almost drafted but didn't, Brad Bergeson.  Then Mark Buehrle and Ben Sheets faced each other and gave up only one run between them in 10 and one-third innings (although Sheets walked five).  Carlos Quentin homered in that game, and it wasn't off Sheets, amazingly.  Aaron Hill  also homered yesterday.  Finally, Jamie Moyer was named to the fifth starter spot for the Phillies, which means I will have six active starting pitchers as of Opening Day (with Buehrle and Kevin Millwood actually starting on Opening Day).  Let's get this party started!  Until the inevitable collapse, anyway.

I've determined that I will be going way over in assigning win totals in my team evaluations, and I went back and re-figured it.  I didn't bother to update the posts, because if anybody from the league reads them, I usually overestimated the wins and made the team look better than they probably are. I left myself with about 65 wins even after I re-figured everything, which might be depressingly accurate.

TEAM EVALUATIONS: SAWYERS

Team: Sawyers

Conference: Liberty

Division: Northeast

2009 Record: 89-73, 2nd Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Justin Morneau

2B Brian Roberts

SS Troy Tulowitzki

3B Andy LaRoche

LF Jason Bay

CF Jacoby Ellsbury

RF Ben Zobrist

C Geovany Soto/Kelly Shoppach/Gregg Zaun

DH Ryan Howard/Denard Span/Ryan Church

Truly awesome.  All-Stars everywhere, with Morneau, Tulowitzki, Howard, Bay, and the versatile Zobrist.  The defense is equally outstanding, with hardly a weak link anywhere.  About the only criticism is 3B, where LaRoche is a bit of an out machine, although he does provides good defense.  Also, Soto had an off year, and his backups aren't that great either.

Starting Rotation:

Javier Vazquez

Dan Haren

Jon Lester

Gavin Floyd

Jorge De La Rosa

The top three are about as good as any top three in our league, and Floyd and De La Rosa are no worse than average.  The Sawyers will have a lot of games wrapped up after seven innings with this offense and this staff.

Bullpen:

Rafael Betancourt

Carlos Marmol

Peter Moylan

Eric O'Flaherty

Huston Street

Marmol and Moylan are only maybe a little better than average, but O'Flaherty, Betancourt, and either Street or Papelbon for the 8th inning should be sufficient to get the Sawyers to the closer.

Closer:

Jonathan Papelbon

One of the game's best.  Street could just as easily do the honors, which should help with some playoff matchups.

Minors:

Jake Arrieta

Lonnie Chisenhall

Hank Conger

Casey Kelly

Dustin McGowan

Mike Stanton

The Sawyers have methodically built a powerhouse team since joining the league, improving every year, and this crop of minor leaguers shows no slowdown to that process.  Stanton will be a fixture in the outfield for years, and Arrieta, Kelly, and McGowan should contribute solid innings in the near future.  Conger is close to being ready to bolster the catching position, and Chisenhall will hope to supplant LaRoche at 3B soon.

This club is poised to take it up one more notch and capture the Liberty Northeast crown from a declining Coruscant team.  I don't see any superior teams in their way from the rest of the conference, so look for them to meet the survivor of the Mammoths/Chuggers series in the USSP World Series.  They should compete well there, but fall a bit short.

Predicted Record: 99-63

TROUT MAKES AN OUT

Jonathan Sanchez continued his bipolar act, swinging to the good side with an 11 K outing against the Brewers in six innings.  The next opponent gets bad Jonathan, which will be a regular season game, if my luck holds up.

Alexi Ramirez had three singles and a stolen base.  Mike Trout made his first out of the spring, but also got a single, which lowered his BA to .667.  I'm not sure what he's still doing in the major league camp.  He should be starting the season in high A or AA, and he's not moving Torii Hunter out of CF any time soon.  I just found out that Trout is from Millville, NJ.  I played an over 30-league game in Millville once.  I probably played on the same field he played at.

Less than a week to real baseball!

TEAM EVALUATIONS: FISHFLIES

Team: Fishflies

Conference: Patriot

Division: Central

2009 Record: 91-71, 2nd Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Joey Votto/Aubrey Huff

2B Ian Kinsler

SS Elvis Andrus/Reid Brignac

3B Alex Rodriguez/Michael Young

LF Johnny Damon

CF Randy Winn

RF David Murphy/Josh Anderson

C Kurt Suzuki/Dioner Navarro

DH Aubrey Huff/Michael Young/Alex Rodriguez

Votto, Kinsler, A-Rod and Young are spectacular, but the outfield is mediocre at best, and the fewer AB to Dioner Navarro, the better.  Defensively, it looks pretty good, except in LF with Damon.  

Starting Rotation:

Josh Johnson

John Danks

Joe Blanton

Ricky Nolasco

Jake Peavy/Mark Rzepczynski

Wade Davis/John Niese/Chris Young

It's better than all the names makes it look, although having nine guys who can start is something to be envious of.  Johnson is an ace and Danks is better than average.  Blanton and Nolasco are effective innings munchers, and the combinations of Peavy and Rzepczynski and the Davis/Niese/Young will get people out.

Bullpen:

Craig Breslow

Tim Byrdak

Darren O'Day

Jose Valverde

Sean White

Great versatility with O'Day coming sidearm from the right side and Byrdak missing a lot of lefty bats, plus Breslow and White getting righties out and Valverde also able to close.  This is a major strength.

Closer:

Francisco Cordero

Better than average and should be in a lot of games.

Minors:

Jason Heyward

Will Myers

Michael Taylor

Jaff Decker

Heyward is ready now and will move right into the Fishflies weak RF spot and put up big numbers.  Taylor, Myers, and Decker are longer-range prospects that can all play.  The lack of pitching prospects is probably a conscious strategy, and shouldn't be a problem in the short term.

The nine starters, the bullpen, and the stars in the infield will carry the Fishflies to a lot of wins.  I expect them to take the division, and then bow out gracefully to the Chuggers in round one of the playoffs.

Expected Record: 96-66

SPRING STATS, PART IV

This will probably we the final Spring Stats, since next Monday is Opening Day, and I won't care any more.  Then again, maybe I will.  We'll leave that open.

OFFENSE

The good: The team OPS of .839 is encouraging.  The 83 SO/64 BB ratio is excellent.  Miguel Cabrera, Aaron Hill and Hunter Pence are raking.  Andres Torres will never supplant Aaron Rowand in CF for the Giants, but it isn't because of his bat.  David Wright has picked it up.

The bad:  Bobby Abreu and Adrian Gonzalez look terrible.  Bobby never starts strong, but I'm hoping Gonzalez isn't in "Operation Shutdown" until San Diego finally trades him.  I can't really afford that.  Russell Martin may struggle until he gets a few swings in, which, given his poor start last year, isn't helpful.

PITCHING

The good:  Mark Buehrle, Kenshin Kawakami and Jamie Moyer have been outstanding.  Luke Gregerson, Nick Masset, and Darren Oliver are right where they need to be.  He's not shown here, but Francsico Rodriguez has also been sharp.  I like the 117 SO/48 BB ratio.

The bad: The team ERA of 5.05 and team WHIP of 1.52 are awful, but Spring Training is usually a hitter's paradise.  Kevin Millwood and  Ben Sheets might make this a brutally long season for me.  Andrew Miller was sent down, and Jose Mijares and Ramon S. Ramirez got shelled regularly.  Jonathan Sanchez will drive me crazy again this year, it appears.

I'll do another team evaluation later.

TEAM EVALUATIONS: FURS

Team: Furs

Conference: Liberty

Division: Northeast

2009 Record: 69-93, 5th Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Nick Swisher/Daric Barton

2B Clint Barmes

SS Marco Scutaro/Jose Reyes

3B Pedro Feliz

LF Carlos Lee

CF Franklin Gutierrez/Cody Ross

RF Juan Rivera/Jay Bruce

C Rod Barajas/Omir Santos

DH Travis Hafner/Rickie Weeks

They have two of the best fielding CF in the league, but they both can't play at the same time.  Feliz is a gaping hole offensively at 3B, and Swisher is out of position at 1B.  Barmes is a decent defender at 2B, but he didn't hit much.  Scutaro is a little better at SS.  Lee and Rivera should hit well, but they are liabilities in the field.  The DH and C positions aren't very strong offensively relative to the rest of the league.  As a whole, the lineup has possibilities, but is maybe only average or slightly below, with an uneven defense.

Starting Rotation:

Adam Wainwright

Ubaldo Jimenez

Barry Zito

Trevor Cahill

Carl Pavano

The rotation starts out very strong with a couple of genuine aces, but then peters out at the end.  Wainwright and Jimenez should win a ton of games and keep the Furs above water.  Cahill and Pavano will be trying to sink them every fifth day, though.

Bullpen:

Alfredo Aceves

Phil Coke

Lance Cormier

Jeff Fulchino

Fernando Rodney

Not bad.  Aceves, Fulchino and Cormier will do the bulk of the setting up, and Rodney can also close.

Closer:

Bobby Jenks

The big man is still pretty effective.

Minors:

Carlos Carrasco

Freddie Freeman

Austin Jackson

Mike Leake

Josh Vitters

Either Freeman or Vitters should solve the 1B problem pretty soon, and Jackson is yet another fleet-footed CF that could be used as trade bait.  Leake will probably start as a rookie for the Reds coming out of Spring Training in 2010, and Carrasco looks ready to step into an important role in the Indians rotation.  It's a small but talented collection that fills some needs.

The Furs look very much improved from 2009, and should be in the mix for a playoff spot behind OshKosh in the competitive Liberty Northeast.  I think they will battle the Senators to the wire, and possibly lose out at the end, mostly because of the relatively weak offense.

Predicted Record: 88-74

MILLER LOW LIFE

It's official.  Andrew Miller was shipped out to the New Orleans Zephyrs, having booted away whatever slim chance he had to make the Marlins starting rotation.  This may be the last we see of Andrew, yet another casualty in my long quest for decent starting pitching.

On a better note, Kenshin Kawakami and Mark Buehrle both had strong starts.  Kawakami worked six shutout innings, while Buehrle allowed no earned runs in five innings.  Luke Gregerson picked up a save in that same game, and Nick Masset worked a scoreless inning in Tuscon.

Hunter Pence had a double among his three hits against the Phillies for the only offensive highlight for the Slingers on Thursday.  Russell Martin caught four innings in a AA game, and it looks like he should have no trouble making it back in time for Opening Day.

TEAM EVALUATIONS: MAMMOTHS

Team: Mammoths

Conference: Patriot

Division: West

2009 Record: 117-45, 1st Place

Typical Lineup:

1B Albert Pujols

2B Dustin Pedroia

SS Stephen Drew

3B Alex Gordon/Scott Rolen

LF Corey Hart/Matt Diaz

CF Vernon Wells

RF J.D. Drew/Seth Smith

C Joe Mauer

DH Jason Kubel/Carlos Pena

Un-freaking-believable.  You have to credit the owner for amassing this wealth of talent.  Absolute studs everywhere you look.  Pujols, Mauer, Pedroia, all MVP's.  Makes you want to gouge your eyes out in jealousy.  Even the backups are better than my guys.

Starting Rotation:

Zack Greinke

Tim Lincecum

Yovani Gallardo

Matt Garza

Rich Harden

BOTH Cy Young winners!  It just keeps getting worse for us opponents.  Rich Harden is his FIFTH starter!  I would kill for Rich Harden.

Bullpen:

Grant Balfour

Brian Wilson

Sergio Romo

Matt Thornton

Gah!  Eyes almost out completely now!

Closer:

Jonathan Broxton/Heath Bell

All gone now.  Typing by feel only.

Minors:

Kenny Diekroeger

Jeff Francis

Anthony Rendon

As if he needs any more talent.

The Mammoths will subdue, crush and destroy this league.  The only possible obstacle will be the Chuggers, who can't quite match up to all the ways the Mammoths can beat you.  Then it will be an easy romp to the World Series title over the Liberty Conference winner.

Predicted Record: 125-37