Greatest Team Ever - Season 3 Deuce Droppers vs Season 10 Reds

These two teams were chosen because they were the two championship teams with the best regular season records. Amazingly close but the Deuce Droppers takes the win.

Power Rankings Part 2

It is early but some big name teams are missing including teams like the Cubs, Blue Jays, Corn Dogs, Yankees, Caballeros and Brewers. Pretty cool to see some new teams moving up.

1. Cincinnati Reds - Currently 6 games up on the Pirates in the NL North. Off to hot start. Rocky Spencer is on fire right now. Recently got swept in a 3 game series against the PnBs. Losing Miguel Rodrigo for 15 days isn't going to help.
Previous Ranking: 1
Record: 19-7

2. Salem Volcanoes - Currently 2 games up on the Caballeros in the NL West. Probably the biggest surprise of the season so far. I completely overlooked them, but they have a very talented rotation and lineup. Although they did win their division last season they still could the Rays or Cardinals of MLB this season.
Previous Ranking: UR
Record: 17-9

3. Colorado Rockies - Probably the most potent lineup in the league. Rockies pitching will need to improve though. If their pitching improves they will be tough to beat.
Previous Ranking: 4
Record: 16-10

4. Santa Fe Good Will - Best record in the AL and leading the very competitive AL South (even the Fightin Armadillos aren't half bad). Pitching will need to improve if they want to stay on top of the AL South, but they aren't having any problems scoring runs.
Previous Ranking: 10
Record: 17-9

5. Cleveland Indians - The Injuns are off to a hot start this season. Very similar to season 10 start. Their pitching has been superb but they need to find a way to score some runs. Currently they are tied with the PnBs in the NL East.
Previous Ranking: UR
Record: 16-10

6. Las Vegas Slobs - Currently sitting in 2nd in the AL West one game back of the #5 ranked Rockies. The Slobs are better than their record. Offense has been solid. Their leading the league in team era. At this point defense seems to be their only real weakness.
Previous Ranking: 6
Record: 15-11

7. Atlanta Pork N Beans - Offense is off to slow a slow start. Bullpen has already blown a league high 7 saves. Once these problems are fixed this may be a halfway decent team.
Previous Ranking: 7
Record: 16-10

8. Houston Astros - Currently 1 game up on the Swingers in the NL South. Pitching is probably their biggest weakness at this point. That should be reassuring to the Astros because guys like Dan Hitchcock, Mel Wagner, and Jared Herrera are all quality pitchers. Omar Elcano has been extremely impressive this season. Looks like he really wants to win another CY Young.
Previous Ranking: 3
Record: 15-11

9. Omaha Lancers - The Lancers are currently 1 game back of the Rockies in the AL West. My compliments to Chaz for a great start to the season. The Lancers really came out nowhere.
Previous Ranking: UR
Record: 15-11

10. Tampa Bay Rays - Currently 3 games back of the Good Will in the AL South. The Rays have a great rotation. Ken Shumpert has the potential to be one of the best starters in the league. Their lineup is solid but not quite to the level of their pitching.
Previous Ranking: UR
Record: 14-12

Trade Details Analyzed

I haven't made up my mind about this trade quite yet. It is kind of an odd one, like some of mine, so lets examine it closely and see what results I come up with.

Mets:
Dale Stevenson - Could be a closer or Setup B type pitcher at the ML some day. A slow progress player until now because of his control. With 5 years experience, it will take the rest of this year in the minors under a good pitching coach and about 60+ IP's to help his splits and control. He does have 3 good pitches, but having success at the ML this season would be a real long shot. A good ML career may or may not happen.

Vancouver:
Manny Castillo - Actually this pitcher has control and some pitches but the splits are barely above average. The key problem is defined in his stats. He gives up the long ball because of his 3rd pitch being out of whack. If he was moved to the pen and a good PC catcher may evade this problem and become a good 2 inning reliever. This could be the only chance solution as he would never succeed as a starter. Bad salary to take a chance.

Miguel Lee - Listed as a 2B, a position he could never play at the ML level. COF/1B is about the only positions he could really play. Could be decent hitter with a little power. Biggest drawback is his health as he has hit the DL once and would take training and medical to keep him from losing as his makeup isn't the greatest to forestall loss.

Billy Montgomery - On the surface to me he is ML ready and is stalled out and unhappy about the situation. COF is about the only thing he could play. Doesn't have great power but will give left handed pitchers fits but controlled by most right handed pitchers.

Teams: Scouting is very deficient on both sides.

Analysis: Plain and simple it is a salary dump with Montgomery as a prize and Lee as somewhat of a bonus. I wouldn't really call this a trade rape either. But two prospects for a long shot nothing pitcher is a little over the top even if one of the prospects is a risk.

Rule 5 Hall of Fame

Records before Season 5 are not available so we will pick it up from there. Players that are still active are the only ones that will make the list. From Season 5 through Season 8 over 50% of Rule 5 players are no longer active. Many get put back in the minors after a season or less, some get bounced between the minors and trades. Some get a second chance at a ML career after a year or so. Most fulfill a bench role and do not get a big chance to play and their intrinsic value is not seen or has not been seen. But here is a list of the best that has made it and stuck with a ML team. There are a couple players that have been drafted more than once in Rule 5.

Season 5
Mendy Hughes - Currently with Vancouver, has had a good career in the pen with a 29-14 record with 10 saves out of 19.

Season 6
Stephen O'Brien - Currently with St. Louis, has a 10-6 record working out of the pen.
Tommy Mailman - Currently with Las Vegas, has had a good career as a backstop with a .282 average.

Season 7
Grant Simon - Currently with St. Louis and has compiled a 37-26 record.
Reggie Kreuter - Currently with Santa Cruz and has maintained a .312 average.
Matt Wise - Currently with Pittsburgh and has maintained a .303 average.

Season 8
John Prinz - Currently with Salt Lake City and has maintained a .309 average.
Ned Grebeck - Currently with Monterrey and has a record of 18-9 with 22 saves in 25 opportunities.
Lawrence Dawkins - Currently with Cleveland with a record of 12-6 and 10 saves in 16 opportunities.
Kory Governale Currently with Cleveland with a record of 8-10 and 42 saves in 52 opportunities.

Season 9
Andres Coronado - Currently with Pittsburgh and has compiled a 5-5 record with 48 saves in 54 tries.

Season 10
Stephen O'Brien - Currently with St. Louis has a record of 10-6 with 2 complete games.

Falling Rocks!

The Rockies continue to purge their previously solid rotation for young players and cap relief. With 3/5ths of the Rotation gone in deals, the Rockies will be hard pressed to return to the playoffs a third year.

Gm KB is on the hot seat after pushing the budget to the limit and finding he had nothing left for promotions or call ups in case of injuries. With Dali, Sanders, Perry & CF Kotsay headed out of town, the Rockies will have their hands full trying to fill those holes.

Thanks to some earlier trades the Rockies should be able to replace Kotsay without missing a beat. Cf will be manned by Lackey, Adams, & Thurman. The pitching on the other hand is going to be a patchwork of Reed, Benson, & borderline ML players. Its a good thing the bullpen is strong with Veterans Bunch, Roth, Owen, & Marte. The Rockies hope Frank Kim is ready for a Full time starting job and it looks like Halladay, the long reliever will get a chance to start also. Should be a lot of 10-8 scores on the horizon and the playoffs are no longer assured.

With a lesson learned and a barren minors slightly restocked, the news is not all bad. The Rockies hope they can find a way to return to the playoffs in spite of the bumbling moves of their GM. Playing in Colorado, anything can happen. If all else fails, watch your heads!

Salt Lake City Multiple Spouses Preview

As usual the Sposes' offense should score a good amount of runs, and unfortunately, also as usual, the pitching staff should give up a bunch of runs...

Team Song: Bad Boys

C - Catching duties will be split between Danny Kinney and Don Lee, who last season combined for 32 HRs and 126 RBIs. Management will be very happy with that kind of production again

1B - John Prinz - Prinz had a very nice season with 200 + hits , a batting average over .300 and close to 100 RBI. If he falters this season, Jorge Melendez, who came over in a trade from Toronto, is waiting in the wings.

2B - With the trade of last seasons' starting 2B, Yamis Maranon, the position is up for grabs. Dizzy Lilly (gotta love the name) and Clarence McEnroe are fighting it out for the position in ST. Currently it looks like Lilly has the edge.

3B - Hayes Carasone - if he can stay healthy he'll get most of the innings at 3B. If he can't, Fred Wilson will get most of the innings. With 93 HRs and 250 RBI in the last 2 seasons, Wilson needs to be in the lineup somewhere. It will usually be either 3B or RF.

SS - Juan Barajas - defensively reliable, Brajas had a fantastic season at the plate last year. Management will be thrilled if he comes anywhere close to matching those numbers this season

LF - Marshall Hunter - after a splendid rookie season, Hunter had a severe case of the sophomore slump. His offensive numbers fell off in almost every category. The Spouses need Hunter to get the offense started and look for a bounce back season from him.

CF - Jeff Brooks - Brooks has averaged 25 2B, 6 3B, 44 HRs and 123 RBIs per season with .284/.367/.611 numbers to go along with his gold glove defense. Another season of those numbers would be fine.

RF - Zephyr Roosevelt - Roosevelt seems to be breaking down and slowing down as he ages. IF he can't stay heal;thy and perform well, the afore mentioned Fred Wilson will probably get most of the RF playing time.

Starting Pitching - The staring rotation still has not been set, which is probably not a good sign this late in ST. Fighting for spots in the rotation are Samuel Martin , Dizzy Austin, Justin Sadler, A.J. Davis, R.J. Molina, Alex Garza, Rob Cambridge, and Clay Griffith. The bullpen has closer Earl Miller and Rigo Pineiro, Che Shigetoshi, Victor Blanco, rule V pickup Matt Shaw and who ever doesn't make the starting rotation. The real problem here is all the starters can keep the team in a game, but the Spouses need that ace/stopper and have been unable to trade for one or sign a free agent.

3 Suspects Charged in Tomato Case

Three over zealous Indian fans charged in the tomato assault of Hub Strange. Hub immediately asked for a trade from Cleveland where fans have been less than friendly toward him. He has since dropped assault charges against the unruly fans, but the hanging judge in the case sentenced them to 15 days jail, 81 days community service as court food only vendors at the stadium and their season tickets forfeited to orphanage services for the season. "This should warn other unruly fans that the law will intercede and take away their stadium game watching privileges." said the judge with consternation. Defense lawyers immediately filed for an appeal stating the punishment was too harsh.

Cleveland management immediately received several offers upon hearing of the situation, but nothing definite until the Good Will stepped in and offered the unwanted and refurbished Bart Ross. Cleveland's advanced scouting liked Ross so much they parlayed with management to throw in Courtney Haynes to make the deal more enticing. Management agreed though half heartedly, as Haynes was well on his way of becoming the much needed 4th or 5th starter of the future.