Name Change in Tampa

At the request of Cbrese a poll was created to help determine the new name of the Tampa franchise. These were all names recommended by the league. Cbrese will change his team name to the team name receiving the most votes. In the case of a tie Cbrese has the right to determine the name between the two tying names.

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

First off welcome to our four new owners. Hopefully you enjoy the league as much as the rest of the owners.

Vancouver Canadians - The Seattle Pilots are now the Canadians after the departure of long time owner dreyf and the addition of new owner davisbrian. The Canadians franchise has struggled since winning the division is seasons 3 and 4. The team is in really good shape with some solid young talent to build around. Bryan Whitaker, and Jared Herrera are very good young starting pitchers. Vic Lee, Spike Stairs, and Manny Castillo are solid veteran starters. Overall the Canadians starting pitching have the potential to be very good this season. The Canadians have some solid position players. At the ML league level Jesus Quixote and Marty Benoit are the two stand outs. The Canadians farm system is stacked with quite a few guys ready to make the leap to the majors. Stand outs include Tomas Camacho, Gerald Shigetoshi, Christian Gordon, Daniel Pride, Bernard Collier, Billy Montgomery, and Sam Charles. Overall this team has a ton of young talent, and a solid pitching staff. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this team battling for a playoff spot in a relatively short period of time.

Oklahoma City Kevin Durants - The Iowa City Hawkeyes are now the Kevin Durants after the departure of bcbifflefan and the addition of new owner jsholmes. This franchise has been in a decline since season 4. Unfortunately last seasons poor management did more harm than good to the franchise. At the ML level there a few solid players including young starting pitcher Rico Polonia. Their farm system isn’t in great shape, but Harry Lowry should be a good player. Overall this team is going to be a long term project. On the positive side they number 2 pick in the rule V and amateur draft, and a low payroll.

Dover Dung Beetles – dhyatt1080 takes over the team formerly known as the Boston Red Sox. This has been a struggling franchise since the leagues inception. The Beetles do have some really good ML players to build around including Claude Wallace, Vladimir Julio, and Brant Brede. Their farm system is in decent shape with a few guys ready to make the jump to the majors. Their top rated prospects include Douglas Purcell, Bailey Mack, Diego Flores, Duke Gibson, and Max Carreras. Overall the Beetles have some solid young position players to build around.

Jacksonville Beach Bums - bobkordecki takes over the former Nashville Marlins. This has been one of the leagues top teams since its inception. In 8 seasons they have made the playoffs 8 times. They have played in 8 NL championship series, and have 3 NL titles in the past 8 seasons. Hopefully they keep the winning tradition alive in Jacksonville this season.

Other major league changes include the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL East becoming the Cleveland Indians, and the Dover Stangs becoming the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pre-season Division Favorites (from the polls)

NL North - The Reds seem to be the favorite in the North by a pretty large margin. The back-to-back champion (and last seasons North champs) Cubs didn't get much love from the voters. The up and coming Pirates managed to get a single vote. Nobody seemed to like the Brewers, the team I believe that could be the surprise of the NL this season.
My prediction: Reds

NL East - Not really a shocker here but the 5 time East champion Pork N Beans took the vote by a pretty large margin. The underrated Pirates (formerly the Pirates) managed a few votes. Nobody liked the Ball Hogs or Mets.
My prediction: Pirates

NL South - The Swingers pretty much dominated the vote in the South. The Astros managed to get a decent amount of votes. The big surprise was the Beach Boys (formerly the Marlins) with no votes. This was the same team that made it all the way to the NL championship series last season, and was taken over by an experienced owner. The Heat also finished with no votes.
My prediction: Swingers

NL West - This is the big shocker with the Giants taking the majority of the votes over the Mayhem. The Giants are definitely one of the most talented young teams, but the Mayhem have have been one of the NL's best for quite a while. Since Weo took over the the Mayhem in season 5 they are a perfect 4 for 4 in division titles. The Kevin Durants and Canadians didn't receive any votes.
My prediction: Mayhem

Interview: Firesign of the (new) Cleveland Indians

What were your expectations going into last seasons draft?

Last year in the draft we went heavily addressing the need for starting pitching but there wasn't a lot to choose from, so we went with a good crop of future relievers and addresses future needs at the catcher spot. This year we are hoping to address the starting pitching again and maybe CF.

(Note: Nice 1st pick - Daniel Blackwell)

What about the free agent market this season?

We may delve into the FA market heavily this year which is unlike us.

What are some concerns going into this season?

Whether Ray Luke can handle the new environment. And we are still trying to figure out why Armando Tavarez is sleeping on the mound and classroom.

What changes are expected this season?

A couple things we are look at is finding a replacement for aging vet Hunter Tomlinson which might be Howard Washington as a platoon and figuring out what to do with Rodney Webber .

Why the move from Pittsburgh?

Simple really. Pittsburgh is more or less a pitchers park. The pitchers couldn't pitch to slap hitters and gave up too many home runs at home. That has plagued me for two seasons there. The offense is geared toward power and the pitchers weren't getting any offensive help. Offense hit 88 dingers at home last year and 128 on the road, if they hold and or get better, I expect 150+ at the Jake. If I can find some pitching help, I think I can hold other teams at bay at home and out score them and have a winning season at home for a change.

Other than Cleveland what other cities were you looking at?

My other destinations could have been as the White Sox but wouldn't let me and the last choice was Baltimore where I don't think would have worked. Other than that I had a couple choices that were not MLB parks.

Power Rankings

1. Chicago Cubs - After winning their second World Series title in a row Cubs GM Jose put the team on a controversial training regiment consisting of drum circles, hacky sack, and frolf. As you can see from the photo to the right, taken at the top secret Cubs training facility, Cubs ace Dwight Johnson is ready for victory. Jose also decided to forgo traditional medical treatments for his players in favor of what he calls medicinal marijuana. Even with all the controversy surrounding the Cubs this off season they have to one of the favorites. Even if they dont win #3 they should look sharp in their new tie-dye uni's. (Sorry Jose)

2. Monterrey Corn Dogs - After finishing the regular season with the best record in the league the CDs fell short in the AL championship series against the Slobs. They should again have the top offense in the league.

3. Cincinatti Reds - The Reds. What else is their to say? They will probably put up the best record in the regular season. Yamil Pulido will probably win the CY Young. They will probably have the best era in the league. They will probably get knocked out of the playoffs. (Sorry Erff)

4. Las Vegas Slobs - Consistently one of the best, if not the best teams in the league. One World Series title and one AL title in the last three seasons.

5. Louisville Swingers - Potent offense and solid pitching. Easily as good as any of the teams above them in the rankings.

6. Salt Lake City Multiple Spouses - Knocked the mighty Deuce Droppers out in round one of last seasons playoffs. The MSs have been improving over the past few seasons and should be right there with the Slobs and CDs this season.

7. Jacksonville Beach Boys (formerly the Marlins) - Wouldnt it be nice if the BBs remained one of the best in the NL? The franchise has a new owner, and new team name. Hopefully they can keep the good vibrations going in Jacksonville.

8. Salem Mayhem - The Mayhem put together a great season last year. The Mayhem have consistently been one of the best teams in the NL. Weo is going for division title #5 this season.

9. Atlanta Pork N Beans - If you look up above average in the dictionary it has a picture of the Pork N Beans. Who wants to be above average (as PnBs ace by default Bubba Rose raises his hand)? If the last two seasons are any indication they will start off slow, be below .500 at the mid-point, play well over the second half, and then get knocked out the playoffs in the 1st round.

10. Houston Astros - Last season was a series of high and lows for the Astros. They went from being one of the best with the best record in the NL to out of the playoffs. Maybe they will be able to pull it together this season.

11. Detroit Detroit - John turned this team around. Last season they were they were the number one wild card seed in the AL.

12. Austin Deuce Droppers - The mighty DD's at #12? Maybe they can turn it around this season. Last season they were towards the top of the AL until a late season collapse almost made them miss the playoffs.

13. St. Louis Barracudas - The Barracudas have been consistently good over the last two seasons with 85 wins in seasons 7 and 8. They should be battling for the division this season.

14. San Diego Dirt Bags - The DBs barely missed the playoffs last season, but showed nice improvement. Not quite to the level of the Slobs, but should be battling for a wild card spot.

15. San Francisco Giants - They were the most improved team in the league last season, winning 30 more games than the previous season. Another 30 game improvement and they should be one the best in the NL.

World Series MVP

Season 8 WS MVP is none other than Joey Tracy. Tracy was on fire during the WS hitting .400 with 6 HRs, 13 RBIs, and 9 Runs scored. Xavier Hart was the runner up to Tracy. He pitched 14.2 innings, with 1 ER, 10 hits, 15 Ks and 3 BBs.

Cubs Win #2!!

Congratulations Jose on back to back World Series titles. Also congratulations to the Slobs on their second AL title.