Embedded Files
Circuit Clouts
Apr. 1, 1999 • Season Preview Edition
Apr. 1, 1999 • Season Preview Edition
Big Bang Expansion
League Embarks on 49th Season With 3 New Clubs, 4 New GMs, 5 Transplants
After the most tumultuous offseason in league history, the UL opens its 49th season today, with five transplanted GMs, four new skippers, three expansion teams, and one relocated club. The new constellation includes three new West Coast teams, while the Castro Revolution displaced the Havana Leones and led to a new expansion club in San Juan.
The biggest free agency period in league history saw 270 player signings, double last year's number, and another 90 players moved to new clubs in the first three-way expansion draft. A new divisional alignment and playoff system sees 21 teams competing across three divisions for seven postseason berths.
Losange à trois
Baseball returns to the Bay Area in the form of the Golden Gate Breakers, replacing the departed San Francisco Spiders, who bolted for the Midwest after the 1994 Seals Stadium earthquake/collapse crushed the new ownership group, forcing an emergency relocation. Former Cleveland Barons GM Charlie Qualls' Breakers will play in the slightly-less-decrepit Candlestick Park for several seasons while a state-of-the-art facility rises in Yerba Buena Island. Five hundred miles to the south, the city of San Diego gets its first taste of the big leagues, having won the relocation of the revolution refugees Havana Leones. GM Lance Mueller’s rechristened San Diego Aviators expect to pack the “Murph” (Jack Murphy Stadium) amidst sky-high expectations. Meanwhile, 500 miles to the north, former Atlanta Hilltoppers GM Andy Chaney takes the reins of the expansion Portland Ospreys, giving the Seattle Rainiers their first regional rival.
Jo Lima leads the expansion Puerto Rico Cocodrilos, giving that island its first big-league club. New GMs Rick Smart, Brian Manwaring, Ken Parker, and David Bright take over Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, and Florida, respectively, after GM Jason Gudim moved from Washington to St. Louis and GM Mark Waller moved from Boston to Washington. The Brooklyn Superbas, under GM Glen Reed, will seek to become just the third repeat champions since the 1970s and the Seattle Rainiers, under GM Brandon Tucker, will aim to return to the World Series after ending an eight-year playoff drought. Key player movements include the aforementioned Klesko’s move from Detroit to San Diego, Minneapolis ace Jason Isringhausen moving to Montreal, and Sammy Sosa moving from Boston to Toronto.
The pundits once again are tipping the Montreal Voyageurs as a top team, though last year Bryan Gryka’s club stumbled to a fifth straight losing season and the Canoeists will face stiff opposition in the league’s toughest division. The Detroit Griffins, after trading MVP candidate Ryan Klesko to San Diego, feature one of the best pitching staffs and the “Stuff-iest” bullpen in UL history. And new Cleveland GM Ken Parker has revamped the 1997 champions just enough to make them title contenders again in ‘99. The rotation of Sean Bergman, Roy Halladay, and Shane Reynolds gives the Aviators’ the inside track in the watered-down West Division, though the Seattle Rainiers return last year’s top-ranked offense wholly intact and pair it with defending Cy Young winner Dwight Gooden. In the East, offense reigns, with the high-octane lineups of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Keystone poised to battle for divisional supremacy.
The 21 clubs spent a record $286 million on a record 270 free agents, including a record 30 signings by Cleveland and a record $33 million spent by Los Angeles. Notable signings include 1B Mark Grace (LA, $10M), SP Bret Saberhagen (WAS, $9M), SP Jon Lieber (MPS, $9), C Rich Gedman (MAN, $8.6M), RP Greg McMichael (WAS, $7.5M), C Mike Piazza (CLE, $7.1M), and 1B Jeff Bagwell (BRO, $6.9M).
Portland, Golden Gate, and San Diego all open their inaugural campaigns at home, while Puerto Rico starts in Manhattan and will play its home opener on Apr. 4 against the Aviators. The Washington Monuments will become the first team in UL history to open the season with a three-day bye, but President Bob Dole will be on hand on Sunday, April 4 when the Mons welcome GM Mark Waller back to Griffith Stadium against the Seattle Rainiers.
All signs point to a memorable and epic United League season as the league inches toward its golden anniversary in 2001!
UL Announces New Charitable Venture!
DET GM Leads UL ‘SOS Squared’ Effort!
By Sean Holloway, Senior Beat Reporter and Detroit Griffins GM
As offseason activities slowly start winding down at UL HQ in Denver, I must remind you about the pre-season podcasts the UL annually hosts. UL GMs, fans and even casual observers wait with bated breath for the podcasts to air, as they are historically known for scintillating analysis, numerous flubs by the participants, ongoing technical glitches, and every once in a while, leaks of information that lead to the revelation of fascinating UL tales both on and off the field.
To wit, the last pre-season podcast that covered the UL West featured DET GM Holloway actually sounding coherent, which is quite the news story in and of itself, but it also hammered home the “Weasel vs Stoat” playoff theory and how the playoff structure of the UL can mightily impact which teams make it and which teams don’t. As the term “weasel” implies, UL playoff structure in past years did allow some teams with not exactly stellar records to “weasel” their way into the playoffs. With the new structure for 1999, this should not be as easy to do, so a team will have to be much more stoatish (stoats are larger and more powerful than weasels) if the team wants to make it to the post-season.
The other important factor we learned this year thanks to BRO GM Reed is that having too much stuff is just not good, especially if you’re a relief pitcher. As such, much doubt was cast on the Griffins bullpen since their pen is loaded with stuff. In fact, the team’s pen is so loaded with stuff that GM Holloway took The Commish’s advice and entered into a deal with Public Storage, the US’ largest self-storage company, in an effort to help store the Griffins’ stuff while at the same time generating the UL additional ad revenue.
And it may be that here is where you think GM Holloway would agree that he’s done enough, but Holloway said “nay, nay”. Holloway, who grew up on Marlin Perkins’ Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, is an avid animal lover. At the conclusion of the West podcast, reporters gathered around Holloway as he conducted an impromptu press conference.
“Growing up in Michigan, my entire family were hunters and fishermen, and while I believe there is a natural order to nature and between predators and prey, I’ve always firmly believed we must respect that order and always try to leave the land in better shape than when we first arrived. And now that I’ve been in Colorado so often over the years for UL activities, I am reminded of how lucky we are that the ermine, or stoat, which is found primarily in the mountainous regions of the state, and which was once over-hunted and trapped, has recovered. Even though the stoat population is in good shape, how could we ensure this does not happen again?
Explained Holloway. “And then, thanks to BRO GM Reed, who alerted me to the fact that my bullpen has way too much stuff, and then thanks to The Commish arranging a partnership between Public Storage and the Griffins so I could store all my stuff, I was inspired to take things a step further and ensure that the Mustelidae family will survive no matter where they live. As such, I am proud to announce the UL, with the Griffins leading the charge, have founded the ‘Sell our Stuff to Save our Stoats’ or ‘SOS Squared’ non-profit!”
Holloway continued. “Why not, I thought, sell off all my stuff? Even with our storage facilities provided by Public Storage, I have too much stuff! And that’s how the ‘Sell our Stuff to Save our Stoats!’ idea was born! This 501(c)3 non-profit I am creating will ensure the entire Mustelidae family (weasels, stoats, minks, polecats, ferrets, martens, otters, badgers, wolverines) are here for as long as we are!”
But Holloway was STILL not done. “And I’d like to thank the first contributor to the SOS Squared program, Dr. Eric Clemons, GM of the Toronto Polar Bears! Dr. Clemons has donated an art piece entitled ‘Dr. Clemons in Chair with Stoat’ – the stoat obviously placed strategically in his lap – that we will auction off. With the runaway success of the ‘Dr. Clemons on Table’ WS pic, we are expecting to generate millions, as that pic has become the hottest UL collectible the League has ever seen!”
Wow! Holloway not only is fixing his bullpen, but he also is saving our furry, four-legged Mustelidae friends as well! That’s a win-win-Winn if I’ve ever seen one (Griffins CF Randy Winn is the chairman of the SOS Squared organization). With the country wide reach and marketing power of the UL, and with a nifty marketing campaign that features Destiny, Sky and Jade dressed scantily while holding our furry Mustelidae friends, this reporter believes the effort will be a resounding success!
Hey Ho, Let’s Go!
Griffins Fans Apoplectic Over Loss of Star Player!
By Sean Holloway, Senior Beat Reporter and Detroit Griffins GM
There wasn’t much that Griffins GM could say to quell the rising tide of angst being suffered by fans after an announcement was made that the team had traded LF/1B Ryan “I’m Bob Horner” Klesko (and RP Rudy Seanez) to the San Diego Aviators for RP Esteban Yan, SP/RP Jose Paniagua, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, and 3B Troy Glaus, as well as SD’s 2001 picks.
Holloway tried to explain. “Unfortunately, the years of hard living, hard partying and just being hard from too much and too frequent use of EET has left me a shell of myself, and I am not able to engage in these intensive trade negotiations as often as other GMs, so it was difficult for me to see how we could acquire that critical mass of players needed to make a push and truly compete with the big dogs. I mean, have you seen some of these teams? They got guys like Olerud! And if I engaged in another lengthy negotiation, my doctors have advised me that I could end up like BOS GM Manwaring, who is still catatonic at Beth Israel.”
Continued Holloway. “As such, we had to try another approach, and that meant getting as much as we could for Klesko. He is a great player, and we wish him success at San Diego. Now it is up to our management team to ensure we use both players and picks received wisely. Even without the players we’ll get from the picks, we believe we have power in the lineup with guys like Helton, Newfield, Drew, Glaus and Marrero, so we think we can compete.”
Hmmmm….will this strategy work? Jury is still out. Until we have a verdict, let’s keep ourselves busy by singing a song dedicated to KLEZKO and which describes what GM Mueller and GM Holloway must have been thinking as this deal went down. And holy hell, the first time I saw these guys on TV sometime in 76, I realized I wanted to be in a band just like theirs. Live version!
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
His power is above a nine!
His homerun rate is mighty fine!
His OPS will blow your mind!
The KLEZKO Stomp
My team won’t take a back seat
Bergman throwing pure heat
With KLEZKO I cannot be beat!
The KLEZKO Stomp
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
Send him four guys back now
What he wants; I think I know
Four picks packaged up and ready to go!
I cannot cross the finish line!
I need some picks and way more guys!
I must be losing my mind!
The KLEZKO Stomp
Mientkiewicz will take a seat
Pan and Yan throwing pure heat
With Glaus I may still be beat :[
The KLEZKO Stomp
Hey ho, KLEZKO!
Newfield starts in left now
Todd, Drew, Troy - Marrero
Detroit’s revved up and ready to go!
Predicted Finish
Predicted Finish
WEST
BNN W L GB R RA
San Diego 92 64 - 10 2
Minneapolis 89 67 3 9 3
Seattle 87 69 5 2 17
Denver 70 86 22 16 9
Portland 63 93 29 20 8
Los Angeles 60 32 32 19 19
Golden Gate 55 101 37 21 18
Reed BNN Diff
09 San Diego 3 -6
16 Minneapolis 5 -11
15 Seattle 6 -9
10 Denver 15 +5
19 Portland 19 0
18 Los Angeles 20 +2
21 Golden Gate 21 0
CENTRAL
BNN W L GB R RA
Montreal 96 60 - 1 5
Cleveland 91 65 5 7 4
Chicago 85 71 11 5 11
Detroit 83 73 13 14 1
Toronto 83 73 13 5 15
St. Louis 71 85 25 16 7
Atlanta 67 89 29 18 16
Reed BNN Diff
03 Montreal 1 -2
05 Cleveland 4 -1
06 Chicago 8 +2
01 Toronto 10 +9
07 Detroit 11 +4
12 St. Louis 13 +1
11 Atlanta 17 +6
EAST
BNN W L GB R RA
Manhattan 96 60 - 4 6
Brooklyn 86 70 10 3 12
Keystone 85 71 11 8 10
Florida 77 79 19 13 14
Washington 71 85 25 15 13
Boston 69 87 27 11 20
Puerto Rico 67 89 29 12 21
Reed BNN Diff
04 Manhattan 2 -2
02 Brooklyn 7 +5
08 Keystone 9 +1
13 Florida 12 -1
14 Washington 14 0
17 Boston 16 -1
20 Puerto Rico 18 -2
Positional Rankings
underlined means different position last year; italics means tied
Positional Rankings
underlined means different position last year; italics means tied
LEFT FIELDERS
1 1 Vladi Guerrero MON
2 1 Juan Gonzalez TOR
3 2 Barry Bonds STL
4 7 Gregg Jefferies WAS
5 4 Kal Daniels BRO
6 6 Cliff Floyd PUE
7 5 Manny Ramirez ATL
8 8 Ellis Burks SEA
9 - Ricky Ledee SD
SHORTSTOP
1 1 Nomar Garciaparra SEA
2 - Tony Graffanino MAN
3 5 Edgardo Alfonzo MON
4 2 John Valentin BRO
5 3 Orlando Cabrera KEY
6 - Robin Yount ATL
7 - Edgar Renteria CHI
8 9 Miguel Tejada MON
9 7 Alan Trammell DEN
9 - Adrian Beltre LA
THIRD BASEMEN
1 2 Chipper Jones STL
2 1 Gary Sheffield WAS
3 3 Scott Rolen MPS
4 4 Wil Cordero KEY
5 - Mike Lowell MON
6 6 David Bell MAN
7 - Eric Chavez TOR
8 8 Jeff Cirillo CHI
9 Travis Fryman DEN
---------------------
POSITION PLAYERS
01 01 Vladi Guerrero MON
02 -- Carlos Beltran CHI
03 03 Chipper Jones STL
04 02 Gary Sheffield WAS
05 06 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
06 04 Ryan Klesko SD
07 19 David Ortiz SEA
08 09 Juan Gonzalez TOR
09 10 Darin Erstad DEN
10 18 Nomar Garciaparra SEA
11 07 Jim Thome BOS
12 08 Barry Bonds STL
13 05 Scott Rolen MPS
14 12 Ivan Rodriguez MON
15 -- Derrek Lee ATL
16 -- Jermaine Dye MON
17 15 Brad Fullmer MON
18 11 Jim Edmonds CLE
19 -- Magglio Ordonez CHI
20 13 John Olerud CHI
-- 14 Wil Cordero KEY
-- 16 Mark Grace DEN
-- 17 Albert Belle BOS
-- 20 Johnny Damon SEA
CENTER FIELDERS
1 - Carlos Beltran CHI
2 2 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
3 3 Darin Erstad DEN
4 4 Jim Edmonds CLE
5 5 Johnny Damon SEA
6 8 Andruw Jones WAS
7 9 Raul Mondesi TOR
8 7 Rondell White SD
9 - Richard Hidalgo MAN
CATCHERS
1 1 Ivan Rodriguez MON
2 - Jason Kendall CHI
3 2 Dave Nilsson BRO
4 5 Charles Johnson ATL
5 4 Mike Piazza CLE
6 - Ben Davis SD
7 - Michael Barrett KEY
8 - Eli Marrero DET
9 9 Rich Gedman MAN
---------------------
STARTING PITCHERS
01 01 Pedro Martinez ATL
02 02 Sean Bergman SD
03 03 Ismael Valdez CLE
04 06 Matt Morris MAN
05 05 Greg Swindell BRO
06 07 Jason Isringhausen MON
07 04 Julian Tavarez BOS
08 08 Kelvim Escobar MPS
09 11 Dwight Gooden SEA
10 13 Derek Lowe TOR
11 16 Erik Hanson MAN
12 17 Chad Ogea TOR
13 -- Chan Ho Park MON
14 12 Steve Cooke CHI
15 -- Justin Thompson DET
16 -- Roy Halladay SD
17 10 Bret Saberhagen WAS
18 18 Butch Henry KEY
19 -- Shane Reynolds SD
20 -- Mike Grace TOR
-- 09 Francis Cordova FLO
-- 14 Fernie Valenzuela ATL
-- 15 Mike Timlin BRO
-- 19 Mike Mason WAS
-- 20 Rheal Cormier LA
RIGHT FIELDERS
1 2 Jermaine Dye MON
2 - Magglio Ordonez CHI
3 3 Bobby Abreu MPS
4 - Ben Grieve FLO
5 3 Albert Belle BOS
6 6 Joe Nunnally MAN
7 - J.D. Drew DET
8 - Luis Gonzalez DEN
9 9 Matt Lawton SD
SECOND BASEMEN
1 5 Tony Batista STL
2 1 Roberto Alomar MPS
3 5 Alex Rodriguez CLE
4 3 Fernando Vina CHI
5 2 Geronimo Pena MAN
6 4 Bret Boone ATL
7 6 Barry Larkin BRO
8 - Quilvio Veras POR
9 - Mark Bellhorn KEY
FIRST BASEMEN
1 1 Ryan Klesko DET
2 5 David Ortiz SEA
3 1 Jim Thome BOS
4 6 Derrek Lee ATL
5 3 Brad Fullmer MON
6 2 John Olerud CHI
7 - Todd Helton DET
8 - Kevin Millar KEY
9 7 Jeff Bagwell BRO
---------------------
TOP RELIEVERS (tiers)
+ + Terry Adams DET
* - Francisco Cordova FLO
A A Greg McMichael BRO
A - Armando Benitez CHI
B B Billy Wagner DET
B - Mike Timlin SD
B - Toby Borland CLE
- A Steve Karsay FLO
- B Cory Bailey CHI
- B Mariano Rivera SEA
+ - 5.0
* - 4.5
A - 4.0
B - 3.5
Prospects
Prospects
TOP 20 PROSPECTS
01 LF Lance Berkman MPS
02 SP Tim Hudson MPS
03 C Mitch Meluskey BOS
04 RF Jacque Jones WAS
05 LF Alfonso Soriano FLO
06 SP Ryan Dempster SEA
07 LF Carlos Lee KEY
08 SP Matt Clement DET
09 LF Geoff Jenkins KEY
10 CF Vernon Wells PUE
11 SP A.J. Burnett BOS
12 RF Ben Petrick GG
13 1B Erubial Durazo MAN
14 RP Francisco Cordero SEA
15 SP Odalis Perez LA
16 RP Joe Nathan DET
17 1B Paul Konerko GG
18 3B Aramis Ramirez ATL
19 RP B.J. Ryan DEN
20 SP Tony Saunders SEA
FARM SYSTEM RANKINGS
# LY Pts Team
1 - 200 Golden Gate
2 2 176 Seattle
3 9 169 Boston
4 1 140 Minneapolis
5 6 131 Los Angeles
6 8 115 Keystone
7 - 102 Puerto Rico
8 4 101 Detroit
9 14 95 Atlanta
10 10 80 Manhattan
11 7 66 Florida
12 5 62 Toronto
13 13 56 Washington
14 18 44 St. Louis
15 16 41 Denver
16 15 31 Brooklyn
17 - 29 Portland
18 12 24 Montreal
19 3 18 San Diego
20 11 0 Chicago
20 17 0 Cleveland
West Division
West Division
Central Division
Central Division
East Division
East Division
DENVER 14ers
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 83 77 10th 5.1 4.7 10 4
1997 86 74 5th 4.1 3.9 10 6
1998 84 76 9th 5.0 4.9 5 14
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF S Tim Raines .278 4 28 0.9
CF L Darin Erstad .286 20 105 6.3
3B R Travis Fryman .255 16 77 2.5
RF L Larry Walker .266 7 36 0.2
1B R Eric Karros .228 33 86 1.6
2B R Jay Bell .289 14 59 3.7
C R Brad Ausmus .266 5 43 2.8
SS R Alan Trammell .231 6 29 -0.1
W L ERA WAR
SP L Greg Mathews 9 15 5.25 1.3
SP L David West 6 14 4.65 1.9
SP R Alex Fernandez 11 8 4.92 0.6
SP R Hideo Nomo 15 10 4.19 2.7
SP L Arthur Rhodes 7 9 5.48 0.2
CL R Keith Foulke 17 SV 3.06 1.1
IN: 1B Eric Karros, 1B Bill Doran, SS Alan Trammell, SP Alex Fernandez, RP Arthur Rhodes
OUT: LF Kal Daniels, SS Barry Larkin, 1B Mark Grace, SP Joe Magrane, SP Anthony Young, SP Kenny Rogers
In Denver the Fourteeners climb,
With Trammell and Raines past their prime.
But Darin Erstad's glove,
Gives Greg Mathews much love,
And Larry Walker's long homers keep time!
ATLANTA HILLTOPPERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 94 66 2nd 5.4 4.5 3 1
1997 84 76 7th 4.1 3.7 8 4
1998 87 73 6th 4.8 4.7 7 10
Avg HR RBI WAR
SS R Jose Valentin .263 19 65 3.9
RF L Tony Gwynn .338 9 71 2.6
1B R Derrek Lee .321 35 105 6.4
LF R Manny Ramirez .267 21 72 2.5
2B R Bret Boone .228 18 61 1.1
C R Charles Johnson .231 15 56 2.7
3B R Aramis Ramirez rookie
CF R Ruben Rivera .264 19 62 4.6
W L ERA WAR
SP L Pedro Martinez 14 8 3.09 6.7
SP R Jose DeLeon 7 11 4.67 2.5
SP R Jeff M. Robinson 8 11 5.07 1.1
SP L Al Leiter minors
SP R Curt Schilling minors
CL R Robb Nen 0 SV 4.09 -0.2
IN: *3B Aramis Ramirez, SP Jose DeLeon, SP Al Leiter, SP Curt Schilling, RP Robb Nen
OUT: 2B Tony Phillips, SP Fernie Valenzuela, SP Dave Schmidt
Pickle Rick's taken over the squad,
Though the rotation's a little bit flawed.
With Tony Gwynn "Mr. Topper",
And Robb Nen as the stopper,
Red Blobs fans cannot help but applaud.
BOSTON FEDERALS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 86 74 7th 5.3 5.1 6 12
1997 85 75 6th 4.8 4.3 2 13
1998 67 93 17th 4.0 5.0 16 16
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF R Derek Bell minors
3B L Corey Koskie .269 8 29 1.8
LF R Albert Belle .271 20 93 3.0
3B L Jim Thome .275 25 75 4.6
C L Rick Wilkins minors
SS S Bret Barberie minors
2B R Steve Buechele .262 13 45 0.6
CF R Reggie Sanders .250 1 11 0.1
W L ERA WAR
SP R Julian Tavarez 4 6 3.25 3.5
SP R Anthony Young 3 0 4.46 0.5
SP L Kenny Rogers 3 5 3.71 0.5
SP R Bobby Witt minors
SP R Scott Sanders minors
CL R Lance McCullers 0 SV 6.10 0.1
IN: 2B Steve Buechele, CF Reggie Sanders, SP Anthony Young, SP Kenny Rogers, RP Lance McCullers
OUT: LF Sammy Sosa, C Mike Piazza, SS Alan Trammell, SP Jon Lieber, SP Ron Darling, RP Billy Taylor, SP Miguel Batista, RP Steve Olin
In Boston the Federals shine,
With Belle and Jim Thome in line.
While Jules gets the outs,
Witt and Sanders cause doubts,
Cory Snyder is riding the pine!
GOLDEN GATE BREAKERS
EXPANSION TEAM
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Luis Castillo .319 0 6 0.2
CF S Jerry Browne minors
1B L Will Clark .281 6 22 0.9
RF R Jeffrey Hammonds .251 6 18 0.4
3B L Rance Mulliniks .338 3 23 1.0
LF R Marty Cordova .288 26 82 4.8
SS R Rey Ordonez .207 1 24 -0.1
C R Alberto Castillo minors
W L ERA WAR
SP R Jamey Wright rookie
SP L Jim Abbott 0 1 3.19 0.1
SP R Tyler Green rookie
SP L Brian Anderson 2 2 9.44 -1.4
SP R Hideki Irabu rookie
CL R Jerry Spradlin 1 SV 3.86 -0.1
IN: everyone
The Breakers, they play at the 'Stick,
Made from 30 expansion draft picks.
Mix multiple pranksters,
With some original gangsters,
And you get a quite volatile mix.
CHICAGO COLTS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 93 67 3rd 5.6 5.0 1 10
1997 83 77 8-t 4.3 3.8 4 5
1998 97 63 2nd 5.3 4.5 2 7
Avg HR RBI WAR
SS R Edgar Renteria .303 9 57 1.5
1B L John Olerud .285 24 92 3.7
CF S Carlos Beltran .320 18 74 5.3
RF R Magglio Ordonez .351 5 22 1.0
2B L Fernando Vina .265 6 50 1.2
C R Jason Kendall .274 8 78 3.0
LF L Frank Catalanotto .325 11 71 3.3
3B R Jeff Cirillo .276 14 79 3.0
W L ERA WAR
SP L Steve Cooke 18 9 3.22 5.2
SP L Joe Magrane 16 8 3.76 4.6
SP R John Mitchell 14 9 4.20 1.9
SP R Kelly Downs 9 15 4.07 3.0
SP R Carl Pavano minors
CL R Armando Benitez 5 SV 3.30 1.4
IN: 2B Tony Phillips, SP Joe Magrane, SP Kelly Downs
OUT: CF Reggie Sanders, SP Scott Sanderson, RP Rheal Cormier
The Colts of Chicago ride fast,
With Carlos and Magglio's blast.
Olerud drives runs in,
And their top-rated pen,
Ensures that their lead's built to last!
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 89 71 4-t 5.4 4.8 4 7
1997 87 73 4th 4.9 4.4 1 14
1998 88 72 5th 5.3 4.6 3 8
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF L Kal Daniels .307 23 104 4.6
2B R Barry Larkin .293 11 55 3.0
1B R Jeff Bagwell .288 34 89 5.2
CF L Ken Griffey Jr .274 29 106 6.6
C L Dave Nilsson .294 16 76 5.0
SS R John Valentin .297 18 90 4.0
RF L Paul O'Neill .304 8 31 1.5
3B S Scott Spiezio .296 13 74 3.2
W L ERA WAR
SP L Greg Swindell 14 10 3.49 5.4
SP R Rusty Meacham 5 11 4.36 1.1
SP L Carlos Perez minors
SP R Brian Moehler 5 1 4.45 0.8
SP R Masato Yoshii 8 14 4.74 1.6
CL L Norm Charlton 4 SV 2.23 1.5
IN: 1B Jeff Bagwell, LF Kal Daniels, SS Barry Larkin, 1B Alvin Davis, *SP Carlos Perez
OUT: 2B Geronimo Pena, RP Mike Timlin
In Brooklyn the Superbas cheer,
With Bagwell in peak ninety-nine gear.
Swindell throws the heat,
Brian Moehler's discreet,
And Junior's sweet swing owns the year!
LOS ANGELES OUTLAWS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 82 78 11th 5.0 4.6 11 2
1997 64 96 18th 3.5 4.8 17 18
1998 46 114 18th 3.4 5.6 18 18
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF R Shannon Stewart .256 6 29 1.5
1B L Mark Grace .280 19 97 2.8
3B R Adrian Beltre .260 9 49 2.6
RF L Andy Van Slyke .282 16 62 1.6
C R Paul LoDoca .261 13 65 1.9
2B R Julio Franco .328 2 13 0.9
SS R Kevin Elster .249 4 26 0.6
CF L Chris Singleton rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Rolando Arrojo 7 16 4.78 2.0
SP L Chris Nabholz 5 1 5.43 0.3
SP R John Thomson 5 12 5.24 1.3
SP L Odalis Perez rookie
SP R Jim Gott 12 11 3.86 1.6
CL L Bruce Ruffin
IN: 1B Mark Grace, *CF Chris Singleton, 2B Julio Franco, SS Kevin Elster, 3B Wade Boggs, SP Chris Nabholz, *SP Odalis Perez, SP Jim Gott
OUT: -
The Outlaws of L.A. ride bold,
With Wade Boggs and Grace in the fold.
With Beltre at third,
Finishing last seems absurd,
Though Jim Gott's thirty-eight years old!
CLEVELAND BARONS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 95 65 1st 5.4 4.9 5 9
1997 94 66 1st 4.1 3.5 9 2
1998 85 75 8th 4.8 4.9 8 15
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF L David Justice .264 15 47 1.8
CF L Jim Edmonds .249 17 57 2.5
1B L Carlos Delgado .292 37 121 4.4
3B R Alex Rodriguez .245 40 133 4.0
C R Mike Piazza .241 30 83 3.4
3B S Carlos Baerga .283 14 59 1.2
RF L Steve Finley minors
SS R Craig Grebeck .189 1 28 0.1
W L ERA WAR
SP R Ismael Valdez 12 5 3.70 5.7
SP L Bruce Hurst 9 12 4.44 2.1
SP R Dave Schmidt 6 12 5.33 1.7
SP L David Wells 9 12 4.44 2.1
SP R Bob Milacki minors
CL R Toby Borland 39 SV 2.07 2.1
IN: C Mike Piazza, LF David Justice, 2B Carlos Baerga, SP Dave Schmidt, SP David Wells, SP Doug Drabek
OUT: 2B Roberto Alomar, C Rich Gedman, 2B Julio Franco, 1B Bill Doran, SP Alex Fernandez, SP Jose DeLeon
In Cleveland the Barons take aim,
Ismael and Piazza on their game.
While A-Rod and Delgado
Splash on the bravado
Hurst's aging left arm brings them fame!
FLORIDA FLAMINGOS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 65 95 15th 4.2 4.8 18 8
1997 68 92 17th 3.6 4.0 16 8
1998 83 77 10th 4.4 4.0 12 1
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B R Eric Young .263 1 9 0.9
CF L Mark Kotsay .272 10 56 2.4
1B S Dmitri Young .295 13 83 3.8
CF S Bernie Williams .268 24 63 5.2
C R Bobby Estalella .214 4 13 -0.0
LF L Mike Greenwell .287 9 59 0.6
2B S Greg Norton .292 20 93 3.6
SS S Carlos Guillen .279 8 56 2.1
W L ERA WAR
SP R Francisco Cordova 14 10 2.71 4.2
SP R Bartolo Colon 16 10 3.55 2.9
SP R Mike Mussina 14 14 3.61 2.9
SP R Jimmy Haynes rookie
SP R Ron Darling 12 18 4.38 3.4
CL R Steve Karsay 22 SV 2.33 1.3
IN: LF Mike Greenwell, 3B Brant Brown, SP Ron Darling
OUT: RF Junior Felix, SP David Wells
On the green grass of the Ponce de Leon,
Many fine starting pitches are thrown.
Though I won't get Pink Bird flu,
From Bernie Williams' didgeridoo.
I'll steer clear of Bartolo's colon.
MINNEAPOLIS FOXES
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 63 97 16th 5.0 5.9 12 18
1997 88 72 3rd 4.3 4.1 6 9
1998 91 69 3rd 4.8 4.3 11 4
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF L Bobby Abreu .342 18 80 6.1
2B S Roberto Alomar .301 9 67 3.6
1B L Sean Casey .295 13 78 2.5
3B R Scott Rolen .310 27 111 6.9
LF L David Dellucci rookie
SS R Miguel Tejada .250 7 17 0.7
C R Mike Redmond rookie
CF R Doug Glanville rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Kelvim Escobar 18 3 3.41 5.8
SP L Jose Rosado 10 10 3.51 4.1
SP R Jon Lieber 9 18 4.44 3.2
SP R Chris Carpenter rookie
SP R Darryl Kile 9 10 4.01 1.7
CL L Ricardo Rincon 34 SV 3.09 0.2
IN: 2B Roberto Alomar, SS Miguel Tejada, C Mike Sweeney, *LF David Dellucci, C Mike Redmond, *CF Doug Glanville, SP Jon Lieber,RP Billy Taylor
OUT: CF Garret Anderson, 2B Mark McLemore, LF Mike Greenwell, SS Kevin Elster, SP Jason Isringhausen
While the top of the order toils,
The bottom two surley will roil.
But the rotation is scorching,
Lieber's slider is torching,
At 373 Kelvim water boils.
DETROIT GRIFFINS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 62 98 17th 4.9 5.8 15 17
1997 70 90 16th 3.7 4.4 14 15
1998 73 87 13-t 4.0 4.7 17 9
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Mark McLemore .331 1 20 1.4
SS S Omar Vizquel .294 2 37 0.8
1B L Todd Helton .307 28 98 3.9
LF R Marc Newfield .317 17 60 3.3
RF L J.D. Drew .275 18 63 2.7
3B R Troy Glaus .241 21 81 1.6
CF S Randy Winn .268 4 41 -1.5
C R Eli Marrero .241 11 56 1.3
W L ERA WAR
SP L Justin Thompson 9 18 4.17 5.2
SP L Pete Schourek 9 8 3.98 2.8
SP R Glendon Rusch 6 10 4.39 2.5
SP R Jason Schmidt minors
SP R Jose Paniagua 6 5 4.22 -0.1
CL R Terry Adams 9 SV 4.73 1.9
IN: 3B Troy Glaus, 2B Mark McLemore, SS Omar Vizquel, RP Esteban Yan, SP Jose Paniagua
OUT: 1B Ryan Klesko
At Kiner Field, Detroit's Griffs roar,
Though the Flyin' Lions seek to score more.
With Helton and Schook,
Marc Newfield's no fluke,
J.D. Drew sparks the lineup once more!
KEYSTONE STARLINGS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 77 83 12th 5.3 5.5 7 14
1997 75 85 13th 4.3 4.2 7 11
1998 73 87 13-t 4.8 5.1 10 17
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF L Rich Becker .253 14 53 2.9
SS R Orlando Cabrera .288 5 31 2.2
1B R Kevin Millar .341 17 90 3.7
3B R Wil Cordero .258 37 117 3.0
RF L Geoff Jenkins rookie
CF R Juan Encarnacion .318 15 42 2.7
C R Michael Barrettt .264 11 47 0.6
2B S Mark Bellhorn .250 8 30 0.7
W L ERA WAR
SP L Butch Henry 12 12 4.67 3.2
SP R Kerry Wood rookie
SP R B. VanLandingham 12 11 5.48 1.6
SP R Brett Tomko rookie
SP R Brad Radke 2 0 4.78 -0.5
CL R Steve Olin 5 SV 3.93 1.4
IN: *RF Geoff Jenkins, *SP Kerry Wood, *SP Brett Tomko, RP Steve Olin
OUT: 1B Jeff Bagwell, CF Rondell White, 2B Carlos Baerga, SP Kelly Downs, RP Arthur Rhodes
The lineup is looking quite good,
Aiton is hands-on like a manager should.
But with MVP Wil reborn,
Paired with one Foghorn Bellhorn
He's been warned not to touch Kerry's Wood.
PORTLAND OSPREYS
EXPANSION TEAM
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Quivio Veras .266 3 20 0.6
SS R Jeff Blauser .235 11 43 0.4
RF S Carl Everett .267 5 15 0.2
LF R Eric Davis .253 15 48 0.4
1B S Howard Johnson .243 12 52 0.6
C R Ron Karkovice .307 6 21 1.3
CF S Chuck Carr rookie
3B R Tim Bogar .186 6 21 -0.7
W L ERA WAR
SP R John Smoltz 10 6 3.98 4.0
SP R Don Robinson 12 8 5.10 2.4
SP L Tom Glavine 13 9 3.90 1.6
SP L Rich W. Robertson roookie
SP R Osvaldo Fernandez 7 7 3.78 2.0
CL R John Farrell 0 SV 3.62 3.3
IN: everyone
An osprey is a unique bird of prey,
They dive to eat fish every day.
But expect poor results,
Despite Glavine and Smoltz,
The real draft is one year away.
MONTREAL VOYAGEUERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 74 86 13th 4.9 5.7 14 16
1997 78 82 12th 4.3 4.7 5 17
1998 75 85 12th 5.0 4.8 6 12
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B R Derek Jeter minors
3B R Edgardo Alfonzo .289 15 69 2.5
RF R Vladimir Guerrero .352 35 108 6.9
1B L Brad Fullmer .295 19 96 3.6
RF R Jermaine Dye .322 26 87 4.8
3B R Mike Lowell .281 12 65 1.8
CF L Garret Anderson .312 17 85 2.1
C R Ivan Rodriguez .254 12 39 3.0
W L ERA WAR
SP R J. Isringhausen 15 8 3.62 4.4
SP R Chan Ho Park 12 15 5.52 0.5
SP R Livan Hernandez 12 16 4.32 3.8
SP R Jose Silva 7 6 4.31 3.1
SP L Britt Burns 18 10 3.01 5.0
CL R Jerry Dipoto 34 SV 4.52 -0.1
IN: CF Garret Anderson, SP Jason Isringhausen, SP Britt Burns
OUT: SS Miguel Tejada, 2B Steve Buechele, RP Alan Benes
The Canoeists paddle upstream,
With Izzy and Chan Ho Park's steam.
Though Jeter may choke,
Vladi can poke,
And LFG secures Montreal's dream!
MANHATTAN GRAY SOX
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 89 71 4-t 5.2 4.7 9 5
1997 92 68 2nd 4.0 3.4 11 1
1998 71 89 15-t 4.3 4.8 15 11
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF L Jon Nunnally .278 18 70 2.8
3B R David Bell .272 17 72 2.7
1B R Frank E. Thomas .300 28 85 4.1
LF R Bubba Trammell .340 24 75 3.4
2B S Geronimo Pena .271 15 68 4.1
C R Rich Gedman .270 23 72 4.5
CF R Richard Hidalgo .262 21 88 0.7
SS R Tony Graffanino .245 10 42 3.0
W L ERA WAR
SP R Matt Morris 13 11 3.30 5.4
SP R Scott Sanderson 13 8 4.09 4.3
SP L Jarrod Washburn 3 7 4.67 1.1
SP R Jaret Wright rookie
SP L Terry Mulholland 11 9 5.32 3.1
CL R Heathy Slocumb 15 SV 3.51 2.0
IN: C Rich Gedman, 2B Geronimo Pena, SP Scott Sanderson, *SP Jaret Wright, RP Gene Nelson
OUT: SP Pat Hentgen
The Gray Sox of old Manhattan town,
Send Matty and Scott to the mound.
With Pena at second,
Bubba Trammell has beckoned,
And the Big Hurt's clouts shake the ground!
SAN DIEGO AVIATORS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 84 76 9th 5.2 4.8 8 6
1997 71 89 15th 3.4 4.1 18 10
1998 76 84 11th 4.3 4.4 14 5
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF L Ricky Ledee .290 20 54 3.1
RF L Matt Lawton .317 13 83 6.5
CF R Rondell White .280 32 94 5.3
1B L Ryan Klesko .301 19 53 2.2
3B R Kurt Abbott .287 22 74 2.8
C S Ben Davis .282 13 59 4.4
SS L Ozzie Guillen .272 1 40 2.6
2B R Lou Merloni rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Sean Bergman 11 13 3.79 4.7
SP R Roy Halladay 11 12 4.13 2.8
SP R Shane Reynolds 9 11 3.76 1.2
SP R Pat Hentgen 5 9 4.25 1.2
SP R Scott Bankhead 12 7 3.06 0.9
CL R Mike Timlin 3 SV 4.35 2.0
IN: 1B Ryan Klesko, CF Rondell White, RF Junior Felix, *2B Lou Merloni, SP Pat Hentgen, RP Mike Timlin, RP Rheal Cormier
OUT: 3B Troy Glaus, SP Chris Nabholz, RP Esteban Yan, SP Jose Paniagua
ST. LOUIS MAROONS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 89 71 4-t 4.9 4.6 13 3
1997 83 77 8-t 3.7 3.5 13 3
1998 86 74 7th 4.8 4.2 9 3
Avg HR RBI WAR
RF R Benny Agbayani .292 7 30 1.1
2B R Tony Batista .312 34 92 9.0
3B S Chipper Jones .325 45 112 8.2
LF L Barry Bonds .291 31 87 4.3
1B L Alvin Davis .207 1 7 -0.4
CF L Michael Tucker .313 19 75 7.3
SS R Rey Sanchez .264 1 51 2.6
C L Greg Myers .267 10 51 1.0
W L ERA WAR
SP L Randy Tomlin 7 7 5.40 2.6
SP R Randy O'Neal minors
SP L Bob Ojeda minors
SP R Roger Salkeld 5 4 5.60 -0.3
SP R Tim Pugh minors
CL R Antonio Osuna 27 SV 4.30 0.6
IN: 1B Alvin Davis, SP Randy O'Neal, SP Bob Ojeda, SP Tim Pugh
OUT: LF David Justice, SP Britt Burns, SP Jim Gott
PUERTO RICO COCODRILOS
EXPANSION TEAM
Avg HR RBI WAR
SB R Ryne Sandberg .242 22 65 1.1
CF R Vernon Wells rookie
LF L Cliff Floyd .260 19 61 2.7
RF R Tim Salmon .279 28 92 4.1
1B L Jason Giambi .272 20 67 2.5
C S Raul Casanova .266 9 44 1.0
3B R Joe McEwing rookie
SS R Rich Aurilia .210 8 35 -1.4
W L ERA WAR
SP R Joey Hamilton 12 9 4.59 2.8
SP L Chris Haney 7 15 4.85 2.2
SP R Tommy Greene 8 17 5.60 0.9
SP L C.J. Nitkowski rookie
SP L Steve Avery 10 14 5.20 1.1
CL R Eric Gagne rookie
IN: everyone
SEATTLE RAINIERS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 60 100 18th 4.3 5.6 17 15
1997 79 81 10-t 4.0 4.0 7 10
1998 98 62 1st 5.4 4.1 1 2
Avg HR RBI WAR
CF L Johnny Damon .299 20 69 4.4
LF R Ellis Burks .303 34 89 6.6
SS R Nomar Garciaparra .365 21 118 8.7
1B L David Ortiz .338 26 129 5.4
RF R Jose Guillen .273 21 97 0.5
C S Jason Varitek .311 12 60 3.1
2B R Benji Gil .247 17 69 2.8
3B S Ken Caminiti .291 21 75 2.8
W L ERA WAR
SP R Dwight Gooden 18 6 2.20 5.9
SP R Erik Hanson 20 5 3.29 5.2
SP L John Smiley 10 8 4.52 1.2
SP R Jack Armstrong 9 9 4.72 2.2
SP R Ryan Dempster rookie
CL R Mariano Rivera 31 SV 2.50 1.1
IN: *Ryan Dempster, *RP John Rocker, *RP Francisco Cordero
OUT: -
In Seattle Mt. Rainier rises,
To meet Doc's Cy Young surprises.
While Nomar turns two,
Johnny Damon is true,
And Big Papi's RBIs thrill the crowd!
TORONTO POLAR BEARS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 85 75 8th 5.5 5.1 2 11
1997 79 81 10-t 4.5 4.5 3 16
1998 89 71 4th 5.1 4.8 4 13
Avg HR RBI WAR
2B S Jose Vidro minors
3B L Eric Chavez .269 17 60 1.3
RF R Juan Gonzalez .339 51 131 7.4
LF R Sammy Sosa .253 21 75 1.9
CF R Raul Mondesi .303 43 115 6.5
SS R Matt Williams .236 15 55 -1.0
LF L Daryle Ward .268 22 53 0.7
C R Ramon Hernandez rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Chad Ogea 14 6 4.30 4.9
SP R Derek Lowe 12 8 3.88 5.3
SP R Mike Grace 14 6 4.30 4.9
SP R Miguel Batista 3 12 6.62 -0.4
SP R Jose Lima 11 9 5.16 1.7
CL R Jose Mesa 26 SV 3.12 1.1
IN: LF Sammy Sosa, C Mike Sweeney, SP Miguel Batista, RP Alan Benes
OUT: 1B Eric Karros, 3B Wade Boggs, RP Lance McCullers
The Polar Bears bash from the floe,
Where Juan and Raul steal the show.
Sammy Sosa hits clean,
Chad Ogea throws mean,
As Toronto lays rival clubs Lowe!
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS
W L Pl R RA Rank
1996 70 90 14th 4.8 5.3 16 13
1997 74 86 14th 3.6 4.3 15 12
1998 71 89 15-t 4.4 4.5 13 6
Avg HR RBI WAR
LF S Gregg Jefferies .302 17 60 4.1
1B L Dion James .266 12 76 1.4
3B R Gary Sheffield .302 24 103 6.5
RF L Shawn Green .281 28 109 2.2
CF R Andruw Jones .252 16 71 4.0
C R Mike Stanley .189 4 18 -0.3
2B R Mariano Duncan .264 8 38 1.8
SS R Pat Meares rookie
W L ERA WAR
SP R Bret Saberhagen 11 17 3.91 5.6
SP L Fernie Valenzuela 13 9 4.18 4.3
SP R Julio Valera 10 8 3.77 2.5
SP R Kevin Tapani minors
SP R Roger Clemens 4 9 5.17 1.2
CL R Greg McMichael 30 SV 2.95 2.5
IN: 1B Dion James, C Mike Stanley, *SS Pat Meares, SP Bret Saberhagen, SP Fernie Valenzuela, SP Roger Clemens, RP Greg McMichael
OUT: SS Omar Vizquel, SP Doug Drabek, RP Gene Nelson
The Washington hurlers stand tall,
As Saberhagen baffles them all.
With A. Jones in the field,
Runs the Mons will not yield,
No rival can breach Washington's wall!
Google Sites
Report abuse