Season 50 Preview and Projections
AL NORTH
We
start off the previews and projections in the AL North, which always
seems to be one of the toughest divisions in Hobbs and is the standard
of the American League. At the top of the division is dakar, the current
Hobbs Champion and AL North title winner 7 years running, with no sign
of slowing down. If there were a Hall of Fame for the all time great
Hobbs owners, dakar would surely be atop the very short list. Dakar is
the longest tenured owner in Hobbs, and right there with him is wholk,
who have been part of Hobbs and the AL North Division since seasons 1
and 3 respectively. The AL North Division returned all its owners for
season 50, Zattack is going into his 10th season and coach34, a former
owner in Hobbs, is going into his 5th season.
👀Future Hobbs Headline Alert - Keep an eye on Hobbs Headlines for a story on the history of the owners in Roy Hobbs. Curious
to know if it was just me, or if there was some truth to my assumption
that the AL North is a true powerhouse division in the AL, I posed the
question: How many seasons since Hobbs inception has the AL North had the
top winning team in the American League?
The Answer❓❔❓.....well lets just say, its a lot.
Using
my limited research staff and low budget statistical analysts, I
concluded that the AL North Division has had the top winning team or has
tied for the most wins, in 28 of the 49 seasons, with Kansas City
having 18 of them. Two of the three highest season win totals of
all-time in the AL are from AL North Teams. Both the Jayhawks and
Erffdoggs have posted a win total of 117 in a single season, which is
just under the AL record of 118. Not surprisingly, the very first World
Series in Roy Hobbs World was won by an AL North team, the Seattle
Imperials, which is now the Milwaukee Franchise.
Kansas City Jayhawks
dakar🏆🏆🏆Season 49 Record 104-58 (World Series Champions)
Highlights of Season 49 The
Jayhawks were projected to win the division and make another run in the
playoffs, which is exactly what they did. Fueled by the lost
opportunity to repeat as champions in Season 48 and their disappointing
exit in the ALDS after entering the playoffs as the League's top team,
dakar added some talent in the offseason and set their sights on the World
Series Title. Everything went right for Kansas City in Season 49. Like a
machine, they won the division, earned a first round bye as the #1
seed, and cruised through the playoffs winning both the ALCS and the
Worlds Series 4 games to 1.
 |
| Willie Matos |
 |
Pascual Castillo
|
Bo Guerrier
won the AL Batting title hitting .363 for the season and a Kansas City
Franchise record for batting average in a single season. The team as a
whole hit .282 for the year, but the story for the Jayhawks was their
pitching, with overall dominating seasons by Pascual Castillo and Willie
Matos and several others. Offseason changes/moves
Not a lot changed, but they lost their primary 2B Lenny Mack
who thinks he's the difference maker and flipped to the NL to help out
Austin after beating them for the 2nd time in the World Series. Maybe
he's the key...keep an eye on Mack come playoff time. Dilson Rodriguez
re-signed as a minor league Free Agent, but a few days later he packed
up his stuff and moved to Omaha (Rule 5). Kansas City still has no idea
he is gone. Dolf Adams
came over in a trade with Buffalo to take over in CF. Perhaps the best
move was declining Willie Matos option and letting him walk, then
picking him up at a discount in Free Agency. Risky move, but it worked
and the 40 year old is tearing it up.
Season 50 Outlook
 |
Happy Cepeda
|
Its
business as usual in Kansas City, sitting comfortably at 13-4. (Now
16-10)The early schedule set up a series against all three division
opponents, and the Jayhawks went 9-1 in those games putting them in
first place, which is likely where they will stay for the entire
season. Its all smiles in Kansas City...they even have a guy named
"Happy" on the team. The Jayhawks look strong again and are sure to
make the playoffs, but can they win it again this year, or are they one
of those every other year types?...only time will tell.
Madison Mashers
coach34
Season 49 Record 95-67
Highlights of Season 49 The
previously bewildered Mashers fans were singing a different tune in
Season 49. The Mashers finally put it together and won a respectable 95
games and got the 1st Wild Card spot and made the Postseason for the
first time in 7 years. The prior year defensive moves worked out and the
bullpen, which was solid, got much better. Newcomer Jacob Barker went 13-1 in 120 innings of middle relief, and Erv Person was impressive as a rookie reliever, and closer Benny Lira took home the AL Fireman of the year award. The team MPV, however goes to All Star and Silver Slugger left fielder, Felix Cave who hit .312 with 30 HR and 119 RBI's, scored 131 runs and had 215 hits.
Offseason changes/moves
The core players remained, but Madison made several moves during the offseason. The biggest move was locking up Fireman of the year Benny Lira who agreed to a 5 year deal worth 31.5 million. 14 game winner, SP Clarence Mays was released (remains unsigned), and standout rookie Erv Person will move into the rotation. A few new arms were brought with hopes of some improvement, and to cut down on the walks. (3rd most in the AL). They also traded for DH David Andujar after declining the option of Domingo Marmol's in a move to open cap space.
Season 50 Outlook
While
the Mashers did not make any big changes to improve the roster, they
did not lose any significant players either. The Mashers can be expected
to remain competitive and make a push for a second straight playoff
appearance, but they aren't ready to compete with Kansas City just yet.
So far they have gotten off to a slow start, but are well balanced in
all areas and the wins should come. Madison is currently top five in
runs scored and runs allowed, and the team batting average will most
certainly get better. Expect Madison to end the season with a similar
record as last year. Hopefully the team won't be so excited about just
making the playoffs that they forget about the Wild Card series like
last year. The talent is there to advance.
Milwaukee Chedda
Zattack
Season 49 Record 76-86
Highlights of Season 49
The
90 win Wild Card team that went to the World Series one season before,
saw a major decline in Season 49 and it ended in dissapointment.
Coaches and fans alike were left scratching their cheeseheads and
searching for answers. Lets focus on the positive... P.T. Ordaz won a Gold Glove at Shortstop in the and RP Omar Nicasio went to his first All-Star Game. Omar finished the season with a 3.05 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 65 IP and was 30-34 in Saves.
Offseason changes/moves
The Chedda went out and made some big moves in free agency. The were able to sign starter J.J Snell
by luring him in with a first year 10 Million Dollar Bonus to hopefully
improve the rotation. Next they won the bidding for 5 time All-Star SS Eddie Fonville
offering him a Max Contract. Fonville earned his big payday by having
his best season offensively in his contract year, he hit .308 with 37
HR and 129 RBI posting career highs in nearly every offensive category.
He will play primarily 3B in Milwaukee.
Season 50 Outlook
Milwaukee
should see some improvement over last season, and they are off to a
good start, sitting just 2 games behind Kansas City (now 3 games back).
The offense right now is top 5 in runs scored (118) in the AL, and 3rd
overall in team batting average (.281). Hopefully it continues, because
Milwaukee will have to be excellent offensively to stay in the
race...if there is a slight drop in offensive production, I'm afraid the
pitching just isn't strong enough to keep winning at this pace....runs
allowed is not too far behind the runs scored. (111)
Philadelphia Erffdoggs
wholk🏆
Season 49 Record: 83-79
Highlights of Season 49
Philly
went from 102 wins in Season 48 to just over .500 in Season 49 and
missed an opportunity to return to the playoffs. What didn't change was
the teams ability to hit the long ball. Philly hit 313 Homeruns which
was the most in the league. Destin Shea (53) Tony Martin (45) and Nevin Stinnett (40) combined to hit 138 Homeruns with seven other guys in double digits.
Offseason changes/moves
The
power hitters are all returning and offensively the team is basically
the same. The Erffdoggs changes were all in pitching. They lost
Starting Pitcher Theo Schulte and their primary closer and 6 time Fireman of the year guy, Yordano Valdes,to
Free Agency, who at 40 years old is still a solid bullpen guy. Valdes
is now with Omaha. Philly went out and signed some younger pitching
arms to add bullpen depth.
Season 50 Outlook
Philadelphia
looks strong on paper, although they are off to a rough start. The
dropoff to 83 wins last season may have been just a bit of bad luck, an
Philly fans are hoping the team plays more like the 102 win squad. With
the power bats in tact, the lineup will produce runs. If a few guys
can get on base more regularly when the balls are flying over the fence,
the Erffdoggs could be scary. My stats guys were unable to come up
with the team numbers for runners in scoring position or Home runs with
guys on base, but jugding things by Shea, Martin, and Stinnet's RBI
numbers, they were surely down. In fact, Shea's numbers for hits, 2B, 3B
and HR were all up from the prior season, but his RBI's were down from
113 to 98. Watch for Philly to improve, but with the strength of this
division, it will be a tall task for them to make it in the playoffs.
Final AL North Standings Projection
AL NORTH:
1st Kansas City Jayhawks Projected AL North Champion
2nd Madison Mashers Projected Wild Card
3rd Philadelphia Erffdoggs
4th Milwaukee Chedda
