2007 CDBL SEASON PREVIEW "Your Mileage May Vary!" Predicted Playoff Teams: Aaron Division - Montreal Voltigeurs Paige Division - Madison Muckrakers Gehrig Division - Albuquerque Maul Tiant Division - Dedham Destroyers AP Conference Wildcard - Manhatten Beach Mashers GT Conference Wildcard - Concord Minutemen #1 League Wildcard - Elk Grove Trout #2 League Wildcard - Anchorage Gold Diggers WORLD SERIES PREDICTION - Maul over Voltigeurs ************************************************************************************************** Aaron Division - 1. Montreal Voltigeurs (Last Season: 77-85, 4th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Denny Neagle, 56 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Dave Smith, 146 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Rafael Palmeiro, 853 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Rafael Palmeiro, 989 PLUSES: Manny is still Manny, but he'll have the strongest supporting cast in years. Carlos Pena finally lives up to his promise and can hit the long ball. Young Hunter Pence, BJ Upton and Nick Swisher form a solid outfield. Montreal could lead the conference in runs scored this year. Josh Beckett is a legit ace, and Derek Lowe is a solid second starter. Jonathan Papelbon leads one of the best bullpens in the majors. MINUSES: The tail end of the rotation could use an upgrade for a team picked to win a division title. OVERALL: Some nice hitting and some decent pitching make Montreal the pre-season favorites for the Aaron division. 2. Manhatten Beach Mashers (Last Season: 104-58, Aaron Division Title) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: CC Sabathia, 96 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Ricky Bottalico, 61 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Rickey Henderson, 1069 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Mark McGwire, 960 PLUSES: David Ortiz continues to be a perpetual MVP candidate, and Brad Hawpe provides excellent sabermetric stats and power at the outfield position. Brian McCann and Michael Young should provide above average hitting at the infield positions. Fausto Carmona, John Smoltz and CC Sabathia form a frightening rotation that ranks near the top of the majors. CJ Wilson and Casey Janssen lead a strong bullpen. MINUSES: Manhatten Beach may need to trade for a bat or two during the season in order to win the division. OVERALL: Manhatten Beach is still very much in their window of contention and could easily repeat as Aaron Division winner this year. 3. Elk Grove Trout (Last Season: 66-96, 5th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Chuck Fineley, 129 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Robb Nen, 62 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Tony Gwynn, 1283 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Tony Gwynn, 913 PLUSES: #1 overall pick Ryan Braun will make an immediate impact, and Magglio Ordonez and Alex Rios help with the offense. Justin Morneau and Bobby Abreu add to it all. Elk Grove will score plenty of runs. Oliver Perez, Tom Gorzelanny and John Maine may not be household names but should given the Trout quality innings in the rotation. Bullpen is .. fine. MINUSES: Likely that nobody on the pitching staff will make the all-star game. OVERALL: Some fine hitting this year, it will be up to the pitching staff to determine where Elk Grove finishes in the Aaron division. 4. Arkham Investigators (Last Season: 85-77, 3rd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Kevin Appier, 134 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Arthur Rhodes, 78 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Ken Griffey Jr, 1274 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Ken Griffey Jr, 1450 PLUSES: Adrian Gonzalez, Dan Uggla, Edgar Renteria and Aramis Ramirez give Arkham one of the best hitting infields in the game. Aaron Rowand and Alfonso Soriano add some punch for this high scoring offense. Dan Haren, Erik Bedard and Mark Buehrle can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. MINUSES: Arkham have a few good relievers but the lack of bullpen depth could hurt them. OVERALL: The Investigators will be a good team this year, it may come down to the final weeks of the season to determine if they make the post-season or not. 5. Dallas SuperSquad (Last Season: 93-69, 2nd in Division, 2006 CDBL Champions) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Jamie Moyer, 108 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Derek Lowe, 81 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Derek Jeter, 1273 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Derek Jeter, 853 PLUSES: Derek Jeter continues to be one of the best top of the lineup hitters in the game, and Adam Dunn will crank plenty of home runs. Garrett Atkins will add to the offense. Roy Halladay should continue to anchor the rotation, and Noah Lowry, Carlos Villanueva and Bronson Arroyo should log plenty of innings without hurting the team too bad. MINUSES: Dallas could use a touch more power, they threaten to score fewer runs than average. OVERALL: Championship flags fly forever - and since Dallas wasn't even picked to make the playoffs last year much less win it all a 5th place finish should be considered the floor. 6. Point Lomas Friars (Last Season: 44-115, 6th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Kevin Millwood, 71 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Jay Howell, 55 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Jason Giambi, 1068 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Jason Giambi, 1174 PLUSES: Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are two up and coming pitchers who should man the top end of the rotation for years. Brad Lidge and Brian Fuentes lead a capable bullpen. MINUSES: The hitting will be very anemic, and the back end of the rotation isn't much to write home about. OVERALL: Another rebuilding year, Point Lomas should see their fortunes rise in 2008. ************************************************************************************************** Paige Division - 1. Madison Muckrakers (Last Season: 95-67, Paige Division Title) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: David Wells, 126 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Billy Taylor, 76 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Andruw Jones, 1054 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Andruw Jones, 1067 PLUSES: David Wright takes over the role of franchise hitter and will excel at it. Jimmy Rollins will be one of the league's best table-setters, scoring lots of runs, hitting lots of triples and swiping lots of bases. Nick Markakis, Orlando Hudson, Russell Martin and Travis Hafner have power and walks at their disposal. The hitting will easily be the best in the division. Aaron Harang, AJ Burnett and ace-in-training Felix Hernandez will have plenty of win opportunities. Francisco Cordero leads a strong bullpen. MINUSES: Madison won't know how good of a team they really have until they face someone not in their division in the playoffs? OVERALL: With a relatively weak division in 2007, the Paige division is Madison's to lose. 2. Tualatin Thunder (Last Season: 67-95, 5th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Steve Avery, 943 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Mariano Rivera, 109 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Jeff Bagwell, 1511 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Jeff Bagwell, 1374 PLUSES: Miguel Cabrera is one of the best hitters in the majors and could contend for an MVP award. Victor Martinez provides high quality hitting at the catcher position, and Jim Thome can still rake. Francisco Rodriguez and Huston Street lead an elite bullpen. MINUSES: After Tualatin's big 3 hitters the rest of the lineup is so-so. The rotation is piece-work and very so-so. OVERALL: The question Tualatin will face all season is, can Miguel Cabrera and their bullpen will their way to a winning record, or will the rest of the hitting lineup and rotation take them down? 3. Seattle Decaf (Last Season: 80-82, 3rd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Ken Hill, 98 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Billy Wagner, 104 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Fred McGriff, 815 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Fred McGriff, 909 PLUSES: Joe Mauer remains the best young catcher in the game. Jack Cust and Khalil Greene provide some power, and Michael Cuddyer, Ian Kinsler and Aadm LaRoche will help the Decaf score some runs. Billy Wagner and David Riske lead a lights-out bullpen. MINUSES: The rotation won't frighten anyone. OVERALL: Some good hitting and a good bullpen are strengths this year. Will their rotation hold up for them to contend for a division title? Only time will tell. 4. Springfield Isotopes (Last Season: 71-91, 4th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Curt Schilling, 212 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Doug Jones, 94 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Barry Bonds, 2407 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Barry Bonds, 2320 PLUSES: 90's hero Ken Griffey Jr should have a resurgent year, and Shane Victorino should score some runs and swipe some bases. Ted Lilly is a capable starter, and the bullpen is capable and amply-stocked. MINUSES: Other than Griffey, no hitter on the squad is going to remind anyone of the Bonds' era brute squads of seasons past. The rest of the rotation is batting practice quality. OVERALL: Springfield still looking to capture past glory, but signs point to a mid-division finish. 5. DBL Fishbiscuits (Last Season: 58-104, 6th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Mike Scott, 66 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Todd Frohwirth, 33 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Larry Walker, 1320 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Sammy Sosa, 1548 PLUSES: Matt Holliday, Robinson Cano and Albert Pujols form what may be the best top of the order hitters in the league. MINUSES: The rest of the hitters are .. not good. And the pitching may be worst in the AP Conference. OVERALL: DBL has a chance to place 3 all-stars on the hitting squad this year, but that will be their season highlight. 6. Brookfield Brewers (Last Season: 83-79, 2nd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Jack McDowell, 78 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Jason Isringhausen, 83 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Vladimir Guerrero, 975 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Vladimir Guerrero, 1099 PLUSES: Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye remain good sources of power, and Hideki Matsui and Adrian Beltre can slug the ball as well. John Lackey and Scott Kazmir are workhorse pitchers who should log good ERAs. MINUSES: The lack of walks amongst the hitters will hurt run production, and other than their top two starters the rest of the pitching staff is very mediocre. OVERALL: New ownership made a lot of trades in the off-season with an eye towards improving in the years ahead. 2007 looks to be a rebuilding/reloading year. ************************************************************************************************** Gehrig Division - 1. Albuquerque Maul (Last Season: 87-75, 4th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: John Smoltz, 166 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Gregg Olson, 84 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Albert Belle, 1071 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Albert Belle, 1155 PLUSES: An off-season trade brought in Jose Reyes and Aaron Hill, a well-hitting, slick fielding double play combination. Combined with Todd Helton, Mike Lowell and Ivan Rodriguez, the Maul have the league's best combination of infield offense and defense. Grady Sizemore mans the centerfield position and Pat Burrell provides a good source of power. The rotation of Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt, Chien-Ming Wang and Jered Weaver is one of the best in the majors, and Rafael Soriano and Jason Isringhausen lead a strong bullpen. MINUSES: Burrell is the only 30+ home run threat on the team, so the Maul may see lots of runners left on base. OVERALL: Strong pitching, good hitting and excellent fielding give Albuquerque their best shot at a division title in years. 2. Concord Minutemen (Last Season: 100-62, T-Gehrig Division Title) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Jimmy Key, 111 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Robb Nen, 60 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Chipper Jones, 1196 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Jose Canseco, 1190 PLUSES: Chipper Jones continues to defy father time and will have another great year at the plate. Mark Teixeira, young phenom Troy Tulowitzki and Lance Berkman can all mash. Concord is the odds on favorite to lead the league in home runs this year. Johan Santana could lead the league in wins and is a Cy young candidate, and Jesse Litsch and Ben Sheets are decent playoff- eligible starters. Trevor Hoffman leads a strong bullpen. MINUSES: ..having to compete in one of the strongest divisions in the CDBL? OVERALL: Concord is geared to contend and should have a great season. 3. Anchorage Gold Diggers (Last Season: 88-74, 3rd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Kenny Rogers, 95 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Trevor Hoffman, 131 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Barry Larkin, 936 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Ken Caminiti, 729 PLUSES: Brian Roberts, Eric Byrnes and Curtis Granderson should help make Anchorage the speediest team in the league. Jack Wilson and Casey Blake provide some hitting in the infield. Jake Peavy is a bonafide ace, and Ian Snell, Curt Schilling and Chuck James round out a nice rotation. Rafael Betancourt leads a decent if no-name bullpen. MINUSES: Lack of home runs could stall the offense. OVERALL: The speedy running and pitching should make the Gold Diggers contenders in this tough Gehrig division. 4. Topeka Stingers (Last Season: 63-99, 6th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Javier Vazquez, 98 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Dave Righetti, 89 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Jeff Kent, 1329 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Jeff Kent, 1278 PLUSES: Ryan Howard can mash, and will mash impressively. David DeJesus and Carlos Guillen are decent hitters, and Jeff Kent continues to impress at age 39. Adam Wainwright and Javier Vazquez will log many innings and should scoop up some wins. MINUSES: The rotation quickly drops off after the top two, and the bullpen needs a few more arms to be competitive. OVERALL: Some decent hitting, but lack of overall pitcher depth will hurt Topeka's chances for the division this year. Still, the Stingers could finish in the lower half of the division but still put up a winning record. 5. Hong Kong Cavaliers (Last Season: 65-97, 5th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Pedro Martinez, 203 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Johnny Franco, 99 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Roberto Alomar, 1266 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Carlos Delgado, 1129 PLUSES: Carlos Beltran and Carlos Lee are elite hitting outfielders, and JD Drew's on base average helps give Hong Kong one of the better outfields in the game. Mariano Rivera is still one of the best closers in the game MINUSES: Everything else. The rest of the pitching staff will struggle to keep the score low. The infield will struggle to contribute runs. OVERALL: 2 years removed from a title, Hong Kong still needs a year or so to develop new young talent to contend again. 6. Carlsbad Surfers (Last Season: 100-62, T-Gehrig Division Title) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Greg Maddux, 291 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Mark Davis, 50 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Mickey Tettleton, 646 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Andres Galarraga, 663 PLUSES: The future. Jacoby Ellsbury and Justin Upton should man the outfield for years to come, and Zack Greinke is a multi-year ace in training. MINUSES: The present. The Surfers traded much of the talent who could contribute immediately in 2007 in favor of future potential. OVERALL: A rebuilding year. See you in 2008! ************************************************************************************************** Tiant Division - 1. Dedham Destroyers (Last Season: 71-91, 5th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Doug Drabek, 143 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Trevor Hoffman, 62 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Brian Giles, 904 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: David Justice, 837 PLUSES: Prince Fielder should contend for the home run crown, and Corey Hart and Torii Hunter provide some pop in the outfield. Chone Figgens should score plenty of runs and swipe plenty of bases at the top of the order, and Josh Willingham and Edwin Encarnacion provide hitting depth. Dedham should be near the top of the league in runs scored. Tim Hudson will angle for an all-star start this year, and Gil Meche, Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Bannister fill out one of the deepest quality rotations in the league. Jose Valverde and Jeremy Accardo lead a strong bullpen. MINUSES: Hard to see any at the moment. OVERALL: Dedham's rebuilding project is complete, and they're ready to contend for a title once more. 2. Georgia Pines (Last Season: 99-63, 2nd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Bruce Hurst, 122 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Mitch Williams, 59 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Cal Ripken, 1034 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Cal Ripken, 1145 PLUSES: A young star-studded rotation in Cole Hamels, Justin Verlander and Rich Hill should make Georgia contenders for years. JJ Putz and Joe Nathan are standouts among the league's best bullpen. The Pines might have the league's best pitching. MINUSES: Other than Derrek Lee and veteran Miguel Tejada, the hitting is a bit anemic. OVERALL: Great pitching, but can the Pines score enough runs to contend for a division title? 3. Avila Dragons (Last Season: 64-98, 6th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Roger Clemens, 205 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Keith Foulke, 126 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Alex Rodriguez, 1558 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Alex Rodriguez, 1513 PLUSES: Alex Rodriguez continues to play at an elite level, and Barry Bonds bounces back from injury to meaningfully contribute. With Rodriguez, Bonds and Sammy Sosa, the Dragons feature 3 of the top 8 career home run leaders in their lineup. Brad Penny can go toe to toe with any other starter in the league, and Takashi Saito is a fireman of the year candidate. MINUSES: Sosa and Bonds are on a downward arc in their careers, and the rest of the rotation won't strike fear into anyone's hearts. OVERALL: Just 3 years removed from a title, Avila has some talent to make a run for the playoffs. 4. Milwakuee Pilots (Last Season: 95-67, 3rd in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Tom Glavine, 175 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Rick Aguilera, 85 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Juan Gonzalez, 971 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Juan Gonzalez, 1196 PLUSES: Ichiro Suzuki, Chase Utley and Jorge Posada are high average, high walk sabermetric wunderkinds. Ryan Zimmerman and Gary Sheffield add some pop to the lineup, and Carl Crawford should take a base, swipe a base, and hit quite a few doubles. Milwaukee should be able to score plenty of runs this year. Joe Blanton and Andy Pettitte should win plenty of games with the run support, and Bobby Jenks and Joakim Soria give the Pilots some good options at the top of the bullpen. MINUSES: No big home run hitters could leave quite a few runners on base, and the tail end of the rotation could struggle a bit. The Pilots may also need a few more arms in the bullpen to make a playoff run. OVERALL: The Pilots will put on a hit clinic, but can their pitching gel to get Milwaukee to the post-season? 5. Boston Bulldogs (Last Season: 100-62, Tiant Division Title) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Randy Johnson, 265 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Jim Gott, 55 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Edgar Martinez, 1324 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Edgar Martinez, 1263 PLUSES: Vladimir Guerrero was a nice pickup in the off-season, hitting for average and power. Kelvim Escobar is a quality starter, and Orlando Hernandez, James Shields and Carlos Zambrano help form an above average rotation. MINUSES: Other than Aaron Heilman, the bullpen doesn't have much depth, and other than Guerrero the lineup doesn't have much power. OVERALL: Boston likely won't place many players on the all-star team, but if their platoons outperform Boston could make the post-season. 6. Alphaville Caution (Last Season: 86-76, 4th in Division) ALL-TIME CAREER WINS LEADER: Roger Clemens, 143 ALL-TIME CAREER SAVES LEADER: Lee Smith, 113 ALL-TIME CAREER RUNS LEADER: Matt Williams, 615 ALL-TIME CAREER RBI LEADER: Matt Williams, 742 PLUSES: Hanley Ramirez emerges as an elite shortstop, hitting for power, average and should make the stolen base leader board. Randy Winn and Kevin Youkilis will help with run production. Chris Young should have a nice season as the default ace. MINUSES: A weak bullpen and lackluster rotation will hurt Alphaville's chances. OVERALL: Some decent hitting, but pitching will hold back the Cautions on contending for the division. Despite being picked 6th, the Cautions are not your typical 6th place team and would finish much higher in other divisions.