2009 CDBL Season Preview "Your Mileage May Vary!" Predicted Playoff Teams: Aaron Division - Point Lomas Friars Paige Division - Tualatin Thunder Gehrig Division - Carlsbad Surfers Tiant Division - Georgia Pines AP Conference Wildcard - Madison Muckrakers GT Conference Wildcard - Milwaukee Pilots #1 League Wildcard - Topeka Stingers #2 League Wildcard - Dedham Destroyers WORLD SERIES PREDICTION - Surfers over Thunder ************************************************************************************* Aaron Division - 1. Point Lomas Friars (Last Season: 98-64, Aaron Division Pennant) The Friars are loaded this year, with Kendry Morales, Adam Lind and Evan Longoria providing the power, and Luis Castillo providing on base hits and steals. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Johan Santana will be tough to beat in the rotation, and Trevor Hoffman leads a solid bullpen. This year it is World Series or bust for the Friars. 2. Manhatten Beach Mashers (Last Season: 97-65, T-2nd in Division) Hideki Matsui, Brad Hawpe and Brian McCann lead a lineup full of 20 home run power threats, and Nyjer Morgan should steal bases in bushels. CC Sabathia and JA Happ are solid starters, but the rotation gets a little thin after that. CJ Wilson lead a capable bullpen. It will be tough to match the Friars' firepower but the Mashers will try. 3. Elk Grove Trout (Last Season: 87-75, 4th in Division) Ryan Braun, Justin Morneau and Matt Kemp lead an offense that is equally as comfortable hitting a home run as they are stealing a base. Wandy Rodriguez and Jon Lester are solid starters, with the rest of the rotation being "OK". JP Howell leads a strong bullpen. The middle of the division will be closely contested, and Elk Grove is in the mix. 4. Dallas SuperSquad (Last Season: 85-77, 5th in Division) Derek Jeter is back to lead the SuperSquad, and is joined by fellow franchise member Adam Dunn who could smack 40 home runs. The hitting gets a little thin after that. Roy Halladay and Jair Jurrjens are a strong 1-2 combination in the rotation, and Bronson Arroyo is a solid #3. Ryan Franklin leads a strong bullpen. If the pitching can make up for the hitting, the SuperSquad could finish in the upper half of the division. 5. Montreal Voltigeurs (Last Season: 97-65, T-2nd in Division) In a post-Manny era, it will be up to players like Hunter Pence and Brandon Inge to help score some runs, which could prove challenging. The starting rotation is solid, with Randy Wolf, Josh Beckett, Kenshin Kawakami, Nick Blackburn and Jason Marquis providing some consistent starts. Jonathan Papelbon should excel at closer, but the bullpen is a little sparse after that. It may be a rebuilding year for the Voltigeurs. 6. Arkham Investigators (Last Season: 72-90, 6th in Division) Adrian Gonzalez and Dan Uggla provide some oomph for the Investigators, but the lineup starts thinning out after that. Dan Haren and Mark Buehrle should be good in the rotation, but the back end of the rotation gets pretty bad pretty fast. Not too many choices in the bullpen. It is looking like a rebuilding year and a chance at a high pick in 2010. ************************************************************************************* Paige Division - 1. Tualatin Thunder (Last Season: 40-122, T-5th in Division) Miguel Cabrera could contend for MVP honors, and Victor Martinez, Juan Rivera and Milt Cuddyer will contribute to an above average offense. Starting pitching is a little stretched out, with Tommy Hanson technically being the ace. But Rafael Soriano and Huston Street lead a very deep bullpen to make up the difference. The Thunder have enough talent to make a deep post-season run. 2. Madison Muckrakers (Last Season: 85-77, 3rd in Division) Aaron Hill was brought in to anchor the offense, and should hit plenty of home runs. David Wright and Denard Span bring contact hitting, stealing and an eye for walks for this competitive offense. Felix Hernandez is the young ace they've been looking for, and Josh Johnson, John Danks and AJ Burnett lead one of the better rotations in the league. The bullpen is lights out, led by Joe Nathan and Francisco Cordero. Madison has the talent to make it to the post-season and are threats to win the division as well. 3. DBL Fishbiscuits (Last Season: 98-64, 2nd in Division) Albert Pujols is in line to have a monster year at the plate, and Robinson Cano and Matt Holliday hit for average and power. Chone Figgins should steal plenty of bases and score plenty of runs. Chris Carpenter is a legit ace, and Edwin Jackson and Kevin Millwood round out a competitive rotation. LaTroy Hawkins is a solid reliever, but the bullpen depth gets depleted after that. The Fishbiscuits will be in the thick of things this season. 4. Springfield Isotopes (Last Season: 106-56, Paige Division Pennant) Jayson Werth, Nelson Cruz and Carlos Pena form a hard hitting trio in the middle of the lineup. Dustin Pedroia and Shane Victorino can get on base and swipe a few and should score plenty of runs. Ted Lilly, John Lackey and Matt Garza provide the Isotopes with a competitive rotation. Some decently relievers, but could use a few more to make them really competitive. The Isotopes are set to be competitive this year. 5. White Rock Mighty Pugs (Last Season: 78-84, 4th in Division) Joe Mauer is one of the best hitting catchers in the league, and Ian Kinsler and Russell Branyan can bring some zazz to the plate. The starting rotation may struggle to go head to head with some of the stars in the league, but the Mighty Pugs do feature a deep and solid bullpen to make up the difference. The Mighty Pugs should be competitive, but the team's success may boil down to how well the rotation performs. 6. Brookeville Bandits (Last Season: 40-122, T-5th in Division) Tank year #1 in the bag, and it netted them future star Buster Posey. Now it is time for tank year #2. Paul Konerko is in line for a decent season, but the rest of the lineup will struggle to score runs. The pitching staff will be one of the worst in the league, but in a rebuilding year that is kind of the point. Trust the process! ************************************************************************************* Gehrig Division - 1. Carlsbad Surfers (Last Season: 50-112, 6th in Division) The Surfers will come out swinging, with Joey Votto, Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Raul Ibanez, Andrew McCutchen and Mark Reynolds leading a very high powered offense. Zack Greinke should contend for the Cy Young award this season. Jon Garland, Jeff Niemann and Barry Zito round out the rotation. David Aardsma leads a deep and talent bullpen. The Surfers have the talent to go deep in the playoffs. 2. Topeka Stingers (Last Season: 70-92, 5th in Division) Ryan Howard will blast plenty of home runs and contend for MVP honors. Andrew Ethier and Jermaine Dye will hit for power, and Scott Podsednik and Erick Aybar will hit for average, get on base and swipe a few bases. Adam Wainwright and Javier Vazquez are a strong 1-2 punch in the rotation. Jose Valverde leads a deep bullpen. Topeka should win plenty of games this year and are strong contenders for a playoff spot. 3. Anchorage Gold Diggers (Last Season: 89-73, 4th in Division) The Gold Diggers will have a balanced offense, with Ben Zobrist, Mike Cameron and Curtis Granderson providing the offense. Randy Wells leads a rotation that may not make any all-star games but will be consistent. Matt Thornton and Carlos Marmol lead a bullpen that should be able to hold a lead. Anchorage has the talent to win games and should finish in the upper half of the division. 4. Hong Kong Cavaliers (Last Season: 101-61, Gehrig Division Pennant) The Cavaliers are loaded with 20 home run hitters, including Carlos Lee, JD Drew, Jose Lopez, Cody Ross, Bengie Molina and Chris Davis. Clayton Kershaw anchors the pitching staff and will put in an ace performance, but the rest of the rotation will struggle to keep the score down. Mariano Rivera is an elite closer, but the bullpen depth gets thin after that. The Cavaliers have plenty of good players, but a depleted pitching staff will hamper their win column. 5. Concord Minutemen (Last Season: 98-64, 2nd in Division) Troy Tulowitzki should have one of the better seasons for a shortstop, and Lance Berkman and Mike Napoli should provide some pop. Where the Minutemen will struggle is on the pitching side, where most of the staff are home run derby quality at best. 6. Albuquerque Maul (Last Season: 90-72, 3rd in Division) Most of the hitters are either injured (Jose Reyes and Grady Sizemore) or living off their past glory (Jason Giambi, Brian Giles). Jered Weaver and Roy Oswalt are competent starters, but the rest of the pitching staff will struggle. Still, it will be nice to see John Smoltz return to the Maul after a 10 year absence. ************************************************************************************* Tiant Division - 1. Georgia Pines (Last Season: 70-92, 5th in Division) The Pines lineup is jam-packed with quality hitters like Derrek Lee, Miguel Tejada, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Bay and Jason Kubel. The Pines will not lack in run scoring. On the pitching side, Justin Verlander will soak up some innings in the ace role, and Jake Peavy, Carlos Zambrano and Cole Hamels fill out the rotation. Ronald Belisario leads a bullpen that could probably use one or two more arms to shore up their very excellent post-season chances. 2. Milwaukee Pilots (Last Season: 33-129, 6th in Division) After cratering in 2008, the Pilots should come roaring back in 2009. Ryan Zimmerman, Chase Utley, Adam LaRoche and Ichiro Suzuki lead a strong offense. The starting rotation is their weak link, with Kevin Correia being the ace by default. But they balance it with the best bullpen in the majors, with George Sherrill, Brian Wilson and Health Bell leading the way. Milwaukee has their eyes on the post-season and will be contenders for the division title too. 3. Dedham Destroyers (Last Season: 95-67, 2nd in Division) Prince Fielder is in line to have an MVP season, and is backed by Josh Willingham, Torii Hunter, Miguel Montero and Brian Roberts. Cliff Lee and Joel Pineiro are a strong start to the rotation, and Gavid Floyd is a decent innings eater, but the Destroyers may need another arm in the rotation. The bullpen is also a point of weakness with some "merely OK" relievers. Still, there's enough talent here for the Destroyers to finish in the upper half of the division and contend for a playoff spot. 4. Half Moon Bay Dragons (Last Season: 76-86, 4th in Division) Mark Teixeira is the focal point of the offense, flanked by the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada. Ryan Dempster, Joe Blanton and Zach Duke lead a rotation that will rely on run support to win games. The bullpen has some options, led by Jason Frasor. The Dragons will be duking it out with several teams to clinch one of the wildcard spots. 5. Alphaville Caution (Last Season: 108-54, Tiant Division Pennant, 2008 CDBL Champions) Hanley Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis lead a potent Caution offense, adding the likes of Manny Ramirez, Ian Stewart and Nate McLouth. Ubaldo Jimenez is a capable ace, and John Lannan and Scott Feldman should make games competitive. Bobby Jenks and Brandon Lyon lead a decent bullpen. Alphaville won it all last year, and still have enough talent to contend in the toughest division in the CDBL. 6. Boston Bulldogs (Last Season: 81-81, 3rd in Division) David Ortiz should be a bright spot in the lineup, but the rest of the hitting will struggle to score runs. The pitching staff will struggle to keep the score down. Looks like a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs.