With 3 teams available we will be ready to start quickly. Here's a short breakdown of the available teams:
NL South
Former New Orleans Franchise (88-74, 1st)
Rarely does a division winner become available but that is just what has happened here. Previous management did a nice job with this team as it’s 2 division titles in the last 3 seasons shows.
Juan Mendez (.354, 34, 101) is a perennial MVP candidate, however he isn’t the only offensive star on this team. Dee Bagley (.300, 24, 79), Rico Chavez (.296, 25, 82) & Osvaldo Uribe (.287, 33, 89) can also do damage with a bat in their hands.
The team ERA of 4.02 was very respectable, however no starter won more than 14 games and only 48 of 70 save opportunities were convert. Kevin Barden is a workhorse (197 IP) & Victor Javier posted 35 saves. However finding pitchers that can go deeper into games to lessen the strain on the pen and shutting down opponents late in games would quickly boost this teams win totals.
This team only needs minor tweaks so a newbie or veteran owner will be able to handle running this team and making the changes to finish the job started by the previous regime.
AL North
Former New York Franchise (45-117, 4th)
The last 3 seasons have been a horrible time for this franchise and the fan base hopes new ownership can once again give them something to cheer about.
The offense struggled mightily. A .250 team batting avg, only 3 players with more than 25 HRs, no one with at least 80 RBIs and only one player having scored more than 70 runs shows this area needs some major changes.
The pitching staff was even worse with a team ERA over 6.00 and 7 pitchers losing 10 or more games. Dennis Yoshii ($15M) and Buck Petrov ($14.5M) are both quality pitchers, unfortunately this team has many holes and the money spent on them would probably be better spent on acquiring players to fill those holes
This team needs a major overhaul of it’s entire roster. A significant amount of money will be dropping of the payroll next season so this year will be another of struggle. It would be wise if the new owner would try to move some players this year so younger and more talented players can be brought in. If that isn’t possible then the biggest change in personal will happen next season. The new owner will need some patience but either a new owner or veteran will be able to handle this team.
AL West
Former Anaheim Franchise (74-88, 1st)
In a down year the weak AL West was won by a sub .500 team and Anaheim was able to capture the divisional crown. MVP candidate Omar Arias (.367, 32, 94) and Seth Paul (.292, 33, 104) had tremendous years at the plate but no other player hit above .270.
On the hill, Garland Casian (9-6, 3.72) and Vince Carter (5-10, 4.05) put up respectable numbers but that didn’t always translate into a win.
Both the pitching staff and bats did decent jobs but would benefit greatly if some upgrades were added to both. Table setters would improve the already solid numbers of Arias & Paul. And an extra starting pitcher or two would go a long way to getting this team above .500 and making it capable of going deeper in the playoffs.
A veteran or new owner should be able to handle the task of turning this franchise around.
4/15/2012 4:37 AM (edited)