Season Preview: London Knights

2017 Record: 86-74, 2nd in Euro
Key Losses: SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, SS Jose Reyes
Key Additions: 3B Alex Gordon
2018 Prediction: 84-76

Thanks to the woeful Far East last season, GM Sean O'Hallaran saw his Knights make it to the playoff round. But rather than patting himself on the back, the Knights GM has to be worried about what went wrong after finishing with 11 fewer victories than in 2016. This team, infused with great young talent and draft day steals, was supposed to be the next big thing. What happened? Well, the pitching didn't cut it at all. Despite the effort of Daisuke Matsuzaka, London finished with a whopping 4.86 ERA, better only than Baltimore and Osaka. Yikes. Jered Weaver got 32 starts and rewarded Manager Davey Johnson with a 5.41 ERA. And after Dice-K's 3.23, the next lowest ERA on the team was closer Craig Hansen at 4.26. Even the awesome Knight offense couldn't make up for this mess.

So the exciting offense, with a wicked combination of speed and power and players in their prime, remains intact save for Jose Reyes signing with Taipei. (Who's his agent? Sheesh.) Alex Gordon, formerly of Cleveland, will take his spot in the lineup. O'Hallaran resigned 2B T Mackey, who is as solid a #7 hitter you'll find. There are three 30/30 players for opponents to deal with, in McFadden, Clemente and Russell. So did the Knights improve their pitching this offseason? Did they replace the dearly departed Dice-K? Negative. It looks like London will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with this pitching staff. Oh, they resigned RP Michael Zagurski. Good job, you can't replace a 6.72 ERA easily. And he signed left-hander Sean Burnett for the 5th spot. Burnett posted a 6.71 ERA last year, and that miniscule advantage in suckiness means he's a starter while Zagurski is a middle reliever, I guess. Paris is going to clobber this pitching staff, no?

Batting Order v RHP
CF Warren McFadden
3B Alex Gordon
SS Diego Clemente
LF Delmon Young
RF Jim Russell
1B Jimmy McNulty
2B TJ Mackey
C Billy Wilson

Platoons - shmatoons. What you see is what you get and why not? The 8-hitter, entering his third season, hit .301 with 22 bombs and 15 steals. This lineup will hurt you.

Pitching Rotation: William Bray, Jered Weaver, Christopher Volstad, Tosekawa Mahara, Sean Burnett
Closer: Craig Hansen

Can the closer Hansen get over 20 saves? And if that rotation underwhelms you, hold your nose when you check out the 'pen. A lot of pressure on Weaver to have a great season - he's due isn't he? Good thing London fans are familiar with blitzes and heading for cover, they can show it off when the opposing team comes to bat.

The Paris strategy of great offense/pitching- that-will-hold-you-in-there only works, you know, if you actually have pitching that will hold you in there. The Knights will be fighting tooth-and-nail for the Wildcard spot this year.