Darin
What happened last year: It was a one horse race for most of the season, with World Champion Halifax clearly a cut above the rest. By season's end, the Sailors were
the only team with a winning record (their 98 wins tied with Atlanta for most in the American League) and they lead the division in both runs and team ERA. Halifax's offense was all about spreading the wealth (damn socialists!!!), with no hitter breaking 100 RBI, but five collecting 80+. The story of the pitching staff was Johan Santana, who won the Cy Young and almost went undefeated for the year. The rest of the rotation all won 11 or more games, while the bullpen managed to bend but not break in close games. Notable performances from other North Division players included Cleveland's explosive young right fielder Tex Austin (48 HR, 126 RBI) and the entire Philly outfield; Hunting, Bruce and Hunter combined for 373 runs, 110 HR and 360 RBI. Amazing. Bedford had good team speed as five different hitters had 20 or more steals.
What happened in the offseason: Not a lot of player movement in the North this offseason. Halifax lost El Ron Ubardo to Taipei, but signed lefty Tim Gudex to a rich contract. Cleveland beefed up it's woeful bullpen with the additions of William Buckner, Brandon Durden and Reed Rothchild, while Philly added Doug Waechter and Bedford rolled the dice on some vets.
What will happen this year: On paper, it looks like Halifax's division to lose again. A full year with Prior, Santana and Verlander in the rotation pegs them as easy favorites, and if they can get some good bullpen performances out of their stockpile of young arms, 90 wins should be easy. Cleveland is going to have a tremendous offense, but will their pitching keep them in games? Young guys like Voorhees and Rule 5 pickup Joe Archer need to step it up in a big way. Philly is due for a rebound after a down year. The offense is great, and if the pitching rotation can skew back to their career averages, the Fever could compete for the wildcard (or, with a trade or two, push Halifax for the division). Bedford....what to say about them? It's the team that under performs every single year. What is it about Brooklyn that sucks the life out of almost every player?
Five Best Pitchers:
1 - Mark Prior (HAL)
2 - Johan Santana (HAL)
3 - Luke Hochevar (BED)
4 - Rich Harden (PHI)
5 - Justin Verlander (HAL)
Five Best Hitters:
1 - Jay Bruce (PHI)
2 - Tex Austin (CLE)
3 - Andy Hunter (PHI)
4 - Will Hunting (PHI)
5 - Alex Hildenbrand (CLE)
Five Best Prospects:
1 - Jason Wilber (3B-PHI)
2 - Samuel Archibald (OF-HAL)
3 - Dante Bichette, Jr. (OF-CLE)
4 - Hunter Johnson (SP-BED)
5 - Ernie Fitzgerald (RP-PHI)
Predicted order of finish:
1 - Halifax
2 - Philly
3 - Cleveland
4 - Bedford
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