What happened last year: London cruised to 102 wins and the Euro Division crown, but lost the WLCS to Paris. The Pimpernels won 90 games of their own, easily taking the WL Wildcard and pushing Halifax to seven games in the World Series. Scotland showed flashes of brilliance, but ended with a losing record, while Ireland looked completely overmatched all season. The London offense was amazing, with seven regulars hitting over .300. Delmon Young had a career year, smacking 46 HR and driving in 139 runs. Warren McFadden won the Euro MVP with his 91 XBH and 71 steals, and Russell, Clemente and McNulty were all outstanding. Solid starting pitching and a great bullpen gave London their best team in franchise history. For Paris, Choi and Dunn lead the way for an offense that scored less than a typical Pimpernel lineup. Williams and Pavano were good in the rotation, but the rest of the staff was pretty rough. Pretty good power in Scotland's lineup, but the team had trouble putting together big innings. Ireland was young and bad, again, with the super expensive pitchers unable to do enough.
What happened in the offseason: London lost their best two starters to free agency (Volstad to Ireland, Mahara to Osaka), but added Michael Pelfrey and Dante Inferno. Paris added Dennis Tankersly, Theodore Unger and Kendry Morales via free agency, and then acquired 3B Ed See from Kyoto (for Youliesky Gourriel and Les Beltre). Ireland beefed up their rotation, adding Kevin Thompson and Chris Volstad while retaining Bobby Brownlie. Scotland did little more than retain their restricted free agents
What will happen this year: London's offense returns fully intact and should put up huge numbers once again. The question for the Knights will be pitching, with a rotation full of #3 starters. The bullpen should be pretty good. Their main competition will once again be Paris, who has a ton of depth in pitching and the potential for a dynamic offense. Kendry Morales will hit 50 HR...you heard it here first. Scotland might be decent, but they just aren't built to compete with the big boys in the division. Wily Mo Pena is the cleanup hitter. Yikes. Ireland might be interesting if the young hitting ever develops. There are a ton of high draft picks here, but not enough have stepped up as offensive superstars. At least the starting pitching will be better.
Division's 5 best pitchers: 1. Jerome Williams (PAR), 2. Josh Beckett (IRE), 3. Chris Volstad (IRE), 4. Bobbie Brownlie (IRE), 5. Horacio Ramirez (PAR)
Division's 5 best batters: 1. SS Diego Clemente (LON), 2. CF Warren McFadden (LON), 3. CF Ryne Robinson (PAR), 4. LF Jim Russell (LON), 5. RF Pablo Matisse (SCOT)
Division's 5 best prospects: 1. SP Yoshi Sasaki (IRE), 2. C Jack Berry (IRE), 3. 2B Augustine Ortiz (LON), 4. RP Mike Hatcher (SCOT), 5. SS Alex Escavedo (SCOT)
Order of Finish: 1. London, 2. Paris, 3. Scotland, 4. Ireland
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