Busters Team Breakdown - 2/7/10
ANGELS : 9-7 (5-2) 1 Lamb League Championship
What's new -Their rotation. Josh Longo remains atop the rotation but they will have a new #2 pitcher in Steve Weeks. Steve was 1-1 in the regular season and made just 2 starts last year, but his most recent start was a tremendously gutsy win over the Braves during the world series. The Angels may spot start former #2 pitcher Adam Trigger but look for Weeks to get a lot more than 2 starts this year.
What they must do to win -Hit, hit and hit some mo'. The Angels were no-hit an incredible 3 times in last years playoffs, they managed to win 2 of those but their lack of offense cost them several games during the season, including game 3 of the world series. They have a stellar rotation and defense, a solid lineup is all their really missing.
Pitching Rank: #4
Offensive Rank: #4
BRAVES : 44-10 (17-7) 3 Hess Division titles, 3 Hess League Championships, 3 World Championships
What's new -An improved lineup. They added former ROY Anthony Auspelmyer to the lineup and seem to be void of any weak links. Certainly one of, if not the best offense in the HL which may end up being the difference maker against formidable pitching. How Nick Giordano and James Strang bat may go a long way in determining the success of their offense.
What they must do to win -Find offense outside of Chris Hess and avoid "game 3's". Although their lineup is different there are many returning players and at points in the past Hess has carried the Braves offense, almost as if the other players just wait for him to make a play. Again it seems the HL is laid out for the Braves to win, but due to the playoff format going to a game 3 almost always messes up a teams rotation, they'll want to make it a goal to grab the #1 seed in order to have a better chance at a first round sweep.
Pitching Rank: #1
Offensive Rank: #3
CARDINALS : 11-11 (7-2) 1 Hess League Championship, 1 World Championship
What's new -A lot, but not much. What I mean is the names and faces have changed but the style is still purely "no name". McKelvey isn't there as their ace anymore, but Chris Horwedel is and he's a damn good pitcher, plus now they've added Tom Tierney so their rotation hasn't lost anything. Zac Longo is still the captain and there still an athletic, aggressive and high-risk offense and defense. There going to be one of the favorites in the Lamb and make no mistake about it, anything less than a championship will be a failure.
What they must do to win -Play smart. They've been in the league long enough to know their opponents and know you have to be smart to win a championship. Whether its off the field things like setting up their rotation during the regular season or on the field issues like making smart throws and not swinging at bad pitches, they must play smart.
Pitching Rank: #2
Offensive Rank: #2
INDIANS : 11-5 (2-3)
What's new -V-Los, and their uniforms. Joe V's bat may have the highest expectations of all this year as he looks to bring his big numbers to the big stage. Even the Indians know though that everyone must step up their game if they are to be successful and get by the almighty Braves. Also they seem to be leaning towards using 3 pitchers for the 2010 season but Brian Kelly will remain the Indians big game pitcher.
What they must do to win -Step up their offense, beat Chris Hess. Both should be obvious, the whole point of signing Joe Villalovos was because they need to be a better hitting team. As for beating Chris Hess-it can be done, but not twice. I have full faith that BK can beat Hess on any given day, but can the Indians offense and their #2 pitcher beat Nick Giordano? They're going to have to because asking anyone to beat Hess twice in a series is not realistic.
Pitching Rank: #3
Offensive Rank: #6
MARLINS : 0-0 (0-0)
What's new -Everything. Besides the fact that former Blue Jays #2 pitcher Shane Couball is the captain, nothing else is know about this team. Sources have said that perhaps other former teammates from the Jays may join the team but only time can tell.
What they must do to win -Pass universal health care.
Pitching Rank: #10
Offensive Rank: #10
METS : 0-0 (0-0)
What's new -The franchise. Gary Merritt leads the Mets franchise into its inaugural season but this team doesn't contain a single rookie. Gary is joined by 3-time champion Tim Goyette in addition to former Padre teammates Anthony and Luke Phillips, the Mets also singed Devin Zielinski whom was one of the Blue Jays best young players last season. Realistically the Mets probably don't expect a championship this season but the franchise has everything it needs to be successful and a potential championship franchise in the future.
What they must do to win -Establish a rotation. Nothing is set in stone for the Mets rotation yet but Gary Merritt looks to be the #1, and as captain expect Gary to do everything he can between now and the start of the season to work on his pitches. Plenty of motivation exists as he is slated to take the mound opening day against fierce rival the Orioles.
Pitching Rank: #9
Offensive Rank: #8
ORIOLES : 4-12 (0-0)
What's new -Attitude. The Orioles have come out swinging this off season in all phases of the word. Verbal jabs between captain Scott Debiase and Mets captain Gary Merritt have created a new league rivalry, and his connections and desire to win at any cost has attracted several big free agents. Former ROY runner-up Colin Phillips joins the teams pitching staff as well as adds a solid bat to their lineup, also Indian-killer Sean Kinally joined the team and looks to make just as big an impact for the Orioles as he did for the Dodgers. However with big talk comes big expectations as the O's have become many peoples sleeper team in the Hess League.
What they must do to win -Peak at the right time. This is important, only 1 team has ever won a championship after losing their last game of the year. In short you have to be a winning team going into the playoffs, this is when the Orioles must be playing their best. CPD and MC-Hammer are going to have to pitch their best games at the end of the year and into the playoffs if the O's are going to leave their mark this season.
Pitching Rank: #6
Offensive Rank: #5
RED SOX : 6-10 (0-2) 1 Lamb East Division Championship
What's new -Their size. The 'Sox will not field teams of 12 this year, a solid core of players from last years team is returning including Matt Hogan and John Dyer. Andy Hogan will play the role of manager this year and he is undoubtedly out for blood. He is aggressively pursuing free agent pitcher Nick Leffler but even if they don't land him the team will be in good hands. Hopefully for their sake John Dyer can sustain his success on the mound for the Red Sox because at the moment he is the only thing that's keeping this team in the playoff hunt.
What they must do to win -Find a #2 pitcher. Dyer will be the face of the Red Sox pitching staff probably as long as the team exists but whom will fill the #2 spot? The lack of a true #2 pitcher is holding them back from being an elite team, they have all the other intangibles to win a championship they just need to fill this one void.
Pitching Rank: #7
Offensive Rank: #7
ROCKIES : 0-0 (0-0)
What's new -We don't know yet. A merger of two teams on this big of a scale has never been done, its almost like a science experiment. The Rockies will boast a lineup that's not only powerful but full of league accolades. Their presumed rotation of Fuchs and T.O. would make it among the best, but its definitely their lineup that will grab the most attention. With so much focus the last couple years over pitching dominance it will be interesting to see if the Rockies have created a dominant offense.
What they must do to win- Pitch solidly. Pitching still wins in this league, especially in the playoffs. The good news for the Rockies is that with a powerful lineup their room for error on the mound may be bigger than others, if your fuchs or T.O. or even Resue just don't allow yourself to lose the game on the mound, at least give your offense a chance to make its impact.
Pitching Rank: #5
Offensive Rank: #1
YANKEES : 6-10 (0-2)
What's new -They lost their rock. Zac Longo wasn't their best pitcher but he stabilized their rotation ,and he was their best hitter. Losing him is big because they have yet to fill the hole he left, not many free agency moves in the off season may cost them for 2010. Their one bright spot is the development of Matt Weeks. With a little work Matt can be a Legitimate ace but the yankees could really use a good bat in their lineup and of course a #2 pitcher.
What they must do to win -Sign more talent. At some point captain Dan LaPlant is going to have to make some moves, he's got a couple roster spots open and needs to fill them with productive players. Theirs still lots of good talent on the free agency market including veteran Jason Rozell and pitcher Nick Leffler. We'll see just how bad Dan wants a championship based upon his aggressiveness in seeking and signing new players.
Pitching Rank: #8
Offensive Rank: #9
