2002 Team Positional Rankings and Preview

[Chief Rum]

Why not?

I have a little time. Maybe it will drum up some talk.

RL CATCHERS

1. Columbus
2. Colorado
3. Ann Arbor
4. Boston
5. Hartford
6. Compton

There are some good, up and coming catchers in the RL, but it seems clear to me that Smith (CLM) and Landry (COL) are the stars. Smith is also the best defender.

RL CORNER INFIELD

1. Hartford
2. Boston
3. Compton
4. Colorado
5. Ann Arbor
6. Columbus

Hartford has the best quality and depth at 1B and 3B, although none of their bats individually compare with the top hitter from among the two positions on the teams behind them, including 1B Murray (BOS), 1B Arias (COM), 3B Morales (COL) and 1B Morales (ANN).

RL MIDDLE INFIELD

1. Compton
2. Hartford
3. Colorado
4. Columbus
5. Ann Arbor
6. Boston

This one was a tough call. In a year, it could be Colorado, with their depth and developing young talent. But I'll take the high end guys on Hartford (like SS Byron) and Compton (2B Dias) for now.

RL OUTFIELD

1. Hartford
2. Columbus
3. Colorado
4. Ann Arbor
5. Compton
6. Boston

It's tough to pick out the differences, because most teams just have phenomenal outfields in this league. Hartford has A list stars like Welsh and O'Reilly to put them on top, but bonafide OF stars are also featured on Columbus (Valenzuela and Ellis), Colorado (Aguilera) and Ann Arbor (Oliveira).

OVERALL LINEUPS RL

1. Hartford
2. Colorado
3. Columbus
4. Compton
5. Ann Arbor
6. Boston

Hartford just has the depth and the stars to dominate on offense. I think they are significantly ahead of the rest of the RL. Colorado and Columbus both have solid offenses with depth. Ann Arbor and Compton have some pieces, but not enough. Boston is clearly lacking in depth in its lineup right now, and not enough top end hitters.

[Alan T]

Bah, you started with the inferior league first!

[Chief Rum]

As usual, I took too long, so that's probably it (I have to go to work now).

Here's my "eyeball" predictions:

RL

1. Colorado
2. Hartford
3. Boston
4. Columbus
5. Compton
6. Ann Arbor

Colorado just has phenomenal pitching, to go with a strong offense. Hartford probably has the second best staff, and the best offense. Those two are ahead of everyone else. gstelmack has a very good staff, plus he's not AI, so I think he can take a bad offensive team to third. Columbus, Compton and Ann Arbor suffer mostly from very thin pitching staffs. Compton only stays ahead of allpro's Ann Arbor squad because of serious pitching issues in Ann Arbor.

CL

1. Toronto
2. Baltimore
3. Napa Valley
4. Atlanta
5. Brooklyn
6. Valdosta

Toronto already had the best team and added the two best arms in free agency. They're the clear favorite. Baltimore will battle with Atlanta for the best offense, but it's the depth in pitching that gives them the nod at 2nd. Napa Valley has that same depth in pitching, but it will need to overcome offensive shortcomings. Atlanta has the bats, but needs young arms to really step up and grow to challenge for the top spot. Brooklyn is solid in most respects, but a lack of depth in most places--particular on the mound--hurts its chances. Alan is always dangerous, he has some depth on his staff and he signed two of the biggest bats in free agency--but Valdosta was coming from just about nothing offensively. He needs another offseason like this past one to move from cellar to contender.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Bah, you started with the inferior league first!

I know! The goal was to get me to finish. I might have done the CL, and then said, screw the RL.

As it is, I ran out of time.

[Alan T]

Good to see that the expectations for me are low. That way I won't disappoint.

I agree that half of my offense is completely disgraceful, so we'll see if i have any tricks up my sleeve to avoid finishing in the cellar I don't think I'll be first but I don't think I'll finish last for my first time ever either.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Good to see that the expectations for me are low. That way I won't disappoint.

I agree that half of my offense is completely disgraceful, so we'll see if i have any tricks up my sleeve to avoid finishing in the cellar I don't think I'll be first but I don't think I'll finish last for my first time ever either.

Yeah, that was a tough call for me, because you're brilliant with the settings and getting your team to work within your park. Plus, pitching wins in this league, and you have some solid pitching. So it wouldn't shock me at all if you avoided last. The big problem? No AI teams in the CL, and all of the owners are fairly dedicated to keeping their teams on top of things, and they didn't start from as low as Valdosta did after the re-start.

It will be an interesting season.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Yeah, that was a tough call for me, because you're brilliant with the settings and getting your team to work within your park. Plus, pitching wins in this league, and you have some solid pitching. So it wouldn't shock me at all if you avoided last. The big problem? No AI teams in the CL, and all of the owners are fairly dedicated to keeping their teams on top of things, and they didn't start from as low as Valdosta did after the re-start.

It will be an interesting season.

Well I haven't had long to check these guys out, but thus far half of my pitching staff give me the impressions of being all ratings and no production. There appears to only be one solid starter and two solid relievers. Everyone else is going to be all smoke and mirrors or a big suprise for me.

I've made a few changes in my staff to try to get the most out of my #2 pitcher and #4 pitcher hopefully amounting in 4 or 5 extra wins this season.

The biggest problem for me right now is I usually tailor a team around my strategy moreso than tailor a strategy around the team. Even in the 1960s, I finished 3rd and 4th for a few years until I could groom a team together. Spring training didn't help much either as it just helped hilight what I already knew. I have a good outfield, poor hitting infield and inconsistent pitching.

[Tasan]

I haven't had time to look around a whole lot yet. I'm glad to hear I have a good staff, I think they look like crap, especially the relievers.