Monday, August 4, 2014

NL WEST - Season #30 Preview


Honolulu Rainbow Warriors -

The Honolulu Rainbow Warriors felt great about their chances this season after eating Ricky Atchley's terrible contract in order to acquire ace Octavio Valenzuela.

Then Valenzuela blew out his elbow. Now we have no faith in anything.

The end.




Seattle Somethings -

S30 marks the 4th season that Seattle is under pjfoster13 leadership, and rumors of ownership's unrest persist. While the Mariners are experiencing the tease of rebirth midway thru 2014, the Somethings have yet to taste that type of contention. However, GM Foster points to the overall strength of the depth chart and organizational control as signs of substantial progress.

Management expects a slew of ML-caliber prospects to hit the majors within the next 2 seasons. The ML roster is finally turning over with some of the fruits of its patient development labor. Two first year players and two solid rookies with legitimate expectations start the season in the bigs, and another three major pieces from a AAA team that won 105+ games are scheduled to arrive about two dozen cycles into the season.

External roster moves have been kept to a minimum since mid-S29 blockbuster with Omaha, although some insiders believe the winds of pre-season trade rumors continue to hover over Safeco like springtime clouds coming in off the Pacific.

After buying into the hype of expectations that were set way too high in S29, Seattle's jaded yet restless diehard fanbase appears prepared for another postseason-less campaign, but serial optimists will point to the depth of the starting rotation and the quantity & quality of incoming prospects to argue that Seattle could, in theory, approach 80-85 wins if given the right combination of roster adjustments, player development, and luck. Recent history shows that the 6th and final playoff spot is within range of this win target.

Outlook: In transition


Acquisitions: Rule 5 COF Kevin Martin (former 1st round pick with great speed, good defense, and servicable bat)
Subtractions: LHRP Valerio Prieto (FA)
top ML players: Starting rotation. 2B Ringo Bradley. C Rodrigo Campos, 1B Vicente Ciriaco
top rookies: RHRP Reggie Page, SS Mateo Nunez (AAA), RF Lenny Parkers (AAA), LF Marc Oswalt (AAA)


Colorado Evil Empire -




Omaha Thunderbirds -