Major League East Roundup

Some folks wonder where I have been the last few months. Contrary to popular belief, this Shocker is still around and has been following the baseball season in the Major & Superior Leagues this year. Its a long story why I haven't been able to post this season. Basically, I was at my neighborhood sports bar where I was engaged in a much heated debate concerning the best teams of all time. As it turns out, my worthy adversary believed that the best team ever was - get this - the 1995 Utes, who won 117 games and repeated as World Series Champs. I correctly debated him that the 1987 Shockers were far and away the best team ever. After a few months of "Ute" screams vs. "Shocker" chants, I finally won the debate when my opponent keeled over from one too many blood curdling "Ute" screams.

But I digress...

The Major League season was quite interesting this year. Some familiar faces and some new blood as well. In the end, the New York Cobra easily won the East division. The final margin of 4 games does not represent how lopsided this race was. The biggest shocker (other than me) was that the Florida Penguins, the long time #2 to New York's #1, experienced a complete collapse finishing 71-91.

Florida's poor performance can be attributed to their salary cap purgatory. To contend with the Cobras the past few seasons, Florida had to mortgage the farm system. Matt McCoy was having a great season in Florida before they shipped him away to Miami for Justin Springer +. The most disappointing players in Florida this year were Jake Cisco and Danny Almonte. Cisco, a two-time MVP and one-time triple crown champion managed to hit only .253 with 30 Homeruns and 65 RBI's. He also managed to hit only 18 doubles. How is this possible? My bet is that Cisco struggled with being hopelessly out of contention for the first time in his career, with no real hope on the horizon. Florida needs to get better soon, or they may risk alienating their MVP and contribute to his early demise. That being said, watch out for a big season next year from Cisco, who will be motivated to prove this year was an aberration. Almonte, the one time future ace of the franchise, struggled with the Penguins, posting a 4.62 ERA. With his impending free agency, the Penguins shipped him off to Toronto for a token prospect.

Florida's drop in the standings was welcomed by both Toronto and Philadelphia, who moved up. Toronto stayed in the race for the wild card until the final day of the season when wins by Portland and Hollywood sealed their fate. Fueling Toronto's drive was outstanding pitching from both their starters and their bullpen. Longtime ace Rene St. Claire went 15-9 with a 3.27 ERA, Scott Karchner went 15-10 with a 3.43 ERA, and David Mulder went 13-8 with a 2.72 ERA. In the bullpen, Julio "J-ROD" Rodriguez established himself as the best closer in the game with 6-1 record, 1.04 ERA, and 45 saves. On offense, youngster John Hafner established himself as an up and coming 1st baseman with a .316 average and gold glove caliber defense. 2Bman Andy Stewart established himself as the best in the league at his position with his 34 homers, 91 RBI's, and 81 walks.

Philadelphia had their first ever winning season, going 87-75. Youngster Rocky Balboni had a nice season, racking up 201 hits with 44 doubles and 8 triples. He also flashes a nice glove and has great speed. Paul "Big Show" White added the power with 33 homers (albeit a down season for his standards). The pitching staff was solid, led by Charlie Zito with 13 wins and a 3.56 ERA. Philadelphia is really excited about another young pitcher, Jong-Soo Ts0. "General" Tso had a 9-10 record and 3.68 ERA. The Grays love his 179-49 K-BB ratio, a great indicator for future development. The bullpen was once again solidifed by the old man, Steve King. King finished with a 3.64 ERA and matched his age with 38 saves. The team will look for King to return to this role next year.

Last but not least, we have the New York Cobra. Although they won only 95 games, it was good enough for home field advantage throughout the Major League Playoffs. Lets talk about this team position by position:

C: It started out as a platoon with Pudge Fernandez, Jorgensen, and Todd Allen. Pudge usually played for Roger and Pedro, taking the rest of the time off to rest his weary knees. When it was apparant that Pudge was not the hitter or defender he has been in the past, Brad pulled the trigger and brought in defensive specialist Paul Hagan from Detroit. Although he can't hit, he is right there with Ray Brooks as the best defenders in the game. He will get most of the playing time in the post-season, especially in the first round vs the speedsters in Portland.

1B: Manfred Mueller had a solid season, hitting 24 homers and 40 doubles, to go with his 97 walks. His gold glove defense is also a big plus for this team. All in all, New York was hoping for a better season from Manfred. He is a threat to explode at any time in the playoffs as he is known for getting homer happy from time to time.

2B: This might finally be the last year for Joe Thomas. Joe played in every game finishing with triple crown numbers of .259-22-97. Although he can still look graceful on the occasional double play, he finished with 24 errors and below average range. You can bet a lot of fans are rooting for Joe to go out on top with another World Series title.

3B: Tim Griffin had an amazing first half to the season, staying among the top 5 hitters for batting average. At the end of the year, he migrated towards his career averages at .292 with limited power and walks. He is in the lineup mainly for defense and contact hitting against Portland's dominant right handed power pitchers.

SS: Brett Solo had a down season at only .266-32-100. On the plus side, he will probably win a gold glove with his .989 fielding percentage and 8 errors. Even though New York expects more from a player who makes over $20 million per season, he still provides a huge advantage over any other team's shortstop in the post-season.

LF: New York started the year anticipating that Jackie Garrison and Ricky Buckley would form a nice platoon combo. After a poor spring, New York sent Buckley to the minors for almost the entire season. They wanted him to work on his defense for his eventual shift to his more natural position at 2nd base. Playing the majority of the time, Garrison had a nice season at .269-15-51 and 5.7 runs created per game. The veteran Bob Zygyk did a nice job filling in for Ricky Buckley, hitting .269 with a .341 OBA, and .513 SLG for 6.1 runs created per game.

CF: Chad White had an outstanding season as usual. Chad really controlled the strike zone this season, finishing with a .322 average and striking out only 61 times. Chad also hit 28 homers, 40 doubles, had 31 stolen bases, and played gold glove defense.

RF: Lee led the league in hitting at .362, and had 24 homers and 108 RBI's. Considering that New York only signed him for his gold glove defense and rocket arm, he was everything they could have hoped for after signing him to a $20 milion dollar per year free agent contract. With his 10.3 runs created per game, he has surpassed Jake Cisco as the best right fielder in the league. The future MVP award on his mantle will make this official.

Starting Pitching:

Pedro Lewis was everything New York could have hoped for after signing him to a record $21 million dollar contract. Pedro went 14-6 with a league leading 2.37 ERA. He also struck out 218 batters against only 48 walks in 212 innings. Stuart Coppolla was outstanding again with a 14-7 record and 3.59 ERA in 218 innings. Jaret Benser had a great year at 15-7, 3.19 ERA, and 175 strikeouts. Roger Chillingworth was dominant at times, hittable at others. He finished at 12-10, 3.68 ERA, and a dominant 170 strikouts and 43 walks in 173 innings pitched. With his 12 victories, Roger raised his career total to 396 wins. He will pitch again next year, we just don't know when and for who. There is talk that he may pull a Roger Clemens 2006 mid year debut....

Bullpen:
The bullpen was the weakest link for New York all year. Benitez started out as the closer, than sucked and Rudiger Rocker was given some opportunities. Rocker flourished at the start of the year, then started to have bouts with wildness at the wrong times. Rader and Pike also filled in for awhile in a true closer by committee. Prior to the last trade deadline, New York acquired dominant closer Troy Everett for the stretch drive and playoffs. Everett is a "rent a closer" as he is a free agent at the end of the season. On paper, New York's bullpen should be a major asset. Pitching in the harsh environment in New York has prohibited this from becoming a reality.

More on the other divisions and playoff previews later...seriously!