What Are The Prognosticators Smoking?

or

Let's re-hash the Less Filling Central Division

I have seen two articles so far predicting the future of the NASBL.  It is not surprising that Bill Anderson is picking his Pocono Chin Music to win the Less Filing Central Division and to challenge for the 2013 NASBL Championship.  I hope each of us other 15 NASBL managers are also predicting our team's success.  With spring hope swells eternal.  Even Cub fans are talking about winning ball games and making a playoff run.  I know - I live with one and I ride the train with many.  However, I still can't understand what they are talking about.  Yes, the Cubs are improved.  They actually have enough starting pitching to actually say they have a pitching staff.  However, if any of them perform - I am sure they will be traded by late July as even Theo Epstein and Dale Sveum are more realistic than that.  No one goes out to lose games and I am sure NASBL managers want to win as much as anyone.  (The guys who play to lose are LOSERS!)

Well what does Pocono have in the way of players to back-up such bold predictions.  They have a solid doubleplay duo of Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker - both 2s and both reasonably good with the bat.  Torii Hunter is no longer rated in CF and if played there will take a hit to his 1 rating.  Montero is the other end of the strong up the middle group.  Prince Fielder will weigh-in with a big bat at 1B and anchor the line-up.  Pocono's strength may be in its pitching.  7 starters with less than a 4.00 ERA.  Kyle Lohse leads the way with a nice balanced card and -3 hold rating.  Shields, Arroyo, Garcia*, and Rookies Darvish and Harrell  are all strong and in the MLB will win more than they lose.  However, this is the NASBL and their fates will be to face better line-ups designed to play against them.  Grant Balfour leads an impressive bullpen, a solid group, as good as any bullpen, but not better than Vermont's or Grundy County's bullpen.  I actually think Bill Anderson should enjoy this preseason period as I am not picking him any higher than 3rd and his team could trail the division again.

Adam Leickels' Slatington Bulldogs won the NASBL 2012 crown.  Anderson is picking them fourth.  Now I have learned how hard it is to keep a team strong in the NASBL and Slatington does look like it is a One-Year wonder, based on what is returning.  However, Adam can hold his head and his banner high for this year.  ADAM - CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING IT ALL!!!  The Bulldogs are returning one of the best SP - Matt Cain.  Matt Moore - the Bulldogs top pick will be great and provides a solid No. 2.  The rest of Cain and Moore's support this year did not have as good a 2012 MLB season as they had a 2011.  Halladay had an ERA in excess of 4.00 for probably the first time in his career.  Ricky Romero was bloodied at 5.77 and was even sent to the minors near the end of spring training.  Daniel Hudson was injured and Quintana provides a lefty reliever and spot starter.   Even Mike Adams had a rotten year for him.  RIOS should be the teams hits leader and Mike Moustakas will anchor 3B and bash a bunch of homers.  Hosmer suffered a sophomore slump.  Ellsbury and Jamile Weeks only played 1/2 a season and their numbers suffered.  Grandal showed 200 very good ABs and brings hope to the catchers spot.  Yunel Escobar and Altuve are okay up the middle.  Bill - don't be surprised if the 2012 Champions challenge the Chin Music this year.

Justin Rabidoux's Vermont Fighting Sioux are very strong on paper and you know what - paper is what holds the numbers that the mechanical dice will choose for hits and outs.  The Sioux's starting pitching led by draft pick Jarrod Parker and holdover Mat Latos is good.  They don't have a lot of support, but if Eric Stults takes the bump as a starter - they will be at least 3 deep.  Tommy Hanson, Dillon Gee, and Kyle Kendrick are solid - but will struggle a little against NASBL lineups.  But Justin won't bow out just yet.  Jason Motte maybe one of - if not the best closers in the cards.  Posey and Holiday lead a competent offense.  Hardy (a supplemental pick and SS-1e7) and Mark Ellis 2B-2e5 are the toughest doupleplay duo in the division.  Justin will get good infield ABs from Keppinger, Bloomquist, and drafted Kevin Frandsen.  Adam Jones will hold down CF and rival any of the bigger CF names.  Garret Jones, Span, and the aforementioned Holiday will all make life more fun for Vermont fans.  The Fighting Sioux also have the guy I consider the best strat manager in the division.  Watch out if Vermont makes the playoffs - they wont need a 7 deep SP staff to win.

Well, that leaves my woeful entry in this years division.  Picked for 3rd place in both articles, I have to wonder what I have done wrong.  Well lets look.  Miguel Cabrera.  hmmm.  Wonderful card against RHP, no power against LHP (really).  Alex Gordon is probably my next best bat and is probably only a household name in KC.  Justin Morneau has seen better times.  Well I looked at my returnees and saw a bunch of big names that were older and less productive.  The biggest mistake I ever made was trading away Brandon Phillips glove and installing Dan Uggla's bat at 2B.  Everyone knows it is easier to catch a ball with a glove than a bat.  So I decided changes had to be made.  I acquired Danny Espinosa 2b-1e8 and Ruben Tejada SS-2e18 (with a good prospect of improving that) adding youth and fielding support for my pitching staff for my double play duo.  I kept Drew Stubbs CF-1e7(-3) to anchor CF (article to discuss this later-sorry).  Alex Avila was kept behind the plate despite the bad year (will the real Alex Avila please stand up.) So my middle is as good as any in the division.  Ethier adds a second decent batter in the OF.  I kept Morneau at 1b as he showed nice at bats against RHP.  I also kept my son, Ryan Howard to back him up.  I am hoping for a return to power for both of them.  I acquired Pedro Alvarez as my future 3B.  Going into the draft I had a decision to make - play to win or rebuild with youth.  I choose the later, kind of.  I took Manny Machado as the future face of my franchise.  As a 3B - he is okay, as a SS I might have a winner.  Then I decided I would take a 1B without grey hair and grabbed Paul Goldschmidt.  My 1st 2 picks were not going to make my team much better in 2013.  Then I started after pitching replacements to add to holdovers Zack Greinke and Ryan Vogelsong.  I was able to grab Baltimore's Chen as a potential No.3 and then later took Bartolo Colon whose card is balanced and its only weakness is the 8 BP and 4 outrights against LHB.  Guess what - he will only play in my park - he should have a very good year.  He may be my best startter when all is said and done.  Travis Blackley a nice little LHP will handle his rotation duties in the small parks on the road.  (Sorry Travis).  After that, I focused on RP.  I picked 4 situational lefties and two solid RHers to go with JJ Putz and Wade Davis.  I like my team and I haven't lost a game yet.  My team is younger, I believe I have a nice balance of talent across the diamond and I have few surprises up my sleeve.  The only games I play now are strat games and I play to WIN.  So go ahead and discount my team if you wish.  I think I will get more respect after the season.  But, we will see.

I will do my best to challenge for the Less Filing Central Title in 2013.  However, while I will play to win, I don't think any Less Filling Central team will be playing for the NASBL Championship this year.