Mid Season Report - N.L. North

Rochester Rockets (NL) dagger0021 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 9: 3rd Place (66-96)
Season 10 Prediction: 2nd Place
Season 10 Place/Record: 1st Place (45-47)

Impact Player: Bruce Kile - 28 HR, 74 RBI, 50 RS, .910 OPS
Impact Pitcher: Patrick Crosby - 8-4 W/L, 3.10 ERA, .248 OAV, 1.30 WHIP

You Oughta Know
No team is above .500 in this division which is shocking considering Minnesota won 97 games last season. Taking advantage of the division mediocrity are the Rochester Rockets. Their pitching has been pretty good as they're 6th in the N.L. in Team ERA (led by Patrick Crosby, Peter Suzuki and Edge Thomas), but what you oughta know is that the hitting is tops in the N.L. in batting average (3 starters above .324). While Walter Bailey is having a better season as I predicted, it's really been guys like Raymond Wright and Bobby Ray Palmer who are setting the table for the RBI guys Bruce Kile and Fernando Sanchez.

Trenton Titans (NL) KGS77 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 9: 2nd Place (84-78)
Season 10 Prediction: 3rd Place
Season 10 Place/Record: 2nd Place (42-50)

Impact Player: Cam DeRosa - 19 HR, 75 RBI, 58 RS, .294 BA
Impact Pitcher: Cristian Torres - 8-3 W/L, 4.70 ERA, 99.2 IP, 81 K's, 1.38 WHIP

Not Ready Yet
Trenton's offense is good enough to be 5th in the N.L. in hitting, but their pitching has been a major detriment (last in the N.L. in ERA at 5.93). Christian Torres is having a decent season with an 8-3 record, but even his ERA is much higher than last season (3.95 in season 9). Orlando Ordaz and Enrique Lee are living up to my preseason hype, but Trenton will need to find an ace in order to contend. Cam DeRosa and Sherm Roberts continue to pace the offense, but can they outpace the lack of pitching? Only time will tell.

Minnesota Mighty Men (NL) raidersfan View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 9: 1st Place (97-65)
Season 10 Prediction: 1st Place
Season 10 Place/Record: Tie - 3rd Place (40-52)

Impact Player: Willis Bonilla - 16 HR, 51 RBI, 50 RS, 10 SB
Impact Pitcher: B.C. Tatis - 10-5 W/L, 4.59 ERA, 3.11 OBP, 1.27 WHIP

The Kids Aren't Alright
Was last season as good as it gets for the Mighty Men? It's certainly looking that way right now. To match last year's record Minnesota would have to win 57 out of their last 70 games - that's not gonna happen. The pitching is middle of the road (4.61 Team ERA) and the hitting is below average (5th worst team BA at .262). I thought J.J. Taylor would bust out this season, but that hasn't happened. J.D. Shermann is way off the mark compared to last year's stellar numbers, Pedro Franco is hitting almost 100 points less than he did last season and Domingo Navarro who drove in 91 runs last year isn't even in the lineup every day due to his struggles. These guys need a Diet Pepsi Max - "Wake up people!"

Sioux Falls Canaries (NL) yoker70 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Season 9: 4th Place (65-97)
Season 10 Prediction: 4th Place
Season 10 Place/Record: Tie - 3rd Place (40-52)

Impact Player: Tim Bell - 18 HR, 60 RBI, 51 RS, 10 SB
Impact Pitcher: Angel Ordaz - 22-23 SVs, 3-1 W/L, 3.03 ERA, .189 OAV, .98 WHIP.

Maybe Tomorrow
Not a bad start at all for the Canaries, but I really need to go off on a tangent here when I look at former Blizzard relief pitcher Angel Ordaz's stats. This guy played in Burlington, a -4's stadium, and could muster an ERA under 5.27 once in the last 4 seasons. Twice in those 4 seasons his ERA was over 7. I trade him to Sioux Falls and now he decides to get his groove on. Thanks for nothing Mr. Ordaz. Anyway, back to Sioux Falls. They've still got a ways to go to become a really good club, but with the way the division is playing out right now, they're a couple moves away from winning it this year. Find a bat to help Tim Bell and Omar Rivas. These are crazy times in the N.L. North!