Spring Training Predictions for the SL

So yesterday was the PL or as I like to call it the Jr Circuit and today is the SL or the Sr Circuit:

Brooklyn - The Bombers are poised to repeat in the OEL. Most of the team returns to help defend the title. The main key addition this season is SS Melvin Barrett. His addition will help solidify the lineup which includes the Ted Williams Award Winner 2B Miyatarou Takenao. He flirted with .400 last season ending up at .387 and leading the league in Hits, RBIs, AVG, OBP and OPS. The pitching staff is solid with Mark Fossum, Ayurou Hidetada, and last year's rookie of the year Trevor Canela all doing their part. Can this team repeat??? I think so...
What to watch for - SP Tyler "Ex-" Conn probably the best pitching prospect in the game will be part of the rotation...how good can he be???

Helena - The Handbaskets were in the wildcard team last year, and they look poised to be there again this year. Last year's Cy Young Award winner Joseph "Happy" Diederich and Tomas Folch combined for 37 wins last season and should improve on that number this year. The team made no major FA moves, but there are plenty of young players on the team that are looking to make contributions. The lineup is solid too and they should create enough runs to help out the pitching staff. The only weakness is the bullpen that could give up some games in the late innings. Hopefully, their offense will be able to score some late runs to win some of the games the bullpen gives up.
What to watch for - The same as last year...just this year they should wrap up the wildcard earlier in the season.

Jersey City - The Skeeters were close to the playoffs this season, but this season it is going to be tough for them get that close this year. They did not make any big additions to the team this year in the FA market, Joseph "One Dog" Silas should shine again this year as he builds on the 17 wins he had last season. The lineup does not have any superstars, but is solid. They will be struggling at times to score runs so they need to keep the runs scored against them down so they can keep the games close.
What to watch for - There is not much talent at AAA for the Skeeters so watch the stars at the ML level including "One Dog" who should have a fine season.

Marietta - The Mammoths are going to have a solid season this year, but don't look for a playoff run this season. Brandon Millette will fill the roll of #1 starter and looks to earn his $9/year contract extension he signed last season and they hope to get some leads to their strong bullpen. Constantino Martinez, the Honduran G-d of walks looks to get his 3rd straight season of 100+ walks and build on his 44 HR season in 2002 and should be the cornerstone of the offense. They need to hope that the team can score enough runs to win some games.
What to watch for - Nate making a trade or 2 or 3 that will bring all the prospects to Marietta.

New York - The Knights have the best SS in the game Alfonso Reyes and he hopes to recover from an off season last year and to earn his $9M/year contract that he signed last year. Too bad, there is not much else to help with the offense on this team. Charles Hults will be the anchor for the pitching staff, but just like with Reyes and the Offense, Hults will not get much help from the rest of the staff. It looks like a long year for the Knights, but they do have some promising talent at the AAA level.
What to watch for - Abe Nix and Tim Nosal should make their ML debuts this season and look to be promising young starters for a while. There is also closer Javier Corchado who is just about ready at AAA so look for him soon. There is also 1B Richard Berkeley who should be a nice addition to the ML roster real soon. While this season maybe a wash for the Knights the next few seasons look very bright.

Winnipeg - As the token CPU team in the SL, the Strikers gobbled up their share of FA in the off-season running up their payroll to over $90M (we are not sure if these are American or Canadian $$$). Samuel Mazza will earn over $7.5M to pitch in Canadia and will be the #1 in the rotation. The problem they will have is that he is not a true #1 starter and the rest of the rotation is at the same level. Even SP Tobias Rosado was able to get a contract for over $5.5M, after a 7-15 season with Cairo, this pitching staff is going to struggle. RF Jerry Brasher will be paid close to $4M in Winnipeg and they are hoping that he will follow up on his over .300 season he had last year in Marietta. He should be the star of an offense that will struggle to get runs across the plate.
What to watch for - MR Hernando Desalvo will get his chance to show what all the hype is about. He will start the season at the ML level, and will get plenty of chances to pitch.

That is the team by team outlook for the 2003 season...but where will they finish???

1. Brooklyn
2. Helena
3. Marietta
4. Jersey City
5. New York
6. Winnipeg

Do you agree???? Is there anyone I missed in the what to watch for sections???? Do you just want me to be quiet and let the season speak for itself?????

As for the playoffs I am going to say Brooklyn over Helena in 7 games (closer than last season) in the SL and Seattle over Stockholm in 5.

For the World Series...I hate to say it, but I think that Seattle will beat Brooklyn in 7 (I hope I am wrong on this one).