Team Review: Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta

After going toe-to-toe with the Sugar Bears in the '07 Series, the Mighty Men tossed in the towel on the '08 season and going into rebuilding mode. The Mighty Men held the basement for much of the season, but a strange late-season surge took them up into 12th place and almost undoing all their plans for 2009...until they lucked out with a #1 Lottery pick...

What went right: Hard to say that this is one for the "right" column, but considering David Landsman's strategy to give up on the '08 season, then the results were pretty much on target. Josh Hamilton and Brandon Morrow were real finds and look to have better roles next season (though Morrow will have to have that expanded role for Sardine City - he was traded in the offseason). The Mighty Men also stacked up on pitching and that seems to have paid off for them.

What went wrong: A late season surge that saw the Mighty Men lose what seemed to be a safe cushion and fall out of last place. Statistically for the 2008 season, just about everything went wrong, but according to the Landsman plan, everything worked out just fine.

2009 Outlook: With a record pace of wheeling and dealing in the offseason, the Mighty Men are set up nicely to make another run at the World Series. Much of the roster has been turned over, so you may not even recognize the new Mighty Men.

Team Review: Las Vegas Rat Pack

The Rat Pack went from last to being one of the top teams in the league this year. They actually had the second-best record in the league, but were unfortunate enough to be in the same division as the Newark Sugar Bears. The Rats worked tirelessly and turned over their roster several times to reach the Promised Land.

What went right: Just about everything. The Vlad Guerrero deal paid off (.342, .984 OPS, 14 HR, 49 RBI in 55 games). Carlos Pena, the team's first round draft pick, was an MVP candidate (53 HR, 130 R, 137 RBI, 1.023 OPS). The team had no real holes in their lineup. Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett had great seasons in the rotation.

What went wrong: The bullpen was a bit disappointing. Joe Nathan, acquired from D.C., was a bust. Josh Beckett, acquired from Blue Ridge, didn't provide as big of an impact as hoped for, but the club didn't give up all that much to get him. The team was one game short of making it to the DMBL World Series, so it's hard to say that they got anything really wrong though.

2009 Outlook: The Rats mortgaged the 2009 season (and possibly 2010) in exchange for a run last season - they traded away 6 picks this year and only got one back and dealt 4 picks already in 2010. Nevertheless, the team has a pretty decent core for next year, particularly in their pitching, and with a little bit of good fortune, could return to the post-season.

Team Review: Hoboken Cutters

The Cutters kind of, but not quite, hung around in contention this year again, but ended up on the outside looking in - a 9th place finish that not only left them out of the playoffs, but also keeps them out of the really sexy draft positions. The Cutters have long been known for hovering right around that .500 mark, never too high and yet never too low, though we should note that this year's mark (72-90) is the worst in Cutters franchise history. Overall the Cutters are only 34 games under .500 in their entire history (631-665).

What went right: Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez both had their usual superb seasons and Ian Kinsler and Travis Buck had breakout offensive years. Rookie pitcher Jeremy Guthrie was in the mix for the Listach and even got a vote for the McDonald. The Cutters were able to add extra picks in the middle rounds of the 2009 draft.

What went wrong: The rest of the rotation was disappointing, especially hyped youngster Scott Kazmir, who was shipped out after the season. Guthrie was the only starter with an ERA under 5.00 or with a winning record. Chris Duncan and Chad Tracy were major disappointments in the lineup. We won't even talk about Hunter Pence...

2009 Outlook: Finishing dead last in the Mirror League doesn't bode well for the Cutters in '09. The plan for next season is unclear. The team has some good core players, but a weak supporting cast. Most likely it will be a rebuilding year for the Cutters, but you can never count the Cutters out of one of those unlikely "from out of nowhere" seasons.

Team Review: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

The Hitmen were built to contend in 2008 and had a pretty good year, finishing in the final playoff spot. They lost to the heavily-favored Rat Pack in four games in the first round.

What went right: The pitching staff was the second best in terms of team ERA. John Lackey was the ace of a very young staff that should continue to improve and grow. Takashi Saito anchored an excellent bullpen. Ryan Howard was very productive in the lineup, despite a low batting average, slamming 49 homers with an .896 OPS.

What went wrong: Outside of Howard, the offense was mediocre. The power was lacking - outside of Brad Hawpe and Howard, no one else had more than 20 home runs - and the team was 9th in total runs scored and 9th in OPS.

2009 Outlook: Things look good for the Hitmen. The pitching staff should grow into one of the better ones in the league and the team has enough components on offense to build around. A good draft to fill out a supporting cast could make the Hitmen a contender in '09.

Team Review: D.C. Bushslappers

The Bushslappers had their best season in franchise history (including the Columbia years), including their first +.500 record (88-74). Sure they got swept in the first round by Philadelphia, but no one was expecting them to win that series.

What went right: The Slappers were a solid all-around team. They didn't have any superstars (ok maybe one), but instead they had many contributers. Jonathan Papelbon took the Eckersley Award as the best reliever. The pitching staff overall was solid, with all but 3 games started by the same five pitchers. The Slappers ranked 3rd in ERA and were 6th in OPS.

What went wrong: Well, maybe they could have used one or two monster sluggers to scare opposing pitchers, or a true ace pitcher to scare opposing sluggers. The team just folded when the playoffs came, batting .194 with a .548 OPS and accumulating a 5.90 ERA in their 3 games.

2009 Outlook: The team has a new name for the '09 season and with that they hope they can bring some "change" to the clubhouse and get over that hump. The team looks to have a similar composition next year. Derrek Lee, out all year due to injury, will return, but starter Kelvim Escobar will likely miss the year.

Team Review: Carolina Mudcats

The Mudcats always seem to fluctuate in and out of contention. After a disappointing 2007 season, the Cats were hoping for more in 2008, but instead finished just 2 games out of last place overall.

What went right: Well... not that much really. Dustin Pedroia had a great year as the number one overall draft pick and won the Listach Award. The Mudcat bullpen was solid, at least until the trade deadline, when much of the roster was jettisoned.

What went wrong: Just about everything. The offense sputtered and finished near last in OPS. Barry Zito, Brian Bannister, and Mike Pelfrey were disasters in the rotation, and reliever/closer Brian Fuentes threw as much gasoline on the fire as he could find. The team led the league in blown saves (11 by Fuentes alone) - this despite the fact that the team was tied for fourth in quality starts.

2009 Outlook: Things don't look much better at the moment for the Mudcats. They'll need an extremely strong draft and some good keepers to get back in contention next season. The rotation looks to be decent for next year, but the team needs major help on offense.

Team Review: Blue Ridge Bombers

Hey we're back from a nice long vacations...let's pick up where we left off:

Tom Zagenczyk took over for Paul Barbosa and moved the South Boston Gang over to Blue Ridge. Zagenczyk knew that this would be a rebuilding year, so it was not much of a surprise that the team ended up in 13th place overall when the dust had settled. However, Blue Ridge was in wild card contention for about half the season, until the team made the decision to forego an unlikely playoff run in order to get in a better position for the 2009 season. So the Bombers got rid of Eric Byrnes, Dustin McGowan, Aaron Harang, and the biggest producer, Vlad Guerrero.

What went right: Amazingly the team was in contention, though barely, at the All-Star Break, behind players like Guerrero, Prince Fielder, Harang, and McGowan. Of course most of the top producers were sold off, so that explains the drop right there. The team did well to sell high on Dan Uggla and cash in on his MLB first-half success.

What went wrong: It's hard to point the finger at some of the replacement players that were brought in after the purge, since there was an expected dropoff. However, it is still up in the air if Blue Ridge really got enough value for their players. The Josh Beckett trade in particular was maligned in the press, and the Guerrero deal also seemed somewhat underwhelming.

2009 Outlook: It looks like another rebuilding year for the Bombers (or is that a "building year"?), as the club doesn't look to have a good enough core to compete with the top players. The draft will be the key for this club's success in 2010.