Expansion: Yea or Nay?

With expansion a hot topic lately, let's take a look at the pros and cons of expanding.

First the cons. Well obviously the talent level will be watered down. 60 more players selected means less quality free agents. It'll be harder to make the playoffs. Teams that have stockpiled great talent will obviously be hurt more than those with thinner rosters. Expansion teams will most likely raid these teams more than their weaker counterparts.

Now on the other hand, less free agents and harder to make the playoffs means the league will require you to dig deeper. If you like that sort of thing, then this is a bonus! Adding two more teams spreads the talent around more (hopefully) and gives you more possible trading partners.
Let's take a look at the history of those expansion teams that I mentioned yesterday.

The 1992 Scranton Sparrows finished dead last in the league, but in 1993, the Sparrows turned things around tremendously, winning 90 games and finishing just outside of the final playoff spot. In 1994, the team moved to Louisiana and regressed back to second worst, but the franchise enjoyed three straight winning seasons, including a Hanover Division title.

The three teams in 1993 went in three different directions. The Cheyenne Warhawks became the only expansion team to ever make the playoffs in their inaugural year. In fact, the team made the playoffs in the only two years of its existence. Meanwhile, the Waikiki Keys lost a still record 129 games and is probably the worst team in the history of the DMBL. But in year two the Keys made tremendous improvement and won 76 games. The team looked headed in the right direction before dissolving after the 1995 strike season. The Charleston Chiefs meanwhile finished second to last in 1993 and then dead last in 1994.

The 1997 teams almost all finished in the last spots, except for Carolina, who finished in 10th. The last three spots went to Honolulu, Lisbon, and Phoenix. Carolina would be the first to make the playoffs in their third season, while Honolulu didn't make the playoffs until 2003 and the Lisbon Diabos (which were sold and moved to Philadelphia) first made the playoffs in 2005. The Dragons (now defunct) have never made the playoffs or had a winning record.

Expansion?

With all the revenue the league made on cable television contracts this past World Series, the league is abuzz about expanding. There has been some interest from outside parties in obtaining new franchises, so the ownership search could be quite quick.

The league first started as a six-team league back in 1991. 1992 was the first expansion year - one new franchise, the Scranton Sparrows joined. They filled out their roster by drafting along with the rest of the league and then basically having a solo supplemental draft after the initial 10-round draft. In 1993, three new franchises were added. They were allowed to draft five initial players during the 1992 season, claimed off waivers and turned into keepers for the 1993 season. They then drafted alongside the other seven teams and had their own supplemental draft after the regular draft. The last expansion in league history was in 1997 when the league expanded to its current 14-team format. The expansion teams, for the first time in league history, drafted players that were currently rosterd by the other 10 teams. All ten teams submitted protected lists, also for the first time, of 15 players and were allowed to pull back one player after another one was selected - up to a max of 2 players pulled back. In 1996, 2001, and 2006, there were dispersal drafts, but those were quite different from expansion.

Most likely any new expansion would be handled similarly to the 1997 expansion, with teams protected 12 or 13 players and pulling back a player after losing one. Playoffs, division structure, and player qualifications would still need to be discussed. If the league expands, we are looking at 2009 most likely, rather than 2008.

We'll take a look at the pros and cons of expansion tomorrow, as well as the immediate successes of the expansion teams.

Team Review: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

The Hitmen ended up in the three-way tie for eighth place. Despite being in a playoff spot for a good part of the season, the Hitmen hit some bumps in the road and ended up on the outside looking in.

What went right: The Hitmen offense and pitching were both in the top half of the league. Robinson Cano had a great year atop the Hitmen lineup. Ryan Howard followed up his Listach Rookie of the Year season with a Mitchell Award-worthy season. Takashi Saito and Chad Cordero were a solid closer tandem.

What went wrong: The young pitching staff is still going through growing pains. Felix Hernandez took a big step backwards after a successful rookie campaign and Jeremy Bonderman is still trying to figure it out. Rookie Justin Verlander was up and down, but showed enough moments of brilliance to give Hitmen fans some hope. Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado had down years - well, down for them anyway. A-Rod still managed to score 100 runs and Delgado did hit 34 homers and 93 RBIs, but overall, expectations were higher for the two.

With a rebound from A-Rod and Delgado and some more progress from the young arms, maybe Hillsborough will get over the playoff hump next season.

Gold Glove Rookies

The Gold Glove winners have been announced on Wednesday night. Three rookie DMBLers received the award, the most since the awards were given out in 2001. Hillsborough's Russell Martin took the prize at catcher. Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez, who both narrowly missed winning the award last year, also narrowly missed winning it this year. But in the end Martin's near-perfect percentage, games played, and total chances made him a clear choice.

The second rookie was Sardine City's Josh Barfield. Barfield was originally splitting time this season with journeyman Julio Lugo, but the Straphangers knew that Barfield would benefit from a full-time gig, so Lugo was sent packing. Whether Barfield's bat was good enough for the Sardines to keep him in the lineup next year is a question, but his glovework could make the decision harder.

The last of our rookie trifecta is Las Vegas' Shane Victorino. Victorino was a bit of a find for the Rat Pack. Drafted in the sixth round, Victorino paid off for the Rats, playing both left field and center field. Rat Pack management has already thrown their support behind Victorino, making it likely that the Gold Glover will remain a key component of the 2008 Rat Pack.

Team Review: D.C. Bushslappers

The Bushslappers snuck into the playoffs last year with an 81-81 record - the first time in franchise history (going all the way back to the Columbia Crusaders days) that the franchise earned a playoff spot.

What went right: The Bushslappers actually put in a great run in the second and third quarters of the season. Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano put up excellent numbers. Esteban German, who was in platoon roles early on, earned regular playing time and ended up hitting .350 over 329 at bats with a .953 OPS. The bullpen's co-closers Jonathon Papelbon and Joe Nathan were lights out and provided the Slappers with some confidence in the late innings. D.C.'s 13 wins after trailing after 7 innings tied for the most in the league.

What went wrong: At the beginning and ending of the season, the Slappers were mediocre. The Slappers backed into the playoffs, despite a 4-game losing streak to finish the season. Jose Reyes and Matt Holliday (who was traded midseason) had subpar years. The starting rotation was inconsistent at best. Anibal Sanchez led the team in ERA (4.57) despite a 7-13 record. Three of the five starters had losing records and three of the five had ERAs of 5.00 or higher.

D.C. will need to beef up their starting rotation and awaken those underachieving bats to keep up with the other Morris Division teams. They got the playoff hex out of the way and now will be looking forward to posting their first winning record.

Team Review: Carolina Mudcats

The on again/off again Mudcats were more off than on in '07. They finished just outside the playoffs, tied with Vancouver and Hillsborough at 79-83 for 8th overall.

What went right: Travis Hafner had a historical season - 60 homers, 136 runs, 123 RBIs, 1.176 OPS, .319 average, .460 OBP, .716 slugging. Billy Hall provided some offensive punch and Rocco Baldelli managed to stay relatively healthy.

What went wrong: The pitching, usually a strength of the Mudcats, was shaky. Carlos Zambrano and Roy Halladay were mediocre and Barry Zito was disastrous. The rest of the offense was weak. Aramis Ramirez contributed 30 homers and 107 RBIs, but his .283 OBP was poor. Grady Sizemore underachieved with only 58 RBIs and 159 strikeouts. The bullpen blew 28 saves - tops in the league.

Carolina's core is still intact, so as long as they fix the few problem areas, the players should rebound in 2008.

New owner found for Gang

Welcome to our newest member, Tom Zagenczyk, who will be taking over the South Boston Gang. Tom (or should I say "Dr. Tom"?) is Assistant Professor of Management over at Clemson University. Many of you may know Tom from his involvement in some Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

The Sardine City Straphangers, meanwhile, have made some changes in their coaching staff. After a disappointing inaugural season, the Sardines have asked manager Bucky Dent to take a pay cut, with incentives for making the post season, but Dent declined, saying that the offer was an insult. Dent was talked into staying as the bench coach. Replacing Dent at the helm will be Joe Torre. Torre, the recently freed former manager of some New York-area minor league team, will have his hands full, but is excited to take on the challenge.