People Will Come

People will come, Ray.

They'll come to lowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children... ...longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around," you'll say. "It's only $20 per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it. For it is money they have and peace they like.

Ray! Just sign the papers.

Then they'll walk off to the bleachers... ...and sit in their shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines... ...where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes... ...and they'll watch the game... ...and it will be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick... ...they'll have to brush them away from their faces.

When the bank opens in the morning, they'll foreclose.

People will come, Ray.

You're broke, Ray. You sell now, or you lose everything.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game. It's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good... ...and it could be again.

People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

2010 Mota Division Preview

Last Saturday's preview of the Molitor division is located here
Last Monday's preview of the Baines division is located here

On to the Lenny Harris League! The Mota division has added a couple new faces this year when the dispersal teams Brighton and Old Bridge were added to the division. Also, Lehigh Valley has moved over to Long Island to become the Nassau G-Men. Last year's division winner Washington Booze Hounds and Oregon are the two teams returning from last year. However, not without some upgrades.

Washington has added a new rookie closer and have added Javy Vazquez, Ted Lilly, and Adam Wainwright to their rotation in a hope to get to the TBA Championship this season. Oregon adds rookie starter Jeff Niemann, outfielder Ben Francisco, and will have Marlon Byrd for a full season in their quest for the playoffs this season.

WASHINGTON BOOZE HOUNDS

The Booze Hounds have loaded up this year to make a run at the Cup this season. Only Ricky Nolasco and Jon Sanchez remain from last season's rotation as they have imported three new faces while last season call-up Max Scherzer has emerged as a candidate to make the rotation.

Washington holds the best infield in baseball with catcher Joe Mauer leading the charge. Mauer is the pre-season favorite to win MVP. The additions of Shane Victorino and Josh Willingham will more than make up for losing Ryan Church's bat.

Projected Starters

C: Joe Mauer
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Ryan Zimmerman
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
LF: Jacoby Ellsbury/Josh Willingham
CF: Shane Victorino
RF: Carlos Gonzalez/Will Venable

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Javier Vazquez
Ted Lilly
Adam Wainwright
Ricky Nolasco
Max Scherzer/Jon Sanchez
CL: David Aardsma

Division Finish: 1st Place and 100 wins

BRIGHTON BEARCATS

Brighton has an excellent foundation starting with 2B Chase Utley. Utley is surrounded both with young stars and some veterans that could propel this team to a wild card berth. Outfielders Matt Holliday and Adam Jones will team up with Lance Berkman, Yunel Escobar, and of course Utley to score some runs for this team this season.

The pitching isn't great but has plenty of talent in it to come out with a second place finish. The rotation needs to hold together and just keep the offense in the game. Young lefty Jon Lester is the only one who really can shut down the opponent any given game. In a weak division this season, Brighton should be able to squeak out a second place finish over Oregon.


Projected Starters

C: Gerald Laird
1B: Lance Berkman
2B: Chase Utley
3B: Andy LaRoche
SS: Yunel Escobar
LF: Matt Holliday
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Juan Rivera

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Jon Lester
Jon Garland
Scott Kazmir
Clay Buchholz/Kevin Slowey
Joe Saunders
CL: Ryan Madson

Division Finish: 2nd Place

OREGON BEAVERS

Oregon will fight all season long with Brighton for second place in the division. If Carlos Beltran could stay healthy Oregon would get the nod but Beltran is slated for only about 90 games this season. The Beaver's rotation doesn't have any aces in it but is solid and crafty from Ryan Dempster to Doug Davis.

Defense will play a key part for Oregon again this season. Derrek Lee, Maicer Izturis, Brenden Ryan, and Ryan Theriot all bring gold glove caliber defense to the infield. Ben Francisco also gives manager Bob Boyd another good glove in the outfield.


Projected Starters

C: Bengie Molina
1B: Derrek Lee
2B: Maicer Izturis/Brenden Ryan
3B: Casey Blake
SS: Ryan Theriot
LF: David Murphy/Magglio Ordonez
CF: Carlos Beltran
RF: Marlon Byrd

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Ryan Dempster
Zach Duke
Jarrod Washburn
Jeff Niemann
Doug Davis
CL: Dan Wheeler/Matt Guerrier

Division Finish: 3rd Place

NASSAU G-MEN

Nassau management knows this year will be a retooling one for the G-Men. Mark Reynolds and Franklin Gutierrez are the top two young pieces in place for Nassau with rookie outfielder Gerardo Parra about ready to make the jump to the majors this season. If Chris Davis can put it together and become a legitimate power threat Nassau will have a great nucleus for the future.

Add in their top pick in the draft, Rick Porcello, to go along with Cole Hamles and Joakim Soria and this team could be looking to make a run in 2011 if everyone progresses as expected. For now though, this team is looking at a tough season.

Projected Starters

C: Mike Napoli
1B: Nick Johnson
2B: Casey McGehee
3B: Mark Reynolds
SS: Christian Guzman
LF: Nick Swisher
CF: Franklin Gutierrez
RF: Jermaine Dye



Projected Rotation/Closer:
Erik Bedard
Hiroki Kuroda
Cole Hamels
Rick Porcello
Kenshin Kawakami
CL: Joakim Soria

Division Finish: 4th Place

OLD BRIDGE TITANS

Old Bridge is in the same territory as Nassau this year except their talent is a little younger. Reid Brignac and Michael Brantley are waiting in the minors for their turn while BJ Upton is looking to figure it out in the majors. Top pick Tommy Hanson will go a long way to make this team into a contender in the future. The team already has quality starters Wandy Rodriguez, Jason Marquis, Paul Maholm, and Ross Ohlendorf and another top pitching prospect in Trevor Cahill.


Projected Starters

C: Ronny Paulino/Ryan Hanigan/Omir Santos
1B: Kendry Morales
2B: Felipe Lopez
3B: Melvin Mora
SS: Rafael Furcal
LF: Angel Pagan
CF: David DeJesus
RF: Jeff Francouer

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Tommy Hanson
Ross Ohlendorf
Wandy Rodriguez
Carl Pavano
Jason Marquis
CL: Leo Nunez

Division Finish: 5th Place

2010 Baines Division Preview

Saturday's preview of the Molitor division is located here

Last season the Baines division was best in baseball. Vero Beach was the best team throughout the regular season, posting 100 wins. It was also the only division with two wild card winners, the now defunct Albany Veterans and Loves Park. In fact, every team in the division had a winning record out of division. This season's race should provide much of the same so without further ado:

VERO BEACH

The Bums came within one win going to the TBA Championship last fall. They lost three straight games sending the eventual champion Bombers to the Championship. This year Vero Beach is out for revenge. Shortstop Michael Young has moved over to third to allow the team to bring in Stephen Drew. Centerfielder Torii Hunter has to improve on a dismal season last year while Nelson Cruz will be playing full time this season. If Manny and Brian McCann can play anywhere close to last year's performance Vero Beach will looking good heading into October.


Projected Starters

C: Brian McCann
1B: Lyle Overbay
2B: Brandon Phillips
3B: Michael Young
SS: Stephen Drew
LF: Seth Smith
CF: Torii Hunter
RF: Nelson Cruz
DH: Manny Ramirez

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Justin Verlander
Carlos Zambrano
Jered Weaver
Brad Penny
Jordan Zimmerman/Tim Redding
CL: The Franciscos (Cordero and Rodriguez)

Division Finish: 1st Place

LOVES PARK

Loves Park will fight with Vero Beach all season long. They certainly have the talent to pass Vero but with down years coming to Pena, Beltre, Sizemore, and Rollins this team is looking at a wild card this season. The loss of 51-homer DH Jack Cust could hurt but they feel Billy Butler is more than ready to be handed the role.

The Lemmings pitching should be much improved this season. Yovani Gallardo will be in the majors all season, Kevin Correia will get a shot in the rotation, and rookie closer Andrew Bailey will shut down the opposition in the 9th.


Projected Starters

C: Victor Martinez
1B: Carlos Pena
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera
3B: Adrian Beltre/Adam Kennedy
SS: Jimmy Rollins
LF: Grady Sizemore/Ryan Raburn
CF: Rajai Davis
RF: Andre Ethier
DH: Billy Butler

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Jake Peavy
Yovani Gallardo
Kevin Correia
Joe Blanton
Matt Garza
CL: Andrew Blanton
Division Finish: 2nd Place

SAN ANTONIO ALAMOS

San Antonio have a good young staff with Clayton Kershaw, Jair Jurrjens, and JA Happ despite losing their top two pitchers from last season Brandon Webb and AJ Burnett. Veterans Andy Pettitte and Joel Pineiro provide the other two spots in the rotation. All are talented however they might be too lefty heavy for a serious playoff run.

An aging Alamos offense will be the key for them this season. JD Drew will need to improve from his .240, 16, 70 season last year and Brad Hawpe needs to provide some power for this team. With Ian Kinsler's struggles in spring they need to find some other way to make up for his offense, most likely coming from catcher Miguel Montero. If the Alamos see themselves in the hunt, look for them to add some power to the line-up during the season.


Projected Starters

C: Miguel Montero/Chris Iannetta
1B: James Loney
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Scott Rolen
SS: Miguel Tejada
LF: Jason Bay
CF: Mike Cameron
RF: JD Drew
DH: Brad Hawpe

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Clayton Kershaw
Joel Pineiro
Jair Jurrjens
Andy Pettitte
JA Happ
CL: Carlos Marmol

Division Finish: 3rd Place

HALIFAX MOOSEHEADS

Halifax added quality young arms to the team in the rookie draft in Brett Anderson and Brad Bergesen. These two will team up with Roy Halladay, John Danks, and Rich Harden to provide a solid rotation from 1 to 5. However Halifax's weak offense will hurt them this season. Adam Lind, Aramis Ramirez, and Raul Ibanez will provide their share of pop for the team but a catching platoon of Henry Blanco and Geovanny Soto and shortstop Nick Punto will give this team some problems at the bottom of the order.

Also, this team is without a clear-cut centerfielder. Rookies Sam Fuld and Julio Borbon will each get some time there as well as veterans Reed Johnson and Mark Kotsay. None of these options will be full-time though as it looks like they will be using a CF-by-committee approach this season.


Projected Starters

C: Geovanny Soto/Henry Blanco
1B: Ryan Garko
2B: Aaron Hill
3B: Aramis Ramirez
SS: Nick Punto
LF: Raul Ibanez
CF: ? (Fuld, Johnson, Kotsay, Borbon)
RF: Jose Bautista
DH: Adam Lind

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Doc Halladay
John Danks
Brad Bergesen
Brett Anderson
Rich Harden
CL: Mike Adams

Division Finish: 4th Place

KANSAS CITY BASHERS

It's never easy being a dispersal team. Add in that they are in arguably the TBA's toughest division and it could be a struggle for KC this year. However, this team is talented. Ace Zach Grienke could compete for the Cy Young this season and last year's Cy Young winner Mariano Rivera looks just as good as last season. Add in long ball threats Adam Dunn, Justin Morneau, Jack Cust, and Jayson Werth and this team should score some runs this season.

Right now I have this team slated for 5th but if the rotation behind Grienke can succeed this team could be much better than originally thought.


Projected Starters

C: Russell Martin
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Jose Lopez
3B: Kevin Kouzmanoff/Fernando Tatis
SS: Jack Wilson
LF: Johnny Damon
CF: Jayson Werth
RF: Jack Cust/Mark Teahen
DH: Adam Dunn

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Zach Grienke
Kevin Millwood
Matt Palmer
Dallas Braden
Jose Contreras
CL: Mo Rivera

Division Finish: 5th Place

2010 Molitor Division Preview

With the draft in it's final stages now, it's time to take a quick look and preview the divisions this season. We'll start with the defending champions division, the Molitor Division in the Edgar Martinez League.

BARTONVILLE BOMBERS

The defending TBA Champions will once again battle it out and look to repeat this season. Top player Ichiro Suzuki is without a doubt the best RF in baseball and slugging firstbasemen Adrian Gonzalez and Todd Helton are both near the top at their position. This team will once again win by scoring, scoring, and scoring. Rookies Chris Coghlan and Garrett Jones are big hitters that can play platoon between LF/DH and play some infield.


What makes this team so dangerous, and a favorite to repeat, is they can prevent runs also. Matt Cain is a candidate to win 20 games this season. Ubaldo Jimenez could be an ace on most teams but he's number two to Cain here while Edwin Jackson is as solid a #3 as they come. Rounding out the rotation are Chad Billingsley and Nick Blackburn. Billingsley just happened to lead this team in ERA and Wins last season. Defensively Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Ellis, Chone Figgins, and Marco Scutaro are all Gold Glove candidates.


Projected Starters

C: Miguel Olivo
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Mark Ellis/Chris Coghlan
3B: Chone Figgins
SS: Marco Scutaro
LF: Garrett Jones/Matt Diaz
CF: Nyjer Morgan
RF: Ichiro
DH: Todd Helton

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Matt Cain
Ubaldo Jimenez
Edwin Jackson
Chad Billingsley
Nick Blackburn
CL: Brian Wilson

Division Finish: 1st Place

NAPA WINERS

The Winers may be a first year team but owner Eamonn Dymer has already built a contender. Their first pick of the dispersal draft Tim Lincecum gave Napa an ace for the next decade and when the opportunity to trade up to grab Chris Carpenter opened, Dymer jumped on it. Lincecum and Carpenter combine for arguably the best one-two punch in baseball. The acquistion of Ryan Howard gives Napa a legitmate 50 homerun threat and teamed up with Miguel Cabrera and Ben Zobrist in the middle of the order these three should provide enough offense for the Winers to challenge Bartonville for first in the division.


Projected Starters

C: Jason Varitek
1B: Ryan Howard
2B: Placido Polanco
3B: Juan Uribe
SS: Cliff Pennington/Clint Barmes
LF: Carl Crawford
CF: Scott Hairston/Rick Ankiel
RF: Ben Zobrist
DH: Miguel Cabrera

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Tim Lincecum
Chris Carpenter
Jorge de la Rosa
AJ Burnett
Jeremy Sowers/Brandon McCarthy
CL: Jonathan Papelbon

Division Finish: 2nd Place

COLORADO SPRINGS

Young manager Eric Posch has done an excellent job building this team. Last season's poor performance was expected with so many young but talented athletes. Now with another year under their belts, a new stadium, and the addition of number one pick Matt Wieters, this team already has enough to contend. Third sacker Evan Longoria is a potential MVP candidate, the aforementioned Wieters a Rookie of the Year candidate, and ace Felix Hernandez is a Cy Young candidate. Matt Kemp, Joey Votto, Justin Upton are also all rising young stars.

With young talent at every position on the diamond this team will be a force to reckon with when these stars mature. Even now though they can and will contend in the Molitor division. The battle between Napa and Colorado Springs expects to be highly contested, especially with a potential wild card berth on the line.


Projected Starters

C: Matt Wieters/Carlos Ruiz
1B: Joey Votto
2B: Dan Uggla/Howie Kendrick
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Erick Aybar
LF: Justin Upton
CF: Matt Kemp
RF: Nick Markakis
DH: Hideki Matsui

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Felix Hernandez
Cliff Lee
Johnny Cueto
Aaron Harang
Joba Chamberlain/Homer Bailey
CL: Jonathan Broxton

Division Finish: 3rd Place

BOWLING GREEN BOWLERS

Bowling Green finished just above .500 last season and this year more of the same is expected. However, this team could get hot and make a playoff push if Bartonville and Colorado Springs stumble a little this season. Injuries to last season's top player Xavier Nady and the decline of Ryan Ludwick have left shortstop Derek Jeter in charge to run the offense this year. However Jorge Posada will be healthy this season, Scott Podsednik looks good so far in spring training, and the addition of 1B/DH Randy Ruiz and Kyle Blanks should help spark this offense a bit.

CC Sabathia is back as the ace of the staff after winning 19 games last year. Bronson Arroyo and Scott Feldman need to improve on last season's performance to give the Bowlers a shot this season. Regardless of whether this team will be in contention or not, be sure to keep an eye on rookie righthander Neftali Feliz. This kid has sparkled in spring and should see some time as a reliever with the big club this season. The question for him will be whether he stays in the bullpen or will make the leap to the rotation in 2011.


Projected Starters

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Jorge Cantu
2B: Jayson Nix/Jamey Carroll
3B: Brandon Inge
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Scott Podsednik
CF: Nate McLouth
RF: Ryan Ludwick
DH: Jim Thome/Randy Ruiz/Kyle Blanks/Carlos Delgado

Projected Rotation/Closer:
CC Sabathia
Gavin Floyd
Bronson Arroyo
Scott Feldman
Brian Duensing/Nelson Figueroa/Tommy Hunter
CL: Trevor Hoffman

Division Finish: 4th Place

ABERDEEN IRON BIRDS

Owner Jeremy Byrd took this team over mid-season last year and has quickly made changes to the team. Upon the end of the season, Byrd moved the team to Maryland and monopolized the first round of the draft. Aberdeen ended up with three of the top five picks in the draft and loaded this team with tons of offensive potential, adding Elvis Andrus, Andrew McCuthcen, and Gordon Beckham. By the time they got back into the draft, it was round 7 and Kyle Davies ended up in an Iron Bird uniform.

Those three picks add to what looks to be a strong nucleus. Proven stars in Alex Rodriguez, Adam LaRoche, and Shin-Soo Choo are already on board and if the three picks progress quickly this team may find themselves in contention much sooner than some people think.


Projected Starters

C: Dioner Navarro
1B: Adam LaRoche
2B: Martin Prado
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Elvis Andrus
LF: Curtis Granderson
CF: Andrew McCutchen
RF: Shin-Soo Choo
DH: Gordon Beckham

Projected Rotation/Closer:
Randy Wolf
Brian Tallet
Kyle Davies
Justin Masterson
David Bush
CL: Jason Frasor

Division Finish: 5th Place

Nassau finishes up

With the extra picks acquired in numerous trades, the Nassau G-Men concluded their picks in the draft with pick #7 in Rd 14 (Ronny Cedeno) ... Highlights from the draft include #1 pick SP Rick Porcello, setup/closer Rafael Soriano as well as young hopefuls IF Casey McGehee, Of Gerrardo Parra and P Andrew Miller ... GM Steve Garafalo was pleased to add some quality bullpen arms to go along with returnees Joakim Soria and Matt Thornton and also some young promising hitters ... weather this will add up to some more wins only time will tell ... but everyone's a contender in Spring Training

Alamos Exhibition Opener

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2010 Napa Winers At 2010 San Antonio Alamos
 
  Winers                   AB  R  H RBI   Alamos                   AB  R  H RBI
  B.Zobrist 2B              4  0  1  0    M.Tejada SS               4  0  0  0 
  J.Gomes RF                3  1  0  0    J.Drew RF                 3  0  0  0 
  M.Cabrera 1B              4  1  0  0    J.Bay LF                  4  0  2  0 
  S.Hairston CF             3  1  2  1    B.Hawpe DH                2  0  0  0 
  J.Uribe 3B                4  1  2  3    S.Rolen 3B                3  0  0  0 
  J.Varitek C               3  0  0  0  B-T.Hafner PH               1  0  1  0 
  R.Howard DH               3  0  0  0    M.Montero C               4  0  1  0 
  C.Crawford LF             4  0  0  0    I.Kinsler 2B              4  0  0  0 
  C.Pennington SS           4  0  0  0    J.Loney 1B                4  0  1  0 
                                          M.Cameron CF              2  0  1  0 
                                        A-K.Fukudome PH,CF          1  0  1  0 
                           -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---
         Totals            32  4  5  4           Totals            32  0  7  0
 
A-Pinch Hit For Cameron In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Rolen In 9th Inning
 
Winers.......... 4 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  4  5  0
Alamos.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  7  0
 
Winers                   IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC  SCORESHEET
C.Carpenter WIN           9       7   0   0   3  10   0 139  A1
Totals                    9       7   0   0   3  10   0
 
Alamos                   IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC  SCORESHEET
C.Kershaw LOSS            7       2   4   4   7  10   1 115  A1 D3
B.Howry                   0 1/3   2   0   0   0   1   0  12  D4 D6
J.Outman                  1       0   0   0   0   1   0   7  D7 D9
R.Tejeda                  0 2/3   1   0   0   0   2   0  11  E1
Totals                    9       5   4   4   7  14   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 37,860 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Jerry Meals, Bill Miller, Paul Emmel, Gary Darling
T- 2:58
LEFT ON BASE- Winers: 8  Alamos: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Winers: 1  Alamos: 0
DOUBLES- J.Uribe, J.Bay, T.Hafner, M.Cameron
HOME RUNS- J.Uribe
STOLEN BASES- J.Loney
CAUGHT STEALING- B.Hawpe
WALKS- B.Zobrist, J.Gomes-2, M.Cabrera, S.Hairston, J.Varitek, R.Howard, J.Drew,
       B.Hawpe-2
STRIKE OUTS- B.Zobrist, J.Gomes-3, M.Cabrera-3, J.Uribe-2, J.Varitek-2,
             R.Howard-2, C.Pennington, J.Drew, B.Hawpe-2, S.Rolen, M.Montero-3,
             I.Kinsler-3
GIDP- S.Rolen
WILD PITCHES- C.Kershaw

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