# 13 - Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins (AL) 100mark View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 34.5

Cumulative Record: 558-576

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S4, S5 & S6) Division Championship Series Winner (S5)

Best Season Record: Season 5 (104-58)

Worst Season Record: Season 2 (47-115)

Franchise History - The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise has a history of mixed results. This franchise has spent time as a serious contender in the AL and also has spent time as one of the laughing stocks of the AL. The franchise started out in Detroit as the Vipers and spent two laughable seasons in the basement of the AL North posting 100+ loss seasons both years. They were acquired by cincysteve in Season 3 and a serious rebuilding project began. They spent Season 3 in Pawtucket as the Amish Electricians but couldn’t keep the lights on, so after one season they packed their bags and moved to Toledo. Under the moniker, War Kittens, this franchise found their first taste of success. They recorded their first ever winning season (92-70) in Season 4 and won the AL North. They dominated the AL North in Seasons 5 & 6 too taking the Division Title in both of those seasons and winning the DCS in Season 5 after posting an impressive 104 win season. Before Season 7 cincysteve unexplainably sold the team and left town. The town was purchased by 100mark, move to Pittsburgh and renamed the Penguins. They were able to have a winning season in Season 7 but were unable to make the playoffs.

Franchise Outlook - The Penguins are the force to be reckoned with in the AL North. They are the favorite to win the AL North this year and are tough competitor for any team that faces them. They are led by free agent acquisition Julio Medrano and aging vet Felipe Arias. Pitchers Sparky Salmon and Dick Creek are also notable hurlers in the Penguins’ rotation. With relatively weak draft picks in the minors and a lack of star International Prospect signings, the Penguins will have to make some moves in the near future to stay on top of the AL North. They have some quality aging players on their team that will have to be replaced. It will be interesting to see what they do in order to stay competitive.

# 14 - Charlotte Greener Pastures

Charlotte Greener Pastures (AL) JIMMYOF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 31.5

Cumulative Record: 601-533

Playoff Achievements: Wildcard Berth (S3, S4 & S5), Division Title (S1)

Best Season Record: Season 1 (99-63)

Worst Season Record: Season 7 (71-91)

Franchise History - The Charlotte franchise started out in Burlington Vermont as the Screams. In Season 1 they jumped out to an early start, posting an 85-77 record and winning the AL East. In Season 2 they posted a similar record (83-79) but failed to make the playoffs. In Season 3 the team was sold to new owner JIMMYOF. Jimmy quickly made some moves to make his franchise, the Greener Pastures, more competitive. The most important of these moves was the acquisition of Cy Young Winner Wayne Stratton in a trade with the Salt Lake City JAZZ. Stratton and crew then went on a 3 year run of contention. In Season 3 they won a wildcard berth (#6) but were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Las Vegas Dealers. In Season 4 they made another run for it going 99-63 (their best ever record) and securing the #5 spot in the playoffs. They were swept again, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round. In Season 5, the Greener Pastures made their final run to date. They secured the #6 wildcard spot and were taken out in the first round by the Toledo War Kittens. The Greener Pastures’ lack of playoff success caused serious heartburn for owner JIMMYOF and in Season 7, he had a complete meltdown, trading off some of his best players including pitching ace Wayne Stratton and players Mark Wanatabe, Ray Orosco and Jose Sosa. The Greener Pastures…and Jimmy…have never been the same. GSPN reports that JIMMYOF is often seen late at night walking the streets of Charlotte alone weeping and muttering to himself about how much better of a pitcher Wayne Stratton is than Jumbo Cruz . It is also reported that he still sleeps with a life-size inflatable Wayne Stratton doll. The writers at GSPN find this last piece of news to be a little bit creepy.

Franchise Outlook- Now that JIMMYOF has realized that his former Wayne Stratton glory days are a thing of the past, he can go about the process of rebuilding. The 8^th overall pick in this year’s Amateur Draft should help that process. Perhaps picking a big bat this year will help their relatively inept offense. (Only Cleveland has scored less runs in the AL this year.) Tyler Taylor, Apollo Cummings and B.C. Lopez are some of tomorrow’s stars in Charlotte. It looks, however, that JIMMYOF is going to have to make some serious moves in the next few seasons to return this team to contention.

#15 - Cleveland Steamers

Cleveland Steamers (AL) v0kal View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 30

Cumulative Record: 537-597

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S1, S2 & S3)

Best Season Record: Season 1 (100-62)

Worst Season Record: Season 7 (24-138)

Franchise History- Some may wonder how on Earth it is that the Cleveland Steamers landed this far up on GSPN’s Franchise Power Ranking list. When crunching the numbers, the writers at GSPN asked themselves the very same thing. Just last year, the Steamers posted the absolute worst showing in Glavine300 history…a pitiful 24-138. Recently, they have certainly lived up to their name…though the steaming pile they have left is not on their opponents but on the hearts of the children of the city of Cleveland. Those little fans who have had their highest hopes dashed and who probably cry themselves to sleep every night because their beloved baseball team is the laughing stock of the entire league. In every other household of every other baseball city in America, Canada and Puerto Rico…no matter how their team fares…fathers pat their sons on the head and say “At least we don’t live in Cleveland”. In order to see why this franchise has made it this far up on the list, we must look into the past…all the way back to Season 1. This team started as the original Trenton Toll Booths. Owned by bobkordecki (who now owns a team by the same name in the NL East) this team came out very strong. They won the AL North in Seasons 1, 2 & 3 posting 100-62, 95-67 and 87-75 records respectively. The team however, was never able to make it into the later rounds of the playoffs and seeing their record slowly decline; bobkordecki sold the team off and disappeared after Season 4. The team was bought by v0kal, who inherited a mess of overpaid, underperforming, aging veterans. He tried to make it work with what he had but was unable to put a winning team onto the field. Realizing that things were not working, he completely dismantled his team through trades, waiving and letting free agents walk away until there was no one left. He then proceeded to set every record in the book in Season 7 as the worst team in baseball history.

Franchise Outlook- The writers at GSPN have looked carefully at this anomaly of a team to find out exactly what happened and in v0kal’s defense, he certainly inherited a mess. Bobkordecki made quite a few signings in his first few years at the helm and many of them were bad. He then up and left the team…and left it a bit of a mess for someone else to clean up. (One can only hope, for the league’s sake, he does not repeat this with his new NL team.) Players were overpaid for their value and v0kal inherited several bad contracts. Put this together with some bad decisions he made on his own and he had quite a mess in Cleveland early on. It seems as though he has started to right the ship for the future of this franchise. He got rid of a couple of players that were all stars, but were a waste of money (and talent) on a team that wasn’t ready to compete yet. He got prospects out of those deals and has made some key moves to bring young guys into the fold. He scored big in the Rule 5 this year, grabbing J.P. Marichal with the first overall pick, he has also signed stud left fielder Jorge Velazquez and young pitcher Rigo Gonzalez in the International Market this year. Add this to the 1^st and 12^th overall picks in this year’s Amateur Draft and a smattering of young talent in the minors and it looks as though in the not too distant future, the Cleveland Steamers can expect to win many more than 24 games.

# 16 - Florida Fuego

Florida Fuego (AL) chunkym View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 29.5

Cumulative Record: 617-517

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S6 & 7)

Best Season Record: Season 7 (106-56)

Worst Season Record: Season 1 (76-86)

Franchise History- Chunkym is yet another one of the pioneers of Glavine300, he helped found the league and has put a consistently competitive (and improving) product on the field down in Florida. Season 1 has been their only losing season, they went 76-86. From there they have slowly but consistently improved. They hovered in the 82-85 win range from Season 2 to Season 5 and broke out in Season 6, posting a 99-63 record and taking the AL South. They got even better in Season 7 when they went 106-56 and won their division for the second time in a row.

Franchise Outlook- Expectations are high in Florida. The Fuego are a team loaded with talent, heading up the pitching staff is Cy Young winner Wayne Stratton and two time All Star Pedro Estrella. Young up and comers include Shortstop Omar Limon and Second Basemen F.P. Shelby and Charlie Becker. There is some talent in the minors too, including pitchers Alton Allen and Tim Kashmir. With the ability to bring these young players up to replace the aging veterans, the Fuego look like they are going to be a hot team for years to come.

# 17 - Montreal Ice

Montreal Ice (NL) nosirrommij2 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 29.5

Cumulative Record: 596-538

Playoff Achievements: Wildcard Berth (S3 & 7); Division Title (S6)

Best Season Record: Season 3 (95-67)

Worst Season Record: Season 1 (78-84)

Franchise History- In Montreal, we have another one of the founding member of Glavine300, Nosirrommij2, or as his fans lovingly call him, Mr. Mojo Risin brought the team to Montreal at the inception of the league. They started out mediocre and consistently got better, posting their franchise best in Season 3 and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They sunk back into mediocrity in Season 4 and 5 until they were able to Break on Through (to the other side) again in Season 6 when they won the NL North. Last year they were able to make the playoffs again with a wildcard berth. They are hoping that last year isn’t The End of their playoff experience.

Franchise Outlook- Strange Days have found the Montreal Ice, they’re going to destroy their casual joys if they cannot continue their recent success. The team is led by veteran Center Fielder Cap Jefferies and young bullpen Ace Esteban Tavarez. The rest of the major league squad is a nice mix of young players, veterans and Unknown Soldiers. The attitude in the clubhouse is one of a team that has Been Down So Long that it is their time to Take It As It Comes and dominate the NL North. There is some talent at the minor league level including minor league Shortstop Vic Eusebio and Third basemen Marshall Walbeck. With guys like this in the minors and their balance at the major league level, the citizens of Montreal now spend their winters Waiting for the Sun, not just because it means summer is coming…because it also means they have a playoff potential baseball team to watch.

# 18 - Syracuse Fade to Black

Syracuse Fade to Black (NL) longdayintro View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Franchise Power Points: 29

Cumulative Record: 539-595

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S6 & 7); Division Championship Series Winner (S6)

Best Season Record: Season 6 (92-70)

Worst Season Record: Season 2 (58-104)

Franchise History- In the Fade to Black we have another of the originally owned franchises. The Up-staters had trouble finding success at first, not recording their first winning year until Season 5. Things have gotten better since. In season 6, they won the NL East and advanced to the NLCS where they were defeated by the San Francisco Zodiac 4 games to 1. Season 7 found similar success; the Black won the division again but only made it to the Divisional Round where they were defeated again by the San Francisco Zodiac, 3 games to 1.

Franchise Outlook- Things aren’t looking to good for the Fade to Black these days. Their owner, longdayintro, who has cultivated this franchise from a laughing stock into a contender over the past seven seasons has been missing since July 14^th. His picture can be seen on the side of Byrne Dairy milk cartons on breakfast tables all over the Syracuse area and police haven’t given up on the search. The writers at GSPN magazine send our condolences to the family and the players and sincerely hope nothing bad has befallen him. His absence has been catastrophic for the team; top player J.P. Marichal was lost in the Rule 5 draft due to his lack of protection. Spring Training has also been all but wasted due to the lack of leadership in Syracuse. This is a ship without a captain. Unless longdayintro is found, the fans of Syracuse may never see that World Series Trophy they have been dreaming about. They know all too well if the team is taken over by another owner, the chances of their beloved Fade to Black staying in Syracuse is slim to none.