Friday, September 25, 2009

# 6 - Honolulu Monk Seals


Franchise Power Points: 49

Cumulative Record: 675-459

Playoff Achievements: Wild Card Berth (S1, S2 & S5); Division Title (S4, S6 & S7); Division Championship Series Winner (S6)

Best Season Record: Season 6 (115-47)

Worst Season Record: Season 3 (80-82)

Franchise History- The human drama of competition…the thrill of victory…and the agony of defeat…In our #6 ranked franchise, we have a team that has experienced a fair amount of both. The Honolulu Monk Seals are another one of the original and most storied franchises in Glavine300. They are also the winningest franchise in Glavine300 history in the regular season (675-459). It is the postseason where they stumble. In Seasons 1 & 2, they secured a Wild Card berth in the American League but were defeated in the DCS. Season 3, they posted their only losing record (80-82) and also failed to make the playoffs for the only time in their history. Season 4 saw them declare themselves the “class of the American League” and win the AL West for the first time. They faltered, however, in the first round of the playoffs. In Season 5, they entered the playoffs with their third Wild Card berth but were swept out of the DCS by the Baltimore Orioles. The following year, they won the AL West with a dominant 115-47 record and marched to the ALCS without losing a game. Their progress was quickly halted by the Baltimore Orioles again, who swept them out of the playoffs for a second year in a row. Season 7 saw another dominant year, 110-52 and another AL West Championship. Yet again, they faltered in the postseason, getting swept out of the DCS by the Las Vegas Dealers.

Franchise Outlook- The future looks pretty bright for the Monk Seals, they have consistently been one of the most competitive teams in Glavine300. They will, however, need to keep improving if they want to make the move from a playoff team to a champion. They have some serious talent on their major league squad. Veteran Ace Douglas Hunter leads up their pitching staff while hurler Raul DeLeon represents the new regime of arms in Honolulu. They also have some strong young bats on the team too. Julio Pena, Glendon Carter, Javier James and Melvin Zhang are all dynamite and under 30 years old. The Monk Seals also have some future talent in the minors, including potential Ace Samuel Cannon and slugging Catcher Theo Wynn who should be on the major league squad in the next season or two. Hopefully, for the Monk Seal faithful, owner nadawg77 will find the right formula to win in the postseason and produce a champion.

# 7 - Salem Witch Hunters



Franchise Power Points: 48

Cumulative Record: 595-539

Playoff Achievements: Wild Card Berth (S4, S5); Division Title (S1, S2 & S3); Division Championship Series Winner (S2, S4); League Championship Winner (S2)

Best Season Record: Season 3 (99-63)

Worst Season Record: Season 6 (70-92)

Franchise History- In the Salem franchise, we have another one of the pioneers of Glavine300, thebug715. He started out strong, managing his Witch Hunters to NL West division titles in Season 1, 2 & 3. (Season 2 also saw a run all the way to the World Series where they were defeated by the Las Vegas Dealers, 4 games to 1.) Seasons 4 & 5 also saw some success; the Witch Hunters took Wild Card berths into the playoffs both years and in Season 4 the Salem team made it to the NLCS where they were edged by the Arizona Dust Devils, 4 games to 3.) Things haven’t been so kind to the Witch Hunters lately, the team has not posted a winning season since Season 5. In Season 6 they posted a paltry 70-92 record, their worst ever, and in Season 7, things were not much better. The team went 73-89 and failed to make the playoffs again.

Franchise Outlook- The Witch Hunters major league squad has a core of talent. The team’s youth movement is led by slugging third baseman, Vicente Guzman, and future star left fielder, Lazy Harris. Hurler Phillip Coleman is also a player of note. Minor League players of note are Shortstop Carl Townsend and pitchers Rob Barrett and Julian Reyes. The writers at GSPN think the Salem franchise has a good chance of returning to prominence in the NL West as well, due to good drafting. Some notable draft picks that have not already been mentioned are Vin Mangual, James Crow and Steve Hartman. It looks as if this franchise will be ok. They may have slumped the last few seasons but they will return to their winning ways soon enough. They are well managed, well run and should be a competitive force in the National League again very soon.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

# 8 - Tampa Bay Flamingos



Franchise Power Points: 47

Cumulative Record: 614-520

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S1, S2 & S2); Division Championship Series Winner (S1, S3); League Championship Winner (S1)

Best Season Record: Season 3 (112-50)

Worst Season Record: Season 7 (67-95)

Franchise History- The Tampa Bay franchise started out in Memphis as the Mancs and they started out strong. In Season 1 they went 108-54, won the AL South, won the DCS, defeated the Buffalo Nanucrons in the NLCS but couldn’t bring the Title back to Memphis. They were defeated in the Season 1 World Series by the San Juan Warlords, 4 games to 2. Season 2 saw another dominant year; the team went 106-56 and won their division again but were defeated in the second round of the playoffs. The team was sold in Season 3 and went through a series of ownership changes over the next few years. In Season 3 they became the El Paso Spicy Queso, they were successful in El Paso, going 112-50, winning NL South and making it all the way to the NLCS where they were defeated by the Arizona Dust Devils. In Season 4 they became the Kansas City Kings and had a terrible season (68-94). In Season 5, they became the Santa Fe Habanero and posted a paltry record of 78-84. They finally found an owner and a home in Season 6. The team was bought by flamingojoe and moved to Tampa Bay. They were named the Flamingos and have stayed ever since. Though they have not had much success in their new home, the players and coaching staff are happy that at least they have one.

Franchise Outlook- This team has some young talent on it. Team Leaders Arnold Lara, Vin Jacquez and Marty Rodgers are all well under 30 and have bright futures. The team has drafted relatively well too, with young stars like Victor Wilkins, Shawn Radlosky and Felix Durbin in their minor league system right now. The Flamingos will have to do some serious work to make it back to the World Series, but with the young core they have, the future is looking bright for this franchise.

# 9 - Nashville Posse



Franchise Power Points: 43.5

Cumulative Record: 628-506

Playoff Achievements: Wildcard Berth (S2, S3); Division Title (S1, S4 & S5); Division Championship Series Winner (S1)

Best Season Record: Season 4 (101-61)

Worst Season Record: Season 1 (79-83)

Franchise History- With the # 9 ranked franchise, we have one of the pioneers of Glavine 300. Dennisdee is one of a handful of owners who has been around since Season 1. The Posse started in Santa Fe and spent Seasons 1-4 there. These were successful years for the Posse. In Season 1, they won 101 games and the AL South Division Title. They also won the DCS, but were defeated by the San Juan Warlords in the ALCS 4 games to 1. Seasons 2 and 3 saw them making the playoffs with a Wildcard Berth but not really making any waves in the postseason. In Season 4 they won the AL South again but were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. After Season 4, the team moved to Music City, where they kept the same name and had similar success in Season 5. They won the AL South again, but were knocked out again in the first round. This would be the last time they made the postseason to date. Season 6 saw a decline in production out of the Posse, they went 85-77 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in the history of the franchise. In Season 7 they were even worse, posting their first ever losing season at 79-83.

Franchise Outlook- This franchise looks as if they have slowly deteriorated over time. Their best year was their inaugural season and they have failed to relive that success to date. The team is lead by SS Patrick O'Donnell and youngster Andrew Gload, who are both good players. What the team lacks is a formidable pitching staff and in all reality, unless they get better pitching, they won’t compete in the American League. There are some bright spots in the minors, including Clay Linton and Rod Thompson but again, these are position players. What the Posse needs is arms. Hopefully dennisdee will address this issue as the AL South is a tough division and it will take some work to get to the top of it again.

# 10 - St. Louis Aristocrats



Franchise Power Points: 41

Cumulative Record: 645-489

Playoff Achievements: Wildcard Berth (S4, S7); Division Title (S5, S6); Division Championship Winner (S5)

Best Season Record: Season 4 (107-55)

Worst Season Record: Season 1 (65-97)

Franchise History- This team started out in the Great Northwest as the Seattle Sexy Girls. They found no success in Seattle, putting up the franchise’s worst ever record of 65-97. After Season 1, the team was sold to bpdelia and moved to Helena where they became the Camp Disappointments. This is where the franchise found their first taste of success. They steadily improved, behind Danny Cummings, getting better every year until they made the playoffs for the first time in Season 4. Seasons 4, 5 & 6 were impressive years for the Helena Franchise. They won over 100 games each year securing two division titles and winning the Division Championship in Season 5. The end of Season 6 saw the departure of Helena’s ace, Danny Cummings, it also saw a sharp decline in Helena’s success. The team went 91-71 in Season 7 and secured a wildcard berth but was not nearly the contender that it had been with their ace. After Season 7, a heartbroken bpdelia sold the team to mattjmiller. The team was moved to St. Louis and renamed the Aristocrats. Dejected owner bpdelia was arrested and is currently serving time in Puerto Rican prison for stalking Danny Cummings.

Franchise Outlook- The Aristocrats are a team in need of some help. The Major League Squad is led by All Star Veteran Rico Estrada and new comer Nigel Yang but the team struggles in the area of pitching. Their best pitcher is arguably 38 year old Socks Ferrelll who can’t have much left in the tank. There is also a serious lack of talent in the minor leagues. If this team is going to return to the glory they once had under bpdelia’s leadership, they are going to need some major pitching help moving forward. Not every team can have a Danny Cummings, but this team will have to make some moves if they want to stay on top of the heap in the NL West.

# 11 - Cincinnati Knights



Franchise Power Points: 36

Cumulative Record: 579-555

Playoff Achievements: Division Title (S2, S3, S4, & S5); Division Championship Winner (S2)

Best Season Record: Season 2 (89-73)

Worst Season Record: Seasons 1 & 7 (77-85)

Franchise History- This franchise started out in the City of Brotherly Love…no…not San Francisco…Philadelphia. They were the Isotopes, played there for one season and posted a franchise worst record (77-85). The team was sold after their inaugural season to Sonofodin52, move to Richmond and renamed the Knights. They then went on a tear…winning the NL East for the next 4 seasons in a row and winning the DCS in Season 2. Season 6 saw the beginning of a decline for the Knights as they slipped out of playoff contention. They have not returned since. The team moved from Richmond to Cincinnati after Season 7.

Franchise Outlook- The Outlook for the Cincinnati Knights is not too great. Only 3 members of the major league squad are under 27 years old. They have some talent in the minors, including Draft Choices, Peter Milton and Charles Bland, but for the most part, this is a team that will face some concerns in the next several seasons. Some of the Knights best players will have to be replaced in the next 3-5 years, so the Knights will have to find a way to fill in the spots left by those players. Sonofodin52 is not active in the International Market, so the next few years will have to be key drafting years or the Knights will have to make some important free agent signing if the team wants to return to rule the NL East.

# 12 - Atlanta Vipers



#12 Atlanta Vipers

Franchise Power Points: 35.5

Cumulative Record: 602-529

Playoff Achievements: Wildcard Berth (S2, S5); Division Title (S4, S6 & S7)

Best Season Record: Season 2 (97-65)

Worst Season Record: Season 1 (71-91)

Franchise History- To begin the story of this franchise, we must look to the old Dust Bowl…Oklahoma…the franchise started in Oklahoma’s capital as the Sooners. They stayed for one year in the Sooner State, putting together a 71-91 record. The team was quickly sold and moved to sunny Georgia where they became the Atlanta Traffic Jamz. The team had minor success as the Jamz, taking a wildcard spot and posting a franchise best record (97-65) in Season 2. In between Seasons 3 & 4, team owner mileininger sold the team when his son was disqualified from the National Spelling Bee for spelling all of the words that ended in the letter “s” with the letter “z”. When asked why he made this ridiculous blunder, the youngster clearly placed the blame on his father saying, “That’z the way my dad alwayz taught me to do thingz and what my dad sayz, goez.” Mileininger retired from baseball to home school his children. The team was bought by viperxx79 , stayed in Atlanta and was renamed the Viperz…oh…excuse me…the Vipers. The Vipers quickly found success and have made the playoffs every year under their new ownership.

Franchise Outlook- This team is loaded with young talent. Albert Barrios, Ronnie Parkinson, Tony Mercado, Carlos Leon and Shannon Cortes are just some members of the youth movement in Atlanta. There are some young stars in the minors too, including hurlers Earl Coleman and Mel Edwards. As long as the Vipers can continue to draft well and replace their aging veterans, they should continue to be a power house in the NL South for many seasons to come.