Who will dethrone the Orioles: The top candidates to end eryanf’s dynasty.

by eranyf

1. Honolulu Monk Seals (aka- Class of the AL): The Monk Seals had an absolutely dominant team last season, finishing with 115 wins. However, they were still no match for the Orioles in playoffs. The Orioles (healthy and rested for the first time all season) swept the Monk Seals and left a bitter taste in owner nadawg’s mouth. Nevertheless, the Monk Seals return this season with essentially the same dominant team in tact and they added talented pitcher Ivan Sosa through free agency, giving Honolulu the deepest starting pitching staff in Glavine 300. While Honolulu’s pitching is the team’s most prominent strength, the true secret to Honolulu’s success is their defense. The Monk Seals committed only 78 errors last season; the next lowest total in the AL was 91. Some more stellar defense combined with the acquisition of Ivan Sosa might be enough to fulfill nadawg’s dream of being the “class of the AL”. (Maybe even the “class of Glavine 300”.)

2. San Juan Warlords: For the last three seasons, coach jwinner5 has been stockpiling top prospects. He has finally decided to unleash those prospects on the ML stage. This team is loaded with future stars and the future is now. With the addition of Danny Cummings, Glavine 300’s first $30 million man, San Juan looks to make the jump from worst to first. It might seem a little far-fetch that a team full of prospects could take down the Orioles but these are no ordinary prospects. Several of these prospects will be all-stars and MVP candidates right out of the gate. In fact, based on ratings alone one could make the argument that San Juan is the most talented team in Glavine 300. That said, individual ratings do not always translate into ML league success. The fact is we haven’t seen most of these prospects play an inning of ML baseball so it remains to be seen how all this young talent will fit together. (My guess is that it is only a matter of time before San Juan emerges as the new Glavine Dynasty.)

3. Syracuse Fade to Black: (aka- the Dark Horse): Now that Cummings is no longer a Camp Disappointment, NL has more parity than ever. However, one young, talented team seems like a possible candidate to emerge from the pack and turn into powerhouse. Fade to Black finished as the #2 seed in the NL last season with one of the Youngest teams in Glavine. Those young players have all improved and Syracuse added the very talented SP Ira Spence to its roster via trade. Those two factors could allow Fade to Black to emerge as NL’s best team and give them an outside shot at ending the Orioles’ reign of terror.