Early Season Surprises (Good and Bad)

Omaha Spikes
The Spikes have stormed out to a 18-5 start. In addition to holding the best record in the Majors, they are also leading in home runs with 44. This comes a season after finishing dead last in homers with only 119. The early power surge probably will not last, but with their pitching depth it will not matter. Joseph Park has been particularly nasty with a .96 ERA in 4 starts.

Seattle Pilots
Things are finally looking up in Seattle. The Pilots have spent years developing prospects and it's paying off. They are currently tied for 1st place in the extremely competitive AL East with Montreal and Kansas City. The team has gotten it done with a mix of solid pitching and hot hitting from Carlos Arrojo, who has a .337 avg to go along with a slugging percentage of .675.

Kansas City Monarchs
Power and defense has been the story in KC so far this season. The Monarchs rank in the top five of the American League in doubles, triples, home runs, and fielding percentage. Their hard hitting and defense has made up for a slow start by the pitching staff. It'll be interesting to see how long KC keeps prized pitching prospect Carlos Santos at AAA.

Huntington Heroes
Things are not looking good in Huntington. The team is off to a 6-17 start and there are rumblings about rebuilding. Earlier this week, team owner P. Chez announced Center Fielder Kelvin Christiansen and Closer Christopher Champion were on the trade block. The ugly start by the Heroes can be attributed to their bullpen, who has squandered the stellar efforts of Virgil Hogan (.36 ERA in 4 starts) and Clayton Henderson (.87 ERA in 4 starts).

Baltimore Lords
After two straight 90 win seasons, the Lords have staggered out of the gate with a record of 6-17. The problem is clearly their pitching, which ranks second to last in the Majors with a team ERA of 6.18. If Baltimore is going to turn it around, they'll need the staff to get it together before they fall too far behind.

Race to 1000 hits!

Opey Higgins
DOUBLEDAY DAILY



Barry Broadhurst - 997 hits


Philip Maxwell - 974 hits


Otto Judd - 967 hits


Mitch Palmer - 940 hits


Paul McNamara - 938 hits




Broadhurst looks to become the first player in Doubleday to reach 1000 hits putting him instantly as one of the top guys to enter the Doubleday Hall of Fame come season 10. At 31 years old he may just be around when the day comes. I'd imagine he could potentially reach 1500 hits before he retires. Philip Maxwell just 27 years old could post 2000 hits by the time he turns 32 realistically he'll be our Career hit leader by the end of the next 5 seasons. Please leave a comment with your teams career hit leader and how many hits they've managed to get at this point.

Calvin Petkovsek gets shipped across the country!

Hardball Dynasty's

Calvin Petkovsek

Calvin Petkovsek was traded today to the Seattle Pilots today! Petkovsek is one of the few ML SS's that can hit and field. The deal sent Richmond 23yr old SS Ricardo Guardado, 25yr old 3B Perry Gumbert and 26yr old SP Nipsey Gipson. Seattle gets a good quality addition to the Big league squad while Richmond gets rid of the contract of Petkovsek and gains youth. Big trade and it's only 11 games in!

NL WEST: Season 6 Preview

Last Season: 76-86 (2nd)
Season 6 Prediction: 85-77
Losses: Daniel Wilkinson RP
Additions: Walt Sanders RP, Livan Gil 2B, Johnny Cambridge 3B

Omaha is a team of extremes. Their pitching staff finished last season ranked 1st in the National League in WHIP and 2nd in ERA. All five starters are back and each is under the age of 27. As crazy as it sounds, the staff should be even better this season with the free agent acquisition of Walt Sanders and a healthy Izzy Green in the bullpen. The other extreme is of course their sputtering offense. As a team, Omaha hit 119 home runs in Season 5, the lowest total in the majors. To put that into perspective, Albert Wall of the Chicago Whales hit 74 last season. The addition of Livan Gil to the lineup should help, but this remains a team who will have to win with pitching.






Last Season: 82-80 (1st)
Season 6 Prediction: 78-84
Losses: Howard McFeely SS
Additions: Jaime Helton 1B, Quinton Palmer 3B

The success of Honolulu this year depends on how quickly the young team can find their groove. Most of their roster lacks ML experience and it could result in a step back in the standings. They will have six rookies in the lineup, two in the bullpen, and one starter. To call this a young team is an understatement. The good news for Honolulu fans is that the rookies are quite talented. Jaime Helton 1B and Quinton Palmer 3B could very well finish first and second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. With some time to develop, this team will be a headache to face down the stretch.






Last Season: 69-93 (3rd)
Season 6 Prediction: 74-88
Losses: Andre Trammell C, Carl Gaillard RP, Tony Bocachica SP
Additions: Johnny Durbin CF, Socks Lansing SS, Bob Lankford SP

Oakland could be the dark horse in this division. They're coming off a disappointing year and have retooled at some key positions. Just prior to the season, Oakland pulled off a pair of deals with the Richmond Diamonds to acquire Johnny Durbin CF and Socks Lansing SS. It cost the Oaks some talented prospects, but there is no denying that Durbin and Lansing give them proven ML caliber players in two key positions. The Oaks also promoted starting pitcher Bob Lankford to the big league club. Since being selected sixth in the Season 2 draft, Lankford has plowed his way through the minors and appears ready to be a major contributor for many seasons to come. Going along with the theme of this division, Oakland is a team on the rise.






Last Season: 65-97 (4th)
Season 6 Prediction: 63-99
Losses: Billy Leonard LF, Pat Dunston RP
Additions: Fonzie Puffer 2B, Rico Mateo RF

San Diego enters the season at a crossroads. Like Buffalo Bill in "Silence of the Lambs", the team is becoming something. We're just not sure what yet. They aren't strong in any area, so I believe new owner Ewchippe when he says it will be a 3-4 year rebuilding project to turn things around. In the minors, Carlos Andujar and Dave Fischbach are well on their way to being future stars for the Aces. With some solid moves over the next couple seasons and the emergence of these prospects, maybe the turnaround will happen sooner rather than later.

AL WEST: Season 6 Preview

Last Season: 85-77 (1st)
Season 6 Prediction: 92-70
FA Losses: Tom Barkley RP, Buddy Shelley SP, Luis Pascual 3B
FA Additions: Ralph Bunning SP, Alex Martin SS, Willis Wasdin RP

After two years of thrifty spending, the Seals finally opened their wallet this off-season to acquire the talented (yet fragile) Ralph Bunning. The addition of Bunning finally gives the Seals a top of the line starting pitcher, if he can stay healthy. That's a major if, as Bunning didn't even get through his first start without tweaking his shoulder and landing on the 15 Day DL. The team overachieved last season, so lets see how they do with bigger expectations.






Last Season: 80-82 (2nd)
Prediction: 89-73
FA Losses: Pete Reid SP, Pascual Astacio RF
FA Additions: Cory Glynn SP, Craig Priest SP, Benny Truman SP, Howard McFeely SS

Coming off a World Series appearance, the Dukes (now known as the Solons, which I'm told is a Greek word for something and not a fish), threw their fans a curve ball by trading away most of their best players in exchange for prospects. Despite the purge, they still managed to be in contention for the Division Title until the final weeks of the season. This year they should improve upon their 80-82 record thanks to some nice free agent pickups. While everyone else was busy offering huge contracts to a select few stud pitchers, the Solons signed three solid pitchers who should help them regain their old form.






Last Season: 75-87 (3rd)
Prediction: 73-89
FA Losses: George Weaver SP
FA Additions: Pete Reid SP, Rex Scott CF, Oswaldo Andujar RP

Colorado rebounded from a down year by improving their record by 19 wins last season. Their lineup should be powerful as usual and the addition of Pete Reid gives them a proven starter at the top of the rotation. The roster will be better this season, but they will face tougher competition from San Francisco and Sacramento in the AL West.






Last Season: 52-110 (4th)
Prediction: 59-103
FA Losses: Nothing of note
FA Additions: Shooter Johnson RP

Following another dismal year in Anaheim, new owner Jack Badoou decided a change of venue was in order and moved the team to Las Vegas. As someone who has been to both places, I can tell you this was a great idea. Anaheim is best known for their Disney attractions, while Vegas sports the best strip clubs on the planet. As far as the team goes, they are young and need time to develop. This season will be more about gaining experience than winning games.

NL SOUTH: Season 6 Preview

Last Season Record-97-65 (1st)
Division Champ- Yes
NL Champ- No
Season 6 Prediction- 94-68 (1st)
With what appears to be an upgraded Austin franchise this season, they continue on with youth for the most part. Offense: RF Midre Guerrero and CF Ted Banks look to lead the Austin Swing this season to another Division title. SP Felipe Maradona searching for his first Cy Young award, coming off a 16 win season his career high, he is going to be much more reliable this season and could see 20 wins!







Last Season Record- 91-71(2nd)
Division Champ- NO
NL Champ- YES
Season 6 Prediction-88-74 (3rd)
Our World Series Champions! What else can be said about Louisville that hasn't already been said? They looked to be an under dog last season coming into the playoffs only to dominate! The entire team has came back to try again in season 6, Owner Rbedwell has proven that this team will be in the Doubleday History books as the greatest franchise ever. Come season 10, I highly doubt another team will reach the level of success!







Last Season Record-89-73(3rd)
Division Champ-NO
NL Champ- NO
Season 6 Prediction- 85-77(3rd)
Spending tons of money in free agency last season , Richmond released several players including LF Randall Daly but they signed 1B Seth West that was recently released from Salt Lake City. West's power and ability to get on base should help bolster the Richmond offense while SP Rafael Mercado and Tom Lofton will be the anchors in the pitching staff to keep them in the top 10 teams this season.







Last Season Record-63-99 (4th)
Division Champ- NO
NL Champ- NO
Season 6 prediction- 66-93 (4th)
Monterrey has been very conservative when it comes to signing old talent.. They've been racking up International Free Agents for going on 3 seasons now. Showing little improvement each season could this be the season they break out? They have promoted several young stars to the Majors still leaving a ton of great players waiting to come up. Player to watch this season is SP Karim Bennett, We hear he's been working on his control during the offseason.. Potential 15-20 game winner!

AL SOUTH: Season 6 Preview!

Last Season Record-97-65 (1st)
Division Champ- Yes
AL Champ- No
Season 6 Prediction- 93-69 (1st)
With the huge signing of SP Junior Cerveza, St.Louis looks to be in about the same spot they were last season. Good pitching and decent offense, In the AL South they are probably a lock for the Division title with El Paso and Huntington still trying to get their teams working like a well oiled machine.. That could be a while ..







Last Season Record- 79-83 (3rd)
Division Champ- NO
AL Champ- NO
Season 6 Prediction-70-92 (3rd)
Texas is in the middle of a transition, They have a new owner that came in last season with a different approach to where the team needs to go. They let a few guys go but signed some key Free Agents, 2b Damian Wang, P Buddy Shelley and CF Roosevelt Sellers! However I don't see them being a strong threat this season. 3rd place in the South potentially 2nd if luck goes their way.







Last Season Record-80-82(2nd)
Division Champ-NO
AL Champ- NO
Season 6 Prediction- 71-93(2nd)
Huntington could potentially be 2nd place this season, With the lack of pitching they are looking to probably drop even more in season 6. Huntington fielded several offers to acquire a SP but none of them were agreed upon..







Last Season Record-51-111(4th)
Division Champ- NO
AL Champ- NO
Season 6 prediction- 62-100 (4th)
El Paso is still in rebuild mode, Slowly they are putting together a team that can contend. We here at the Doubleday Daily magazine support El Paso and hope they get the breaks they deserve.