2006 Milwaukee Brewers Preview

2005 Overview:

The Milwaukee Brewers put together an impressive 2005 season posting a .500 record (81-81). Led by outfielders Carlos Lee (.265 32 114) and Geoff Jenkins (.292 25 86) the Brewers 2005 offense also received help from 1st baseman Lyle Overbay (.276 19 72) and Brady Clark (.306 13 53). Rickie Weeks (.239 13 42) and Bill Hall (.291 17 62) split time at second base while pitcher Chris Capuano (18 12 3.99) surprised many by posting 18 wins and pitching over 200 innings (219) for the first time in his young major leaguer career. Helping Capuano in the rotation were Ben Sheets (10 9 3.33) and Tomo Ohka (7 6 4.35) who was acquired midseason from the Washington Nationals. Newcomer closer Derrick Turnbow (7 1 1.74 39 saves) did very well posting a microscopic 0.90 ERA after the all star break.

Off Season Moves:

GM Doug Melvin continued to carefully build his team of youngsters for 2006. First on his list was trading first baseman Lyle Overbay in order to make room for newcomer Prince Fielder (.288 2 10). The organization is high on Fielder’s potential. The team also picked up starter Dave Bush (5-11 4.49), outfielder Gabe Gross (.250 1 7) and pitcher Zach Jackson, who was a former first round pick from the Blue Jays.

The Brewers also traded to get third baseman Corey Koskie (.249 11 36) in exchange for right hander Brian Wolfe. Melvin also sent pitcher Wes Obermueller to Atlanta to get back the Brewers' former closer, Dan Kolb (3-8 5.93).

2006 Analysis:

The Brewers GM Doug Melvin continues to impress as he has assembled a team of young, aggressive players. Prince Fielder is expected to join Lee and Jenkins to form one of the more formidable lineups in the NL. The Brewers think so highly of Fielder they moved Overbay to make room for his immediate ascension.

The team hopes Bush will be a good pickup. The pitcher turned around a poor 0-5 start with the Blue Jays and did struggle in September as well, but the Brewers are hopeful a change in scenery will help him. The team's starters ranked sixth in the NL with a 4.02 ERA last year and the staff should be improved. Expect Koskie to do well in his new uniform. His RBI totals in particular should increase with more consistent playing time.

The pitcher to watch will be Capuano. His 18 wins and 35 game starts really anchored the rotation in 2005. The Brewers are hoping he will become a legitimate ace to build their rotation around. The bullpen other then Turnbow is somewhat questionable. Kolb is familiar face and will help setup the closer but other then that there isn’t much here to depend on. Turnbow posted a 3-0 record after the all star break and emerged as one of the more reliable closers in baseball. The Brewers are counting on him picking up where he left off in 2005. Brewer fans remain hopeful in 2006 as management continues to build a quality team.

2006 Los Angeles Dodgers Preview

2005 Overview:

Led by newly signed 2nd baseman Jeff Kent (.289 29 105), the Los Angeles Dodgers posted an unimpressive 71-91 record in 2005. 1st basemen Olmedo Saenz (.263 15 63) and Hee-Seop Choi (.253 15 42) joined outfielder Milton Bradley (.290 13 38) and late season pickup Jose Cruz (.301 6 22) to provide the majority of the team’s offense for the year. Catcher Jason Phillips (.238 19 55) and outfielder J.D. Drew (.286 15 36) also helped add some pop in the lineup as Los Angeles ended 2005 a full 11 games behind the Division Champion San Diego Padres.

Pitchers Jeff Weaver (14 11 4.22), Derek Lowe (12 15 3.61) and Brad Penny (7-9 3.90) combined to provide a majority of the team’s quality starts while reliever Yhency Brazoban (4 10 5.33 21 saves) anchored the back end of the bullpen.

Off Season Moves:

The Dodgers signed a bunch of free agents in the off season to address their needs. Free agent Nomar Garciaparra (.283 9 30) was signed to play first base, Bill Mueller (.295 10 62) to play third, Rafael Furcal (.284 12 58) to play shortstop and Kenny Lofton (.335 2 36) to play centerfield. Milton Bradley was sent to the A's and the team added NY Met Jae Seo (8-2 2.59) and Giants free agent Brett Tomko (8-15 4.48) to the starting rotation.

The LA Dodgers addressed their bullpen needs by picking up closer Danys Baez (5-4 2.86) and reliever Lance Carter (1-2 4.89) who was signed from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

2006 Analysis:

Mueller, Garciaparra and Furcal were all solid pickups and should help reduce the need for Kent to do all the scoring in 2006. The Dodgers are hoping Garciaparra can play healthy for a full season and they expect him to surprise skeptics who believe he is damaged goods. Furcal is an anchor in the infield and has an absolute canon for an arm. Fans should expect him to step up his game another notch in 2006 after the Braves let him get away.

Seo had perhaps the best 2nd half of any of the Met pitchers last season. The Mets felt his 2005 season was essentially a fluke so they were willing to trade him for reliever Duaner Sanchez. The Dodgers are hoping Seo can provide a significant amount of quality innings in 2006. Fans shouldn’t expect Tomko to do much better then last year but the Dodgers still need him to improve on his 8-15 record though. Fans also should be confident that the off season bullpen signings will help. Both Baez and Carter will be welcome additions. Baez in particular was chased by a few different teams and the Dodgers were lucky to grab him.

If a few of the offensive pieces can come together the Dodgers might surprise some people in the NL West. Most experts would point to the fact that the starting pitching is still too shaky to pick the team for any serious contention in 2006.

2006 Kansas City Royals Preview

2005 Overview:

Ask any Royal fan and they will tell you - there just simply weren’t many things for them to cheer about in 2005. In fact, the 2005 Kansas City Royals were a complete train wreck and that’s putting things somewhat mildly. The Royals managed to win a total of only 56 games the entire year while losing an embarrassing 106. The anemic Royals pitching staff also allowed a total of 935 runs scored against them, ranking as the second worst in baseball behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Much of Kansas City’s offense was provided by newcomer Emil Brown (.286 17 86), 1st baseman Mike Sweeney (.300 21 83) and outfielder Matt Stairs (.275 13 66). Starting Shortstop Angel Berroa (.270 11 55) and catcher John Buck (.242 12 47) were the only other bright spots in the regular starting lineup. While the Royals hitting may have been spotty in 2005, the pitching can be described as pretty much non-existent. Newly acquired Jose Lima (5-16 6.99) returned an utterly disappointing inaugural year with the Royals managing to win just 1 game on the road the entire season. While Starters Runelvys Hernandez (8-14 5.52), Zack Greinke (5-17 5.80) and D.J. Carrasco (6-8 4.79) all failed to string together any quality starts. The bullpen and relief staff offered very little for fans to cheer about as well. Even though relief pitcher Mike MacDougal (5-6 3.33 21 saves) did his very best to protect any games he was given. MacDougal appeared in a total of 68 games while converting 21 of 25 save opportunities. By the end of the season, the Royals found themselves a total of 43 games behind the Division and World Champion White Socks - compiling the worst road record in baseball at 22-59.

Off Season Moves:

Kansas City Management added a bunch of starting pitching in the off season – all of which are veterans including; Joe Mays (6-10 5.65), Scott Elarton (11-9 4.61), and Mark Redman (5-15 4.90) who was traded from Pirates to Royals for RHPs Jonah Bayliss & Chad Blackwell. Free agents Reggie Sanders (.271 21 54), Mark Grudzielanek (.294 8 59) and Doug Mientkiewicz (.240 11 29) where also signed to help the struggling offense.

2006 Analysis:

The addition of 3 new starters is a step in the right direction, although with 11 win pitcher Scott Elarton as the “ace” it doesn’t appear to be a terribly vast improvement over the 2005 starting rotation. Expect Ambiorix Burgos (3-5 3.98) and newcomer Joel Peralta (1- 0 3.89) to be the most steady arms in the bullpen. The addition of Sanders, Grudzielanek and Mientkiewicz should help jumpstart the sagging offensive production. All three are also good clubhouse leaders. Sanders should add some much needed protection to Sweeney and Brown in the regular lineup. The bullpen still remains a question mark although the team should probably score more runs in 2006. The Royals are far cry from contending in a division that has Cleveland and Chicago in it. Royal Fans shouldn’t be expecting much.

2006 Houston Astros Preview

2005 Overview:

For the second straight year in a row, the Houston Astros overcame a horrible start and spotty offense to capture the National League wildcard. Houston rolled past the Cardinals en route to becoming National League Champions only to lose in a 4 game sweep to the World Champion Chicago White Sox.

Despite missing the first month of the season, slugger Lance Berkman (.293 24 82 RBI) was able to establish himself as one of the best power hitters in the game while 3rd baseman Morgan Ensberg (.283 36 101) also emerged as a prime time offensive force leading the team in HR (36), RBI (101), and slugging percentage (.557). The ageless wonder Craig Biggio (.264 26 69) joined Jason Lane (.267 26 78) and Mike Lamb (.236 12 53) to help complete the rest of the starting lineup.

On the pitching side, starter Roy Oswalt (20-12, 2.94 ERA) was able to combine strong power numbers with excellent control in 2005 while Andy Pettitte (17-9, 2.39 ERA) bounced back from an injury-ridden 2004 season to pitch over 220 innings. Roger Clemens (13-8 1.87) at the age of 44 still was able to post respectable numbers joining superstar reliever Brad Lidge (4-4 2.29 42 saves) to provide the Astros with a season ending 89-73 record.

Off Season Moves:

The Astros didn’t make too many moves in the off season only because they really didn’t need to. Their biggest acquisition was signing free agent Preston Wilson (.260, 25 90) who was picked up to help provide more offensive stability and potentially replace Bagwell (who may or may not return in 2006). Reliever Trever Miller (2-2 4.06) was also added to help an already strong bullpen.

2006 Analysis:

Much of the same faces will return in 2006 with Craig Biggio (94 Runs) and Willy Taveras, who led the team in stolen bases with 34 setting the table for the rest of the lineup. The Astros are hoping Tavares will learn to become more patient in his sophomore year and produce more walks. If Bagwell doesn't come back full-time, Berkman will likely move over to 1B with the newly acquired Preston Wilson expected to play leftfield.

Roy Oswalt is expected to once again return as the ace of the staff after putting together back-to back 20 win seasons. 33-year-old Andy Pettitte has lost significant time to injuries in 2 of the last 4 seasons so the Astros are hoping he can be healthy for an entire 2006 campaign. Clemens is not expected to return and his regular season performance will be missed. He was not offered arbitration in the off season.

Houston is looking to their number 3 starter Brandon Backe (10-8, 4.76 ERA) to find more consistency in 2005. While Wandy Rodriguez (10-10, 5.53 ERA) and Ezequiel Astacio (3-6, 5.67 ERA) will remain the likely candidates as the fourth and fifth starters. With Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls, former Met Dan Wheeler, lefty Mike Gallo and newly signed Trever Miller, the Houston bullpen is deep and perhaps one of the best in all of baseball. Expect the Astros to receive some competition from the Cubs and St. Louis in 2006. If the pitching can hold itself together and the offense at least match the same numbers as last year they should find themselves in the thick of things within the NL Central.

2006 Florida Marlins Preview

2005 Overview:

Most Florida Marlins fans never expected another repeat of the 1997 season when management completely gutted the World Champion Marlins but that is exactly what happened during the 2005 off season. Despite finishing tied with the Mets for 3rd place with an 83-79 record, Florida decided it needed to dramatically reduce payroll in the hopes of focusing on a new stadium plan. In just 12 short days between November 24-December 7 the Marlins dumped millions off their payroll by moving six everyday starting position players, two frontline pitchers, a closer and a setup reliever. When the dust finally settled only superstars Miguel Cabrera (.323 33 116) and Dontrelle Willis (22-10 2.63) remained.

The 2005 offense was led by Cabrera who posted almost identical numbers to his 2004 season ending totals. Cabrera was joined by newly acquired 1st baseman Carlos Delgado (.301 33 115) and outfielder Juan Encarnacion (.287 16 76) while pesky leadoff hitter Juan Pierre (.276 in 162 games with 57 stolen bases), 3rd baseman Mike Lowell (.236 8 58) and newly signed catcher Paul Lo Duca (.283 6 57) rounded out the rest of the starting lineup.

Willis simply dominated in 2005 by starting the season off with a 5-0 record with a 1.29 ERA. Dontrelle managed to enter the all star break with an impressive 13-4 record and 2.39 ERA. Starters Josh Beckett (15-8 3.37), A.J. Burnett (12-12 3.44) and newly acquired Brian Moehler (6-12 4.55) joined reliever Todd Jones (1-5 2.10 40 saves in 45 save opportunities) to complete the rotation.

Off Season Moves:

New appointed manager Joe Girardi and be surrounded by fresh, new faces in his 2006 debut. Hanley Ramirez is a top rookie prospect who was obtained in the Beckett trade from Boston, Ramirez has only played in two major league games and spent most of the 2005 season at AAA, where he batted .271 with six home runs, 52 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. Baseball America ranks Ramirez 10th on the Top 100 prospect list and he will likely get the starting shortstop position moving Cabrera to third base, his natural position.

The Marlins are also excited about outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who was the team's first-round pick in the 2002 draft as well as Eric Reed and Chris Aguila who are expected to get consideration in center and left field. Former New York Met Mike Jacobs (.310, 11 home runs in 30 games), obtained in the Delgado deal, and Wes Helms (.298 4 HRS in 2005) are expected to platoon at first base, while Josh Wilson (.257 17 82 in 143 games at Triple A Albuquerque in 2005) will compete for the starting job at second base.

2006 Analysis:

The Marlins will start 2006 with a bunch of fresh new faces. The fire sale provided the team with a bunch of untested talent which will make the 2006 roster look more like a AAA minor league team then anything else. New Manager Girardi will need to carefully evaluate who is ready to step into a full time role the team. Starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis is coming off his best year ever, so he will be expected to shoulder the load once again with Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Mitre, Jason Vargas, Anibel Sanchez, Josh Johnson and Scott Olsen all getting consideration for a slot in the starting rotation. Scouts have recognized Johnson as a No. 2 starter and Olsen, a lefthander, is also highly regarded.

2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup Referees About To Be Selected

The 2006 FIFA Soccer World Cup will be held in Germany and, with gametime approaching, the final 44 referee candidates are hoping that they will be among the selected officials chosen to preside over this year’s championship event. "I've prepared well, and I've comfortably overcome every hurdle in this last test," admits Herbert Fandel, Germany's second representative in the refereeing squad. World famous official Markus Merk declares, “I can live with the result now, whichever way it goes. You get highs and lows in any sport.”

The remaining 44 FIFA World Cup 2006 potential referees have recently gone through a final test during a five-day session held near Frankfurt. The selection process will be complete and the results announced at the end of March. While FIFA has yet to decide on the final total number of referees to be used in this year’s World Cup event, the expected number is thought to be no less than 30. “We've done everything we can to ensure the referees correspond to the standards expected of this wonderful World Cup in Germany,” said Angel Maria Villa Llona, who serves as an FIFA Executive Committee member who is responsible for match officials.

The 44 referee soccer World Cup candidates have remained under close observation for an entire year. The FIFA watch has been focused on each domestic league appearance, as well as each international event. “Their performances over the last 12 months are definitely a more important factor than the tests we've performed here," Llona expressed. The observation included a check on the candidate’s skills relating to the English language, the knowledge and understanding of the soccer World Cup rules, psychology and fitness. Referee candidates were required to defeat a time of 6.2 seconds over 40 meters during each of the six consecutive trials. In addition, the potential referees underwent an additional test of strength and exercise with their participation in a 150 meter dash and a 50 meter walk.

Australian candidate Mark Shield explains, “The refs have never been scrutinized for so long and so minutely.” According to experts, the current candidates will be selected to oversee the soccer World Cup championship based solely on their performance. Those who are selected will be given a whistle at the tournament and will continue on to be recognized as game officials.

2006 Fantasy Football Running Back Models Are In

Hey party people, it’s Dave Buick again, ready to talk about fantasy football. The thing I love as much as my Buick and Ruby, my feathered hair beauty, is fantasy football. As the new season approaches, there is one thing to get out of the way for all you fantasy football managers as you approach your fantasy football online draft: who the hell are you gonna take with the first pick? Are you gonna pick Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomilinson or Larry Johnson? Grab yourself a six-pack and let me break this shit down for you.

The Case Against the Soft-top – LaDainian Tomlinson

Tomlinson pissed many owners off last year with his uncool play. Chargers coach Marty Shotenheimer did his share of pissing people off too. Marty’s management of Tomlinson was questionable as he often refused to just toss Tomlinson the keys to the game. Yeah, Tomlinson looks attractive at the top of the board but he was dinged up a little last year and had the worst season of the three backs. Very uncool. Also keep in mind that Drew Brees has bolted the party which leaves Philip Rivers and his 17 career completions driving an offense that used to get looks as it drove down Main Street. An uncool looking Rivers driving the Chargers offense could hurt Tomlinson’s production. Yeah, the soft-top looks great but what the hell does a soft-top even do? Take him if you have pick three.

The Case for the Convertible – Shaun Alexander

The convertible is always the safe choice when you’re buying cars, I mean, the ride just looks cool. Shaun Alexander and his NFL record 28 touchdowns sure looks cool. He plays on a team that cruised to the Super Bowl last year and the Seahawks offense should still be high flying even without All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson who drove to Minnesota in the off-season. Something uncool is that the Seahawks might have the division wrapped up by week 15. Is Alexander going to be working for you in the final weeks of the season? If he hadn’t been trying to break the NFL touchdown record last year the Seahawks would have had their convertible parked in the driveway during your fantasy football leagues playoff run. Then again, the Cardinals may give the Seahawks a run for their money in the NFC West this year, so Alexander could be battling to the end. 28 touchdowns. Cool. I’d park that shit in the park, open the trunk and crank those tunes.

The Case for the Hardtop – Larry Johnson

If I were a fantasy football commissioner, I’d rig the draft to get the first pick so I could take Larry Johnson. He’s the cool ride. C’mon party people, you know it’s true, hard-tops are just cooler. Despite playing 6 games in which he had 13 carries or less, Johnson still racked up 1750 yards and 20 td’s on the ground along with 33 receptions for 333 yards and a touchdown. If he starts 16 games in 2006 he could easily rush for 2000 yards. Also worth considering is that the Chiefs will be fighting for their playoff lives in the tough AFC West and there is nothing more satisfying than having a hot Larry Johnson taking a Mainer on other teams during playoff time. If you’re the fantasy football manager with the first pick in the draft, take Larry Johnson and keep that comb in your back pocket, you already know your hair looks cool. I know mine does.