1982 Team Previews

[kaosfere]

1982 Toronto Osprey: "Not This Time"
1981: 91-63, 1st
1980: 80-74, 3rd

In 1981, the Osprey finished their comeback drive, and returned to the FOOL Classic. Unlike their previous appearance in '75, they upset series favorite Hartford and took home the club's first ever FOOL title. This year, the team still has a lot to prove. After the '75 win, the Osprey plummeted into a very bad 3 year stretch. In 1982, Toronto hopes to prove that the same thing will not happen this time -- that this team is real, and here to stay.

Pitching

Doubtless, the breakout performance on last year's team was SP Júlio Martínez, who converted from his MR role, threw to a 1.95 ERA, and won the CL Pitcher of the Year award. Martínez returns this year, as does fellow powerhouse Manny López (2.36ERA, 0.98 WHIP). Also returning from last year are David Simpson and Victor González, both of whom posted a 3.10 ERA. New to the rotation is veteran Gabriel Riggs, who comes out of two years in Brooklyn's AAA and hopes to put in a strong performance in the waning years of his career. If any stadium can make an aging pitcher look good, Atlantic Gardens is the place.

In the bullpen, flamethrowing relievers Dave McDonald (1.52 ERA) and Corey Templeman (1.97 ERA) are back this year, as is Francisco Padilla, who is starting to show some signs of slowing after 10 years with Toronto, but remains the key middle reliever.

Overall, the Toronto pitching staff, which threw the best ERA in the modern FOOL era last year, is looking just as strong, if not stronger, for 1982.

The Lineup

There is one position where Toronto is weaker this year than last: catcher. Last year's starter, Mark Shepherd, was released after spring training due to salary constraints. Starting in his place will be long-time backup George Carr. Carr got some starts in the FOOL Classic and turned in a very good performance. The team hopes he can continue this. Backing him up will be Chris Williams, who gets his first major league spot at the age of 31. Opposing pitchers have nothing to fear from him.

With the exception of catcher, every position is the same as, or improved from, last year. Gabriel Mata (.278, 21.9 VORP) returns to first. Elmer Meyer will be at second once more. Third base will see a platoon with newcomer Marcos Montoya facing righties and Yu-bao Tsou against southpaws. Abraham Lujan (.256, 35.9 VORP) once again gets the nod at short.

In the outfield, last year's MVP Charlie Wilson (.332, 68.5 VORP) moves over to left field, to make room in center for John Brown. Brown blossomed in AAA last season, and got a callup for the Classic, but did not do much with it. The team hopes he will live up to his strong potential during the regular season. In right field, last year's big signing, Ed Morgan (.245, 34.0 VORP), returns.

Projection

After two years of not being quite good enough, Toronto went all the way last year. As noted, every key piece is back and just as strong, and a few new ones have been acquired. We firmly believe that this team is even stronger than it was last year, and is the favorite to win the CL.

That being said, as usual, there is not much differentiation between talent in the Continental League's top few teams. This year is likely to see as much of a struggle at the top as last year had, and any of three or four teams could walk away with the title at the end of the year.

We were bold last year, and predicted a first place finish, which paid off. We're going to be bold again this year, and hope the same happens.

We predict Toronto to finish first place in the CL, 3 games ahead.

[Young Drachma]

BOSTON BOMBERS
1981: 80-74, 4th place

After leading his new club to their first winning season since 1969, despite not signing with the club until after free agency and on the heels of a season where the club lost 95 games the year before, all accounts point a positive start for Boston's newest ballclub.

But before the off-season started, D.C. Daly knew he had bigger plans.

The fire sale the team conducted this off-season upset many fans, but the team said it was necessary for the franchise's survival.

"The economy in this league isn't what it used to be. Spend and trade just doesn't work and rather than be on the hook for a bunch of guys we might lose to free agency or simply not be able to pay, we made a calculated decision to start building from within starting now. It'll be painful, but brighest days are down the road."

The team won't be untalented, just aging in key spots and not competitive with the top half of the Republic League.

With the players in place, the hope is to finish in 5th, but it wouldn't be a shock for the team to finish near the bottom of the RL standings for 1982.

Prediction: 5th place, RL (74-80)

[TimGuru]

I look around and see a number of improvements around the CL, Brooklyn and Napa Valley especially seemed to be quite active in the offseason, one presumes productively. Baltimore and Toronto remain high quality, and don't discount Chief Rum. Who am I leaving out? Oh, Rio Grande looks better on paper than in the past couple of years, and I added some good players that I am not sure fit well together but, we'll see. CL looks wide open, watch the AI team win it.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by TimGuru

I look around and see a number of improvements around the CL, Brooklyn and Napa Valley especially seemed to be quite active in the offseason, one presumes productively. Baltimore and Toronto remain high quality, and don't discount Chief Rum. Who am I leaving out? Oh, Rio Grande looks better on paper than in the past couple of years, and I added some good players that I am not sure fit well together but, we'll see. CL looks wide open, watch the AI team win it.

I think Wyoming is the one team that I think is going to fall off big time in the CL this season. The past few years they have been somewhat competitive but mostly due to the farm system I had been working on. They keep letting the players they should keep walk though and each year I see them slip further and further behind you all. I don't think they will finish in the basement, but they definitely are not improving.

[Cringer]

I would love to get back into doing these, but horrible night for it as I just got back from doing some work and now have to take the kid out because I guess it's a holiday or something....

Real quick. I lost several pitchers from last year that was a staff that was my best in perhaps a decade as far as overall numbers. I still think my pitching staff should be good, and I am excited about the 19 year old rookie SP I have this year who has risen through the minors in only two years and looks very good. Skip Adams is his name, and he will be in the #5 spot this year.

If the pitching holds onto some of what it did last, then it all comes down to my hitting. My hitting last year was surprisingly horrible, the worst I have had in Rio Grande. That was not expected. Some new vets were brought in this year and we will see a lot of splitting time at some positions. This may be the most heavily decided lineups I have ever done based on left/right splits. I hope to see some improvements from guys who shouldn't have all had bad years at the same time last year. My big problem? No real sure lock 3-4 hitters which is part of my teams problem right now.

Prediction: No idea, I thought last year I would improve. I am hoping for 5th or so. Not 7th or 8th is a good thing.