This article begins a weekly column on the league – its going-ons, analysis and the all important, rumors. By way of introduction, I was only going to write articles for the league with the hope of one-day owning my own Masterblaster’s Simulated Baseball team. However, with the dawning of the New Century, I might be joining the major leagues as the owner of the Oakland A’s. Stay Tuned. Hopefully, I will be as lucky in Vegas.

As my initial article regarding the league, I wanted to start at the beginning – the decisions by the GM’s and try and predict the way in which the GM will go in the 2000 draft on January 10^th. As I glanced over the list of "Team keepers," many questions went through my head and I saw a lot of promising teams. I guess I have been away from my ESPN fantasy team
for a couple of months but I could not help myself wonder why teams would keep the likes
of Hideki Irabu, Donnie Wall, Matt Clement, and Ryan Minor. I guess I come from a
different school in which I want the other teams to develop the players and then, I will go
out with my deep pockets and sign these players. My motto: "Whatever it takes." If I were
the owner of the A’s, my team would buy the World Series. Does this league have a salary
cap?

Let’s take a look at what the experts are saying the top 10 of the draft will look like:

Atlanta Braves: After a dismal year, the Braves look to rebound but should with 2 of the
first six picks. With a lot of young offensive talent with the likes of Cairo, Giles, Encarnacion,
Abreu and Erstad, the future looks bright in Atlanta. However, the Braves definitely will
look to bolster their pitching staff. The Braves will look to select a young prospect in
Rick Ankiel. This hard-throwing pitcher will give pitching coach, Jim Palmer, a future
workhorse who will allow the team to get deep into the late innings.

Anaheim Angels: The Angels remain one of the major mysteries of the MSBL or this team
looks to be very active with trades. After today’s trade, the Angels bullpen is remarkable
with the likes of Marino Rivera and Mike Jackson. However, with a team batting average
in 1998 at .254, the Angels need to draft offensive players to allow the Angels remarkable
bullpen to have the ability to save the game. Look for the Angels to start to build a solid
offense to complement its strong pitching with the selection of Jim Edmonds. Although he
was injured the past year, Jim Edmonds reportedly in working rigorously over the past few
months and the doctor’s feel that he is at about 95%. Although the old Jim Edmonds plays
at 110%, the Angels see the plus in drafting one of its own and are confident that by Spring
Training, Jim Edmonds will be chasing fly-balls at 110%.

Toronto Blue Jays: With an old closer (Aguilera) and an unproven pitcher in Dennis
Springer, the team from a hockey hot-bed will look to take one of its fellow sons, Billy
Koch, to replace Rick Aguilera, who will then be used as trade bait. Koch will give the Jays
a young closer who could occupy this position over the next decade. His arm and ability to
close the door will allow the Jays an opportunity in every game to win the game.

Arizona D-Backs: With a strong nucleus of young stars such as Guerrero and Garciaparra,
the D-Backs will look to bolster their pitching staff to rival this potent offense. With only one
pitcher retained from last year, Valdes, who himself has not yet lived up to high expectations
from his strong minor league career, the D-Backs will grab the best available pitcher in the
draft. Look for the D-Backs to draft the proven ace, Chuck Finley. The arrival of Finley
will relieve a lot of pressure off the shoulder of Valdes and allow Valdes to develop as the
#2 starter. When asked about the possibility of playing for the D-Backs, Finley replied,
"Does the bullpen include the Jacuzzi? If so, I would not mind sitting out in the bullpen on
my off days."

Atlanta Braves: With the addition of Ankiel to their starting rotation, the Braves will switch
their attention to their bullpen. The club will look to build a similar-type bullpen with the
drafting of Mike Trombley, a young hard-throwing closer. This former Twins prospect
will immediately strengthen the Braves bullpen with his ability to over power pitchers and
close games down

Tampa Bay Devil Rays: With the retention of Clement, Chan Ho Park, and Dustin
Hermanson, the organization has chosen to retain three great arms but three players who
have yet to live up to their billing and may never reach that level. However, with these three
pitchers, along with hard throwing Sterling Hitchcock, the Devil Rays have the makings of a
strong pitching staff. The Devil Rays will look to add a young closer in Billy Taylor;
however, they could also look to trade for a closer and use this pick to acquire a offensive
bat such as Eric Chavez, Gabe Kapler, or Rubeun Mateo.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers will look to bolster their pitching staff with the
addition of 1997 AL CY Young winner, Pat Hentgen. Hentgen will give the Dodgers a
proven #2 starter behind Kevin Brown. With the possibility of a 15-20 game win season,
the Dodgers will glad to draft the former American league CY Young winner.

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds return a strong nucleus of players to this team which remains a
big mystery as to why they endured such a poor season in 1998. With the likes of MVP
candidate Derek Jeter (possibly the team did poor because of the distraction: Mariah Carey
– not a bad distraction) and Brian Jordan, the Reds should compete for a playoff spot.
Continuing along the common notion of surprises, in a surprising move, the Reds retained
the services of Hideki Irabu, a overweight, overpaid pitcher whose only claim to fame was
that he was mentioned in the last episode of Seinfield. Besides the retention of a possible
fifth starter in Irabu, the Reds retained the services of a proven ace and closer, Al Leiter
and Troy Percival, respectively. In this draft, the Reds should look to bolster their pitching
staff with the drafting of the young phenom, Tim Hudson. This acquisition will help the Reds
bolster their pitching staff and maybe eventually will allow them to waive Irabu and allow him
to pursue his dream as an actor (esp. looking to land a spot on General Hospital).

Philadelphia Phillies: With a proven ace in Jose Lima and two proven closers in Roberto
Hernandez (who will be traded by the end of Spring Training) and Robbie Nen, the Phillies
will look to acquire a person with whom these hard throwers will throw to. The Phillies will
use their draft pick to select Jason Veritek, a solid young catcher who is blossoming into a
star. His great defensive ability especially at throwing out runners and his ability to hit the
long ball will be a welcoming site to a line-up, which already includes Albert Belle and
speedy Glanville and Womack.

Until next week,

Brian Cloud

South Bend Tribune