Playoff Preview (Mexico City)

Mexico City Bandejos (NL South Champs, NL #1 seed)
The Bandejos staged a late season rally to claim their 4th straight NL South title. Incidentally, their 3 WS titles all came after wild card seasons. The Bandejos won 29 of 39 late season games before resting some starters in a 10 of 18 finish.

Hitting:
2b Jalal Rivera (.301-44-131) and RF Del Gil (.304-50-138) power an explosive offense. Season 8 MVP Alex Shibata remains a dangerous force but hasn't been the same since his break-up with Japanese pop star Jun Shibata. His .258 average and 42 HR's are career lows for the 2nd straight season. This season's 124 K's are 28 more than he's had in any previous season.

Team BA: .283
Team HR: 285
Team SB: 138

Pitching:
Ozzie Myers (18-6, 3.32 ERA) and Brian Jung (20-7, 3.31 ERA) form a dangerous 1-2 punch in the rotation. Willie Velazquez (13-4, 3.06) is likely to get the #3 spot for the playoffs despite where some pretty lame eye black. Rob Shields appears to have lost the closer role to veteran Benjamin Ardoin. The end of the bullpen might be the only vulnerability in this perenial contendor.

Team ERA: 3.65
Team SV: 41-65
Team HR Allow: 181

Playoff Preview (Cheyenne)

Cheyenne Seminoles (NL West Champs)
Cheyenne won it's 2nd straight division crown and takes on Sioux Falls who they swept in the 2nd round last year.

Hitting:
Sherman Prince (69/73) and Ichiro Kuo (36/37) steal bases with lethal efficiency. They have to, as no hitter amassed even 30 HRs for the Seminoles.

Team BA: .281
Team HR: 170
Team SB: 140

Pitching:
Veteran Moose Gates led the staff with 17 wins but 24-year old Al Moreno is fast becoming the staff ace after a bout with elbow tendinitis earlier this season. 36-year old Adam Edwards was 34-35 closing games with a sparkling 1.77 ERA after struggling last season.

Team ERA: 3.46
Team SV: 61-67
Team HR Allow: 171

Playoff Preview (Scranton)

Scranton Nittany Lions (AL East Winner, #1 AL Seed)
Scranton won 108 games and their first ever division title. A win over defending champion Richmond would net them their first trip to the LCS.

Hitting:
At 24 Bret Davis knocked in 160 runs and took 93 walks while playing excellent defense at 3B. 36 year old Tony Matos posted a career-best .456 OBP and stole 29 bases. This team can score in a lot of ways with five 30+ HR hitters, and 4 legitimate base stealing threats.

Team BA: .309
Team HR: 313
Team SB: 133

Pitching:
Neil Henderson leads the team with 19 wins but Alex Martin (14-7, 4.37) will likely get the ball in game 1. Closer Magglio Merced has 171 saves and is just 24 years old.

Team ERA: 4.84
Team SV: 56-74
Team HR Allow: 261

Playoff Preview (Salem)

Salem Grand Salamies (AL West Champs)
Salem won it's 10th consecutive AL WEst title despite a 10 game drop-off from last season's win total.

Hitting:
Salem may be the least HR-defendant AL playoff team. That's not to say they can't hit the big fly, three Salamies had 30+ and 10 finished in double figures. Tony Baez is a 4-tool talent that hit 31 HRs, stole 82 (in 89 attempts) bases and hit .322 while playing a fine 2B. Keeping him off the bases is key to stopping this balanced attack.

Team BA: .316
Team HR: 254
Team SB: 189

Pitching:
Doc Belle posted a 17-7 mark with a 4.99 ERA in the difficult AL. Juan Velazquez and Greg Jameson are next in the rotation line and Carl Brooks is one of 2nd City's all-time great closers.

Team ERA: 5.59
Team SV: 49-68
Team HR Allow: 252

Playoff Preview (Burlington)

Burlington Bulldogs (NL East Champions)
The dogs won the east with an 84-78 mark after spending much of the year below .500.

Hitting:
It's not that hot in Vermont, but the air conditioning is free at Mustain Stadium where 5 Bulldogs fanned over 100 times. Five players also stole 12 or more bases but four regulars hit under .250 including SS Brad Flaherty and his .195 average.

Team BA: .235
Team HR: 214
Team SB: 134

Pitching:
Pedro DeRojas is the staff ace and has won 75 games before his 25th birthday. His 2.52 ERA was a career best. Ivan Saenz performed admirably in the closer role after being claimed from Vancouver on the waiver wire.

Team ERA: 3.65
Team SV: 50-74
Team HR Allow: 183

Playoff Preview (San Juan)

San Juan Crownrificos (Wild Card #1)
Fans remain in an uproar over the white-flag deal, but the Rificos somehow held off the Las Vegas Double Downs to the capture the wild card.

Hitting:
A balanced attack saw 12 hitters in double digist HRs. The squad is prone to the strikeout as 3 topped the century mark led by Bob LaRocca's 128. They almost never run, with only Dan Garcia's 28 swipes in double digits.

Team BA: .282
Team HR: 274
Team SB: 46

Pitching:
Nobody won 15 games for the 'Rificos, but the staff has depth in tboth the rotation and bullpen.
Franchise legend Lenny Ohman leads the rotation and Willis Gordon remains a top closer.

Team ERA: 3.93
Team SV: 40-58
Team HR Allow: 225

Playoff Preview (Sioux Falls)

Sioux Falls Dakota (NL North Champions)

Hitting:
Only Joaquin Medrano knocked in 100 runs for the Dakota but #2 hitter Winston Powell makes the offense go with his .440 OBP. Three other hitters finished with 90+ RBIs so the middle of the order is dangerous at times.

Team BA: .266
Team HR: 228
Team SB: 88

Pitching:
Ace Bartolo Gonzalez strained his elbow with about 40 games to go and the Dakota staff hasn't been the same since. Paul Rhodes is still a star and the pen seems improved over past years.

Team ERA: 3.72
Team SV: 46-63
Team HR Allow: 163

Playoff Preview (Nashville Harmonies)

Nashville Harmonies (Wild Card #2)

Hitting:
Nashville won 91 games without a 100 RBI man and with only Manny Hemingway scoring 100 (he knocked himself in 43 times with HRs). They hit with occasional power (4 other hitters over 20 HRs) and run very little.

Team BA: .268
Team HR: 231
Team SB: 67

Pitching:
The Harmonies pitching staff makes the team go. Ace Chad Rollins went 18-8 with a 3.19 ERA. The bottom of the rotation struggled, but the 2nd and 3rd starters both performed well. Alex Cruz is a solid closer, but the rest of the bullpen had its struggles throughout the year.

Team ERA: 4.09
Team SV: 59-71
Team HR Allow: 197

Home Sweet ... WTF?

Home field advantage isn't in the NL. In both first round series, the wild card teams went on the road and took 2 games from the division champs. Both Nashville and San Juan returned home needing to win just once to close out Sioux Falls and Burlington respectively. Neither did. That makes the home teams 0-8 in the first round of the NL this year.

Game 5 takes place this cycle with Rosario Rosado starting for Nashville in Sioux Falls against Sean Moore.

Rafael Rosado Nashville Harmonies Age: 25 B/T: R/R Born: Colon, PA Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Sean Moore Sioux Falls Dakota Age: 28 B/T: R/R Born: Ennis, MT Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

In San Juan, Burlington will send ace Pedro DeRojas against Crownrifico ace Ronn Thomas.

Pedro DeRojas Burlington Bulldogs Age: 24 B/T: S/L Born: Chinandega, NI Position(s): P (SP5) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ronn Thomas San Juan Crownrificos Age: 29 B/T: S/R Born: Tustin, CA Position(s): P (SP1) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Playoff Preview (Otttawa Automatons)

Otttawa Automatons (AL North Champs)
The franchise makes its 7th straight playoff appearance after a 2nd straight 85 win campaign.

Hitting
Three big sluggers (David Padilla, Rudy Greer, and Mac Ventura) lead the attack with 51, 45, and 45 dingers each. This team will run too, but it's offense may not be up to par with some of its competition.

Team BA: .284
Team HR: 287
Team SB: 168

Pitching
The rotation is something of a mess for a playoff team. No starter finished more than 3 games over .500 and only youngster Jim Howard had an ERA under 5.00. The pen wasn't a ton better.

Team ERA: 5.47
Team SV: 42-63
Team HR Allow: 262