1956 PRE SEASON PROGNOSIS

1956 PRE SEASON PROGNOSIS

After my disastrous attempt at forecasting last year, = I approach this exercise with great trepidation, but here goes. Both divisions should be extremely competitive and in the American any of six teams have a shot whereas four t= eams have a real chance in the National and the other three could surprise. We have no really great teams and probably very few terrible ones. This season could easily see no 95 game winners or losers.

American=

Salzburg= Bishops

The Prelates have a thundering offense but the pitching staff has some major flaws. T= he lineup ripples with power, featuring the likes of Ted Williams, Eddie Mathe= ws and Jackie Jensen. In additio= n they all know how to take a walk and many of their home runs are guaranteed to c= ome with someone on base, unlike many of the other teams. Defensively the team is solid and = will support the shaky pitching staff in the field. On the mound they have problems. Art Ditmar and Roger Craig are the= two mainstays of the starting staff but both would have problems making other rotations. Ellis Kinder is a = solid closer but he and maybe Craig could be the only hurlers with a season ending ERA under 4.00.

South River Gladiators<= o:p>

Not much to separate slots two through six and any of = them could rise to the top if others falter.&nb= sp; The defending champs have a decent mix of offense and pitching. The South River crew could easily = have four players with 25-35 home runs but unlike the Bishops they do not have an exceptional on base average and many of these dingers may well be of the so= lo variety. Southpaws Warren Spa= hn and Curt Simmons will anchor the staff but they also possess a decent amount of depth, although lacking a standout closer.=

Brooklyn Bridge

You literally can flip a coin between the Gladiators a= nd Bridge as they came out even in my extremely complex formula but the Glads = get the nod based on better balance. The Bridge are a slightly junior version of the Bishops, great offen= se and weak pitching. They have by f= ar the best overall power in the league and could easily finish with over 200 home runs as a team. Depending on = who plays where the defense may be sub par and this could cost them in a tight pennant race. Starter Dick Do= novan and swing man Jim Davis are good pitchers but the quality falls off quickly thereafter and too many starts will go to the likes of Dave Sisler and Stu Muller.

West Warwick Monarchs<= /b>

The Kings could easily move up in the standings with a= few breaks and they represent another variation on the unbalanced team but this time it’s a below average offense linked to a good pitching staff. Al Kaline is a solid player and pe= pper pot Nellie Fox anchors the infield while Vic Wertz will hit 30 plus homers = but other than that the offense has too many holes.   Sal Maglie and Jack Harshman= are a great start to any pitching staff but the rest of the hurlers are also quite competent and Don Drysdale just might walk away with the rookie of the year award. Clem Labine should be = one of the top closers in the league.

Los Angeles Surfers

The LA crowd= came within a single game of the 1955 pennant and could easily contend again or finish as low as sixth. They = are another example of the lack of balance in the league as they can hit the ba= ll pretty well but have problems on the mound. Mickey Mantle is poised for a mons= ter season with catcher Ed Bailey providing good support but these two will be intentionally walked or pitched around a lot more than the LA manager would like as the supporting cast is not up to the level of those two. Vinegar Bend Mizell and swingman T= om Sturdivant should do well along with closer Harsh Freeman but the quality is thin after these three and the Surfer bats will need to win a lot of 8-7 and 10-9 games in order to propel them to the pennant. Robin Roberts will log a lot of in= nings and could even win 20 games with proper support but could also give up 50 p= lus homers to the opposition.

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North Michigan Comets

The Comets a= re the best balanced team in the division; a little below average in both hitting = and pitching without the wild swings of almost all the other clubs. They also could finish anywhere fr= om first to sixth. They have a g= ood power man in first sacker Joe Adcock and very few automatic outs other than= 2B Bobby Avila who is in the lineup mostly for his glove.&nbs= p; Bob Rush is the consensus number one starter but after him the start= ing corps is mediocre at best. Th= ey do have some decent relievers and should be able to stay in the game when a starter gets into trouble early.

Lafayette Colts

Last year’s consensus pre season favorite who fi= nished a disappointing fourth probably won’t disappoint this year as they are picked for last and will need some real luck to achieve any higher level. They are dead last in all three offensive criteria of my complex formula and a decent pitching staff won’t be enough to make up the difference. Harry Suitcase Simpson and Del Enn= is are the only decent power threats, although Ennis has formed a serious aversion= to the base on balls which will limit his effectiveness. Ritchie Ashburn will one again be a stand out lead off man but not quite as good as in prior years and he’= ;ll still need someone else to drive him home.= Early Wynn and Herb Score both have trouble finding home plate but c= ould each be 20 game winners on a better team, assuming they keep their walks to= a minimum. On this team they co= uld also be 20 game losers. The r= est of the staff is above average and if they seriously overachieve the Colts might rise in the standings but don’t bet on it.

National=

Evanston= Elephants

It is with great anxiety that I pick my own team to win after the fiasco of 1955 but that was caused mainly by a seriously underachieving pitching staff which hopefully won’t recur. The Pachyderm’s offense is s= olid, led by Hammering Hank Aaron and the Big Klu, Ted Kluszewski. Except for Klu at 1B, the defense = is outstanding and will save the pitching staff a lot of runs. The bench, though a little thin fr= om the right side of the plate, has a host of solid role players, On the mound the trio of Don Newco= mbe, Bob Friend and Ron Kline is among the best in the league and should start at least 120 games between them. Ray Narleski is= an excellent reliever and the rest of the staff contains some fine hurlers. No repeat of 1955!

Rossville Hor= nets

The Elephants will not waltz to the pennant and any of= the next three teams could easily grab the flag from them. The Hornets are a little below Evanston in both = offense and pitching but still solid in both areas. They have seven players who could = each top 20 homers and as a team might hit over 200. Playing the best hitters will caus= e some problems in the field but cagy managing should help mitigate the issue. Bob Lemon, Frank Lary and Billy Pi= erce will challenge the Elephant’s trio as the best in the league, although they won’t get quite as many starts.= Turk Lown and Hoyt Wilhelm are the best 1-2 bullpen punch in the lea= gue and the rest of the staff is solid.

Frankfort Fortress

The defending pennant winners could repeat and a case = can be made that this year’s edition is superior to 1955. However power is sadly lacking wit= h only rookie and part timer Rocky Colavito as a serious long ball threat. They could end up with half the te= am homers of the Hornets. The li= neup does have an interesting mix of role players and some creative managing sho= uld elicit the maximum result from them. On the mound, Johnny Antonelli is a Cy Young candidate and Tom Pohol= sky a solid number two. The rest = of the staff is thin, but with proper managing might be enough.

Goshen Aces

The Aces were a distant sixth in 1955 but they have a legitimate shot at contention in 1956 if a few things break in their direction. They lack power an= d the team on base average will not be outstanding but they do have some good hit= ters for average such as Harvey Kuenn and Gil McDougal.   The team defense is not stro= ng and this will be a season long problem. The starting staff is solid, led by Lew Burdette but the bullpen is a series of question marks.

Dayton Flyers

A major drop off between the first four teams and the = last three which of course means that one of the last three will eventually win = the pennant! Seriously the Flyers= just don’t seem to have the horses to compete, although stranger things ha= ve happened. The offense is above average with Charlie Pawpaw Maxwell and Yogi Berra along with second year m= an Roberto Clemente but they have some holes in the lineup and will need to ju= ggle players extensively in order to get the maximum return. The starting pitchers are decent b= ut not up to quality of the teams above while Nellie King promises to be a decent closer.

Hampton Road Cruisers

The Cruisers had the worst record in the entire league= in 1955 and they should be improved in 1956 although they still may not rise higher than sixth place. The = lineup does have some power, especially with hot shot rookie Frank Robinson and le= ft fielder Roy Sievers. The batt= ing order does have some holes and the team defense is not strong. Whitey Ford and Chuck Stobbs could= start for any other team in the league but the quality thereafter is spotty and t= he bullpen will clearly be “by committee” rather than relying on o= ne solid closer.

Portland= Beavers

The Beavers finished a surprise second last year but t= his was as much a factor of the weakness of the division as it was of their own success. Second year third ba= seman Ken Boyer will provide some much needed pop in the lineup as the two other power guys, Wally Post and Hank Bauer will hit the long ball but not for mu= ch of an average. The team could= also end the season with the worst on base average in the league which means that many of the homers will probably come with no one on base. The team lacks a clear number one starting pitcher and will have to run out a relay of hurlers to get through= the season. Whoever isn’t starting will provide the bullpen but they have no standouts.

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