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 teams
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.  The
lineup ripples with power, featuring the likes of Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews
and Jackie Jensen.  In addition they
all know how to take a walk and many of their home runs are guaranteed to come
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

Not much to separate slots two through six and any of them
could rise to the top if others falter.
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 solo
variety.  Southpaws Warren Spahn 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 and
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 offense and
weak pitching.  They have by far 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 Donovan
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

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 pepper
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 ball
pretty well but have problems on the mound.  Mickey Mantle is poised for a monster
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 Tom
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 innings
and could even win 20 games with proper support but could also give up 50 plus
homers to the opposition.

North Michigan
Comets

The Comets are 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 from
first to sixth.  They have a good
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.
Bob Rush is the consensus number one starter but after him the starting
corps is mediocre at best.  They 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 finished
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 Ennis 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 could
each be 20 game winners on a better team, assuming they keep their walks to a
minimum.  On this team they could
also be 20 game losers.  The rest 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 solid,
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 from the
right side of the plate, has a host of solid role players,  On the mound the trio of Don Newcombe,
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 Hornets

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 cause some
problems in the field but cagy managing should help mitigate the issue.  Bob Lemon, Frank Lary and Billy Pierce
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 league
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 with only
rookie and part timer Rocky Colavito as a serious long ball threat.  They could end up with half the team
homers of the Hornets.  The lineup
does have an interesting mix of role players and some creative managing should
elicit the maximum result from them.
On the mound, Johnny Antonelli is a Cy Young candidate and Tom Poholsky
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 and the
team on base average will not be outstanding but they do have some good hitters
for average such as Harvey Kuenn and Gil McDougal.   The team defense is not strong 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 have
happened.  The offense is above
average with Charlie Pawpaw Maxwell and Yogi Berra along with second year man
Roberto Clemente but they have some holes in the lineup and will need to juggle
players extensively in order to get the maximum return.  The starting pitchers are decent but 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 left
fielder Roy Sievers.  The batting
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 the
bullpen will clearly be “by committee” rather than relying on one solid
closer.

Portland Beavers

The Beavers finished a surprise second last year but this
was as much a factor of the weakness of the division as it was of their own
success.  Second year third baseman
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 much
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.