1957 PRE SEASON PROGNOSIS

1957 PRE SEASON PROGNOSIS

AMERICAN LEAG= UE

Goshen Aces

The American League could shape up as a four or five t= eam race with only minor overall differences between the contenders. The Aces combine a middle of the r= oad offense with a standout pitching staff.&nb= sp; The attack is led by outfielder Roy Sievers who could easily hit over .300 and challenge for the home run title.= First sacker George Crowe provides power from the left side. The balance of the lineup is solid= , if unspectacular with the only real weakness being at catcher. However on the mound, the Aces spa= rkle with Johnny Podres, Connie Johnson, Lew Burdette= & Larry Jackson anchoring a solid rotation.&= nbsp; Rookies Don McMahon and Billy O’Dell form the basis of an excellent bullpen and the supporting cast is solid.

Rossville Hor= nets

The Hornets are not quite the opposite of the Aces as = their team is more balanced but they are much stronger on offense than on the mound. Power ripples up and d= own the lineup with CF Duke Snider and SS Ernie Banks each capable of challenging for the home run crown. Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges and newc= omer Jimmy Piersall complement the big two.&nbs= p; Frank Sullivan and Billy Pierce are a great righty/lefty duo and wou= ld be a solid addition to any starting staff but except for Frank Lary the res= t of the starters are below par. T= he Hornets will need big years from relievers Turk Lown and Hoyt Wilhelm as the balance of the bullpen is thin.

South River Gladiators<= o:p>

The Glads have been perennial contenders the past few = years and this is no exception. Stan Musial and Willie Mays are probably the best lefty/righty duo in the league= and could each contend for MVP. T= he remaining lineup is solid and they could easily lead the league with over 2= 00 homers. However, the double p= lay combo is not strong offensively or defensively and could be a year long problem. Warren Spahn s= hould be his usual spectacular self and he is ably assisted by Curt Simmons and s= wing man Gene Conley. The bullpen = is not strong and could end up as South River&#= 8217;s Achilles heel.

West Warwick Monarchs<= o:p>

The defending champs, though picked for fourth could e= asily repeat with a few breaks. The= y have a reasonably balanced team but could use a little more power. Vic Wertz, Al Kaline and pepper po= t Nellie Fox lead the offense with Gus Triandos as one of the better catchers in the league. The left side of the infield is a little weak with rookie Eddie Kasko forced into a more or less full time stint at SS unless they want to play light hitting glove man Will= ie Miranda. Sal Maglie and Don Drysdale are the top hurlers but nagging spring training injuries could lim= it their endurance and reduce the numbers of starts available to them. Roy Face and Clem Labine constitut= e a solid bullpen and the supporting cast, both starters and relievers, are more than adequate.

Frankfort Fortress

The Forts have the ability to finish anywhere from fir= st to fifth but will need a few breaks for themselves and breakdowns from the tea= ms above. The team has some good= power and it is defused throughout the lineup which will preclude opponents from pitching around one or two players. Johnny Temple and Chico Carrasquel are one of the top keystone combo= s in the division and third sacker Eddie “the walking man” Yost isn’t far behind. The <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Frankfort manager = will need to be creative in shuttling a “cast of thousands” in the outfield and catcher but he is up to the task. The pitching staff is a little bel= ow the other contenders with Johnny Antonelli and Ruben Gomez as the anchors of the starting staff but rookie Ralph Terry might surprise. Marv Grissom should be a capable c= loser but he’ll need help from the rest of the staff who will need to overachieve if the Fortress are to entertainment playoff hopes.

Route 66 Hot = Rods

If the pennant race could evolve into a five-team figh= t, the race for the cellar is distinctly a two-team affair. The Hot Rods and Saints are both w= oeful and there isn’t a lot to choose between them. Route 66 could easily finish last = in the league in homers with only outfielders Wally Moon and Gino Cimoli as anythi= ng close to full time stand out hitters. Shortstop Luis Aparicio will do a great job in the field and steal a= few bases but he still needs to get on base more often. The balance of the lineup is a coll= ection of part timers and weak hitting glove men.= Poor control could cause veteran Early Wynn to implode on the mound = and his supporting cast is even worse. Rookie Danny McDevitt might surprise but don’t look for much e= lse from this weak staff.

Southport Saints

The Saints have by far the worst offense in the league= and the pitching staff isn’t much better. Gus Bell and Jim Lemon are decent outfielders and Smokey Burgess is a good hitting though sore armed catcher = but there isn’t much else. = Billy Klaus and Daryl Spencer are good glove men in the middle of the infield and they can hit a little but not near enough to make up for the shortcomings elsewhere. The pitching staff= is marginally better than the Hot Rods but that isn’t saying much. Dick Donovan and Vern Law are dece= nt starters and George Zuvernik a capable closer but a closer isn’t goin= g to of much value on this team. T= here will be way too many starts from the likes of Juan Pizzaro and Don Kaiser. =

NATIONAL LEAG= UE

Los Angeles Surfers

If the American shapes up as a five-team free for all,= the National should only involve two teams, the Surfers and Elephants and might even be a Surfer runaway. Los Angeles has th= e best pitching staff in the league, bar none, and one of the greatest in the hist= ory of SPB II. The offense is no = slouch and perfectly capable of matching anyone else. Center fielder Mickey Mantle is a standout in all aspects of play and a strong pre-season MVP candidate. The Surfers are strong and possess= great depth at every other position except SS, where Joe DeMaestri, though adequa= te, is probably a little below par. Then you get to the pitching staff.= The standout of prior years, Robin Roberts, could be demoted to a fi= fth starter role as the team has so much depth. Tom Sturdivant, Jim Bunning and= Bob Turley are just the start of an excellent staff. The bullpen isn’t quite up t= o the status of the starters but it is still very good and will get help from the deep starting crew when they are not starting.

Evanston= Elephants

The Pachyderms made a panicked last minute trade to get diminutive lefty Bobby Shantz to shore up their pitching staff but it proba= bly won’t be enough to overcome the Surfer juggernaut. The team on the field is spectacul= ar offensively and defensively and they could often field a lineup with six hitters over .300. Off season acquisition Ritchie Ashburn is the perfect leadoff man and he will give MVP candidate Hank Aaron plenty of RBI opportunities. Aaron is the only standout home run threat but you can’t ignore the likes of Gene Woodling and Bob Boyd.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Evanston bench is also very strong. On the mound, you could argue that= they approach in quality every other team in the league, except the Surfers. Shantz will help a lot as he gives= them their only decent left handed pitcher while Bob Friend and Don Newcombe sho= uld win their share of games. The bullpen is deep and talented and might be able to cover over some of the shortcomings in the starting staff. &= nbsp;

Salzburg= Bishops

The Bishops are blessed with a very good offense but c= ursed with the worst pitching staff in the division, by far. Ted Williams (a prime MVP candidat= e), Dal Long, Jackie Jensen and Eddie Mathews are a little too skewed to the le= ft side but are probably the best 1-2-3-4 punch in the league. Rumor has it that there is a pheno= m in the minors, “Hurricane” Bob Hazle who should tear up the league when he gets a chance, but needs several months of seasoning before he gets called up to the “Show”. = Dick Drott is the closest thing to an ace on the pitching staff, but= he is certainly not All-Star quality and the staff is pretty much downhill aft= er him. Swingmen Mike Forneiles = and Art Ditmar will contribute but the rest of the staff is not strong.

Hampton Road Cruisers=

Hampton Road could overtake Salzburg for third but will need a lot = of breaks to contend for the pennant. They are equally good or bad depending on how you want to look at it= on offense and pitching. The do = have some decent power with Frank Robinson, Moose Skowron and Hank Sauer. Al Dark and Frank Bolling are a very good double play combo, both on offense and defense and rookie Roger Maris might pop a few homers but overall they cann= ot hit with the teams above. The= two best starters, Whitey Ford and Von McDaniel will each be limited by arm tro= uble and might not start 35 games between them.= Bud Byerly could be a decent closer and Bob Keegan and Johnny Kucks = are OK but necessity will cause the likes of Pedro Ramos to get far more starts than he deserves. =

<= /span>

Portland = Beavers

The Beaver’s= offense is pitiful and they are especially averse to drawing a walk which will make sustaining rallies difficult. Rookie Tony Kubek, once he settles on a position, could end up as the best player on the team and probably the only regular with an OBA above .33= 0. A few players such as Ken Boyer, W= ally Post and Hank Bauer can occasionally hit a home run but a lot of those will probably come with the bases empty. They do have a very solid and deep bullpen while Brooks Lawrence and= Moe Drapowsky are decent starters but I can’t see any way the pitching st= aff can overcome the problems of the offense and Portland could finish anywhere from fifth to seventh but rising above that will require more than the allo= tted number of miracles.

Dayton Flyers

The Flyers don’t have much of an offense or pitc= hing staff and their only realistic “accomplishment” might be to beat out the Beavers for fifth place. The team does have some power but lacks good hitters for average. The double play duo of Bill Mazero= wksi and Johnny Logan could be the best defensively in the league and both can h= it a little but the outfield is below average offensively and except for Roberto Clemente, defensively as well. These offensive shortcomings are unfortunately not offset by the pitching staff which is no more adequate.&= nbsp; Starters Bob Buhl and rookie Jack Sanford are the leaders of the sta= ff along with reliever Bob Grim. The rest of the staff is decent but not outstanding.

Minneapolis Lakers

A last minute franchise sale gave this team a new moni= ker but unfortunately the same old cast of characters in the way of players. It’s a sad state of affairs = when Cub refugees, Ed Bouchee and Walt Moryn could end up as your best players.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The infield and outfield defense i= s very weak which is not a good sign when also you can’t hit very well and y= our pitching staff is below average. The team does have four decent starting pitchers, led by Paul Foytack but none are outstanding and the bullpen is weak. The Lakers might rise a little in = the standings if the teams above stumble but that’s about it. They should however have a good dr= aft pick in 1958.