1957 PRE SEASON PROGNOSIS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Goshen Aces

The American League could shape up as a four or five team
race with only minor overall differences between the contenders.  The Aces combine a middle of the road
offense with a standout pitching staff.
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 sparkle
with Johnny Podres, Connie Johnson, Lew Burdette &
Larry Jackson anchoring a solid rotation.
Rookies Don McMahon and Billy O’Dell form the basis of an
excellent bullpen and the supporting cast is solid.

Rossville Hornets

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 down
the lineup with CF Duke Snider and SS Ernie Banks each capable of challenging for the home run crown.  Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges and newcomer
Jimmy Piersall complement the big two.
Frank Sullivan and Billy Pierce are a great righty/lefty duo and would
be a solid addition to any starting staff but except for Frank Lary the rest of
the starters are below par.  The
Hornets will need big years from relievers Turk Lown and Hoyt Wilhelm as the
balance of the bullpen is thin.

South
River Gladiators

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.  The
remaining lineup is solid and they could easily lead the league with over 200
homers.  However, the double play
combo is not strong offensively or defensively and could be a year long
problem.   Warren Spahn should
be his usual spectacular self and he is ably assisted by Curt Simmons and swing
man Gene Conley.  The bullpen is not
strong and could end up as South River’s
Achilles heel.

West
Warwick Monarchs

The defending champs, though picked for fourth could easily
repeat with a few breaks.  They have
a reasonably balanced team but could use a little more power.  Vic Wertz, Al Kaline and pepper pot 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 Willie
Miranda.  Sal Maglie and Don
Drysdale are the top hurlers but nagging spring training injuries could limit
their endurance and reduce the numbers of starts available to them.  Roy Face and Clem Labine constitute 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 first to
fifth but will need a few breaks for themselves and breakdowns from the teams
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 combos in
the division and third sacker Eddie “the walking man” Yost
isn’t far behind.  The 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 below 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 closer
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 fight, the
race for the cellar is distinctly a two-team affair.  The Hot Rods and Saints are both woeful
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 anything
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 collection
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 else
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 decent
starters and George Zuvernik a capable closer but a closer isn’t going to
of much value on this team.  There
will be way too many starts from the likes of Juan Pizzaro and Don Kaiser.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

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 the best
pitching staff in the league, bar none, and one of the greatest in the history
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 adequate,
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 fifth
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 to 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 probably
won’t be enough to overcome the Surfer juggernaut.  The team on the field is spectacular
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.  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 should
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.

Salzburg Bishops

The Bishops are blessed with a very good offense but cursed
with the worst pitching staff in the division, by far.  Ted Williams (a prime MVP candidate),
Dal Long, Jackie Jensen and Eddie Mathews are a little too skewed to the left
side but are probably the best 1-2-3-4 punch in the league.  Rumor has it that there is a phenom 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 after
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 cannot
hit with the teams above.  The two
best starters, Whitey Ford and Von McDaniel will each be limited by arm trouble
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.

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 .330.  A few players such as Ken Boyer, Wally
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 staff
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 allotted
number of miracles.

Dayton Flyers

The Flyers don’t have much of an offense or pitching
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 Mazerowksi
and Johnny Logan could be the best defensively in the league and both can hit 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.
Starters Bob Buhl and rookie Jack Sanford are the leaders of the staff
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 moniker 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.  The infield and outfield defense is very
weak which is not a good sign when also you can’t hit very well and your
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 draft
pick in 1958.