AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST PREVIEW

= AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST PREVIEW

Her= e's a quick preview of the 1990 American League East. I'll give a quick rundown of each = team

and who I think will be contenders and who will be non contenders. Won-Loss Record is a

projection using runs created for both the offense and pitching and applying them to the

Bill James Pythagorean theorem. I did this after adjusting runs cr= eated for each team to 6000 AB's and 1450

innings pitched-the average for 1990 National League teams.

BIR= MINGHAM CLOVER LEAFS(83-79)

No offensive player jumps out at you, but there are seven batters in double figures in homers. Chris Sabo= is the

best of the bunch. There's a lot of at bats here, so look for plenty of platoons and mixing and matching versus

certain pitchers. No true leadoff types could hurt RBI opportunities of the power guys. Cole and Downing have the

best OBA's but are part-time players. The real problem lies in the rotat= ion where Bobby Witt and Bud Black are 1

&am= p; 2 and should really be supporting pitchers for a stud #1, which the Leafs don= 't have. Late pickup Dave Smith = was

a good move and could help seal some wins in the closer role. Team should compete but will need = some luck to pull

off a division title.

BLA= CK SWAMP SALAMANDERS(88-74)

Kev= in Mitchell is the heart of the offense and with Reed, Sc= iosia and Parker batting in front of him, he should have

plenty of RBI opportunities.&= nbsp; The 5-8 spots are problematic and could drag the offense down in sev= eral games with

limited power, onbase and speed. The true strength is the big three= in the rotation. Dave Stewart, Bruce= Hurst and

Oil= Can Boyd all had WHIP's under 1.20, 69 Quality Star= ts. These guys will trot out to the mo= und 105 times for Black

Swa= mp and need only keep games close and turn it over to the Eck for the automatic close. Definite shot for the = title.

CAR= OLINA LIGHTHOUSE(78-84)

Vin= ce Coleman and Barry Larkin will set the table for four 20 homer guys(Carter, Wallach, Burk= s,

and Galarraga). After those guys it's say a little prayer for me and all the bonus hitters in the

bottom of the order. Carolinians will say hello to the Big Hurt(191 ab's) and see hope for the future. =

Not= much help will be offered from the pitching staff. Like Thomas on the offense, Kevin = Brown brings

future possiblities. Abbott and Ga= rrelts are support pitchers put into the top roles and the pen will be kept <= /o:p>

busy all season, not a good sign. Deep draft next year will keep fans interested.

LAF= AYETTE COLT ALL-STARS(73-89)

When Harold Reynolds is your best player, it's going to be a long season. Jay Bell, George Bell,<= /span>

Chi= li Davis and Sid Bream are decent players but it's too little even for a team = with a good starting

staff. That staff is what w= ill keep this team from being horrible. Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson and Nolan Rya= n

form a solid front three and McCaskill and <= span class=3DSpellE>Bosio are good 4th and 5th men. Except for Gene Nelson, the pen lo= oks

pretty average. = Wait till next for the Colt All-Stars.

LAKE SUPERIOR WHITECAPS(78-84)

Wil= lie McGee, Tim Raines and John Kruk are a good star= t to the batting order, but, it drops

dramatically after that troika.&nbs= p; Brooks and Jacoby are the power guys, but, they're average at <= /o:p>

best. Glenn Davis will help in the 4 hole, but, he's part-time, as are Wilson and Randolph, who

will help the lineup. Full timers Fletcher and Templeton are a lineup drag and catchers are mix

and match part-timers. Stieb, Melido Perez and <= span class=3DSpellE>Gordan form a decent but not great top three in<= /o:p>

the rotation. Cerutti is below average at #4. Doug Jones is a good closer, but, there's not much

cushion between him and the starters. .500 would be a successful season = for the Whitecaps.

QUI= GLEY Q's(94-68)

A f= irst glance at the Q's offense would leave one to beleive that their domination of the division is

coming to and end. Bonilla is a potent force in the middle of the lineup and Fernandez, Whitaker,

and Henderson are favorites with good years. Brian Harper is in the second year= of a good five

year run and will make a nice bat at catcher. The rest of the order is average at best. However,

don't start making plans to send the East trophy to Black Swamp or Birmingham. This team is

about pitching, pitching and more pitching. Hanson, DeLeo= n, Rijo, Higuera and S= mith form the

best five man rotation in the league and will keep the Q's close in most games. When they leave

the game they can turn it over to Farr, Olson and Myers, all who have closer type numbers. The=

only weakness in the staff is relief depth, but look for the Q's to stre= tch out the starters in most games to 7-8 innings.

Thi= s team has an excellent shot at a fourth straight divisional title.