METRO DIVISION SPOTLIGHT

In the first installment of the DIVISION SPOTLIGHT series, we take a look at the Classic League's Metro Division.  In this series, each division will be dissected going from team to team, highlighting strengths and weaknesses and important players.  We'll look at how the teams did in the dispersal draft, and how they shape up in the current season, as well as how they look in the future.

BOSTON BEANEATERS
Ballpark:  Fenway Park
Power Rank:  6
Division Standing:  1 
Projected Record:  91-71 
Biggest Strength: Balance - Do Just About Everything Well
Greatest Weakness: Team Defense, Future Offense
Most Important Pitcher: Tom Glavine, SP
Most Important Position Player: Geoff Jenkins, RF
Young Stud: Eric Chavez (22), 3B 
Roster Dud: Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Surprise Player:  Donnie Wall, RP

Draft Recap: The Beaneaters selected at the bottom of the 1st round, picking 23rd.  They used four of their first six selections on starting pitchers - Tim Hudson in the 1st, Tom Glavine 2nd, Jamie Moyer 4th and Jarrod Washburn 6th. In between those picks came the team's best hitter in Mosies Alou (3rd) and Rafael Palmeiro (5th).  The latter was sent away in a trade that brought young 3B Eric Chavez to Boston.  The teams surprise player, Donnie Wall, was taken in the 12th round.  Another player who is having a good season for the Beaners, Mitch Meluskey, was taken in the 16th.  Mo Vaughn, selected in the 23rd round, was traded for Ryan Klesko, a 5th round selection. 

2000 Outlook:  Through two months of the 2000 season, the Beaneaters are a full nine games ahead of the second place team in the division.  They also hold the best record in the Classic League.  So to say their playoff spot is assured is a pretty safe assumption at this point.  Tom Glavine is a key for them advancing far in the playoffs.  He's pitched below expectations to date, going 7-6 with a 5.24 ERA.  If he can get on track, he provides a top of the rotation starter the team needs come playoff time.  Donne Wall has been unbelievable in relief, winning nine games and saving four more out of the bullpen.  Sixth round pick Jarrod Washburn has been lost for the season due to injury.

The lineup is paced by Moises Alou.  His triple slash through two months is an incredible .367/.466/.656 for a 1.122 OPS.  The key to the lineup though may just be the guy who bats behind him in order, Geoff Jenkins.  He's having an outstanding season in his own right, belting 18 doubles and 16 homers.  If he can continue to produce behind Alou, the lineup is explosive.  Currently, Boston ranks 4th in the MLB in runs per game.  They have an incredible stolen base success rate of 87%, having swiped 34 bags in 39 attempts.

Future Outlook:  While the Beaneaters are obviously doing well in 2000, they are also a team that is positioned to do well in the immediate future, at least when looking at their pitching staff.  The main reason is their starting pitching.  The top-four of Glavine, Hudson, Moyer and Washburn are all excellent in 2001.  They are even better in 2002.  Conceivably, these four could anchor the Boston staff until the 2008 season.  No other team in the entire league has four starters who last that long.  Not even close.

The question marks on this team going forward come from the offense.  Alou remains good in 2001 and for the next few years after.  Chavez is just coming into his own.  He begins a stretch in 2001 where he wins the Gold Glove award in each of the next six seasons.  During that span, his OBP is .351 and he hits 173 homers.  Klesko's two best full-seasons as a pro are in 2001 and 2002.  His OPS in those two years is .924.  But those three are about it.

Jenkins is ok in 2001, but he carries "D" durability.  He only played in 67 games in 2002, and not very well at that.  2B Jerry Hairston and SS Deivi Cruz don't excite anyone.  Hairston's OPS+ in 2001 is 75, Cruz's is 81.  The catching position is weak.  Meluskey doesn't play in 2001.  Alomar and Marrero play, but not well.  Adrian Brown, who is the starting CF, doesn't have a card in 2001.  As a matter of fact, six currently rostered offensive players do not have cards in 2001.

Boston has traded away it's 3rd, 4th and 5th round selections in the 2001 draft, but it has acquired Arizona's 2nd round pick.  The Beaneaters will need to make the draft count to replace all of the production they will be losing after the 2000 season.


NEW YORK RIPPERS
Ballpark:  Camden Yards
Power Rank: 15
Division Standing: 2
Projected Record: 82-80 
Biggest Strength: Heart of Order (Manny/Sweeney/Rolen)
Greatest Weakness: Starting Rotation
Most Important Pitcher: Jamey Wright, SP
Most Important Position Player: Manny Ramirez, RF 
Young Stud: Wade Miller (23), SP
Roster Dud: Damion Easley, 2B
Surprise Player:  Dan Miceli, RP

Draft Recap:  Evaluating the Rippers draft is like arguing with a woman - completely pointless.  Manager Billy Hobbs has traded away two-thirds of his teams original 30 selections.  The highest remaining Ripper from the draft - 2B Damion Easley, selected in the 12th round.  A couple of other picks that remain have performed quite well.  15th round pick Jamey Wright is 5-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 11 starts.  Reliever Dan Miceli came on board in the 20th round.  He's picked up 11 saves to date and holds a 0.87 ERA in 23 appearances.

2000 Outlook:  It's safe to say that if the bottom three teams in the Metro Division are playing for anything in 2000, it's a Wildcard playoff birth.  The Rippers currently occupy the second-place spot in the standings, but they are a full nine games behind Boston.  The season is only two months old, but that's already a lot of ground to make up.  The Rippers could make a push for a Wildcard spot though.  They are pretty much right about average in every category so far, ranking 13th in batting, 11th in pitching and 14th in team fielding.  They have the lineup pieces in place to make an improvement in the hitting department.  Unfortunately, by trading away Kevin Brown, Mike Hampton and Robert Person, the staff is depleted.  Although the Wildcard isn't out of the question, it's more likely that 2001 is when the Rippers fully shine.

Future Outlook:  The 2001 version of the Rippers, as currently constructed, has some potential.  The offense is destined to be very good as the lineup is stacked pretty much from top to bottom.  The lineup "regulars" of Manny Ramirez, Mike Sweeney, Scott Rolen and Garret Anderson all have good years.  SS Rich Aurilia (.941 OPS) and OF Marty Cordova (.855) both have the best seasons of their careers in 2001.  Second baseman Easley is decent defensively, justifying his below average offensive production.  The only real question mark is behind the plate, where only Bobby Estalella and John Flaherty are currently rostered.  Regardless, the lineup should be as good as they come in '01.

Pitching will once again be where the questions arise.  Freddy Garcia is fine at the top of the rotation.  His 2001 season was the best of his long career.  He's jam/on rated with "A" durability in a season which saw him compile a 3.03 ERA and 1.123 WHIP.  Wade Miller also has a good in 2001. After that, it gets a bit dicey.  The back end of the rotation looks to be occupied by guys like Jamey Wright and Paul Wilson, neither of which inspire much confidence.  The bullpen is in worse shape than the rotation.  Not a single guy currently on the Rippers roster has much of a season in 2001.  Pitching should definitely be a priority for this team in the 2001 draft.

BROOKLYN BROKEN ARROW BUMS
Ballpark:  Ebbets Field
Power Rank: 16 
Division Standing: 3 
Projected Record: 76-86
Biggest Strength: Middle Defense (Ausmus/Reese/Perez/Ochoa)
Greatest Weakness: Stealing Bases
Most Important Pitcher: Randy Johnson, SP
Most Important Position Player: Brad Ausmus, C 
Young Stud: Juan Encarnacion (24), CF
Roster Dud: Jose Lima, SP
Surprise Player: Neifi Perez, SS

Draft Recap:  Brooklyn was lucky enough to select 2nd in the inaugural MBL dispersal draft.  Despite playing in the bandbox known as Ebbets Field, Bums manager Daryl Holloman bypassed slugger Barry Bonds in favor of pitcher Randy Johnson.  Many wondered how Johnson would fare in such a small ballpark.  Well, the early results are in, and they are quite favorable.  Johnson has gone 8-2 with a 2.55 ERA in 11 starts.  Guess it doesn't matter where you pitch if the opposing batters can't hit the ball.  The Big Unit has struck out 144 batters in only 95.1 innings for a K/9 rate of 13.3.

Daryl has built this team around defense and it shows.  All of his top picks excel defensively.  His middle defense of Brad Ausmus, Pokey Reese, Neifi Perez and Alex Ochoa is world class.  Following his first two selections, Johnson and reliever Keith Foulke, the Bums ignored pitching altogether until the 12th round, then went six consecutive rounds selecting hurlers to fill up the rotation and add to the bullpen.  Remarkably, not a single player selected after 19th round selection John Halama is noteworthy.  Unless you want to count 30th round pick Jose Lima, but he's been noteworthy for the wrong reasons.  He has an 8.42 ERA in eight starts for the team, averaging only 4.5 innings per start.

2000 Outlook:  Daryl's Broken Arrow Bums are currently hovering around mediocrity, compiling a 28-32 record to date.  Their best chances in 2000 would be to try and snag one of the Wildcard playoff births, which isn't out of the question.  The team is led by Johnson.  He accounts for 30% of the team's victories.  Catcher Ausmus has been incredible behind the plate at throwing out opposing base-runners.  He's gunned down 10 of 14 players trying to steal against him.  A couple of other players have been pleasant surprises.  SS Perez is hitting .342 with 20 doubles to go along with his stellar defense.  LF Kenny Lofton has been exceptional in the field, going errorless in 125 total chances.  His offense hasn't been Lofton-like.  When you think of the speedster, you think stolen bases, but he only has three of them in six chances.  But Lofton has been launching the long ball, smacking 10 HRs to date.  He also leads the team in runs scored with 45.

Future Outlook:  As we look at the future of the Bums, we must note the defense of the team remains excellent for the foreseeable future.  It's conceivable that the entire lineup could remain intact for 2001.  The problem with that it that the everyone in the lineup, without really a single exception, regresses somewhat offensively in '01.  Paul O'Neill is done after next year.  Ochoa and Reese are basically done after 2002.  The lineup could use an infusion of young talent.  The only guy on the team who resembles a prospect would be OF Juan Encarnacion, who has a decent stretch between 2002-2006.

Pitching-wise, this team will be Johnson, Foulke and a cast of characters in 2001 and beyond.  As good as Johnson is in 2000, he's even better in 2001.  He's then even better yet in 2002.  Darryl has nothing to worry about at the top of his rotation for a few years.  Unit has him covered.  The rest of the rotation though won't excite anyone.  John Halama, Omar Daal and Shane Reynolds all have 2001 ERA's above 4.46.  None of them are very good beyond next year.  This group will need to be addressed.

The Bums bullpen is pretty decent though.  Keith Foulke is crazy good for the next four seasons.  His combined ERA over those years is 2.36.  His combined WHIP is 0.95.  He's "jam" rated in three of the four years.  Stellar.  Tim Worrell also strings together four straight solid seasons, highlighted by his 2.25 ERA in 2002.  Danny Patterson and Buddy Groom are also pretty good in 2001.

NEW YORK BOMBERS
Ballpark:  Old Yankee Stadium
Power Rank: 22
Division Standing: 4 
Projected Record: 71-91
Biggest Strength: Alex Rodriguez
Greatest Weakness: Offense
Most Important Pitcher: Darryl Kile, SP
Most Important Position Player: Alex Rodriguez, SS
Young Stud: Alex Rodriguez (24), SS 
Roster Dud: Dmitri Young, LF
Surprise Player:  John Franco/Curt Leskanic, RP

Draft Recap:  Whereas the Broken Arrow Bums were lucky enough to get the second pick in the draft, the New York Bombers were even luckier, pulling out pea #1 for the first overall selection in the Millennium League.  Not much surprise when they selected Alex Rodriguez with the top overall pick.  Bombers manager Benny Portilla followed that up with back-to-back picks in rounds two and three, selecting starters Darryl Kile and Randy Wolf.  A couple of relievers selected in the mid-rounds have exceeded expectations.  John Franco, selected in the 13th, and Curt Leskanic, a 16th round pick, have combined for a 1.29 ERA in 56 innings of work.

2000 Outlook:  The outlook for the Bombers in 2000, sad to say, is not good.  Their 23 wins rank dead last in the entire league.  Their home/road split is completely bizarre.  The Bombers are only 8-22 at Old Yankee Stadium, but actually have a winning record on the road, going 15-13 away from home.  One has to wonder if the team was built for their ballpark?  Their best player, Alex Rodriguez, has struggled overall, batting only .251 with 12 homers.  At home, he's only batting .229.  The team as a whole is batting 25 points lower at home than on the road.  Overall, the Bombers are the 23rd ranked team offense.  They ranks 20th or below in R/G, HR, SB, OBP, SLG and OPS.  

The pitching isn't much better.  Bombers starter's hold a combined ERA of 6.05, third worst in the league.  Darryl Kile is the only starter who is pitching decently, holding a 4.32 ERA.  The rest of the rotation has gone a combined 6-21 with a 6.74 ERA.  That is ugly.  Thankfully, the bullpen has been quite good. Franco and Leskanic's exploits are already detailed above.  Closer Danny Graves has four wins and nine saves to go along with his 3.74 ERA.  As a group, the relievers have gone 14-8 with a 3.61 ERA.

Future Outlook:  When looking at Benny's Bombers, you're basically looking at A-Rod.  This team is and should be built around the slugger.  Rodriguez, despite playing in his 5th full season in 2000, was only 24 years of age.  He's basically just beginning what could be argued one of the best careers of all-time.  From 2001-2007, A-Rod leads the league in homers five times, wins three MVP awards and finishes second in another.  He averages 159 games played with a .991 OPS.

Supplementing A-Rod in the Bombers lineup is another good young player.  CF Torii Hunter is just starting a career that is still going strong today.  He was also only 24 in 2000.  In 2001, he begins a stretch where he hits at least 20 HRs in 10 of the next 11 years.  He also wins nine consecutive Gold Glove awards from 2001-2009.  3B Phil Nevin has his best career season in 2001.  He hit 41 homers with a .976 OPS.  1B Sean Casey was also an All-Star.  LF Dmitri Young is decent.  But those three all struggle with production or injury issues in 2002 and beyond.  The rest of the lineup is going to have to be pieced together in the draft or via trade.  Only C Mike Matheny comes back to play regularly, and he only hits .218 with a .581 OPS.  Of course Matheny is known more for his glove than his bat.  He wins three consecutive Gold Glove awards from 2003-2005.

Pitching-wise, the Bombers look to struggle in the future.  Their best starter is Kile, and he does have a good season in 2001 before tragically losing his life mid-way through the 2002 season.  Randy Wolf is good for a long time, and he's good in 2001 as well.  After those two though, it's gonna be rough.  Kip Wells is good in 2002 and 2003, but next year he has a 4.79 ERA.  Bobby Jones checks in with 5.12 and 5.50 ERA's the next two seasons before retiring.  Denny Neagle is even worse, going 5.38 and 5.26 before blowing up to 7.90 in seven spot starts in 2003.

No reliever on the team has an ERA better than Braden Looper's 3.55 mark in 2001.  Looper is really the only reliever, along with Shigetoshi Haswegawa, that has much of a future beyond next season.  He has sub-4 ERA's in each of the next six seasons before closing out his career with three seasons as a starter.  Hasegawa is very good in 2003 when had a 1.48 ERA.

The Bombers have the best building block in the game in A-Rod.  Torii Hunter is a nice second piece, but Benny will need to work the draft in the next couple years to make this team a contender.  There are too many holes in both the lineup and pitching staff to expect a quick turnaround.