2007 Team by Team Preview - Sidewinders

The Stanley Sidewinders

Starting Pitching:
Zambrano, Peavy, and Willis. That's a good start, but Prior's off year means they need a 4th.

Bullpen:
B.Ryan, J.Rincon, Helling, Betancourt, Farnsworth, and Baez (maybe). Good balance; Ryan is a killer closer.

Catcher:
Mauer - the best in the game right now; good arm; great bat; batting average over 330 and on base over 400 on both sides of the card; even better in the clutch
Zaun - crushes lhp; perfect back-up for mauer, who doesn't really need one

Infield:
Delgado (1b-4) - down vs lhp a bit, but pounds rhp
Ortiz (1b-5) - crushes everyone; one of the best hitters in the game
M.Giles (2b-2) - dropped off a lot; virtually unuseable vs lhp
Crosby (ss-2) - continues to fight injuries every year; his card this year will be bad - very bad
Wright (3b-3) - balanced with good power and onbase; even stole 20 bases; avg is almost 50 points higher in the clutch.
Cabrera (3b-4) - will have a monster card on both sides; he also gains in the clutch
Youkilis (1b-2, 3b-4, lf-4) - very nice card on both sides; batting average goes up 100 pts in the clutch.
Cirillo - plays all the infield spots and murders lhp. unfortunately (for the snakes) he is a 2b-4 and a ss-5; I don't know how he gets any at bats at 1b, 3b, or dh.

Outfield:
Dunn (lf-4, 1b-4) - pales next to the other studs on this team, but will have lots of walks and homers.
Wells (cf-1) - better vs lhp, but a very good card; the team's only 1 on defense
Markakis (rf-2, lf-4) - much better vs rhp
Jenkins (rf-3) - can't hit lefties at all; good vs rhp
Lofton (cf-4) - can only hit rhp; absolutely no help on defense
C.Young (cf-2) - good prospect who will probably make the team, but won't see any action.

Designated Hitter:
Probably Ortiz most of the time, but it's hard to imagine Wright or Cabrera sitting on the bench every game. Nice problem to have.

Uncarded Guys:
None, as far as I can tell.

Draft Status:
Picks 14th, but doesn't own his 1st round pick.

Outlook:
The Sidewinders had the #1 seed last year and coughed it up. He may very well have it again this year. His offense is so strong that a player who would be MVP on most of our teams will spend a good amount of time sitting on his bench. There is no way to get Delgado, Ortiz, Wright, and Cabrera in the lineup at the same time. And poor Youkilis has a great card and plays the same positions as those four! If the Snakes make a deal or two - finally dealing Delgado or one of the third baseman for a ss or starting pitcher - he will win it all. If he holds onto them all, he'll still win his division and get a 1st round bye... but will come up short again of claiming the Higdon.

Next up: The Grand Prairie Buckeyes; the FFTs are on deck.