2036 Predictions

[Sandgnats]

Time to see who can predict the outcome of the upcoming season! Place your votes!

Imperial League

Seaboard
1.
2.
3.
4.

Dixie
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Trans Atlantic
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.


IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner:
Golden Arm Winner:
Wunderkind Winner:

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Desert Hills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Rising Sun
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner:
Golden Arm Winner:
Wunderkind Winner:

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
_____ over _____ in __ games

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
_____ over _____ in __ games

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
_____ over _____ in __ games
_____ over _____ in __ games

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
_____ over _____ in __ games
_____ over _____ in __ games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: _____ over _____ in __ games
SL: _____ over _____ in __ games

PEC Winner
_____ over _____ in __ games


Scoring Rules:
+1 point for each standings position you're off by
-1 point for each postseason series winner correctly identified
-1 point for correctly guessing the number of games team advance a postseason series (do not need the losing team accurate)
-1 point for getting the PEC winner
-0.5 points for identifying an end of season award winner
Lowest score wins

[Arroyos]

YUMA'S BULLSEYE 2036 PREDICTIONS

Imperial League

Seaboard
1. Hartford (obviously, who can even come close?)
2. Arlington
3. New Jersey
4. Manchester
5. West Virginia (the end of an era, a fall from grace)

Dixie
1. Charleston (the 2d most improved team in the PEBAverse--after Yuma, of course)
2. New Orleans
3. San Antonio cum Laredo (this franchise will be on the move in 2036, probably to a secret locale south of the border)
4. Kentucky
5. Florida (corruption in the FL Front Office leads to massive resignations and departure of many star players for the Cuban League)

Trans Atlantic
1. Gloucester (the Fisherman will make a big catch)
2. Scottish (in spite of their lack of a noun for a name, this adjective-driven franchise is on the rise)
3. San Juan
4. Amsterdam (as the seas rise, so do the Lions' fortunes)
5. London (the underground gets flooded during a major British Isles storm)
6. Havana (the defection of so many Florida stars to Cuba creates chaos in the PEBA team, esp. as the old Cuban League teams are revived)


Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Madison (drunk on their own brand of malt, the team bats better than ever)
2. Fargo (not so "far to go" for Fargo, they have a shot at the title)
3. Crystal Lake (dependent on Yuma river water, the team is sloshing about in mediocrity)
4. Duluth
5. Kalamazoo (someone let the animals out of the Zoo!)

Desert Hills
1. Tempe (hottest new team in the desert)
2. Yuma (playoffs for the first time in 2 or 3 centuries)
3. Palm Springs (temperatures in the low desert reach 112, burning out most of the aging Codgers)
4. Reno (rebuilding for another playoff run in 2037)
5. Bakersfield (if the city had a water supply, this team would thrive)
6. Aurora (oh, how the mighty have fallen; their demise prompts the team to fire both Lyonne and Will Topham, leaving the team leaderless)

Rising Sun
1. Neo-Tokyo (as the long-term effects of Fukushima are felt, one unexpected benefit gives the Akira an unfair advantage)
2. Okinawa
3. Niihama-shi (also benefitting from the unpredictable fallout of Fukushima)
4. Shin Seiki
5. Toyama (as ocean waters warm, coastal breezes are dramatically reduced, leaving the Wind Dancers with no wind to dance to)

Postseason
The Sovereign League title will eventually be captured by Neo-Tokyo's superhuman hitters. The PEBAverse will launch an investigation into chemical abuses by the team, only to learn that the new found muscle strength of the Akira are the result of consuming fallout from Fukushima in their water supply. Such chemicals come from natural sources--as unnatural as they may be--so efforts to strip the team of their title fail. However, the Commissioner orders that for next season, the Akira will be strictly limited to drinking only bottled water from a single source. (You guessed it: Yuma.)

The Imperial League title will be snagged, with a big net, by Gloucester. Though by the end of the season, the fisher persons of Gloucester will no longer be catching fish because the North Atlantic fishing grounds will be utterly ruined by rising sea temperatures, a direct result of the melting of Greenland's ice. Greenlanders get rich, beyond their wildest dreams, because oil is discovered off their coast. The drilling and refining of the crude raises the sea temperature around Greenland by more than 5 degrees Centigrade, killing hundreds of species of fish. The warm waters flow south ruining the fishing grounds along the northeast coast of North America, including Gloucester.

But the Fishermen still play some pretty wicked baseball and they provide a serious, and at times surprising, challenge to the radioactively-energized Akira. The series lasts seven games, the final game of which heads into extra innings shortly after 11 pm EDT and then continues until 1 in the morning. At that point, the exhausted Fisherman notice that their opponents have not tired in the least. And, in fact, the moment they step out of the artificial stadium lights, they sort of glow.

The Akira glow brighter and get stronger as the darkness deepens, and in the 17th inning, around 3 am EDT, the Akira begin to hit every pitch thrown at them into the shadows. They prevail. The 2036 Champions are red hot!

[Akira]

Here I was studying Bill James, WAR and OBP statistics and I should have been studying physics.

[Arroyos]

Here I was studying Bill James, WAR and OBP statistics and I should have been studying physics.

Even better — metaphysics and meteorology.

[Apollos]

Imperial League

Seaboard
1. West Virginia
2. Arlington
3. Manchester
4. New Jersey
5. Hartford
The Seaboard is interesting in that I don’t think there’s a single club here who’s mailing it in and going for a full-on rebuild. That makes 2-5 all very close, but still a ways to go to catch WV. I anticipate at least one wild card team emerging from this division.

Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. New Orleans
4. San Antonio
5. Charleston

Trans Atlantic
1. Havana
2. Amsterdam
3. London
4. Edinburgh (Scotland)
5. San Juan
6. Gloucester
There’s 4 legitimate contenders here from Havana through Scotland, I think the T-A will be a bloodbath in ‘36


IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Gordon Knopp, FLA
Golden Arm Winner: Enrique Vasquez, AMA
Wunderkind Winner: Zhao dao Lew, WV

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo
2. Duluth
3. Crystal Lake
4. Fargo
5. Madison
This looks like a two horse race and I think both qualify for the postseason. I’m not sure either has improved significantly during the offseason, but both are legitimate contenders for the SL crown.

Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Bakersfield
3. Palm Springs
4. Reno
5. Tempe
6. Yuma
This is pretty much par for the course in the DH. Palm Springs made a lot of moves in the offseason which should make them competitive, but I think Aurora and Bakersfield are still the class of the division. Tempe and Yuma remain in building mode.

Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Shin Seiki
3. Niihama
4. Okinawa
5. Neo Tokyo
The most interesting of three very competitive divisions, it looks like 3 legitimate contenders will emerge from the RS this season, and I can’t wait to see the baby Ghosts start their push.

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Pablo Garza, OKA
Golden Arm Winner: Cheong-Sang Yun, KAL
Wunderkind Winner: Rene Padilla, DUL

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Kentucky over Amsterdam in 5 games

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Duluth over Shin Seiki in 4 games

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Florida over Kentucky in 5 games
West Virginia over Havana in 5 games

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Duluth over Kalamazoo in 7 games
Toyama over Aurora in 6 games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: Florida over WV in 7 games
SL: Toyama over Duluth in 6 games

PEC Winner
Florida over Toyama in 6 games
A Farstriders quad!

Edited to update predictions after spring injuries

[Borealis]

Making the bold choice of predicting before a spring game has been played, here is how 2036 will play out!!

Imperial League
Seaboard
1. West Virginia
2. New Jersey
3. Manchester
4. Arlington
5. Hartford

Discussions about 1st place here is moot... The four remaining teams in this division are all better than their placement may suggest - really, draw names out of the hat and you may do just as well.

Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Charleston

It's Status Quo in the Dixie, with the only question being 'Can KTY make it close?' That, of course, is a relevant question.

Trans Atlantic
1. Havanna
2. London
3. Amsterdam
4. San Juan
5. Scottish
6. Gloucester

It seems that the fates of Amsterdam may depend on the reality of London's 2035 success - Are the Underground a team on the rise or a 'one hit wonder'?

IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner:
Golden Arm Winner:
Wunderkind Winner:

Sovereign League
Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo
2. Duluth
3. Crystal Lake
4. Fargo
5. Madison

Like all good teams, Kzoo keeps tinkering and look to be the cream again - and with Fargo looking to be in a slight sell off (Adios, LC) it may be enough to keep Duluth (as that last month of 2035 a fluke?) and the 'Gnats in contention.

Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Bakersfield
3. Palm Springs
4. Reno
5. Tempe
6. Yuma

The Borealis return with the same core group - and until the Bears show they can be serious challengers, Aurora will try to figure out how to win a Divisional Series. Palm Springs have been busy bees, which should earn them 3rd place and a sniff of the wild card into August.

Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Niihama-shi
3. Shin Seiki
4. Neo-Tokyo
5. Okinawa

NEWS FLASH - The Evil Evas don't make the playoffs? That WOULD be a story! This could be the year - god knows the Ghosts have made all the shrewd moves over their short return to the PEBA.

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Raul Munoz, Aurora
Golden Arm Winner: Jeff Mendoza, BAK
Wunderkind Winner: David Simmons, Aurora

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner
Kentucky over London in 4 games

SL Wild Card Winner
Niihama-shi over Duluth in 5 games

IL Division Series Winners
Kentucky over Florida in 7 games
West Virginia over Havana in 6 games

SL Division Series Winners
Toyama over Niihama-shi in 5 games
Aurora over Kalamazoo in 7 games (finally...)

League Championship Series Winners
IL: West Virginia over Kentucky in 6 games
SL: Aurora over Toyama in 7 games

PEC Winner
Aurora over West Virginia in 7 games

[Ghosts]

Imperial League
Seaboard
1. West Virginia - The annual question of who emerges as the #1 seed seems to continue to favor Florida, but WV could have the best outfield in baseball even with Knopp and Coronado in Florida.
2. Manchester - Losing Torres for the season is a nasty blow and one which Manchester can ill afford with NJ and Arlington looking to win, but I think Valera and Knight will form the strongest backbone of the three and Manchester edges into 2nd place.
3. New Jersey - Adding Tomas Martinez is a huge gamble for NJ, but if he approaches his MVP self (and he's fully capable of doing so), NJ is awfully interesting.
4. Arlington - The 'Crats have a lot of interesting pieces, but will need some high end production before they can get past that 70-80 win hump.
5. Hartford - The rebuild continues in Hartford, but it feels more focused this time around. Looking forward to seeing what Hartford lands in a deep, deep draft.


Dixie
1. Florida - It's going to take a plane crash to derail this team. Or free agency in several seasons.
2. Kentucky - A talented team that appears well-helmed, Kentucky looks like the IL's 3 seed and a dangerous competitor.
3. San Antonio - Excited to see what Mojica can do in a full season.
4. New Orleans - More talent than Charleston, but New Orleans will struggle again this season.
5. Charleston - I admire the commitment to the build.

Trans Atlantic
1. Havana - Havana has quietly retooled behind Mateo and Perez with Mendoza and now Francisco (from whom I expect a big year) pushing them to the top of a competitive division.
2. Amsterdam - Last year was an aberration. I expect a return to the playoffs for the Lions.
3. London - London continues to chip away at the talent gap as Nichols and other prospects improve.
4. San Juan - The roster has thinned a bit since their magical postseason run, but there's a lot of talented players here still.
5. Scottish - The Claymores could easily end up toward the top of a crowded TA, especially if the team starts hot and gives Sean a reason to get aggressive.
6. Gloucester - The Fishermen remain basement dwellers, but the youth they continue to harvest is impressive.

IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: G. Knopp, FLA
Golden Arm Winner: Van Dam, FLA
Wunderkind Winner: Bartolo Mojica, KEN (although if I were sure Lew or Rios get to start the season with WV or FLA, I would have picked one of them)

Sovereign League
Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo - Yun, Ornelza, Perez, oh my. This team is stacked with stars and a solid supporting staff.
2. Duluth - Last year was the adjustment period - Duluth will pick up where they left off and push the Badgers for the GL crown.
3. Fargo - Like Niihama, a tough team to place in third but they lack the depth of Duluth and the top end talent in Kal.
4. Crystal Lake - The Gnats are well run, but have not been so aggressive as some other GL teams in the perennial arms race.
5. Madison - Madison has announced a rebuild, and it's good timing. With a huge push toward competitiveness and parity in the SL and GL, teams that decide to rebuild now will be rewarded down the line.

Desert Hills
1. Aurora - A well-designed and patient retool has Aurora featuring some of the best young arms in the game with some excellent bats and gloves to back them up.
2. Bakersfield - A lot of high end talent, but the depth isn't quite there to keep pace with Aurora this season.
3. Reno - Ayers and Ojeda are enough to keep the pitching one step ahead of the Codgers while Hill, Inman, and Cruz can drive a competitive offense.
4. Palm Springs - Burton, Webb, and Gallardo anchor an intriguing lineup
5. Tempe - There is a lot to love about what Tempe's done over the last several years, and they're on the cusp of a long term rise in the standings.
6. Yuma - Excellent job on the pitching, now let's see some bats appear!

Rising Sun
1. Toyama - Until proven otherwise, Toyoma will be in pole position not just in the RS, but across the entire SL.
2. Shin Seiki - As much as I'd like to place the Ghosts here, we're too young and have too many question marks in the rotation/pen to be true division contenders like the Evas. One nagging question, though - can the 45$M man stay healthy?
3. Niihama-shi - I'm very excited to see what Stowe, MacVurich, and Zambrano can do this season. I'm nervous about the pitching after last season's early failures and injuries.
4. Neo-Tokyo - Ron's squad got hurt A LOT last season, and I expect the Akira to be playoff caliber now that they're healthy.
5. Okinawa - Easily the best last place team in PEBA, the Shisa will not be easy prey for anyone with continued development of Mori and the addition of Garza.

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: DH Pablo Garza, OKA
Golden Arm Winner: C. Yun, KAL
Wunderkind Winner: 2B Eric Nelson, PS

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner
Kentucky over Amsterdam in 5 games

SL Wild Card Winner
Shin Seiki over Duluth in 4 games

IL Division Series Winners
Florida over Kentucky in 5 games
West Virginia over Havana in 4 games

SL Division Series Winners
Shin Seiki over Toyama in 7 games
Kalamazoo over Aurora in 5 games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: West Virginia over Florida in 7 games
SL: Shin Seiki over Kalamazoo in 6 games

PEC Winner
Shin Seiki over West Virginia in 7 games

[Hitmen]

Been awhile since I participated in the predictions...

Imperial League

Seaboard
1. West Virginia - WV is still the juggernaut bit.........
2. New Jersey - A small reshuffle, 2036-37 is the window. Make the playoffs, or 2038 begins the almighty purge. Will see if playing it risky in the WIL season was the right or wrong move.
3. Manchester - NJ or MAN can go either way but losing Torres will test the depth chart.
4. Arlington - The big question is, how quickly can McCoy grow into his skin and how big are the couple holes in the lineup?
5. Hartford - Similar to NJ/MAN, ARL and HAR can go either way. I don't expect any team to go down without fighting.

Dixie
1. Florida - See WV's message above...
2. Kentucky - Always interesting, always impactful. Should have the 1st WC spot locked up.
3. San Antonio - Some growing pains still in SA, but good to have stable leadership.
4. New Orleans - Made some moves, but in a tough place and division. Could try to give SA a run for the 3 spot.
5. Charleston - Let them grow!

Trans-Atlantic
1. London - Time to show it wasn't a fluke after a near 20 game improvement last season.
2. Amsterdam - Addition by subtraction? Hard to rule them out when Old Nick is around. Could go 1 or 2.
3. Scottish - I like the reshuffle, going with a surprise here to make the WC battle tight.
4. Havana - The Ogre & Wizard combo are going to prove me wrong, but hard to ignore all of the talent that left.
5. San Juan - A bit aimless since their 2031-33 dominance. Need a reshuffle?
6. Gloucester - Let them grow!

IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Gordon 'Sturm' Knopp - snoozefest auto-pilot selection...
Golden Arm Winner: Enrique 'Old Nick' Vázquez - can't go wrong with Old Nick assuming he stays in Amsterdam.
Wunderkind Winner: Bartolo 'Walrus' Mojica - welcome to the bigs kid...

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo - Hi Yun, I see you over there. Only enemy will be staying healthy.
2. Crystal Lake - 2 of the busiest and most improved teams in the off-season, going to be a brawl between DUL and CL for the 2 spot.
3. Duluth - See CL above...
4. Fargo - Starting to take shape, but Barse needs some big help.
5. Madison - Jay wants a piece of that rebuild pie, gimmie that #1 pick! Like the moves so far, will 'Pokey' survive the rebuild?

Desert Hills
1. Aurora - Always next man up waiting in the wings. Munoz, my one most hated mistake of not paying first when I was still in Canton/Madison. Look at him shine.
2. Reno - Schmidt, make me proud. But seriously, the 2-5 in the Hills is a tough slobber knocker of a battle. Could shuffle any which way and be correct.
3. Bakersfield - Feel like 'Jetstream' is just missing his surefire BFF at #2 to make it.
4. Tempe - All a question of if the kids are ready with a 1 year shot in the arm by Cedeno, love some of the previous couple year's moves. Hi Rincón and Gutiérrez! Appreciate you making me look dumb!
5. Palm Springs - Love seeing the busy and active off-season and am sure PS will be the team to mess me up ranking wise, but the 2-5 is going to be that tight in my opinion.
6. Yuma - All I can offer is a sigh.

Rising Sun
1. Toyama - They aren't quiet the juggernaut bi... (see WV/FL) but they are close enough.
2. Shin Seiki - Is this finally the year for the great tumble?! Need the Ghosts and Shisa to push hard to make it a reality as the staff is still there, the bats though seem to be a question as of late.
3. Niihama-shi - See Okinawa... 'Sub-Zero' back to form? Otherwise, great supplemental moves to improve.
4. Okinawa - Hello Garza! Still going to be hard to compete with the Ghost's rotation though (assuming 'Sub-Zero' is back to form)
5. Neo-Tokyo - Making some moves, but a toe in the rebuild bucket and another in the retool bucket. Which feels nicer on the foot?

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: António Santos - see, fun! Either Garza or Santos will battle it out, Garza still not used to the time change.
Golden Arm Winner: Cheong-sang Yun - where's the boring auto-pilot button. Hi easy winner!
Wunderkind Winner: Rene 'Capuchin' Padilla, welcome sir. You look pretty.

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Kentucky over New Jersey in 5 games - Oh hey we made it! Oh hey, we lost!

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Crystal Lake over Shin Seiki in 5 games - Flashbacks of 2032, but with a different ending.

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Florida over Kentucky in 4 games - Hello wall.
West Virginia over London in 5 games - London Snags 1!

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Toyoma over Crystal Lake in 6 games - Fun series.
Kalamazo over Aurora in 7 games - Tight one, could go either way and we won't repeat the 4-0 trouncing of 2035. But, hi Yun.

League Championship Series Winners
IL: Florida over West Virginia in 6 games - Clash of the titans! Argh!
SL: Toyoma over Kalamazo in 7 games - Revenge!!!

PEC Winner
Florida over Toyoma in 6 games - Le sigh...

[Wind Dancers]

Imperial League

Seaboard
1. West Virginia
2. Manchester
3. New Jersey
4. Arlington
5. Hartford
There is a significant gap between 1 and the rest of the pack, but all 4 teams in the pack have improved or remained where they were last season and should be super competitive with each other.

Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Charleston
Probably a set it and forget it, division. Clearest division with a team in each of the S, A, C, D, and F Tier as three teams are in a rebuild or are re-tooling

Trans Atlantic
1. London
2. Amsterdam
3. Havana
4. San Juan
5. Scotland
6. Gloucester
Usually the hardest division to predict is made worse by Havana letting off the gas a bit. London winning requires continued development but you can't count out Amsterdam's willingness to make a late-season trade for a push.

IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Vito van Wondel, FLA
Golden Arm Winner: Edgardo Trevino, FLA
Wunderkind Winner: Bartolo Mojica, SA


Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo
2. Duluth
3. Crystal Lake
4. Fargo
5. Madison
Kalamazoo has full control of the division now but the question is whether Crystal Lake still has enough to hold off a rapidly improving Duluth. Which I don't think they will be able to do.

Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Bakersfield
3. Reno
4. Palm Springs
5. Tempe
6. Yuma
Aurora is probably still the top team, but Bakersfield could get hit by a 10.0 Earthquake, the bubonic plague, and then a meteor, but the Bears would still inevitably end up in the WC/Division chase.

Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Shin Seiki
3. Niihama
4. Okinawa
5. Neo Tokyo
Super competitive as usual, the "bottom" teams have plenty of upset potential while Niihama makes their push upwards.

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Antonio Herrera, DUL
Golden Arm Winner: Cheong-Sang Yun, KAL
Wunderkind Winner: Rene Padilla, DUL

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner
Kentucky over Amsterdam in 6 games

SL Wild Card Winner
Shin Seiki over Duluth in 6 games

IL Division Series Winners
Florida over Kentucky in 5 games
West Virginia over London in 5 games

SL Division Series Winners
Kalamazoo over Aurora in 6 games
Toyama over Shin Seiki in 7 games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: Florida over WV in 6 games
SL: Kalamazoo over Toyama in 7 games

PEC Winner
Florida over Kalamazoo in 6 games

[Alleghenies]

Seaboard
1. West Virginia
2. New Jersey
3. Arlington
4. Manchester
5. Hartford


Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
5. Charleston

Trans Atlantic
1. Havana
2. Amsterdam
3. Scotland
4. London
5. San Juan
6. Gloucester



IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Drake WV
Golden Arm Winner: Enrique Vasquez, AMA
Wunderkind Winner: Lew WV

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Kalamazoo
2. Duluth
3. Crystal Lake
4. Fargo
5. Madison


Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Bakersfield
3. Yuma
4. Palm Springs
5. Reno
6. Tempe


Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Shin Seiki
3. Niihama
4. Okinawa
5. Neo Tokyo


SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Pulsifer TOY
Golden Arm Winner: Cheong-Sang Yun, KAL
Wunderkind Winner: Rene Padilla, DUL

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Amsterdam over KY 4 games

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
SS over BAK in 4 games

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Florida over Amsterdam 6 games
West Virginia over Havana in 6 games

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
SS over KAL 5 games
Toyama over Aurora in 6 games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: Florida over WV in 6 games
SL: SS over TOY 6 games

PEC Winner
SS over FL in 6 games

[KenH]

Seaboard
1. West Virginia
2. Arlington
3. Hartford
4. New Jersey
5. Manchester
West Virginia's boring. I think the next four teams are very interesting and similar in that they all have some fantastic players. I could see all these teams in any order 2-5. I think Arlington is in the best shot to take the runner-up spot, though due to some really savvy signings to bolster their already established talent. Hartford has a big Francisco 1-2 punch that should get them up on teams early.

Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
5. Charleston
The Dixie hasn't been the most interesting division as of late, but it's going to be hard to keep all the big players fat and happy even with Streets money. Charleston's aversion to giving any player any money ever should probably end soon as their 26-man roster of top prospects continues to matriculate to the big club.

Trans Atlantic
1. Scotland
2. Amsterdam
3. Havana
4. London
5. San Juan
6. Gloucester
I think the top three teams all have a very good argument for a first place finish. I like the Scots here thanks to an incredibly solid line-up full of power bats. With youngsters Kyle Colquihoun, Jonathan Bleazard, and Juan Vargas hurling over 150 innings each, this could be quite the coup in the Trans Atlantic. Also I think people are sleeping on Rob Woodward wunderkind chances.

IL Award Winners
Royal Raker Winner: Gordon Knopp FLA
Golden Arm Winner: Carmelo Lamberti AMA
Wunderkind Winner: Rob Woodward SCO

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Duluth
2. Kalamazoo
3. Crystal Lake
4. Fargo
5. Madison
I think we're going to see a really close three way race here. I like Duluth this year, but I think it's going to come down to just a few games between 1-3. I think trading away Pedro Flores is going to cost the Badgers the division, but will still definitely be in the playoff hunt. I think 2 of the 3 teams in this division makes the playoffs, but it could be any of them.

Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Palm Springs
3. Bakersfield
4. Reno
5. Yuma
6. Tempe
Palm Springs made a series of moves this off-season by acquiring some pretty potent pop in their line-up. Burton is a perfect fit for them out in left and Christian Webb should continue to be consistent. I'm not sure if Webb's going to be able to stick it at short, but I think Ouellette may be at least serviceable, letting Webb move back over to his natural position at 3B.

Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Niihama
3. Shin Seiki
4. Okinawa
5. Neo Tokyo
Niihama's addition of Pedro Flores sets up their lineups as one of the most vaunted in baseball. I like their youngsters and think that we will see them continue to rise, especially as the young phenom Fernando Valdez makes it to the show later this season.

SL Award Winners
Royal Raker: Antonio Herrera DUL
Golden Arm: Cheong-Sang Yun KAL
Wunderkind Winner: Fernando Valdez NII

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Kentucky over Amsterdam in 5

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Niihama over Kalamazoo in 4

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Florida over Scottish in 5
WV over KY in 7

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Niihama over Toyama in 7
Duluth over Aurora in 6

League Championship Series Winners
Florida over WV in 6
Niihama over Duluth in 5

PEC Winner
Florida over Niihama in 6

[Borealis]

Seaboard...
West Virginia's boring.

Dixie
1. Florida...
The Dixie hasn't been the most interesting division as of late...

... boring...

Postseason
SL Division Series Winners
Duluth over Aurora in 6

Not again... Almost makes one want to play the Rising Sun...

[Claymores]

Imperial League

Seaboard
1.West Virginia
2. Arlington
3. Hartford
4. New Jersey
5. Manchester

Dixie
1. Florida
2. Kentucky
3. San Antonio
4. New Orleans
5. Charleston

Trans Atlantic
1. Scottish
2. Amsterdam
3. London
4. Havana
5. San Juan


IL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: FLA 1B Vito Wondel
Golden Arm Winner: AM SP Enrique Vazquez
Wunderkind Winner: SCO 1B Rob Woodard

Sovereign League

Great Lakes
1. Duluth
2. Fargo
3. Kalamazoo
4. Crystal Lake
5. Madison

Desert Hills
1. Aurora
2. Palm Springs
3. Bakersfield
4. Reno
5. Yuma
6. Tempe

Rising Sun
1. Toyama
2. Niihama-shi
3. Shin Seiki
4. Okinawa
5. Neo Tokyo

SL Awards Winners
Royal Raker Winner: DUL 3B Antonio Herrera
Golden Arm Winner: SS SP Roberto Rivera
Wunderkind Winner: TOY 1B Francisco Cabrera

Postseason

IL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
_Kentucky over Amsterdam in 5 games

SL Wild Card Winner - Top 3 seeds get a bye
Niihama over Fargo in 5 games

IL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
West Virigina over Scottish in 6 games
Florida over Kentucky in _5_ games

SL Division Series Winners - Top 3 seeds vs. Wild Card winner
Duluth over Aurora in _7_ games
Toyama over Niihama in 6 games

League Championship Series Winners
IL: Florida over WV in _6_ games
SL: Toyoma over Duluth in __ games

PEC Winner
Florida over Toyoma in 6 games

[Ghosts]

PEC Winner
Florida over Niihama in 6

I'm not mad.

[Apollos]

PEC Winner
Florida over Niihama in 6

I'm not mad.

Dang. Good pick, Ken.