We are so back. The rBBL is gearing up for Season 14 - the Axeman season! And, as always, I provide pre-season predictions to give coaches bulletin board material and to see how good I am at guessing. Here are my predictions for the 2002 League, the league with mostly newcomers and a few coaches who haven't quite made it to the next level. The abundance of rookie coaches often makes it the hardest league to predict! There's also a new twist this season, as there will be a mid-season trading period and a chance to edit your AI defense, two things which have never been offered before. However, I'm no soothsayer so I will predict as if teams will keep their rosters consistent the whole season.
SL West
# |
SL West |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
Conway Chanticleers |
Disky |
10-4 |
The Chanticleers have the need for speed and will look to take advantage of the grounder-friendly confines of Dirt Yards. I'm a little skeptical of this team's defense but they might have enough offense that it doesn't matter. |
2. |
Adam's Atoms |
adamfrombuffalo |
8-6 |
Last season Adam was bequeathed a team that couldn't generate much offense and had the third-fewest runs per game in the 2002 league. In his first experience with drafting, Adam has a more beefed-up offense this time around so I expect him to score more runs in his sophomore season. |
3. |
Blue Badgers |
Madoc |
7-7 |
Madoc, just like Adam, was also a substitute coach last season and wasn't given the greatest lineup. This team has some speed that will help at home at Dirt Yards and also some arms that will help on the road at more defensive fields. |
4. |
Mighty Wombats |
backwardscap2 |
4-10 |
I don't know much about backwardscap, and he's probably commented the least out of any of the incoming coaches. My main concern with this team is its lack of any big power bats, which may make it difficult to score when this team is away from its home field of Tin Can Alley. |
SL Central
# |
SL Central |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
San Francisco Giants |
ROUTE66 |
10-4 |
As we saw last season in the 2002 League, a strong defense can be stifling against newer coaches who haven't quite maximized their offensive potential. These Giants have a fantastic defense with high coordination and solid arms at Eckman Acres and could be a frustrating matchup for opposing coaches. |
2. |
Johto Golds |
Charguyder |
8-6 |
Charguyder and his crew have some potential but also some question marks that could lead to inconsistency. Between three weak arms and three slowpokes, the Golds will be at their best when opponents only hit it towards the good defenders and their slow guys get good pitches to hit. |
3. |
New York Mets |
MikeMadness |
7-7 |
MikeMadness is the most senior member of the 2002 League this season but he's looking to change up the strategy this season. After picking Sandy Flats and loading up on strong armed defenders, the Mets might not be a very fun team to square off against. |
4. |
New York Diamondbacks |
JRJuggerLaw |
5-9 |
JuggerLaw played last season and his 2002 League offense was carried by Chico Pappas. However, with the D'Backs best hitter being discount Chico (Debby Nagasawa), I'm afraid this offense doesn't have the pieces to put together big rallies. |
SL East
# |
SL East |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
Rochester Racers |
asd4051 |
9-5 |
This team loaded up with offense at the expense of defense throughout the draft. We'll see if asd can remain patient with his power hitters against offline pitching, but this lineup certainly has potential to outscore just about anybody. |
2. |
Hoenn Sapphire |
Pickleboom |
8-6 |
Pickleboom is the third member of the Skyway League who is not a first time player but is a first time drafter. I think he drafted a pretty well-rounded team except for 9th round pick Guiseppe, who may not stick around after the mid-season free agency period. |
3. |
Riverdale Bullpups |
Honorable Mention |
6-8 |
Honorable Mention has a little rBBL experience, playing in a side season and getting better as the season went along. An underrated aspect of this team is the fact that it has no weak bats, which will make every at bat feel like an opportunity for extra bases. |
4. |
Auburn Dubbleplays |
chuck.downfield |
2-12 |
After chuck's tough performances in the recent Consolation Tournament and side seasons, and some big reaches during the draft, I think the Dubbleplays will have some growing pains during chuck's rookie season. But I also think they could still lead the league in fun! |
SL MVP: Zenon Estrada, Racers
SL Ace Wilson: Randy Johnson, Mets
SL Goldie Glove: Sarah Maxwell, CF, Giants
SL Best Team Defense: Giants
ML West
# |
ML West |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
Humongous Hornets |
Wow.i.ex1st |
10-4 |
Wow.i.ex1st and the Hornets are back, after getting hot at the end of last season and pulling off a first round upset in the playoffs! My biggest concern for this team is that last season a majority of their runs came from super power hitters, but this season, they don't have any elite power, with Mandy Coolidge and Alicia Blakely being the main power sources. |
2. |
Dayton Dragons |
flyingj138 |
9-5 |
The Dayton Dragons have constructed an outstanding defense here, with no arms below 72, only one glove below 60 coordination, and the notorious home field of Sandy Flats. The main issue is if Leah Wayne isn't hitting a homer, this team might have difficulty scoring. |
3. |
Boston Bombers |
russell_the_regarded |
7-7 |
Coach Russell likes to hit bombs and drafted power while eschewing defense, so it makes absolutely no sense why he picked a home field of Eckman Acres. This team will pull off a few upsets when all the power bats pop off in the same game, but they could also get very frustrated when they're popping up and their slow runners are hitting into double plays. |
4. |
Savannah Bananas |
Baseball_Fanatic-03 |
3-11 |
I hope the rBBL Savannah Bananas are as fun to watch as the real life Savannah Bananas! The second half of this team's draft did not provide very much offense and I think the Bananas will have trouble putting up big innings. |
ML Central
# |
ML Central |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
Montreal Expos |
matt95 |
9-5 |
No, I'm not giving the Expos a 9-5 prediction just because matt has 95 as his coach code (although maybe that played into it a little bit). I'm giving them that prediction based on their well-built offense that could be deadly if matt leans into the rBBL grounder meta. |
2. |
Sliding Snow Cones |
tculler |
8-6 |
Despite having several power hitters last season, coach culler was dead last in the 2002 League in home runs, so I'm interested to see how this team performs with Chico as its top pick. As it stands, this team has some good pieces for Dirt Yards and could generate more offense than culler did last season. |
3. |
Flipping Frogs |
williscool990 |
6-8 |
The Frogs' performance will come down to how many home runs Tonya Lesco and the Khan brothers can muster up. A fun tidbit about this team is that all players except Hannah Peavy will be in the same speed tier, having a team with all players being the same speed has probably never happened in rBBL history. |
4. |
Snoopingas Usuals |
Mulltrik |
2-12 |
There is nothing inherently wrong with Mulltrik's draft or roster. I'm basing this prediction on his disappointing BBOL performance and the fact that he didn't know this league is played against the computer until after the draft was over. |
ML East
# |
ML East |
Coach |
Record |
Two Sentence Prediction |
1. |
Nittany Lions |
iamslm22 |
10-4 |
iamslm has one rBBL season under his belt, albeit in the 2003 League. But I think slm learned some valuable lessons and has a nice well-rounded offense that works well for his home field of Steele Stadium. |
2. |
Boston Red Sox |
NotoriousPun |
9-5 |
This Red Sox team is all over the place schematically, with two 100 speeds that can't hit, two super sluggers who can't run, and one Julie Dunkel who can do both. This team actually has a sneaky good defense for Sandy Flats, so I think the Red Sox's success hinges on how many home runs NotoriousPun can get out of his three sluggers. |
3. |
Orlando Astros |
jermbret |
7-7 |
I think the Astros lost the plot of their draft near the end, with Todd Xavier and Heather Quinn contributing nothing for this team. Those two picks either should have been used to go all-in on power bats or pick up some speed that this lineup desperately lacks, but Todd and Heather provide neither. |
4. |
Major Monopolies |
Willthegod1 |
5-9 |
Will was incredibly indecisive throughout this draft, picking up players only to immediately drop them, trading for players who he didn't want but were already copies of players he owned, and being unable to set his lineup until somebody held his hand through the process. But at least he was willing to ask for advice, which is the main way that rookie coaches get brought up to speed in this league. |
ML MVP: Julie Dunkel, Red Sox
ML Ace Wilson: Mandy Coolidge, Hornets
ML Goldie Glove: Juan Gonzalez, 3B, Dragons
ML Best Team Defense: Dragons
Playoffs
SL
- Giants
- Chanticleers
- Racers
- Golds
- Sapphire
- Atoms
ML
- Lions
- Hornets
- Expos
- Red Sox
- Dragons
- Snow Cones
SL Bracket
- 3. Racers beat 6. Atoms
- 4. Golds beat 5. Sapphire
- 4. Golds beat Giants
- 2. Chanticleers beat 3. Racers
- 4. Golds beat 2. Chanticleers
ML Bracket
- 3. Expos beat 6. Snow Cones
- 5. Dragons beat 4. Red Sox
- 1. Lions beat 5. Dragons
- 3. Expos beat 2. Hornets
- 1. Lions beat 3. Expos
World Series