Season 6 NL EAST Predictions

NL EAST - Projected Order (1) Dover Diamond Devils (2) Scranton Blue Collars (3) Pawtucket Pencil-Necked Geeks (4) New York Nightmares

The NL East is always a tough division to face. That is in large part due to Powerhouse Dynasty the Dover Diamond Devils. The Devils have owned this division, having finished with the division crown in all but One Season of the Roy Hobbs League (Season 3). Because of Dover's Dominance, the almost moved out of town Scranton Blue Collars are sometimes overlooked and forgotten about, but has won over 90 games for the last 3 seasons. Pawtucket and New York have their work cut out for them if they want to compete for the top two spots in this division. History shows that Scranton and Dover will battle for first and second, and New York and Pawtucket left to fight only for third and fourth.

First Place - Dover Diamond Devils

Drvmu1 and his Dover Diamond Devils Even without having seen the 8-1 start, there is no way not to put Dover as the favorite to win the NL East Winner. Dover has won over 100 games 4 out of its 5 seasons, and even in a down year, it still wins 90 plus and makes the playoffs. This season shouldn't be much different. Expect Dover to dominate once again and reach the 100 win mark for a 5th time. All Star and NL MVP Fred Henderson signed a 5 year 45.5 million dollar extension. All of the main players are still in place. Relief Pitcher Ozzie Roosevelt bolted for Free Agency and was signed by Durham, but it shouldn't have much effect on the win column.

Second Place - Scranton Blue Collars

Scranton Blue Collars (NL) stnick44 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Blue Collars nearly left Scranton without a team because of poor attendance and Stnick44's displeasure with the teams ability to win at home. Without a doubt, Scranton plays better when it is not in Scranton. Last season the team had a .654 winning percentage on the road and was just barely over .500 at home going 41-40, however the team stayed in Scranton, "I just can't make the move out of Scranton. Despite horrible records, I can't do it" said Stnick44. Instead, the Blue Collars got busy in the offseason and made some critical moves. Joining four time All-Star and former NL Cy Young Steve Smart are veterans Blaine Rogers and All-Star and Season 5 NL Cy young Sammy Flores. The Blue Collars also added Heinie Morris and with Charles Carter coming off a 10-4 rookie season, Scranton has on paper the Best pitching rotation in the League. Combine that with an offense that scored the 4th most runs in the NL, Scranton, dare I say it, might just be better than Dover.


Third Place - Pawtucket Pencil-Necked Geeks

Pawtucket Pencil-Necked Geeks (NL) wylie715 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The 3rd and 4th place in this division is sort of a toss up. Its difficult to predict. Dover and Scranton are in possesion of most of the talent, however, Pawtucket was able to make a move to aqcuire Ellis Priddy out of Scranton. Priddy will take over as the ace of Pawtucket's pitching staff, which needs some help after tying for last in team ERA a season ago. A new home should help this young man. His poor play in last season's playoffs got him a one way ticket out of Scranton even though his regular season was very good. Owner Stnick44 felt that he may have cost the team a chance at the world series with a loss in a critical game. In just 2.2 innings of work he allowed 5 hits and all of them turned into a run. Pawtucket also added 1B Kent Hamilton to give the offense a boost. Hamilton hit .284 and only struck out 48 times last season. One major bright spot of this team is its defense. Pawtucket had only 90 errors all of last season which was the second lowest in the league.

Fourth Place - New York Nightmares

New York Nightmares (NL) tk21775 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

When owner tk21775 took over the New York franchise he acknowledged that this team needs some work and a few years to turn things around. In his first year as owner, with rebuilding in mind, the team won only 54 games which gave the Nightmares the first pick in this years Rule 5 draft and upcoming amateur draft. The "few years" is still transpiring, so don't expect New York to win many more games in season 6 than it did in season 5, in fact, it might be drafting first again in season 7. But, true to his word, tk21775 has this team positioned for a strong future and a competitive team shall return to the city of New York. Help is on its way. Pep Kim and Bruce Nichols arrived via the Rule 5 draft and will provide some immediate help along with waiver wire addition Mendy Ogawa bringing some truth to the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure. The big change will likely come next season when Al Diaz and Francisco Lind join the rotation and depending on their development, Jumbo Cooper and season 5 #2 overall selection Ken Sanders could soon follow. More changes are likely to be made and this team will improve significantly. Only time will tell if the NL East will be prepared.