KOD9 - NL East Preview

1979 Chicago Cubs
PITCHING - It all starts and stops with one Bruce Sutter. Thankfully he's not a modern day closer who only goes 1 inning. If the starters can get 7 innings in the books and hand off a lead to Sutter this team can win. Rich Reuschel won 18 and will be the workhorse of the staff. The ERA's are high, but that could be attributed to Wrigley
HITTING - Dave Kingman had his career year in '79. He even broke a few windows with the monster shots he pulled down the left field line. "Kong" hit 48 HR's, had 131 RBI's and batted a career high .288. Call it a HOF type year for him. Nobody in the starting lineup hit over .300.
BENCH - Met castoff Mike Vail, who appears on 3 KOD9 teams, will be first off the bench with his .335 BA in 179 AB's. He might even get the occasional start.
1956 St. Louis Cardinals
PITCHING - Murry Dickson (13-8, 3.07) & Herm Wehmeier (12-9, 3.69) are good middle rotation guys expected to anchor the staff. Vinegar Bend Mizell will give innings, but he was a .500 pitcher (14-14, 3.62). Lindy McDaniel will get a lot of opportunities out of the pen in middle relief (116 IP)
BATTING - The only weak spot in the lineup is catcher Bobby Del Greco (.215-5-18). The rest of this lineup can hit. Stan "the man" Musial is the centerpiece (.310-27-109), even though he did not have one of his banner years. A young Ken Boyer had a break out year (.306-26-98) backing Stash up in the lineup. Red Schoendienst was off to a great start, but got dealt to the Giants mid way through the campaign, so he will be used sparingly.
BENCH - Schoendienst (.314-0-15) will probably come off the bench or platoon. Hank Sauer will do the same. Whitey Lockman, who was on the downside of his career, will be the lefty bat off the bench, but don't expect much pop from him (.249-0-10).
1975 New York Mets
PITCHING - No other team in KOD9 can offer up a big 3 like Tom Seaver (22-9, 2.38), Jerry Koosman (14-13, 3.42) and Jon Matlack (16-12, 3.3). The problem here is that the dropoff from these guys to the rest of the staff is monumental. Good luck trying to win games with Randy Tate, Hank Webb and George Stone. Bob Apodaca (3-4, 1.49, 13 saves) turns in a virtuoso performance out of the pen if their 4th and 5th starters can get to him.
HITTING - Kingman hit 36 homers for the Metsies. His Average, .231, isn't going to scare anyone, but the threat of the longball will. Rusty Staub (.282-19-105) is the focal point of the offense. Teams will pitch to him when he bats ahead of Kong. Felix Millian and Mike Phillips will be the table setters and form an average DP combo thanks to a season ending injury suffered by regular shortstop Bud Harrelson. Kranepool and Grote will platoon and have career years at the plate.
BENCH - Mike Vail, resurfaces, this time in a Met uniform. He was a late season call up who had a 23 game hitting streak and looked to be the next Met star until he blew out his knee in a pick up basketball game. Joe Torre (.246-6-35) will be a part time player as he enters the twilight of his outstanding career.
1987 Pittsburgh Pirates
PITCHING - The Bucs were on the rise and their pitching was maturing. Unfortunately during the '87 campaign they just didn't quite get there yet. Doug Drabek (11-12, 3.88) would become an ace in the next few years to come. Mike Dunne (13-6, 3.33) would be the guy to hold down the fort until Drabek came into his own. Rick Reuschel (8-6, 2.75) was sharp, but he didn't log enough innings (177) to be a major factor. Jim Gott (0-2, 1.45, 13 saves) is the man out of the pen. He'll split time with Don Robinson (6-6, 3.86, 12 saves). Bob Walk (8-2, 3.31) will do duty as a spot starter and long man out of the pen.
BATTING - This is the team's strength. Barry Bonds (.261-25-69) as a leadoff hitter was on the verge of super stardom. Andy Van Slyke (.293-21-82) was a gold glove presence in CF and finally coming into his own as an everyday player, which he was denied in St. Louis. Bobby Bonilla (.300-15-77) hits from both sides of the plate, but was in search of a regular position in the field.
BENCH - John Cangelosi (21 SB) can come off the bench and swipe a key bag late in the game or come on as defensive replacement. A core of young talent was called up late in the season and these gents, like Jose Lind and Raphael Belliard will see spot duty.
1983 Montreal Expos
PITCHING - The Expos confounded pundits during this era as to why they never won the NL pennant. Certainly it wasn't the pitching with featured two 17 game winners (Steve Rogers & Bill Gullickson). Charlie Lea won 16 and had a low 3.12 era. The search for a 4th or 5th starter might have been the issue as Bryn Smith finished 6-12 with a 2.49 ERA. Jeff Reardon saved 21 as the closer.
HITTING - The lynch pin was Tim "the Rock" Raines who hit close to .300 and stole 90 bases. HOF'ers Gary Carter (.270-17-79) and Andre Dawson (.299-32-113) would routinely knock Raines in during big innings. Al Oliver (.300-8-84) might have been the issue since he played 1st and had very little power.
BENCH - Terry Francona/Bryan Little/JimWohlford all hit around .275. One batted right, one left and one a switch hitter gives the manager all the options they need. Oh, and did I mention Mike Vail was on this team ? 3 mediocre NL East teams w/Vail on the roster...how odd.