The View From Here

By The Bleacher Bum

Ok, someone asked my opinion and here it is. I may be wrong, but no one will remember in three months anyway, so it’s all good, as the kids say. Well, it’s not really all good, ‘cuz those teams who finish out of the dinero aren’t gonna be too happy, but that’s neither here nor there. So without further preliminaries, here’s this bleacher creature’s opinion of the upcoming season, the upcoming inaugural season even, of the DMBATL league …

The Legends League

East Division

My thinking here was that the Pirates were the numero uno team, with the Metropolitans a close second. Then those city boys went and swiped da Babe from Bahston. Time to rethink matters. Nice lineup the Mets have now with Ruth, Mantle and Thome in the middle of things. Maddux is one of the best starters in the league, and Pierce and Smoltz are no slouches either. The Mets are probably the favorites now. Those Bucs should still make some noise though. They also have a good staff, what with Rapid Robert Feller, Eddie Walsh and Willie Foster up front, and Troy Percival smoking things up at the back of games. With Rajah Hornsby, Pop Lloyd, Marvelous Melvin Ott, and Johnny Mize powering the offense, they have enough pop to make a run at the Mets for sure. And come up short. The Jints look to be the third seed here. There’s plenty of offense, with Stan The Man Musial, Killer Killebrew, Slug Heilmann, Wild Bill Wright, and maybe the best receiver in the game, outside of big Josh that is, Bill Dickey. There’s a good staff there, too, Amos Rusie, Rube Waddell, Hal Newhouser, Spud Chandler being among the bright lights. But in the end they come up just short. Very close though, and if things go right, look out. The Bridegrooms have some problems, however. They have some studs, no doubt, but not enough to keep pace in what might be the best division in the league.

Prediction: Mets, Pirates, Giants, Bridegrooms. Wild card to the Bucs

North Division

Keokuk. What the heck kind of name is that for a town? Googled it and came up with a page that says Keokuk is “where history and today meet.” OK, that’s great. Thanks for sharing. Keokuk, Iowa (in case you’re wondering) is also where the Northern Division Champs will be playing their games. They’ll be playing in a huge park, not coincidentally. Did I say huge? Try 450 feet in center, 380 feet in the so-called power alleys. A lot of really loooong fly balls will be settling harmlessly in the gloves of Stearnes, Goslin and Raines this season. That’s Turkey Stearnes and Goose Goslin. Hmmm. But with Lefty Grove and Pete Alexander taking charge on the hill, these Iowans will be tough to beat, especially at home. The Splendid Splinter led Cubbies might take a run at the farm boys, but their pitching will betray them in the end.

Prediction: Westerns, Cubs, Blue Jays, Royales

South Division

This is another tough division. Homestead boasts the flaxseed oil king, Barry Bonds, Larrupin’ Lou Gehrig, the underrated Eddie Mathews, Cool Papa Bell, El DiabloWells, and Cannonball Redding. You gotta like this team. But lets not forget Cincinnati’s nine. Tris Speaker, Josh Gibson, Shoeless Joe, Al Simmons, Nomar, Mussina, Roberts, Rube Foster. Flip a coin. Either of these two teams can win it all. Havana has some superior talent and could finish atop the division with some breaks. El Maéstro, Martin Dihigo, should shine, as well as Roberto Clemente, Jose Mendéz and Ramon Bragana. But there’s not enough pitching to keep pace unless someone really steps it up. Houston will have some fun counting Ks when The Express has the ball, but not much else.

Prediction: Grays, Reds, Leones, Astros

The Union League

Atlantic Division

The Newark Eagles and the Philadelphia Athletics should make this a good race to watch all year. Pedro, Randy, Three Finger and Hoot Gibson up against Willie Mays, Buck Leonard and Homerun Johnson. Nice. Pitching, hitting, and defense. That’s baseball right there. Tough race to call, though. The Yanks and the Beaneaters are no slouches either, they’ll be battling the top two all season. But in the end, the Eagles and Athletics will separate themselves from the pack.

Prediction: Athletics, Eagles, Yankees, Beaneaters. Wild card to the Eagles

Continental Division

Another tough call. Any one of four teams can take the prize home this year. The Tigers have plenty of offense, with Ty Cobb, maybe the best player in the game, leading the way. The Babe will take offense to that remark, but Ty has his backers, even if he was a sonuvabitch. He’s got support in the lineup too. Frank Robinson, Mickey Cochrane, Al Kaline. Nice trio of HOFers backing up The Miserable One here. These boys will score some runs. Clemens will be his usual dominant self, but after that there are question marks. Some say Jim Bunning has lost his marbles … uh, wait, that’s not for another 40 years. Anyway, after Rocket, nothing is guaranteed. The Sox will certainly challenge though, with Dick Allen launching moon shots – and wielding a surprisingly effective glove over at the hot corner too. Add in Hank Greenburg over at the other corner, and these guys can hit with anyone. Any team with the Big Train on it has a chance, so put the Nats in the mix too. These guys have a potent lineup featuring John McGraw, Slidin’ Billy Hamilton, Big Hurt Thomas and Ed Delahanty. The Spiders can throw Addie Joss, Smokey Joe Wood and Ed Reulbach out on the hill, so you know they will be tough as well. This will be a very closely contested division, in my uneducated opinion.

Prediction: Nationals, White Sox, Spiders, Tigers

Pacific Division

This division could also go several ways. The Seals have a good staff with Smokey Joe Williams, Christy Mathewson, Stan Coveleski and Lefty Gomez leading the way. Joe D., Oscar Charleston and John Beckwith should all be stars in this league. The Giants, I’m talking the Tokyo version here (Pacific Division, remember), could make some noise. This all Japanese team has what seems to be a very good staff, although I don’t know who any of ‘em are. Well, I know one guy is named Bozo, but apparently he’s no clown. Will they have enough offense seems to be the question. The Orix Blue Wave are not quite so exclusively Asian as their Tokyo brethren, having the occasional Cy or Cal to keep the Masayukis and Morimichis company, but they will be hard pressed to challenge the Giants and Seals this season. The second American team here, Seattle’s Pilots, can boast of Dizzy Dean, Carl Mays and Hack Wilson to their fans. But they will also come up short in the end.

Prediction: Seals, Giants, Pilots, Blue Wave

Conclusion

After all is said and done, the World Series will pit Keokuk vs. San Francisco, with the Westerns taking bragging rights back to the Iowa cornfields. So there you have it, my predictions from the cheap seats. Enjoy the season everyone, it should be a beaut!