A Challenge Answered

My snarky remarks in regard to JR's keepers led him to call me a "biatch" and telling me to do a preview. Since he so thoroughly pantsed me in the grammar department, I must oblige. Unlike traditional rankings, I will instead try to predict the future, one category at a time. Here my projected finishes in each of our 10 scoring categories, based on rosters as of 3/25.

Runs Scored

1. Drew - This is a really good offense. Best IF in the league.
2. Eli - This team will score a lot. Probably eventually more than Drew, but not as is
3. Lincoln - Scott Podsednik scored fewer runs (80 in 162 games) than Placido Polanco in 2005. That's how you spark an offense, apparently.
4. JR - Mr. Radcliffe will think this (and all of his other) rankings are too low. He has a case here.
5. Ed - Rooting for the Rangers very hard
6. Viano - Peralta will see a spike; Joe Mauer could too
7. Baron - Two good leadoff men and Jason Bay lead the way
8. Tomke - Will want to get to know Chase Utley, as Jimmy Rollins' runs rely on him a good deal
9. Champ - 3 key OFs (Dye, Mench, Green) all get big at-bats and small run totals
10. Stem - No leadoff types that will constantly score runs. Depends on Bonds

Home Runs

1. JR - Lee, Jones set for a drop. Will Miggy Cabrera see pitches? Who cares- you'd envy his sluggers.
2. Drew - Soriano's numbers will dip, but getting Konerko where they did was a coup
3. Eli - Switching SS from Tejada to Reyes reason for significant drop
4. Viano - A-Rod, A-Dunn and Utley are tremedous. What will Casey Kotchman do?
5. Ed - Tex is a stud, Lee, Burrell, Cantu a good support in this category
6. Lincoln - Three machines, then...not so much
7. Champ - Needs more OF pop. Would be higher if they could play all of their 1B
8. Stem - Helton no longer a 40 HR guy. Depends a lot on Bonds.
9. Baron - Mike Jacobs's HR rate projects him for over 60 homers
10. Tomke - Like Dave, this team has puny arms.

Runs Batted In

1. Lincoln - OrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujols
2. Ed - Cantu is key here, providing great production from 2B spot
3. JR - I love Travis Hafner.
4. Eli - Could be much higher, pending Ryan Howard's response to a full-time role
5. Drew - Best two RBI men are 'roided up Yankees. How does Drew sleep at night?
6. Viano - Cliff Floyd sniffing 100 again? I don't see it.
7. Champ - Deep in competent RBI guys, but only two big timers; one of whom is on the bench
8. Baron - Morgan Ensberg is key here
9. Stem - Ramirez, Chavez= machines. A lot will depend on Bonds.
10. Tomke - No one broke 90 last year. Morneau, Fielder- possible future machines, but long shots for this year.

Stolen Bases

1. Drew - Abreu, Soriano, Furcal will all run wild
2. Eli - Reyes, Crawford = best 1-2 in the VUFSA. Will Joey Gathright be a factor?
3. JR - Juan Pierre is the clear leader, should get another 60 from his IF
4. Lincoln - Needs spots for Roberts, Roberts to complement Pods
5. Ed- Had Pierre, Reyes and Figgins last year. This year? Willy Tavares.
6. Baron - Chone Figgins is great. I fucking hate Baron for taking him from me, sort of.
7. Tomke - New add Ichiro a key pickup to complement Rollins
8. Viano - Better if Ryan Freel finds a starting spot
9. Stem - Julio Lugo, and that's it.
10. Champ - A healthy Torii Hunter will help, but no one on this roster should break 30

On Base Average

1. Drew - Soriano sucks, but Giles and Giambi over .400
2. Stem - Helton, Berkman, Bonds all over .400
3. Lincoln - Chipper Jones is really good at this
4. Viano - Adam Dunn's value skyrockets with the rule change
5. JR - Sluggers are great, others are adequate
6. Eli - Misses Jason Bay- Jose Reyes OBA is pitiful.
7. Baron - Sluggers Bay, Jacobs and Ensberg project well here. Tejada is average
8. Ed - CaLee, Cantu, Tavares all leave much to be desired.
9. Champ - Mench, Dye, Blalock and Hunter are all free swingers
10. Tomke - Best OBPers are worst players (Overbay, Shelton)

Wins

1. JR - JR thinks he's ranked too low in this category
2. Viano - So. Many. Starters.
3. Ed - Let's get this out of the way: Ed's rotation needs to stay healthy
4. Tomke - Beckett and Bondo will be in the 14-17 range
5. Stem - 38 wins from Carpenter + Leiber unlikely; Schmidt will improve upon 2005
6. Lincoln - Jon Garland wont' hit 18 again
7. Champ - No 22 from Dontrelle; Mussina and Clement look d-u-n.
8. Drew - Kenny Rogers not due for another 14 wins in Detroit
9. Eli - Even on a division winner, Jake Peavy only won 14 games.
10. Baron - Able to assemble some good arms, but not good enough.

Saves

1. Viano - Top 3 returning closers, 2 of which are young risers
2. Ed - Gap between 1 and 2: small. Between 2 and 3 is much bigger
3. Drew - Will rotate no-namers daily to scrounge up SVs
4. Eli - Going with four closers, mostly unproven
5. Lincoln - I love Joe Borowski so much. Seriously.
6. Stem - Two good ones is still just two good ones
7. Tomke - Two young, good ones is still just two young, good closers
8. JR - Brad Lidge! That's all. Literally
9. Baron - Two best are from awful teams
10. Champ - Closers notched a total of 14 saves last season. Needs Gagne to save about 100 alone.

Strikeouts

1. Ed - Carrie Wood is the wild card here, but even without her is a good bet for #1.
2. JR - Smoltz, Johnson; Old, but very good at Ks.
3. Eli - Felix Hernandez and Jake Peavy are about all you can ask for in K/IP
4. Lincoln - Brett Myers set to break out here
5. Viano - Ben Sheets will need to be healthy for this team to be in the top half
6. Stem - No one will domniate here
7. Champ - 3 aces are far from being known as strikeout pitchers
8. Tomke - Without Roger, it's Pedro and no one else
9. Drew - Desperately needs Curt Schilling to regain form. How does Drew sleep at night?
10. Baron - Not much here

ERA

1. JR - Kevin Millwood is due for a major raise (in ERA) in Arlington. Still, really good staff
2. Eli - Even the mostly sucky Derek Lowe has a sub-4 ERA
3. Ed - Livan Hernandez needs to realize he pitches in a giant ballpark
4. Lincoln - Solid.
5. Baron - Is Matt Cain real?
6. Stem - Hudson and Schmidt's impending revivals could move them up a bit
7. Tomke - Hinges upon Clemens. Bondo, ESantana are 4+ guys
8. Drew - Rotating closers usually give up a few runs
9. Champ - Quite a few AL arms here
10. Viano - Will get a lot of 8-6 decisions in the win column

WHIP

1. Ed - You want to be Johan Santana so bad, you ache
2. JR - Roy Halladay way ahead of a solid crew at WHIP
3. Lincoln - Rivera is so good at WHIP, it's not fair
4. Eli - Why do all his RPs look like big walkers to me?
5. Viano - Ace starters actually better than ace relievers here
6. Tomke - Chein-Ming Wang, motherfuckers
7. Drew - Mulder, Westbrook a little high here for 2nd tier starters
8. Champ - Clement known for long innings
9. Stem - Liriano will be a beast in this category
10. Baron- How the hell am I supposed to project WHIP, anyway?

Point Projections:

JR: 80. He's got a good team, but he won't get 80 out of 100. I should change some things to knock it down, but i've been writing long enough.
Ed: 75. Now I'm sure I made some mistakes.
Eli: 71. Great offense, some questions on the pitching staff. I didn't pick him to lead the league in anything? I'm an idiot. I still think this is the league's best team.
Lincoln: 71. This snuck up on me too. No lower than 6th in any spot. Drew drafted better for Lincoln than he did himself.
Drew: 68. Three 1sts in offense, but pitching is suspect to me.
Viano: 59. All over the place in pitching categories. Solid offensively.
Stem: 39. Apparently, this is where we draw the line for contention.
Tomke: 33. Eat it, Baron
Baron: 29. Get some pitching, son
Champ: 27. Doesn't have a single category likely to excel in.