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A's, Mets to m "1 After weeks of laboring under the hot sun of Arizona and Florida, f -m *fcT Steve Johnson all 26 major league teams have left pi their respective spring training R ^ _ sites and are ready to swing into ci * I Qlfi action as baseball's regular season m ??? gets underway today. w After extensive research (hours of poring through baseball magazines, newspapers and comparing both team and individual player stats) I have st made some projections on how I feel the teams will finish in each divi- &( sion of the American and National Leagues. National League East: ft lJVew York - The Mets will not only win their division, they will ai dethrone the defending World Champion Reds in the NL Championship Series this fall. New York's pitching is unmatched in the NL and their B offense should be more balanced with the addition of thc ^witch-hitting ^ base thief, Vince Coleman, in center fiejdr The return of right fielder h Unkia D?w\lrc tr\ thp O chntiM oIca oArt r*ft ! 11 r% S X1UUIV/ U1UUIU tw ^ auwuiu uuu auu VV/IIJW??AV/ ^ ?* w*iv?^ sparked by one of the league's bladinggjiperstars, fSli^Silenia; Dave Mad^WWilvg.jagBIs M g jftt 2. Montreal - Fltcher Chris NabhflKa pAising, young playauival^w somewhat unsound starting imatilgfAe bullion TOlfidedjAtil thdMlEifflAWfcs(Mfci3AA n an unselfish, team-oriented player whose strong showing during the T spring should he^j him supplant Tim Burke as manager Bulk Rogers' ^ number one stOppelW&iter fielder Dav&^|?t|inez will slug 31 Wmpr Sj this season as he leads a potent Expos offense;. Few players know how to & end a rally quicker than first baseman Andres GaBaraga, who struck out more often than he got a hit (the only regular to achieve such a dubious ^ Knnn^tn 'QO li iiv/iivi yiii s\J * ^ 3. Pittsburgh - The Pirates' starting rotation is stellar, an& shouyLx|>main so if Doug Drabek can maintain his '90 form. Another key will be n the development of 24-year-old left-hander Randy Toralim for a pitches- T with only 12 games of major league experience, Tomlin has unusual 0 poise to go along with an unusual motion that hitters had difficulty adjusting to late this past season. Barry Bonds is the best player in the Nil, P but he alone cannot carry a team so lacking in speed and bullpen depth. tl 4. Chicago - Second baseman "Ryno" Sandberg is a man without c peers at his position. In fact, Sandberg is one of die best players (at any v position) in the game today. Hie Cabs have one of the best relievers in the NL in free-agent signee ?>ave Smith. Unfortunately, it's the Cubbies' staring rotation which could use a boost in the arm. Their third baseman " jpf the future has arrived though, in the form of rookie Gary Scott. He'll '( 5. St. LouW- The Cards will suffer a major power outage in '91 and r their,laclif^layers with big league experience won't help father. "Big*3^ Lee" Smith boosts an otherwise weak pitching staff, but it's solid starters s that the Redbirds need. Bryn Smith will carry the Cards with 25 wins on s the way to winning the NL Cy Young Award. Rookie left fielder Bernard Gilkey will pick up 235 hits en route to winning the 1991 Rookie of n the Year Award. ** Ml 6. Philadelphia - The biggest story of the year for the Phils will be the s rapid emergence of first baseman John Kruk, who will win the NL Most though. Team speedb^^^^ptod so is left-handed relief. Is second baseman Mickey Morandini really ready for "the show?" I don't think v so. y Thank vou lor living 110 Again and again. 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Cincinnati - Manager Lou Pinella is sitting pretty with a solid the tching staff headed by starter Jose Rijo and relievers Randy Myers and in s ob Dibble. Defensively, the Reds just don't make many mistakes; parti- the llarly at the "hot spot" behind third baseman Chris Sabo. Second base- 5 an Bill Doran and first baseman Hal Morris are two consistent hitters jjf ho should continue to keep the Reds scoring just enough runs to win. ,*and 2. San Diego - Signing free-agent reliever Larry Anderson wUpprthis rengthen the bullpen and trading few first baseman Fred McGriff was a Ma xxl front office move, which gives hope that things are changing for 6 adres fans. Still, the Padres lack experience and have some big holes to dec 11 at third base and in the outfield. Tony Gwynn is poised to have aloi lother great year. jg 7 3. Los Angeles - A wounded starting rotation will be led by pitcher ? tior ob Ojeda, who will win 25 games for L.A. in '91. First baseman Eddie real lurray and left fielder Kal Daniels will provide plenty of pjirtchiiif a =ppa neup sure to score plenty of runs. The addition of right fielder Darfyl fT'l1 trawberry will help offensively, but it's defense (particularly the middle ifield) that the Dodgers really needed help with. The absence ofjjer- Is ando Valenzuela (released) and Orel Hershiser (injury) effectively kills will 4. San Francisco - Left fielder Kevin Mitchell will be at it again, this| i^^Selting 31 dingers for the Giants. But second baseman Robby on ; hompson y> hardly a worthy replacement at the lead-off spot for the one ano tey l&Jet away, free-agent and new Dodger Brett Butler. Like Thomp-jjr? 2 >n, ne\fc center fielder Willie McGee strikes out a lot, and Frisco's of- j |ng Use is siire to suffer accordinelv. B s Th! 5. Atlanta -As much as I love the Braves and hate to pick them so faifj Spo own in the HJ^West, their pitching is horrendous and their offense & i\ es far too much on the power of right fielder Dave Justicd and ceniei .r5* I elder Ron GanL. The Braves will benefit from the speed of new lead-off ' Ip&l lan/leftfielder Deion "Prime Time" Sanders. The signing of free-agents dep erry Pendleton and Sid Bream improve the infield both defensively and 6. Houston - Where do you start? The 'Stros really stink. Their bull- ^ Aw en is unusually weak and I think manager Art Howe is still in search of - * teir offense. The Outfield is also a concern for Howe so if you think you an hit .260 or better and catch the ball with any frequency, you might tca /ant to give the Astros a call. wo AL East: 1. Boston -jFree-agent signee Jack Clark should have no trouble adaptlg to his new role of designated hitter as he leads a starting lineup ? jaded with great hitters. The Bosox also helped themselves in the off- " eason by |ignm? free-agent pitcher Danny Darwin. Roger Clemens and lur] >arwin will each supply more than 20 wins a piece on a staff that keeps ^ joking better and better. Jeff Reardon will continue to be an effective tonner and Matt Youne will bolster the staff as he takes over the fourth t Pn's rotation. anc - Reliever Duane Ward is the best set-up man in the busi- tha ig part of the Jays' deep pitching staff. Newcomers Roberto kn( Carter and Devon White will add plenty of speed to the tarting lineup but it is a fifth starter that Toronto really needed. 3. New York - Pinstripe power this season will come from the bat of esignated hitter Kevin Maas and the bullpen is even deeper thanks to ^>u( te signing of free-agent reliever Steve Farr. The starting pitching is as 'eak as the bullpen is strong. Lack of speed is also a problem for the Th< ranks. hitl s c ^ snture 1 r backpacking, J| *, climbing and 1 I g classes and 1 I d we have all the m I y equipment for m nture Specialist 1 I 7 State Street \ I ce, SC 29033 m 796-4505 1 I I f * Jmii^ ^ I imbP ies in town f n >4 medieval sv 922 Main St. /V ical wizarc " ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 1 DUNGEONS & D I Learn to surviv *9 no OFF ! horrible dra9?r CfrZ.UU UEE | DRAGONS game order over $10 1 simple to play. everyone can pi OUNGE I The TSR logo I is come true . Baltimore - Designated hitter Randy Milligan will continue to boost Orioles' run-scoring capacity. Pitcher Ben McDonald is a bright spot in otherwise dismal rotation. Outfield depth is still a problem despite signing of aging veteran rightfieider Dwight Evans. . Cleveland - They hav#a good reliever (Doug Jones). That's about pou can say about the Tribe for '91. Their offense h average at best the starting staff lacks depth. In addition, a club that finished fourth past year will have to try and cope wuholi the big bats of Candy donado and Cory Snyder. < f ..< > . Milwaukee - They can't catch and they can't pitch but they have ent speed on the basepaths. Starter Ted Higucra can't carry ihe tedta ie* mi IPii * BP I 11 ^ . Detroit - Where did manager Sparky Anderson get his starting rotauj God only knows and you also have to wonder if Milt Cttyler i$ ly ready for "the bigs." Second baseman Lou Whitaker's career ape the game'T best reliever in Dennis 'The Eck" Eckersley. And their gpen is a solid relief man but the starting pitching is a definite weak I Sox fans will fill Comiskey Park cartoon though to cal^h a glimpsj| tie excitfngfpfn Raines, a free-agent signee whcS staro leftM* g . Seattle - Third baseman Edgar Martinez is the man to watch ii^iel SI Otherwise, there's not much promise toe a team so lackilg ii^ S ErikH^son, ithn ^rian|0Utionth^mn't help matters any. Look for Jim Abbott to lead the starting pitchers. - story of the year for the Angela be the return of first baseman illy Joyner. Joynef will play well enough to win the AL MVP. >. Texas - Starting pitching is the key for the Rangers, and ageless lerstar Nolan Ryan will continue to strike out kids half his age. Unforately for Ryan, he and the rest of the staff will pitch behind a paper 1 offense with little punch. >. Kansas Ciiy - The Royals no longer have the speed they used to 1 the loss of Bo Jackson to injury will prove to be more fatal to K.C. n it is to Bo. He's a member of the White Sox now, but Bo still )ws that the Royals are only slightly better than the Twins. K Minnesota - Kent Hrbek is the only true superstar left from a team t won the World Series just a few short years ago. (Sorry, Kirby :kett!) This past season the Twins needed a second baseman. They ned second baseman Nelson Liriano midway through this past season. ly still need a second baseman. Oh yeah, they also need a lead-off er. r w yordsman, powerful warrior, or myth1 ? this can be you in the new RAGONS? game. e the deepest dungeons and most is. Take on the new DUNGEONS i challenge . . . it's here! r?i .. fun to play ... now tLTtX ay TSR, Inc. EONS & DRAGONS ts a registered trademark owned by TSR. Inc is a trademark owned by TSR. Inc 1991 TSR. Inc All Rights Reserved