Montreal (94-68) — 960 RS / 795 RA — Playoff Chances: 95% / Division Champ: 80%
Beaconsfield (82-80) 949 RS / 847 RA — Playoff Chances: 36% / Division Champ: 14%
Ottawa (77-85) 779 RS / 809 RA — Playoff Chances: 16% / Division Champ: 4%
Bristol (73-89) 791 RS / 995 RA — Playoff Chances: 4% / Division Champ: 2%
Robinson Review
Beaconsfield might be having a tough time accepting that Montreal is the cream of the crop of this division, but the superior firepower and pitching makes Montreal the class of this division.
Owner, Marcel Levac has been on a steady climb these past few years, and after making it to the finals last season, he has set himself in a position to take home the coveted BD Crown in 2012.
This team features the number one offense in the entire league and although Beaconsfield is #2, the difference between #1 & #2 and the pitching is more than enough to give the nod to Montreal.
Want Proof? Let’s look at OPS and Runs Created:
OPS
| Votto, 1B | 1.041 | Butler, 1B | .882 |
| Cabrera, 3B (New) | .999 | Jones, 3B | .832 |
| Braun, OF (New) | .987 | Hamilton, OF | .930 |
| Kemp, OF | .906 | Markakis, OF | .834 |
| Hill, 2B | .882 | Cano, 2B | .929 |
| Molina, C | .874 | Ellis, C | .786 |
| Desmond, SS | .845 | Jeter, SS | .791 |
| Jones, OF (New) | .839 | Hunter, OF | .817 |
| Jones, DH (New) | .832 | Dirks, DH | .857 |
| AVG | .912 | .850 |
Runs Created
| Votto, 1B | 11.0 | Butler | 6.8 |
| Braun, OF | 8.9 | Hamilton | 7.3 |
| Cabrera, 3B | 8.3 | Jones | 6.0 |
| Kemp, OF | 7.1 | Markakis | 6.2 |
| Molina, C | 7.1 | Ellis | 5.3 |
| Hill, 2B | 6.7 | Cano | 7.4 |
| Jones, DH | 6.1 | Dirks | 6.9 |
| Jones, CF | 5.7 | Hunter | 6.1 |
| Desmond, SS | 5.7 | Jeter | 5.4 |
| TOTAL | 66.6 | 57.4 |
Montreal added some significant firepower in the offseason, including thumper’s Braun from Beaconsfield and Miguel Cabrera from North Bay which added to the likes of Kemp, Votto and resurrected Aaron Hill give the Menace a balanced lineup.
Leading the staff is newly acquired Gio Gonzalez, who came over from North Bay as well. It is said that North Bay tired of the PED rumors and the stench of alcohol in the clubhouse, thus the end to Cabrera and Gonzalez’s tenure with the Trappers. Veteran Cole Hamels, CC Sabathia, and maturing Volgolson and Samardzjia will give the Menace solid arms. If there is a weakness to be found is how opposing teams can bring in lefty killers into the lineup … as the Menace feature 3 lefties in the rotation.
The pen is pretty solid led by closer Chris Perez who are subsidized by Cook and Holland.
Beaconsfield: Beaconsfield comes into the season with a strong offense but… of there is a weakness it’s the pitching staff, which of all the Playoff contenders is by far the weakness. The top four starters of Cain, Harrison , Price and Hellickson are strong, however it’s the pen that just doesn’t shine as the other contenders. As the season progresses this might be an easy fix for Brodeur who is perhaps the most aggressive dealer in the league.
The offense is solid, but is old. It’s a do or die season for Brodeur, but know that he is always leaning towards do … so if there are fixes that need to be done, he will do so.
In order to guarantee themselves a spot in the dance at the end of the season, it is this writer’s belief that Beaconsfield needs to improve by five games over their predicted win totals, as the Walker division is so strong, they might actually advance both Wild Card Teams. Looks for a great fight in the Robinson Division.
Ottawa: There is not much hope for this team. I believe this team will have to claim ten extra victories over the season to compete, but stranger things have happened… just like the 2012 Baltimore Orioles.
The offense is not spectacular, but they are not a bunch of punch and judy hitters either. Josh Willingham seems to finally be getting his due as is Adam LaRoche … however there are more surprises than anything else. Cuban export Yoenis Cespesdes looks to show BDB that he can hit the big league pitch as well as hurdle boxes like non other. It’s a decent offense but not enough to make a major difference. If other teams should fail to perform is the only way this team is moving forward.
On the mound, there isn’t a lot of hope from the starting staff, but the bullpen should manage to win a few games should the starters falter. Nathan is back in the closing role so the fans will continue to support the man all the world had given up on after his arm injury.
Bristol: After taking the crown two seasons, the Wicketmen has been someone of a disappointment. Although they have managed to accumulate a great amount of young talent through the draft, they have not truly made their presence felt. Perhaps its their reluctance to trade youthful players for older veterans who would provide a few years of superior guaranteed performance.
Strasburg and Darvish appear to be two rising superstars … Bumgarner and Cahill have risen to be solid performers and hope is still being held out for Scherzer to put it all together and make the leap to superstardom that many have predicted.
As usual, Bristol will be keeping its eyes on several youngsters to round out the rotation of the future with highly touted Dylan Bundy, Jacob Turner, Randy Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino, Chris Archer, Matt Harvey who are all under the age of 24 … not to mention highly touted Michael Pineda who is injured. However for the present, this pitching staff will not be able to keep opposing teams off the scoreboard with enough frequency to contend.
Keeping the fans interested will be the amount of souvenir’s being offered in the form of fence clearing shots. Look for this team to lead the league in home runs … Featuring Edwin Encarnacion’s breakout year, Giancarlo Stanton and Jose ‘Bats’ Bautista … this team will be raking up runs to give competitors fits. It’s the balance at the bottom of the lineup that hinders this team, however there is some youngsters sill learning the MLB ropes that could turn this team into a contender in a season or less