As part of the lead-in to Season 4, BBL News Center will provide previews of each division, doing analysis on each team’s 9-kid roster.

Seattle Mariners
Coach: aesnop (Season 4 newbie)
Home Field: Tin Can Alley
First Draft Pick: Marilyn McDonnell (#17 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Franky Holly (#145 overall)
Why they’ll do well: The amazing arms. Debby Nagasawa with an arm rating of 3 is the ONLY player on the team with an arm weaker than 4 – coupled with the confined home field of Tin Can, they’ll be able to get the ball wherever they want to in record time. And at least on paper, the Mariners look solid in other respects as well. Most of their fielders are strong, most of their players are pretty fast, and they have an assortment of strong bats. But the arms are what really makes this team look scary.
Why they won’t do well: The Mariners do have three players with weak bats that could struggle to hit well despite their decent speed, and elsewhere three slow runners that could in theory prove to be a liability on the basepaths. It’s a bit of a patchwork job on offense, and while it looks decent enough the lack of synergy could end up posing an issue.
The X-factor: On a team with five laser arms, one has to wonder how much they’ll suffer from overthrows. At least at Tin Can, this shouldn’t be a problem in most of the field, and having A-rod behind the plate should help minimize issues there, but there will always be the odd wild throw that goes sailing out of play at record speed. If it’s only occasional, the Mariners will be fine, but if it becomes a more regular appearance then they could start to surrender a lot of extra runs that they really can’t afford.

Atlanta Braves
Coach: Eauxps I. Fourgott (Season 3 veteran)
Home Field: The Paveway
First Draft Pick: Henri Deschenes (#1 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Chucky Flinder (#216 overall)
Why they’ll do well: The star power. The Braves boast #1 overall pick and Goldie Glove winner Henri Deschenes, as well as the last two Ace Wilson winners in Chucky Flinder and Randy Johnson. The Braves also have a pretty good team of arms, with six throwing ratings of 4 or better and Phil Nevin the only arm worse than a 3. With this solid base and some exemplary defensive players, the Braves should make opposing lineups shake in their cleats.
Why they won’t do well: A patchwork offense and potential for lots of errors. Four players are pretty weak hitters, and five (including two of those four) are slower than the ‘average’ mark of 7. I think the Braves can get the job done, but they certainly won’t have the strongest offense. And this could prove to be another team with strong arms but poor gloves, as six out of nine players have fielding ratings of 5 or lower – once again, there’s that potential for critical throws to be dropped.
The X-factor: With Randy Johnson and Chucky Flinder on the same team, only one can pitch at a time, the other usually relegated to catching. How will the two aces handle being paired together – will the competition for that spot on the mound breed bad blood, and will whoever’s not pitching prove to be more of a liability than he’s worth?

Mighty Wombats
Coach: Nick Foles Is My Dad (Season 4 newbie)
Home Field: Eckman Acre
First Draft Pick: Barry Bonds (#16 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Felix Grant (#208 overall)
Why they’ll do well: Wombats? More like the Bomb-bats once again! Every single player on the Wombats has a batting rating of at least 6, and that ought to equal a lot of big hits. In addition to that, the Wombats have a pretty decent team on defense, with mostly above-average fielding ratings and the only arm rated below 3 stationed safely at first base. It’s not a show-stopping defense, but it should get the job done.
Why they won’t do well: The Wombats are unfortunately quite slow. Three 4-runners and a 3-runner all grace the lineup, and that will make it harder to capitalize on their big hits and advance runners, especially in a division with some tough defenses. Having only three speedsters on the team could also weaken their defense somewhat.
The X-factor: The Wombats’ last pick was Felix Grant, who has a nice batting rating of 10 but an unfortunate earmark: “low power”. As the slowest player on the team, Felix has to hit balls well and advance runners in order to prove himself a worthwhile pick – otherwise he could end up being an enormous drag on the Wombats’ offense.

Montreal Expos
Coach: Jyknight (Season 4 newbie)
Home Field: Dubois Diamond
First Draft Pick: Susan Gore (#14 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Adrian McGurk (#206 overall)
Why they’ll do well: A quartet of super speedsters. Two 9’s and two 10’s in Running at the top of the lineup could prove devastating, and score the Expos quite a few relatively easy runs at the top of the lineup. Jyknight complemented those players with a bunch of solid hitters that can drive those runners in, and the Expos also have a good number of solid fielders and strong throwing arms.
Why they won’t do well: After the super speedsters, this team’s speed drops off notably. Two players with a 4 in running plus one with a 5 sit at the bottom of the roster, and I’m not sure if they’ll be able to consistently hit well enough to offset those poor speeds. There’s also a lot of potential holes in defense, as very few players have both good speed and a good arm. Most of the infield is looking pretty slow and thus vulnerable, and it could also take a while for balls to get in from left or center field.
The X-factor: The team does have a solid pitcher in Bradke clone Kristen Sullivan, and an ace in Adrian McGurk. However, if both of those pitchers get worn out, then the Expos will be left with a bunch of terrible pitchers. Will Sullivan and McGurk be able to get the job done in every game, or will opposing teams be able to wear them out and open up a door against the Expos?

Eauxps’ Predicted Division Standings

4) Montreal Expos. Perhaps it’s to be expected, given their initially tumultuous management situation, but the Expos seem to be a bit too hodgepodge and have too many potential weaknesses to perform all that well. Opposing teams will likely have an easier time getting past their defenses than those of their division rivals.

3) Mighty Wombats. The Wombats have a clear team focus, and their hitting should definitely help them win some games, but I think all those slow players with weaker bats are going to hamper them significantly. Their defense isn’t good enough to make up for that.

2) Atlanta Braves. Could end up doing worse depending on how well that offense shakes up, but the Braves are a solid team that shouldn’t be too easy to get a leg up on. Henri out in the field (and at the plate) and Randy on the mound should give opposing coaches their share of problems while the Braves eke out respectable scores and win a decent share of games.

1) Seattle Mariners. It’s completely possible that the Mariners end up crashing and burning, undone by those rocket arms that they rely on, but until that manifests in their results, this team is scary. No one else can move the ball around the field nearly as efficiently, and despite aesnop’s pessimism I think this team can put up respectable scores as well. This division is tough to predict because three of the four coaches are completely untested, but at least on paper, the Mariners have a clear edge.