After the 69th season, the Ocean Star East division underwent some changes, losing two teams and gaining a new one, making predicting the division a little more difficult. Nevertheless, that is what we are going to try to do. First, here are the results of the division in season 69.
Win Loss PCT GB R Scored R Allowed R +/- Last 10
Miami crazybear 35 25 .583 0 314 239 +75 5-5
Denver Raptors 30 30 .500 5 290 282 +8 7-3
*Cleveland Vipers 29 31 .483 6 308 291 +17 4-6
*Flamethrowers 28 32 .467 7 306 358 -52 6-4
Louisville Lions 24 36 .400 11 350 363 -13 6-4
Yellow Jackets 23 36 .390 11.5 307 371 -64 2-8
^Baltimore Orioles 45 16 .738 -- 410 249 +161 5-5
* Team is no longer in division ^Team wasn't in division last season, but is now
Based on the new addition of the Baltimore Orioles to the division, I think it is very easy to predict the winner of the division this season. They won 10 more games last season than the crazybear did. Last season they were in Ocean Star West, which featured 5 teams with a winning record (i.e. a much more difficult division than Ocean Star East). They did not lose anyone major in the offseason, and made lots of moves to aquire players from free agency and their minor leagues. As a result, I expect an even better season than the Orioles had last season, and project a 49-11 record to lead the division.
The second place finish is where I believe things are going to get controversial. Go ahead, call me biased, but I believe the Louisville Lions are going to finish in second in this division. I am aware of their 24-36 finish, but there is a very important split that will shed light on why I foresee a big improvement for this team. In the first 38 games, the Lions had a horrific 8-30 record, dead last in the division. During this span, the roster was largely untouched, leaving pitchers with ERAs above 6.00 in the rotation. At this point, Coach K realized that drastic measures had to be carried out, so he went and completely revolutionized the team. In just 22 short games, the entire pitching rotation is changed, and only two hitters (Geoffrey Donahue and Aditya Dulaney) are still in the lineup from the beginning of the season. Since this change, the team has gone 16-6, which extrapolated across an entire 60 game season equals a record of 44 - 16, which would have been more than enough to win the division. The second stat that leads me to this conclusion is the Lions' total offense stats last year. They scored 350 runs, or 5.83 runs per game, which is significantly more than any of the other teams in the division. Their biggest problem was their pitching, which averaged an allowed 6 runs per game, but this issue had been addressed. I expect the Lions to come close to the extrapolated mark of 44 ins, but will likely fall a bit short. I predict a 39-21 record good for second in the division.
I predict the Miami crazybear will finish third. Since last season, they haven't made any changes, so I don't see any reason to believe they won't finish close to last season's record. Due to the increased difficulty of the division and lack of adaptation to the new situation, I think they will lose a couple wins from last year's record and finish with a solid 33-17.
In fourth, I predict will be the Denver Raptors. Like Miami crazybear, they haven't made any significant changes since last season, so will probably lose a game or two due to the new division rival. The Raptors will finish 29-31.
In fifth/last, the Toledo Yellow Jackets should definitely end up in this spot. They haven't made any changes for multiple seasons, and barring a sudden spark from their team, they should once again struggle. I anticipate a 20-40 season from them.
Here are my projections in standings format:
W L PCT GB R Score R Allow R +/-
Baltimore Orioles 49 11 .817 0 425 255 +170
Louisville Lions 39 21 .650 10 435 345 +90
Miami crazybear 33 17 .550 16 310 250 +60
Denver Raptors 29 31 .483 20 295 290 +5
Toledo Yellow Jackets 20 40 .333 29 270 390 -120
Seeing as this division currently has only five teams, there will likely be one more team added to the mix, which could possibly have a huge impact on these projections, or maybe they won't change them at all.
What do you think of my projections? Is it completely crazy to predict a 15 win jump for the Lions? Should we expect more volatility from other teams? Please let me know in the comments!