2007 Season Preview: Norris Slum Lords

Trevor Hoffman and the Slum Lords are pissed,
and they're going to take it out on you in 2007.

With spring training right around the corner, and doing a little pre-draft research for the upcoming season, I thought I'd give a short preview on each team. I can't promise I'll get to everyone, but I'll do them as I can. In no particular order, and because I just happened to be looking at his pathetic pitching staff, I'll start with Carlo Cognata's Norris Slum Lords.

Last year: 9-13 (4th in Jeltz, 10 games back, 9th in power rankings, 9th in pts., 2031.3 pts. back)

Overview: The Slum Lords won their opener over AC's Gun Show, then proceeded to lose 9 of their next 12 games. Hard to win when you put yourself in that kind of hole. Injuries played a big part as well, with the Lords seeing 6 pitchers on the DL at the close of the season. As bad as the season was, it could've been worse. The Slum Lords were the third luckiest team in the league in terms of points against.

Offense (8th overall, 4444 pts.): Last year's off-season netted two 600-point performers in Alfonso Soriano and Matt Holliday. The pre-season trade for Soriano and Mike Hampton (from the T-Baggers for Doug Davis and Marcus Giles ... ouch ... looks like a steal now. Picking Holliday in the draft was another smart move. Unfortunately, it might have been Cognata's last, at least on offense. A mid-season trade of 23-year-old OF Jeff Francoeur for 31-year-old C Ramon Hernandez when the team was already out of contention may have hurt them for the future. Hernandez was hitting .295/.355/.498 at the time of the trade, but hit just .254/.326/.438 after, while Francoeur improved from .226/.244/.379 to .264/.307/.426. But an even bigger bungle was Bill Hall sitting the bench for a good portion of the season. Despite being eligible at several positions, Hall hit just 11 of his career-high 35 homers in the Lords' lineup, seeing just 228 at-bats. With Soriano no longer eligible at 2B, you can trust the Slum Lords won't make the same mistake in 2007.

Pitching (8th overall, 3239 pts.): Despite the emergence of rookie Jered Weaver, this is one of the oldest, potentially horrid pitching staffs in the CWFLB. The Lords' best four pitchers last year in terms of points -- Wagner, Mussina, Hoffman and Glavine -- average 38 years old. And that doesn't include geezers like Kevin Millwood and Eric Milton (who actually saw 7 starts in the starting lineup). Not surprisingly, the team was 11th in ERA (4.69) and 11th in Ks. Thanks to a mid-season swap with the Isotopes of Livan Hernandez for Billy Wagner, the Slum Lords led the league with 78 saves. That said, Hoffman and Wagner aren't getting any younger.

The future: If a bench of Chris Duncan, Ryan Garko, Ryan Shealy, Orlando Hudson, Mike Cameron and Luke Scott, doesn't excite you, I don't think minor league pitchers Tom Gorzelanny, Daniel Haigwood, John Danks and Thomas Diamond will either. Luckily the Slum Lords hold the No. 4 pick in the draft and are in prime shape to pick up a young stud pitching prospect.

What could go right: Someone heals Mark Prior, Hank Blalock and Mark Buehrle return to their pre-2006 form, Danks and/or Gorzelanny stay healthy and develop into good young starters, Mike Hampton returns to his serviceable ways, the T-Baggers trade him a stud for two guys who implode, and the old guys keep it rolling for another year or two.

What could go wrong: The old guys fall apart, Jered Weaver turns into his brother, and Eric Milton gets a spot in the Reds' starting rotation.

Offseason needs: 3B (or 2B), young SP. -- With late-season surger Mark Teahan recovering from shoulder surgery and moving to the OF to make way for Alex Gordon, the team could use a 3B or slide Hall to 3B and hope Orlando Hudson is good enough to play every week at 2B.

Projected draft pick: Vicente Padilla

UP NEXT: The T-Baggers.