HCL 2009 Preview - 10 Questions (#9)

We continue our previews with the ninth place team in last year's Hardcore League:

The Lousy Street Weasels - The Weasels went into 2008 with ace Chris Carpenter out of action and nothing seemed to go right after that. The organization is moving on to 2009 with a big roster to fill, but a ton of money to spend. Our question is: How Big Do the Weasels Go?

LSW will have the most money to spend at the Hardcore Draft two weeks from now. Sources say they'll be targeting the cream of the crop free agents, hoping to vault them from the bottom of the '07 and '08 standings, and up to championship contention in '09. With over $10 million more to spend than the next club, the Weasels can virtually bring in anyone they want.

Outfielders Vernon Wells and Jason Bay lead the club, with Geovany Soto and Ian Stewart's bats will be needed to contribute once again. Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano are the pitching staff right now, so they will be joined by a crop of new faces come March 21st.

The main thing Weasels fans are excited about are the prospects. Colby Rasmus is on the verge of making an impact for the big league club. Jason Heyward received a hefty contract last year, and though he's a year or two away from contributing, he's one of the top prospects on the planet. And future softball hall of famers Eric Hosmer and Yonder Alonso are also lurking. Give them a couple years and they will be hitting bombs for the Weasels at will.

Fun Fact: After starting out strong (31-27-2) in the first five weeks, the Weasels ended the season in a September funk (15-32-1).

Death Ro Calls out Uncle Teddy

And farts.

HCL 2009 Preview - 10 Questions (#10)

As the third annual HCL draft draws near, many questions surround each club. We’ll take this opportunity to preview each team and their chances of baseball domination for 2009.

Starting from 2008’s bottom to the top, here is the biggest question for each team in the Hardcore League:

Channel 4 News Team – The team who has gone through the wildest ride in two years hopes to see a little more stability in ’09 under their new ownership. With a 1st place finish in ’07, and a last place finish in ’08 – where do the C4NT finish in ’09? Sure that’s a pretty general question, but we’ll wait in anticipation to see if new owner Matt Thiel can move the club back to its previous dominance, or if this will be a rebuilding project that will take new ownership more than one year.

Boppers Ryan Howard and David Ortiz return to the lineup, while a the rotation of Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke, and Erik Bedard has all the makings of being a weekly nightmare for opposing teams.

Thiel also takes over a huge stable of top prospects, including Mike Moustakas and Pedro Alvarez – two mashers who should be a part of C4NT’s lineup for years to come.

Fun Fact: as of press time, the C4NT only has 13 roster spots for the 2009 draft, by far the least of any team in the Hardcore League. Now you know who'll be available for a food run two hours into the draft.