By: Nick Alicea
The 2007 season will begin with the 2nd Open Cup. This article will focus on some of the minor league teams that look to make a splash in the Open Cup, and I'll breakdown which team has the best chance of going farther then the rest of the Minor League teams. In 2005, 7 minor league teams made the Round of 16 (3 AAA, 2 AA, 2 A). Rochester (NY AAA) was the only team to advance to the Quarterfinals and pushed Chicago to a 5-game series but lost games 4 and 5 and went home. Can a minor league team go further this year? Here's how some of the teams could do.
Rochester Cheetahs
Let's start with the team that went the furthest in the first Open Cup, the Rochester Cheetahs. Rochester had an easy schedule facing two A teams and 1 AA team before running into Chicago, doing it mainly by pitching. They won their first 6 games of the Open Cup until Saginaw (LA A) won 2-1 in 13 innings. That pitching staff included some of the same Rochester pitchers including, Josh Ward, Robert Back, and Oswaldo Rael. The Cheetahs held a 2-1 lead over Chicago in the Quarterfinals before Chicago took the lead in the 7th inning of Game 4. Rochester would trail every inning after that from the end of Game 4 through Game 5. This year, Rochester looks to leave their mark again, especially after a disappointing 64-74 season. Unfortunately that will be hard to do unless they can somehow upset Los Angeles after beating the Memphis Blues (STL AAA). This can be done, because as of now, Memphis may not have their best talent in AAA and still has some overmatched players in AAA as well. New York has plenty of talent in Rochester to overcome the Blues, which they should do before losing to the LA Lions in the next round.
Gary Griffins
The Gary Griffins had the best record in the entire minors, and the 2nd best record for any team at any level behind the Miami Talons. Although they were knocked out in the first round of the 2005 Open Cup, the Griffins played 3 tough games with Houston's AAA Greenville. Unfortunately, they may have to go up with another AAA team in their first series if Indiana's Louisville Lightning, which looks to be pretty talented, and then most likely Dallas. Even with the abundance of talent in Philly's A ballclub, Louisville should take care of business in the 1st Round. The best team in the minors last year does not seem to be the team that can leaver their mark in the 2007 Open Cup.
Dayton Aviators
The Dayton Aviators are a team that could easily make a run in the 2007 Open Cup. 8 of Dallas' Top 10 prospects are in AAA, and owner Ben Whitley is waiting for them to develop and make a run on his Rattlers' team. However, right now Dayton will reap the benefits of all of these prospects, including newly acquired Seelay Nigaar. Dayton could easily take down Macon or Cleveland, the worst team in the ML. Two years ago Dayton took down the ML Indiana Eagles in 3 games, so the Aviators know they can create some upsets, especially against bad teams like Cleveland. Dayton could then struggle against Greensboro (NO AAA), with the talent Romito has in his AAA ballclub. But then if Dayton advances to the Round of 16, they will in all likelihood go up against the Talons, which no team matches well against. Still, there are going to be AAA teams in the Round of 16, and the Aviators could very well be one of those teams.
Syracuse Storm
Boston's AAA Syracuse Storm went 91-47, good enough for the 6th seed in this year's Open Cup. Now McGrath's Storm looks to continue their success into the Open Cup. However to go far, Syracuse will have to beat most likely New Orleans and Minnesota back-to-back to start the tournament. Even after that, Syracuse would have to go up against possibly Hartford (PHI AAA) and Connecticut. The Storm does have some good talent, including Loc Quach who could easily be on the ML roster at some point of the season. However, Syracuse will constantly be put to the test against tough teams, so their success does not seem likely to carry over into the 2007 Open Cup.
Buffalo Blue Jays
After losing in the 1st round 2005 Open Cup to Huntsville, the Buffalo Blue Jays would love nothing more but to avenge their early exit by knocking a major league team out of the 2007 Open Cup. That would most likely come against the Tampa Tigers, who has a good farm system, but not the best major league team. If Buffalo defeats Tampa, they would then face most likely the Connecticut Thunder. The Blue Jays have some pretty good pitching- especially Ronaldo Garceau- however, Connecticut has great pitching all around. If the Blue Jays pull the upset, then they would definitely be facing a team that did not make the ABL Playoffs last season. Buffalo is a lock for the Round of 16, but they will most likely be stopped by Connecticut.
Hartford Huskies
The Hartford Huskies will play their first 2 rounds against teams in lower levels of organizations, making them (if they play to their potential) a lock for the Round of 16 where they will most likely face Minnesota or New Orleans. All Hartford has to do is upset one of these teams and they are in the Quarterfinals. If it's a close game, closer Eddie Reed had better get the job done in the 9th if they want to beat a top team such as Connecticut, a likely opponent in the Quarters. Unfortunately for Hartford, some prospects that could prove useful are sitting in AA right now. Hartford gets an easy road to the Round of 16, but they must control their own destiny to make things happen in the Open Cup.
This year's Open Cup does not pave an easy path for cinderella teams to go past the Round of 16. It will have to be the teams that force the upsets and wreak havoc in the tournament. The minor league teams could easily be factors on who makes it to the championship. In a 3-game series, anything can happen, and some miraculous upsets could be a reality. Hopefully this year's Open Cup will cause plenty of excitement for everyone to enjoy.
Home
Rivalries Update
Team By Team Breakdown
Archives