1999 Russian League Preview 

(Posted on April 29th)

  With the RL to begin play on Saturday, May 1, it is just about time to get things going on this web site. So, ladies and gentlemen, here's a preview of the 1999 season for your attention.

  Before we go to team-by-team outlook, let me say a few words about the upcoming season in general. Once again it will be six teams (some drop-offs are a possibility, we'll have to hope it doesn't happen), each having to play a total of 25 games, with the championship going to a team with the best record. No playoffs, simply a race for the flag. The system has been the same for three years, but there's a vital change to it. Rather than facing different opponent every time out, ballclubs will now play a pair of two-game series plus a single game against each other. The change is to boost the competitiveness, as underdog teams no longer need to save their top hurlers' arms by not pitching them against better competition.

  You have already noticed from the RL's 1999 schedule, that the six clubs will be all Moscow this year. The three time defending champion CSKA PVO (Balashikha) will be known as VVIA (Moscow); other teams are SKV, Spartak, RusStar, MGU-78, and Moskvich. The latter returns to the league after an absence of four years. And if you're wondering what's happened to that Nakhodka squad, it's going to be a part of newly created circuit in Russia's Far East.

  Now to the previews (teams are listed in projected order of finish).

VVIA (Moscow)
1998 record: 23-2, 1st place.  
Key additions: 2B Alexandr Nizov rejoins the team after two summers with the Butte Copper Kings of the Pioneer League (Rookie level). RHP Fedor Klimenko comes back from a head injury. 
Said good-bye to: C Andrei Selivanov and 3B Ruslan Nabiev (both signed with a Belgian team), SS Dmitri Lukin (now with SKV), RHP Anton Shiroky (Spartak), C Roman Golubikhin (MGU-78).  
Strengths: unrivaled pitching staff, anchored by three straight time ERA leader Vladimir Petrov. The 26-year old left-hander's arsenal of weirdest breaking pitches yielded him a scary 0.84 ERA and a 13-1 record over the last three seasons. He struck out 157 batters in 86 innings over that span. Behind Petrov it is 39-year old righty fireballer Yury Zhirov (2.96 ERA, 3-1 in '98) and a fellow RH Andrei Polstyanov (2.48, 4-0), who is very effective because he gets batters to hit grounders (league highest 3.08 GB/FB ratio). The team boasts the best defensive infield in RL, having outstanding defenders in 2B Alexei Bakutkin (46 total chances without an error, 71% zone rating), Nizov and Yury Perepelitza.  
Weaknesses: catching, offense slowed down by departure of three best hitters. 
Need a big season from: IF Yury Perepelitza. One of the better clutch hitters, he will be busy driving VVIA's top of the order home. 
Outlook: with a pitching staff like this (2.67 ERA last year, more than five runs ahead of the runner-up MGU-78 moundsmen), VVIA doesn't have to worry  about it's weakened offense. Despite a glaring hole at catcher, VVIA is still the team to beat.
SKV (Moscow)
1998 record: 19-6, 2nd place.  
Key additions: SS Dmitri Lukin (from CSKA) completes the former Moscow Red Devils' reunion.  
Said good-bye to: none.  
Strengths: veteran offense, led by CF Dmitri Golubev (.528 average, RL's leading 61 total bases). Good knowledge of the strike zone, will find a way to beat you. RHP Andrei Bogatyrev, solid defense, aggressive base stealing.  
Weaknesses: pitching depth, can not field the best possible lineup every time, age.  
Need a big season from: Andrei Bogatyrev (6-1, 4.02 ERA in '98). The right-hander's surprisingly strong performance at the last year's World Cup, where he led Team Russia in ERA, raised a question - what could have happened had he thrown more then a paltry total of two pitches against CSKA last season.  
Outlook: the second place is SKV's to loose. The above mentioned implementation of series play should make a 'Bogatyrev vs. VVIA' showdown a possibility. 
Spartak (Moscow)
1998 record: 11-14, 3rd place.  
Key additions: RHP Anton Shiroky (from CSKA) returns to his original team. SS Valery Platonov (RusStar).  
Said good-bye to: RHP Alexandr Toropov and LHP Roman Bessonov (both signed pro contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers), RHP Alexandr Polyakov (to Moskvich).  
Strengths: talented young players, strong run producers in Platonov (hit .408 with 21 RBIs and .690 slugging pct. for RusStar) and veteran 2B Alexandr Myaskov (.426, 23 RBIs, while slugging .721), league's best catching tandem in Sergei Solovjev (led team with .507 BA) and Igor Lyulchak. 3B Oleg Semenov has outstanding range, don't let his .913 fielding average mislead you as he converted 62% of grounders hit to him into outs last year.  
Weaknesses: pitching will be a headache, lack of production from the outfielders, extravagant skipper Pavel Gladikov will take away a couple of wins from his team as usual.  
Need a big season from: Anton Shiroky. The 20-year old pitcher is as good a right-hander as anybody in the league (5-0 record, 2.23 ERA in two seasons with CSKA). Aggressive hurler with fine command of the strike zone, he led the RL in percentage of strikes for two years in a row (66% and 68% in '97 and '98, respectively).   
Outlook: everything comes down to pitching here. The team badly needs RHs Denis Makhotin (7.65 ERA, 47 walks in 37.2 innings) and Sergei Karagodin (5.89 ERA, but mostly against Nakhodka) to finally come through. Assuming Shiroky's health won't be a problem - he's currently undergoing some therapy on his knee - he should carry Spartak into 3rd place.
MGU-78 (Moscow)
1998 record: 9-8, withdrawn from the championship.  
Key additions: C Roman Golubikhin (from CSKA).  
Said good-bye to: SS Iosif Gogishvili (somewhere in the USA), RHP Alexandr Isakadze and LHP Nikolos Bezhuashvili (both went to play in Belgium), 1B-OF Vladimir Timakov (to Moskvich), RHP Anton Tzikunkov.  
Strengths: experience, hard hitting middle of the lineup in 2B Alexandr Kovtun (.409, 5 triples, .544 on-base average last year), LF Dmitri Lukjanchikov (.414, 15 extra-base hits tied for league lead) and former backstop Andzhei Tosta (.429, 14 extra-baggers). Roman Golubikhin, still the league's finest defensive catcher, will be a presence at his position.  
Weaknesses: pitching depth, absence of a true ace, defense at shortstop, short bench.  
Need a big season from: RHPs Matvei Rusakov, Alexei Valyalin and veteran Gennady Ardzhevanidze. Among them only Rusakov possesses sharp control and the stamina to go the distance. Valyalin and Ardzhevanidze will get a lot of strikeouts, but walks could be a problem. 
Outlook: last year's most underachieving team. Had everything to contend, but went 0-7 against CSKA and SKV before folding because of money problems.  
With the loss of two-time batting champ Gogishvili and ace left-hander Bezhuashvili, MGU is a .500 team at best. 
Moskvich (Moscow)
1998 record: didn't play.  
Key additions: group of former RusStar players, including C Andrei Sazonov. 1B-OF Vladimir Timakov (from MGU-78).  
Said good-bye to: none, obviously.  
Strengths: talented young bats atop of the order. RL's career stolen base leader Timakov sets the tone, though he will be battling an inflamed achilles tendon. Sazonov (.465, 27 RBIs with RusStar) brings his 18-game hitting streak from last season. The 17-year old catcher had a torrid first half (.542, 24 RBIs in May - July), but hit only .304 with 3 RBIs rest of the way.     
Weaknesses: two many rookies, pitching is the main concern.  
Need a big season from: RHs Oleg Korneev and Alexandr Polyakov. The latter may be only 15, but he already throws in high 70s, mixing his fastball with a big curveball.     
Outlook: offense will need to score 10 plus runs to be able to win games. Should edge RusStar for the 5th place.
RusStar (Moscow)
1998 record: 9-16, 4th place.  
Key additions: none.  
Said good-bye to: SS Valery Platonov (to Spartak). C Andrei Sazonov, 2B Artem Artamonov, P-1B Oleg Korneev left for Moskvich along with several other players.  
Strengths: take a lot of pitches, will get many walks, but need somebody to step up as their RBI man.  
Weaknesses: defense, anemic batting average, will struggle bringing runners home. Rival Moskvich for the worst pitching staff.   
Need a big season from: IF Valentin Alexandrov (had 11 extra-base hits last year, but struck out a league worst 22 times), P-OF Vladimir Muratov, P Andrei Muratov.  
Outlook: will be a long season. Should challenge Moskvich for fifth place if they get some good outings from the Muratov brothers.  
 
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