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The turnout for the Amazin' Avenue Offseason Plan Contest this year was outstanding. Fifty-five AAOPs were submitted before Wednesday afternoon's deadline, almost all of which were very well done. There were many good candidates out there, but we have whittled down that long list to a top five, and now it's time for the community to vote for the champion and runners up.
Voting starts now and concludes at 5:00 PM EDT on Friday, October 31.
The finalists
Let's Go to the Playoffs Already, by Dan Lewis
But the real win here is in the pitching. The rotation has potential to be incredible -- the top four are all above-average starters at worst, if recent history (and potential going forward) is any guide. Montero/Thor is a bit of a lottery ticket, but a fifth starter with their type of upside is a great, great thing to have. The strength extends to the bullpen. With a healthy Parnell, there are eight good or better options there, and we only "need" seven.
Crazy Town Banana Pants, by Ogre39666
This is it. This is the season where the rebuilding stops and the winning begins. It's been eight years since we have made the playoffs. Eight years is a long time. Eight years is too long. It's been six years since we've been over .500. Six years is also a long time. Six years is also too long. There is hope, however. The end of the tunnel is in reach. The horizon is in sight. The dawn is breaking.
Wedding Band of Brothers, by IPA
Drastic times, drastic measures. Fred and Jeff(y) have just finished giving the underlings their orders. "We have no money. Well, we'll have no money, once we pay the lawyers." Fred shambles off to find an Afghan blanket. Jeff shambles off to find a person to take him seriously. Sandy shambles off to find solace. That solace is in the form of GMs getting together to socialize.
Baseball Cards...Photoshop...Profit, by bjk3047
Per the classic WAR calculation, team WAR + 52 comes to a record of 89-73. That should be just enough to squeak into the Wild Card game and pull a Royals all the way to the World Series. More importantly, the team is still primed to have lasting power for several years to come.
Hunter Pence Does Not Support This Therefore You Should, by amazins8669
So, let's #adduptheWAR's. Obviously this is a very crude estimate, but if everything goes according to plan, this team will total 51.7 WAR(and maybe more) which equates to basically 99-100 wins.