CALIFORNIA QUAKE: The Quake have been so good in the past they consider their #3 finish in the West rankings a disappointment. That alone is a testament to how good this team has been because most teams would love to crack the Top 5. In the last three years they have finished #1, #1 and #3 in the West. Much of their 2007 season saw them missing 06 World Series MVP Chris Cooper to injury which surely hurt them. Even when Chris played with them, he was not at 100%. Expect to see a much healthier Chris in 2008. In the off season, the Quake signed 2007 Sportsman of the Year Keith Benjamin and All National Team outfielder Andrew McCormick from the DEA Combo. Keith can play most any position including pitcher but PoliceSoftball.com suspects you will see him mostly at SS or 5th man. Andrew gives the Quake some great wheels in the outfield. With Ronnie Connor, Tom Larocque and Andrew in the outfield, we think you will see the Quake employ the 3 man outfield more often in 2008. The signing of Andrew arguably gives the Quake one of the best outfields in all of police softball. The Quake are Led by coaches Derwin Longmire and Tom Larocque and these coaches will have many weapons to hurt you with including power hitters Guillermo Guerra, Will Mannion and 2006 West Coast Player of the Year, Jeff Regino. 2008 OUTLOOK: The Quake team has a strong tradition of excellence and 2008 should be another reminder of why they have this tradition. Offensive power, speedy outfielders coupled with powerful throwing arms will be the team’s bread and butter. If you had to look for a weakness in the Quake, it could be age but that hasn’t hurt NY Metro so we don’t expect it to hurt the Quake in 2008. The additions of two of the most talented players in the nation coupled with no known personnel losses should propel them back to the top of the totem pole. PROJECTED FINISH: 1.

SOCAL ALLIANCE/EASTON/KME: The Alliance is coming off a 59-5 season with 6 tournament victories including the World Series championship. In the off season they lost their two-time team MVP Erik Grove to retirement and lost 2005 HR Derby Champion and PoliceSoftball.com Hall of Famer John “Wasabi Birtcher” as an unrestricted free agent. The Alliance also will not have the services of JJ Garzone much in 2008 due to his work schedule. Last season JJ was huge for the Alliance in 2007 as he hit over .700 on the season and was named an MVP during one of their tourney wins. Lastly, the Alliance will have to replace base hitting specialist Tim Poncy who left mid season last year after due to philosophical differences with management. To replace Erik, John, Tim and JJ, the Alliance signed police softball veterans Nate Baez from LAPD and Big Curt Ledesma from the DEA Combo. Nate is an all-around athlete that will bring a lot of flexibility to the team as he can play any position. Curt will bring a big bat, big game experience and a quiet intensity that the Alliance can use. Expect to see Nate all over the field and Curt mostly at 1B and OF. The Alliance also inked rookie Danny Wells who is new to the police softball circuit. Danny is in the mold of an Alfonso “Zo” Trujillo. He is a lightning fast outfielder that most recently played for TAI/Elite in the civilian world where he earned All-Tourney honors at the ASA C Worlds. Like the Quake, expect the Alliance to have an extremely strong outfield in 2008. In addition to the Alliance sponsors from 2007, the Alliance would like to welcome Kevin McCurdy of KME who has joined the management team for 2008. Kevin is best known for his involvement in the civilian major circuit with teams like Resmondo/KME. The Alliance 2008 schedule should be: DEA Kick-off, Easton Bring Your Real Skilz, PSPOA Palm Springs, West Palm Beach or Manteca in June, Sterling Heights, Desert Classic and the World Series. 2008 OUTLOOK: Loss of veteran players could hurt and team spark plug Alfonso Trujillo may undergo surgery early in the year and may miss 2-3 tournaments. Points will be more difficult to come by early in the season, but by September they should be fully staffed and have their strongest line-up ever. Whatever the case it will be difficult to repeat their 07 performance as no team has yet to repeat as World Series Champion. PROJECTED FINISH: 2.

A-1 TOWING/HARD-COR: At the end of the season the past few years there have been rumors that this team was about to fold. The rumors have proven to be wrong and Hard-Cor has not only survived, they have grown stronger. Two years ago when rumors had them on their death bed, when they were taken over by Steve Furlong and he won PoliceSoftball.com coach of they year. Last year there were more rumors and they responded by finishing #2 in the West Points Chase. This year there were rumors that several key players were joining the LAPD Blue. Instead they retained their veteran stars and signed Hall of Famer John “Wasabi” Birtcher from the SoCal Alliance to add another potent bat to their already strong offense. Basically this team responds well not matter the talk on the circuit, and we at PS.COM feel they field the most balanced line-up in the West. 2008 OUTLOOK: The balance in their game is hard to match. Because they can beat you so many ways, they are one team in the west no one wants to face. This team does not seem to have any weaknesses but they haven’t played up to their ability in the World Series. If they perform to their ability in 2008, look for this team to have a great shot at the West Points Chase title. PROJECTED FINISH: 3

LAPD BLUE/EASTON: No West team has a greater history of excellence than the LAPD Blue. Their current line-up boasts one of the best outfield rotations in the nation and Gabe Rodriguez has become a top shelf USSSA pitcher. Lately they have struggled to find a consistent middle infield to compliment the rest of their strong defense. Several rumors of the Blue signing free agents from other squads did not materialize although we think former Border Patrol Heat player Mike Riches may be playing a lot of 3B for the Blue in 2008. The Blue will have returning veterans in slugger Todd Patino, Rich Bengston and Phil “The Professor” Smith and they will account for a .700 average and put up some big runs. In the outfield you will see athletic Will Skett who in 2007 emerged as one of the best overall outfielders in the game. PoliceSoftball.com expects Will to continue his onslaught and 2008 should be a great year for him. Youngster David Braun is also coming into his own, and will be a force for years. Base hitting specialist Tim Poncy played with the Blue at the 2007 World Series and we suspect he will ride with them for 2008. If Poncy gets healthy and returns to mid 2007 form, he will be a duck on the pond every time a blue bomber comes to the plate. PoliceSoftball.com expects to see Poncy getting a lot of playing time at catcher or as a part time outfielder for the Blue. Team Captain Todd Waymire is quietly becoming one of the most versatile hitters on the west with his opposite field shot dialed in and we also expect a big season from him in 2008. 2008 OUTLOOK: The Blue has a lot of police softball pride and we expect them to be a force in the West. The Blue has veteran players who know how to get the job done and their only weakness has been injuries over the last few years and player availability. They have the talent to win the West Points Chase if they can consistently get their roster on the field. PROJECTED FINSIH: 4.

WEST COAST SPORTS/EASTON/AFTERSHOCK: The team is headed by former 2006 World Series Champion Quake players Jim Lemmon and Dante DiGacomo who both played for the NorCal Cartel in 2007. Per Webster’s dictionary, an aftershock is usually one of a series, following a large earthquake in the same area. Does this name refer to their Quake heritage or is it merely a coincidence? The Aftershock roster looks strong with players from the DEA, Cartel etc. PoliceSoftball.com asked some West coast coaches about the roster and the consensus is this team will put some big runs on the board and will be a force in the West. Most believe they will seriously contend for a top 5 spot in the Boombah Points Chase. PoliceSoftball.com knows many of the players on the roster and this team and we feel this team will be a fun team to watch as the year develops. It is headed up by some class individuals and they will score some runs and make any team they play bring their best game if they expect to win. Some players who will be swinging it for the Aftershock are, John Sunia, Andy Williams, Marc Grande, Rob Rosas, Dante DiGacomo and Jim Lemmon. 2008 OUTLOOK: This team will be strong on the offensive side and will score runs in bunches. They could be the most powerfully offensive team in the nation. If they can get their defense tightened up, look for some deep tourneys. They could win it all in 08 but we need to see if they gel before we project them to sit in the catbird seat. There are even rumors of them hosting a Bacon Ball San Francisco tournament sometime in July. Whatever the case, expect them to come on like gangbusters in ’08. PROJECTED FINISH: 5

CONCORD COMBO: Unlike everyone else, there hasn’t been any talk of defections, free agent signings or controversy surrounding this squad. That can be attributed to the leadership skills of Carl “Hollywood” Gaskins who won the well deserved PoliceSoftball.com Coach of the Year Award last season. This team is locked, loaded and stable. The last few years has seen this team in the top ten in the rankings but last year they had somewhat of a breakout year and made the coveted top 5. In addition to their top 5 finish overall, this team finished in the top 5 in three ranking tourneys and top 10 in tough tournaments such as Sterling and the World Series. Their 07 World Series and Sterling finishes solidified them as an elite team, not only in the West, but on a national level. This is a team that is built on good power, solid defense and the ability to know how the game is played. Concord also hosts the June tournament in Manteca which quickly has settled in as one of the better West Coast tournaments 2008 OUTLOOK: More of the same, and that is dominant softball and a classy organization. PROJECTED FINISH: 6

RSD RED: Like many teams in SoCal, the talk was there were some big changes in store for RSD RED. Most notably the rumors were they were going to be a senior team (over 35) again which would have left star players such as King George Reyes and Ray Gioletti looking for a team to land with. It looks like that decision was not made so expect to see the Red playing the hard hitting ball they have played the last few years. They are one of the top offensive teams in the West and the addition of speedy outfielder Steve Leone was a huge plus for this veteran squad. The Red, like Concord, finished in the top 5 in three different tournaments to end the season tied for 6 in the rankings. A good World Series would have propelled this team into the top 5 but that didn’t happen last year and the team seemed to fade at the end with a 9th place finish in the Desert Classic and a 17th place finish at the Series. 2008 OUTLOOK: This team can score runs in bunches and will be knocking on the door to the top 5 all season. They can beat any team in the nation if they get on a roll. They are unquestionably the best single agency team in the West. That’s right; all Red players are employed by the Riverside Sheriff Department! PROJECTED FINISH: 7

SAN DIEGO EXCESSIVE FORCE: The Force made some major off-season signings prior to the 07 season, but this past off-season they stood firm. They are offensive machine, very much in the mold of the Aftershock or RSD Red. They faltered slightly at the 07 World Series against Chicago but then pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and eventually won the game in convincing fashion. That was all they needed to get the steam roller moving and they began to plow through the competition before finally running out of steam on Sunday. Their offensive display that weekend is what the West teams are accustomed to seeing from the Force and we expect more of the same in 08. This team has been ranked in the top 10 the last three seasons and we expect them to be there again in 2008. Coach Joe Castillo always has this team ready to bang and nothing should change that. This team always seems to start off hot so look for a big tournament for them at Chino Hills. 2008 OUTLOOK: They will score a lot of runs and win a lot of games. If a tournament is most likely theirs, it will be DEA Tournament or the PSPOA Tournament. PROJECTED FINISH: 8

DEA COMBO/EASTON: The Combo will be in transition phase this year as they lost many long time players to other teams. The following moves have been reported to PoliceSoftball.com: Keith Benjamin and Andrew McCormick to Cal. Quake, Curt Ledesma to SoCal Alliance and Johnny Sunia, Big Andy Williams, Robbie Rosas, & Marc Grande to Aftershock. Some think the DEA will not be the power they typically are but veteran Coach Jimmy Gomez always finds a way to put a high quality team on the field. Such is the case with their signing of slick fielding middle infielder Dave Ayala who formerly played for the LAPD Lawmen. Dave is a very heady player who can help a team in many ways. Dave will combine with Jason Hart to form one of the best double play combos in the game. It is rumored that Dave has also brought with him Cody Trask who should see a lot of time at 3B. Cody is a former minor league baseball player and has transitioned very well to softball. 2008 OUTLOOK: This is an established team with tradition of winning. Over the last 3 years this team has not been lower than 5th in the rankings. With the personnel losses a top 5 ranking could be difficult but don’t be surprised if they pull it off because this team has a certain mystique that others just don’t have. PROJECTED FINISH: 9.

CHP CHOIR BOYS: This team is one of the best teams in NorCal and also one of the best kept secrets in the West. They fly under the radar but they have a huge amount of talent. Coach Steve Merchant loves his team and works as hard for them as any coach in the nation. The Boys are well rounded and very athletic which allows them to press you 1-10 in the order. The boys have been busy in the off season. Most notably they will have a strong flavor of Folsom J-Cats added to their already strong line up. Chris Stieferman who is an ex Cartel and ex Folsom/Sac J-Cat player will see some time at 3B and Cartel utility player Bobby Fernandes was also picked up. The Boys plan on playing in most of the major tournaments along with the Western States Games in Idaho and the defense of their GOLD medal in the Colorado Police Games. They are also hosting their First Annual Cinco de Mayo Tournament in Lincoln, which is part of the Boombah points chase tournaments. 2008 OUTLOOK: The west coast CHP circuit was shocked when this team did not win the annual Vegas CHP tournament which was won by a very good CHP Balls Deep but that should not stop the Boys from being a NorCal power as this team is very talented. Once this team can stop the one bad inning, they will have no weaknesses. PROJECTED FINISH: 10

On Friday morning check back to see how we believe the rest of the West will finish up 2008!!!