1. Tampa Bay Rays (31-12)
- Biggest Surprise
Tampa has been nothing short of dominant this season, so it's difficult to pick only one player for this category. So we won't. The Rays lead the Majors with a 2.80 team ERA. That number is astounding, and they're doing it in the AL. Wade Davis has the worst ERA out of all five starters at 3.35. Slacker. That's almost double David Price's ERA of 1.81 to lead the starting five. I can't forget Rafael Soraino in the bullpen either. Soriano was brought in from Atlanta to close out ball games, and he has done a marvelous job of just that. He's got 12 saves to go with his miniscule 1.42 ERA and 16/5 K/BB ratio.
-Biggest Disappointment
As hard as it is to pick only one surprise for the Rays, it's that hard to find a single disappointment. I mean, when you're 19 games over .500 in May and have a 4.5 game lead on the rest of the Majors, not much isn't going your way. However, I think it's safe to say BJ Upton has been a bit of a disappointment so far. When his younger brother Justin got a big contract from Arizona this past offseason and BJ lost his salary arbitration hearing, lowering his salary to $3 million, many, including Tampa, were hoping it would help propel BJ to another level. It hasn't. Upton is only hitting .220 this season and has struckout 42 times in 42 games.
2. New York Yankees (26-17)
- Biggest Surprise
Last season Brett Gardner hit .270 with 3 HRs, 23 RBI, and 26 SBs in 108 games. This season in a little over 1/3 the amount of games Gardner is hitting .304 with 2 HRs, 12 RBI, and 17 SBs. Gardner, who is only 26, has quickly become a fixture in the Yankee outfield. That's good news for Gardner since in Spring Training Joe Girardi was looking to platoon he, Randy Winn, and Marcus Thames in left field. Francisco Cervelli is another to watch here. Cervelli was giving long time catcher Jorge Posada a day off here and there earlier in the season, but since Posada went on the DL Cervelli has been given the temporary starting job. While lacking any sort of power what-so-ever, Cervelli does have an awesome name and is hitting .346 in about half the at-bats as the rest of the starters.
- Biggest Disappointment
While the Yankees did not have the type of offseason as they did last year when they signed Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and AJ Burnett, they did attempt to improve their World Series winning ball club by bringing in Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez. Granderson was only hitting .225 with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs in 23 games before limping his way onto the Disabled List with a strained groin. Vazquez has been even worse while staying healthy. Vazquez is 3-4, but has a bloated 6.69 ERA
3. Toronto Blue Jays (25-20)
- Biggest Surprise
The main reason Toronto traded Roy Halladay was due to his soon to be expiring contract. Of course, knowing they had Ricky Romero didn't hurt either. And apparently neither did having Shaun Marcum. Romero was considered the heir apparent to the soon to be traded Halladay last season so it comes as no surprise to see him succeeding. Although not many had projected him with a sub 3 ERA. However, Shaun Marcum was an afterthought since he missed most of the '08 and all of the '09 season after Tommy John surgery. Marcum is 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA and sub 1 WHIP. He's also struckout 45 while only walking 14.
- Biggest Disappointment
Last season Adam Lind was an All-Star, and for good reason. In '09 Lind hit .305 with 35 HRs and 114 RBI. In 2010 Lind's power numbers are still there, 7 HRs and 23 RBI in 44 games, but he is only hitting .225 and pissing off fantasy owners everywhere. And he's not the only Blue Jay. Former LSU Tiger Aaron Hill had a monster '09 season hitting .286 with 36 HRs and 106 RBI garnering himself an All-Star birth with Lind, and many people thought he had put himself into the upper echelon of AL 2B. Um. About that. This season in only 30 games due to a DL stint, Hill is hitting a measly .167 with 5 HRs and 13 RBI. Back to reality.
4. Boston Red Sox (23-21)
- Biggest Surprise
Looking at this team up and down it's hard to find a real surprise. However, if I had to choose one it's Adrian Beltre. Beltre was brought in as a free agent from the Seattle Mariners for one year at $9 million with a player option next year at $5 million. If he keeps hitting .321 and playing stellar defense it's safe to assume that he won't be taking that option as he could garner more money than that as a free agent again.
- Biggest Disappointment
Where do I start? Josh Beckett and John Lackey had $150.5 million combined promised to them in the offseason, and they've responded with a 7.29 and 5.07 ERA each. Now Beckett finds himself on the DL with a lower back strain. Daisuke Matsuzaka was hoping for a healthy season after an injury riddled '09, but he began the season on the DL with neck and back issues. In his first four starts his ERA was at 7.89, but last night Matsuzaka lost a no-hitter in the 8th and finished the game going 8 innings and only one hit which lowered his ERA over 2 runs to 5.76. Here's to hoping he's back on track. Then there's Big Papi. Although he's caught a little fire lately, his batting average is still hovering around .250. Also, Jacoby Ellsbury was on the DL for a month and a half and just returned yesterday.
5. Baltimore Orioles (14-30)
- Biggest Surprise
Ugh. Do I really have to pick one? Can't I just pick two disappointments? On second thought, there is Ty Wigginton. Wigginton has been a journeyman during his first 8 years in the Majors, but maybe, just maybe, he's found himself a home. Too bad for him it's in Baltimore. Wigginton is hitting .294 with 13 HRs and 31 RBI. His 13 HRs finds himself ranked 2nd in the Majors.
- Biggest Disappointment
Before I pick a specific disappointment, let's get this straight; Baltimore's entire season has been one huge disappointment. Got it? Alright, moving on. I think it's best to consider the face of the Baltimore franchise who has only appeared in 4 games with 14 official at-bats as the "biggest disappointment" of the first quarter season. Enter Brian Roberts. The 2B has been a fixture in the Baltimore line-up for the past 7 seasons. In those seasons he has yet to hit less than .270, steal less than 23 bases, and only played in less than 138 games once. And all of those lows came in Roberts' first season as the starter when he won the job around this time in May. Abdominal and back strains have put Roberts on the DL since the first week of the season, and just two days ago pneumonia put him in the hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment