Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Season in Review- Oakland Athletics
It may be tough to find an explanation for the Oakland Athletics winning the AL West, but either way, they managed it. The Athletics, who scored only 44 more runs than they allowed during the season, rolled right past the heavily favored Twins in a 3 game sweep. Frank Thomas played a big part in the ALDS for the A’s, but when he failed to get any hits in the ALCS against the Tigers, Oakland got swept. It can certainly be seen as a successful year for the A’s, as they were finally able to advance past the LDS for the first time since 1990.
Pitching was the biggest part of the Athletics AL West championship season and playoff run. Ace Barry Zito led the team with a 3.83 ERA and 16-10 record. His first half was significantly better, with a 3.29 ERA as compared to a 4.55 ERA in the second half. After Zito, Haren had the second lowest ERA, at 4.12. Like Zito, he had a better first half, with an ERA of 3.52. Haren’s ERA may be a misleading number however; if you take out his starts on August 21st and September 18th, his ERA is a team leading 3.66. The same is true for Blanton, whose 4.82 ERA is a disappointing follow-up to a 3.53 2005 ERA. Eliminating his starts on April 13th and 19th, his ERA is only 4.40, quite a bit lower than before.
In the bullpen, they had 2005 A.L. Rookie of the Year Huston Street as closer, who finished with a 3.31 ERA and 37 saves in 48 opportunities. For a large portion of the season, though, it was Justin Duchscherer who held the closer role. Duchscherer saved 9 games in 10 chances as a closer, with a 2.91 ERA. Kiko Calero also supported the Athletics bullpen throughout the 2006 season, with a 3.41 ERA and 2 saves.
The Oakland offense was very average in 2006, with the exception of Frank Thomas. Thomas, a free agent signing last off season, hit 39 home runs and drove in 114 runs. After him, the best hitter in the lineup was Nick Swisher, who hit 35 home runs and drove in 95 runs, but only hit .254, compared to Thomas’s .270. The biggest problem was SS Bobby Crosby, who, whenever he was actually off the DL, hit only .229 with 9 home runs. Crosby won the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 2004, but since then has lost his power, plus his batting average continues to decline. At 2B, the Athletics had Mark Ellis, who finished with a .249 average and 11 home runs, but spent most of the season under .230 in average. Even more upsetting for Oakland is that their supposedly big hitter, 3B Eric Chavez, hit only .241. The 22 home runs he hit might make that look better, but 9 of those homers came in April, and 3 more in May, meaning that throughout the last 4 months of the season, he hit only 10.
C- J. Kendall- D+
1B- N. Swisher/D. Johnson- B+
2B- M. Ellis/M. Scutaro- D+
3B- E. Chavez- B
SS- B. Crosby/M. Scutaro- D-
OF- J. Payton/M. Kotsay/M. Bradley/B. Kielty- C-
DH- F. Thomas- A
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The Season in Review- St. Louis Cardinals
Their regular season record might have been 83-79, but what will be remembered most is how they did in October. After stumbling through the last week of the season, the world champion St. Louis Cardinals left it all behind and went on a roll at the right time. They easily got by the Padres to advance to the NLCS for the 4th time in 5 years, where they took the Mets all the way to Game 7, and ended up winning 3-1 thanks to a great performance by Jeff Suppan and a 9th inning home run by Yadier Molina. Their World Series opponent was the Tigers, who had won 7 in a row and were predicted to win the series. The Tigers problem may have been the week of rest they had before the series, or it may have been the 5 errors their pitchers made in the 5 games of the series, but in the end, it was the Cardinals winning their first World Series in 24 years.
As could be expected, Albert Pujols was the key to the team’s offense. In 2006, he had career-highs in home runs, with 49, and RBI, with 137. He also hit for a .331 average, 7th in the major leagues, and scored 119 runs, tying 3 others for 6th in the majors. The offense was also benefited by 3B Scott Rolen, who hit 22 homers and drove in 95 runs while hitting .296 this season. At the all-star break, he had a .331 average, 14 homers, and 57 RBI, but significantly slowed down throughout the second half. Also hitting 22 home runs in 2006 was Chris Duncan, although he accomplished it in half as many at-bats. He had a batting average of .293 to go along with his home run total, showing that he has a possibility of a great future.
The pitching was more of a problem than the offense. Once again, Chris Carpenter was the clear leader of the pitching staff, posting a 3.09 ERA and finishing 3rd in Cy Young voting. Carpenter’s 5 complete games tied him for 2nd in the major leagues, and his 3 shutouts tied him with Cy Young winner Brandon Webb for the major league lead. Following Carpenter was Jeff Suppan, who proved to be an important part of the Cardinals success, in both the regular season and the post-season. Suppan finished with a 12-7 record, and a 4.12 ERA, but eliminate his starts on April 18th, May 26th, and July 5th, and his ERA is 3.18.
The problem with the Cardinals pitching staff wasn’t Carpenter or Suppan, however. Mark Mulder, in his second season in St. Louis, was involved in many losses, with a surprising 7.14 ERA. In 2005, he allowed more hits than innings pitched for the first time ever, allowing 212 in 205 innings pitched. In 2006, he took that to a whole new level, allowing 124 hits in 93.1 innings. Mulder is a left-handed pitcher, meaning right-handed hitters likely had a better chance of hitting against him. Right-handed hitters did indeed hit better against him, as Mulder had an ERA of 8.27 against right-handed batters. Things became even worse when he had to pitch on the road (10.93 ERA), at night (7.78 ERA), or in any month other than April (5.50 in May, 12.71 in June, 27.00 in two August starts).
Besides Mulder, there was Jason Marquis (14-16, 6.02 ERA) and a combination of Jeff Weaver (5-4, 5.18 ERA as a Cardinal) and Anthony Reyes (5-8, 5.06 ERA). If the Cardinals are to repeat as World Series champions, their number one priority should be upgrading the starting rotation.
For most of the season, the Cardinals had Jason Isringhausen as their closer. While he may not appear too bad, with 33 saves and a 3.55 ERA, he needed 43 save opportunities to get those 33 saves. Even more, he spent most of September on the DL because of a need for hip surgery. While he was sidelined, however, rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright took the closer spot, and showed great potential. Wainwright’s overall ‘06 stats consisted of a 3.12 ERA in 61 appearances, 72 strikeouts in 75 innings, 3 saves, and 17 holds. Other valuable pieces of the bullpen were veteran Braden Looper (3.56 ERA in 69 appearances), Josh Kinney (3.24 ERA in 21 games), and Brad Thompson (3.34 ERA in 43 appearances).
Overall, it was a great season for the Cardinals, as they won their first world series since 1967 despite nearly losing a 7 game lead in the last week and a half of the season. If they are planning to defend their title in 2007, though, they will need help in their starting rotation.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The Season in Review- Seattle Mariners
While the Mariners didn’t make the playoffs, or even finish above last place in the AL West, their season really wasn’t that bad, and shows that they have a decent chance at improvement next season.
Their offense was pretty average; they were near the middle of the pack in all the main offensive categories; average, home runs, and RBI. Ichiro Suzuki was as usual a big part of their lineup, leading the team with a .322 batting average, 110 runs, and 45 stolen bases. Surprisingly, though, only 20 of his 224 hits were doubles. The Mariners lineup also had decent power, as Richie Sexson hit 34 home runs and outfielder Raul Ibanez hit 33 homers. Ibanez drove in a career high 133 runs, 7th in the majors, and 3rd in the American League. Sexson also topped 100 RBI, finishing with 107, an impressive total, but not quite up to his standards. Rookie shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt showed that he could be a solid contributor in the future, finishing with a .289 average, 47 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. His biggest problem could be his fielding, as he committed 20 errors, 6th most in the majors and 2nd most in the American League. The other half of the Mariners middle infield was occupied by all-star Jose Lopez. While his final stats show a .282 average, 79 RBI, and 10 home runs, and you may be wondering how he ever ended up in the all-star game, his season was much better than that. Before his all-star game appearance, he was hitting .280 with 9 home runs and 58 RBI. After the break, he had a better average, at .285, but hit only 1 home run and drove in only 21 runs with those 72 second-half hits.
Their pitching staff wasn’t exactly anything to get excited about either. They had five pitchers make at least 20 starts, and their stats were:
Jamie Moyer: 4.39 ERA in 25 starts
Gil Meche: 4.48 ERA in 32 starts
Felix Hernandez: 4.52 ERA in 31 starts
Jarrod Washburn: 4.67 ERA in 31 starts
Joel Pineiro: 6.36 ERA in 25 starts
Felix Hernandez was expected to have a great season after what he did at the end of last season, but his actual performance wasn’t nearly as good. He was inconsistent all year, mostly alternating between good starts and bad starts, and ended up with an ERA of well over 4.00.
The bullpen was good, as long as the Mariners had the lead. Rafael Soriano (2.25 ERA in 53 games) set up for closer J.J. Putz, who had a surprisingly good season with a 2.30 ERA and 36 saves. When the Mariners didn’t have the lead, Jake Woods, Julio Mateo, or George Sherrill could be expected to come out of the bullpen, each with ERAs of over 4.00.
Overall, the Mariners had a decent season and with a few key free agent signings, they could be in the race next September, even if just for 2nd or 3rd place.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Free Agent Catchers
Teams weak at catcher:Toronto
Oakland
Teams average at catcher:
Chicago White Sox
Florida
Philadelphia
Washington
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent
** = likely good free agent)
Right-Handed Batting Catchers
Sandy Alomar Jr.
* Rod Barajas
Gary Bennett
Henry Blanco
Einar Diaz
Mike DiFelice
Todd Greene
Tim Laker
Mike Lieberthal
Javy Lopez (C/1B)
Doug Mirabelli
* Bengie Molina
* Mike Piazza
Todd Pratt
Kelly Stinnett
Chris Widger
Left-Handed Batting Catchers
Paul Bako
Robert Fick (C/1B)
Switch-Hitting Catchers
Gregg Zaun
Catchers with ‘07 options
None
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Free Agent Shortstops
Teams weak at shortstop:Toronto
Kansas City
Pittsburgh
Teams average at shortstop:
Tampa Bay
Boston
Houston
Cincinnati
San Diego
Colorado
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent
** = likely good free agent)
Right-Handed Batting Shortstops
Royce Clayton
Ramon E. Martinez (2B/3B/SS)
Alex Gonzalez
Jose Hernandez (1B/2B/3B/SS)
* Julio Lugo (2B/SS)
Left-Handed Batting Shortstops
Alex Cora (2B/3B/SS)
* Craig Counsell
Switch-Hitting Shortstops
Tomas Perez (1B/2B/3B/SS/OF)
Desi Relaford (2B/3B/SS)
Jose Vizcaino (1B/2B/3B/SS)
Shortstops with ‘07 options
None
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Free Agent Third Basemen
Teams weak at third base:Los Angeles Angels
Seattle
Minnesota
Philadelphia
San Diego
Teams average at third base:
Baltimore
Tampa Bay
Boston
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent
** = likely good free agent)
Right-Handed Batting Third Basemen
Edgardo Alfonzo (2B/3B)
Tony Batista
David Bell
Aaron Boone
Vinny Castilla
Jeff Cirillo (1B/2B/3B)
Pedro Feliz
Alex S. Gonzalez
Tony Graffanino (1B/2B/3B/SS/OF)
* Wes Helms (1B/3B)
Lou Merloni
** Aramis Ramirez
Joe Randa
Fernando Tatis (1B/3B/OF)
* Akinori Iwamura
Left-Handed Batting Third Basemen
* Aubrey Huff (3B/OF)
Switch-Hitting Third Basemen
Mark Bellhorn (2B/3B)
Geoff Blum (3B/SS)
* Scott Spiezio (1B/2B/3B/OF)
Third Basemen with ‘07 options
Rich Aurilia (1B/2B/3B/SS)
Russell Branyan
Friday, November 03, 2006
Free Agent Second Basemen
Teams weak at second base:Boston
Kansas City
New York Mets
Washington
Chicago Cubs
Colorado
Teams average at second base:
Detroit
Houston
St. Louis
Los Angeles Dodgers
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent
** = likely good free agent)
Right-Handed Batting Second Basemen
** Alfonso Soriano (2B/LF)
Manny Alexander (2B/3B/SS)
Ronnie Belliard
* Craig Biggio
Miguel Cairo (1B/2B/3B/SS)
* Mark DeRosa (2B/OF)
Damion Easley (2B/3B)
Chris Gomez (1B/2B/SS)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (2B/OF)
Damian Jackson (2B/SS/3B/OF)
* Mark Loretta
Chris Woodward (2B/RF)
Left-Handed Batting Second Basemen
Adam Kennedy
Tony Womack (2B/OF)
Switch-Hitting Second Basemen
* Ray Durham
Second Basemen with ‘07 options
None
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Free Agent First Basemen
Teams weak at first base:Tampa Bay
Kansas City
San Francisco
Florida
Teams average at first base:
Los Angeles Angels
Chicago Cubs
Colorado
Toronto
New York Yankees
Boston
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent
**= likely good free agent)
Right-Handed Batting First Basemen
** Nomar Garciaparra
Phil Nevin
Joe McEwing
Shea Hillenbrand
* Craig Wilson
Brian Jordan
Kevin Millar
Left-Handed Batting First Basemen
* Sean Casey
Erubiel Durazo
* Todd Walker
Doug Mientkiewicz
Travis Lee
J.T. Snow
Daryle Ward
John Mabry
Switch-Hitting First Basemen
Dmitri Young
First Basemen with ‘07 options
Jeff Bagwell (R)
Jeff Conine (R)
Eduardo Perez (R)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Free Agent Relief Pitchers
Teams with weak bullpens:Tampa Bay
Kansas City
Washington
Cleveland
San Francisco
Florida
Teams with average bullpens:
Los Angeles Angels
Chicago Cubs
Arizona
Atlanta
Free Agents
(* = possibly good free agent)
Right-Handed Relievers
Antonio Alfonseca
Joe Borowski
* Chad Bradford
Doug Brocail
Jim Brower
Giovanni Carrara
Octavio Dotel
Ryan Franklin
Geremi Gonzalez
Jason Grimsley
LaTroy Hawkins
Matt Herges
Roberto Hernandez
Kevin Jarvis
Steve Karsay
* Dan Kolb
Matt Mantei
Brian Meadows
Guillermo Mota
Jeff Nelson
Cliff Politte
David Riske
Felix Rodriguez
Julio Santana
* Justin Speier
Russ Springer
Tanyon Sturtze
David Weathers
Rick White
Scott Williamson
Esteban Yan
Left-Handed Relievers
Vic Darensbourg
Joey Eischen
* Alan Embree
Aaron Fultz
* Eddie Guardado
John Halama
Chris Hammond
Mike Holtz
Steve Kline
Tom Martin
Kent Mercker
Terry Mulholland
Darren Oliver
Mike Remlinger
Arthur Rhodes
J.C. Romero
Scott Sauerbeck
Scott Schoeneweis
Mike Stanton
Ron Villone
Jamie Walker
Relievers who’s teams have ‘07 options
Mike DeJean
Keith Foulke
Dustin Hermanson
Rudy Seanez
Jose Mesa
Ray King
