MLB Quarterly report - grade your team
bri2327
Posts: 3,178 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
The teams have hit the 1/4 point in the season. Time to hand out the quarterly grades. I'll lead off with the Yankees.
Starting pitching-
Early on two things are clear. One, Mike Mussina is healthy, rejuvinated, and seeking his first 20 win season. Second, the Big unit is not the guy who once blew the ball by hitters with heat and intimidation. Unless he learns how to become a pitcher instead of a thrower we will be seeing a sad and rapid decline of one of the greatest lefties to ever take the mound. Whether or not he will learn is highly doubtful, it seems at 42 you cant teach an old ( and cranky ) dog new tricks. As for the remainder of the rotation, Wang has been impressive after a couple of shaky outings to begin the year. His sinker, and subsequent lack of giving up the long ball will serve him well in a power filled A.L. Chacon has been up and down, but overall has done well enough to keep the team in the game. Jaret Wright seems to be getting into the swing of things and hopefully can provide some much needed innings the remainder of the way.
grade: B-
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relief pitching-
Shaky at best so far. Small hasnt adapted to his role in the pen and been able to create some of the 10-0 magic of last season. Mike Myers, brought in strictly for getting the tough lefty out has been ok overall, but failed to get out Ortiz in his two tries, he will need to improve in that scenario when the games against the Sox start to matter more. Farnsworth appears to be growing stronger and should be a stabilizing force the rest of the way, while Tanyon Sturtze has been nothing short of horid in the early going. Scott Proctor has been the most pleasant surprise out of the pen thus far. At closer Mariano is showing signs of his age so far, as seen by his unusually high hit total and unusually low K total. It will be the key to the Yankees season whether he can find his old magic the rest of the way.
grade: C+
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Hitting-
Before injuries hit the squad they appeared well on their way to 1000 runs this season. It will be difficult to fill Matsui's shoes the rest of the way, and a healthy Sheffield is vital. Damon, though not stellar has provided a spark at the top of the lineup, which has aided Jeter in his return to the 2 hole. Giambi has been quiet lately after a great April. As long as he stays healthy he should do what he does, which is drive in runs and get on base. Arod has been slow to show the MVP form of last season, but has produced a few of the " clutch " hits he is often criticised for not doing. As a whole the team has looked better than the past few seasons, showing more willingness to play small ball, involving the steal, hit and run, sacrifices, etc. that are needed come crunch time. With the injuries they are going through, this will be very important as season progresses.
grade: B
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fielding/defense-
If this was 2 weeks ago there would be nothing bad to say about the Yankees defense. They started off rock solid, but the past 15 games have shown a 180 degree turn. Since that point they have become shaky at best, as the outfield is in dissaray, with 3 of the worst arms ever put together at one time. In the infield, Cano has shown signs of vast improvement over last year. Until this past weeks hiccup in which he committed 3 errors in 2 games he had only 1 prior for the season. Arod is having all kinds of trouble at 3rd this year. He looks extremely shaky, and his near league bottom fielding pct. and 9 errors thus far show. Jeter has been more than solid so far, and may be the only calming force on the defensive side of the ball right now.
grade: C
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Coaching staff-
By far the biggest improvement on the team has come from the new blood in coaching. Larry Bowa has been great at getting the message of small ball across, and his style seems to be rubbing off on many of the players. He and Tony Pena at first have provided a great tandem coaching the running game so far. Ron Guidry seems to be acclimating to his role better than expected. He has a nice balance of patience towards his staff, but also knows when the time comes to be a little ticked off. He has been working hard on off days with several of the guys, and appears to command alot of respect from his throwers. If he could only get Johnson to throw a slider like he used to things would be perfect. Between Bowa, Pena, Mazzilli, Mattingly, Guidry, and Kerrigan they are more than able to get the job done, and it seems more and more that at this stage in his career Torre is more of a figurehead at the top, deferring most of the day in and day out duties to his capable staff.
grade: B+
Starting pitching-
Early on two things are clear. One, Mike Mussina is healthy, rejuvinated, and seeking his first 20 win season. Second, the Big unit is not the guy who once blew the ball by hitters with heat and intimidation. Unless he learns how to become a pitcher instead of a thrower we will be seeing a sad and rapid decline of one of the greatest lefties to ever take the mound. Whether or not he will learn is highly doubtful, it seems at 42 you cant teach an old ( and cranky ) dog new tricks. As for the remainder of the rotation, Wang has been impressive after a couple of shaky outings to begin the year. His sinker, and subsequent lack of giving up the long ball will serve him well in a power filled A.L. Chacon has been up and down, but overall has done well enough to keep the team in the game. Jaret Wright seems to be getting into the swing of things and hopefully can provide some much needed innings the remainder of the way.
grade: B-
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relief pitching-
Shaky at best so far. Small hasnt adapted to his role in the pen and been able to create some of the 10-0 magic of last season. Mike Myers, brought in strictly for getting the tough lefty out has been ok overall, but failed to get out Ortiz in his two tries, he will need to improve in that scenario when the games against the Sox start to matter more. Farnsworth appears to be growing stronger and should be a stabilizing force the rest of the way, while Tanyon Sturtze has been nothing short of horid in the early going. Scott Proctor has been the most pleasant surprise out of the pen thus far. At closer Mariano is showing signs of his age so far, as seen by his unusually high hit total and unusually low K total. It will be the key to the Yankees season whether he can find his old magic the rest of the way.
grade: C+
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Hitting-
Before injuries hit the squad they appeared well on their way to 1000 runs this season. It will be difficult to fill Matsui's shoes the rest of the way, and a healthy Sheffield is vital. Damon, though not stellar has provided a spark at the top of the lineup, which has aided Jeter in his return to the 2 hole. Giambi has been quiet lately after a great April. As long as he stays healthy he should do what he does, which is drive in runs and get on base. Arod has been slow to show the MVP form of last season, but has produced a few of the " clutch " hits he is often criticised for not doing. As a whole the team has looked better than the past few seasons, showing more willingness to play small ball, involving the steal, hit and run, sacrifices, etc. that are needed come crunch time. With the injuries they are going through, this will be very important as season progresses.
grade: B
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fielding/defense-
If this was 2 weeks ago there would be nothing bad to say about the Yankees defense. They started off rock solid, but the past 15 games have shown a 180 degree turn. Since that point they have become shaky at best, as the outfield is in dissaray, with 3 of the worst arms ever put together at one time. In the infield, Cano has shown signs of vast improvement over last year. Until this past weeks hiccup in which he committed 3 errors in 2 games he had only 1 prior for the season. Arod is having all kinds of trouble at 3rd this year. He looks extremely shaky, and his near league bottom fielding pct. and 9 errors thus far show. Jeter has been more than solid so far, and may be the only calming force on the defensive side of the ball right now.
grade: C
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Coaching staff-
By far the biggest improvement on the team has come from the new blood in coaching. Larry Bowa has been great at getting the message of small ball across, and his style seems to be rubbing off on many of the players. He and Tony Pena at first have provided a great tandem coaching the running game so far. Ron Guidry seems to be acclimating to his role better than expected. He has a nice balance of patience towards his staff, but also knows when the time comes to be a little ticked off. He has been working hard on off days with several of the guys, and appears to command alot of respect from his throwers. If he could only get Johnson to throw a slider like he used to things would be perfect. Between Bowa, Pena, Mazzilli, Mattingly, Guidry, and Kerrigan they are more than able to get the job done, and it seems more and more that at this stage in his career Torre is more of a figurehead at the top, deferring most of the day in and day out duties to his capable staff.
grade: B+
"The other teams could make trouble for us if they win."
-- Yogi Berra
-- Yogi Berra
0
Comments
Royals - every aspect of the team and organization sucks.
David Glass needs to sell the team to someone who will invest some money in it.
GM - Allard Baird - inexperienced from day one. Not a good thing ---- Neifi Perez for Jermaine Dye was a stellar move!!! Raped by the A's again!
Scouting - sux - yeah we signed Alex Gordon - my wife could've made THAT draft pick!
Player development - sux - the last pitcher we developed was, I think, Kevin Appier, back in the 80's, or something.
Pitching - sux - our guys either are head cases (Greinke) or hit camp 50 pounds overweight, so they have no stamina......crap, it's hard to pitch when you get winded walking to the dugout (Runelvys).
Power - Pujols almost has more HRs than the entire team.
Overall grade ----- FFFFF
Sorry to ramble on - everyone knows all this stuff anyways.
But the ballpark is REALLY NICE!!!!...Seriously......
Starting Pitching: A+
The Tigers starters have been the best in all of MLB. 8 shutout victories in the first 43 games. As a team, they have allowed the fewest runs, 149, of all teams. Starters have a combined record of 25-12 and they have 28 quality starts between them.
Relief Pitching: A
Collectively, the bullpen has been responsible for only 2 losses. Todd Jones, as shaky as he looks nearly every time he comes in, has converted 13 of 14 saves. In his absence, Rodney also closed out 6 games in 7 chances. Zumaya leads the team with 12 holds and has been very impressive.
Hitting: B+
Magglio Ordonez looks like his former self when he was healthy, Carlos Guillen is now healthy again. There is consistent power from every spot in the line up except Polanco. Shelton started hot and has tailed off, but still an effective hitter. Even 9-hole batter, Inge, has 9 homers. Rodriquez has become more patient at the plate and is hitting well. Monroe & Inge, though hitting for power and driving in runs, have much lower averages than usual and strike out a lot. The main sore spot remains Dmitri Young who looks completely lost.
Defense: A-
Defense has really only cost the team one game this season, and it was also Guillen's worst game where he committed 3 errors. Guillen has made a couple more errors than usual, but is still doing a fine job at SS. Inge has been solid at third, his error total is similar to most other starting 3B throughout the league. The outfield defense has been great, only 3 errors collectively to go along with 8 assists. Polanco very solid at second, Shelton hasn't committed a single error playing first, and Pudge is error free behind the plate, throwing out 4 of 11 stolen base attempts.
Coaching: A+
The team is not much different than last season, but they are playing much better and close games are being won. No real questionable calls have been made by Leyland, and everyone has stayed healthy for the most part. Players are playing harder and being held accountable.
Overall: A+
The Tigers haven't looked this good as a team since 1987. With the best record in the majors, the lowest ERA of all pitching staffs, and a MLB leading run differential of 61, it looks like a winning season is a very good possibility, with a playoff opportunity also within grasp.
Starting Pitching: B+
There are definately staffs out there who are much better, but the Reds starters have been surprisingly effective. Arroyo and Harang don't exactly scare the pants off anyone, but they have been flat out fantastic, and much better than expected. The Reds are built on offense, so the starters just need to be average for them to compete.
Relief Pitching: F
This is what is killing the Reds so far. Weathers just isn't getting it done. He's blown five saves in his first 14 chances, effectively taking victories away.
Hitting: D
They got off to a good start, but the last two weeks has been brutal. They are simply not scoring runs. One big game a week is keeping their runs per game total up, but they should be much, much better. Lost another game 1-0 last night. They had a history of losing 9-8 last year, but the starting pitching has been very good, and now they aren't producing. Harang throws a complete game last night, gives up one run, and loses. Yuk!
Defense: C
Lost a game this week on a throwing error to the Tigers. That's after Weathers blew another save.
Coaching: ??
You hear a lot about Cox, and Leyland, and Larussa........Narron stays quiet. He's always optimistic but doesn't do anything to bring attention to himself.
Overall: C+
Let's face it. Many picked the Reds to finish dead last. Mostly because of starting pitching. That's now been solid and the rest of the team is letting them down. Baseball is funny. A team gets off to a good start and it brings confidence, and wins follow. A team that starts 35-15 only has to play .500 ball the rest of the year to get to 90 wins. The Reds started hot, a major surprise. But the last two weeks they've really been slipping, and losing games they had in their hand (see Weathers). They could easily have a half dozen more wins, and things would look much different then. Maybe I'm being too hard on a team that was suppose to finish in the cellar in the NL Central, but they're not that far off from being a wild card team. Looks like they'll finish third in the central at this point, much better than most experts picked, but the way they are losing games lately has become very frustrating.
<< <i>Detroit Tigers:
Hitting: B+
Magglio Ordonez looks like his former self when he was healthy, Carlos Guillen is now healthy again. There is consistent power from every spot in the line up except Polanco. Shelton started hot and has tailed off, but still an effective hitter. Even 9-hole batter, Inge, has 9 homers. Rodriquez has become more patient at the plate and is hitting well. Monroe & Inge, though hitting for power and driving in runs, have much lower averages than usual and strike out a lot. The main sore spot remains Dmitri Young who looks completely lost. >>
Perhaps this can be bumped up to an A-, Dmitri had a big hit in April, guess violence runs in the family. A little advice to any pro athlete with money, DO NOT EVER GET MARRIED OR GET INTO A RELATIONSHIP, you will pay, ask Darren McCarty about that! Besides, you have the money for some high class escorts, some may even love to be slapped!!!
And before any of you say that I am making fun of violence against women, shhhhhhhhh, because I bet 90% of any accusation is false, just ask the Duke lacross team about that!!!!!