There have been a handful of teams that are having to take a step back at this point of the season and take a long look at themselves. Teams that believed that they would be in the hunt for first place in their respective divisions find their club in the cellar as we get closer to the quarter point of the 2015 season. It is puzzling to understand why some of these teams are where they are considering the talent that is present on their teams, but others are just underachieving. Here is a look at some of the teams that have had a slow start to 2015, despite having high hopes during spring training.
Chicago White Sox
The team from the windy city made a few big splashes in the offseason acquiring right handed starter Jeff Samardzija from the Athletics and signing free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera and closer David Robertson. After the incredible rookie season by Jose Abreu and a breakout year from Alexei Ramirez, the Sox seemed poised to make a run at the Tigers and Royals in the American league central. This however has not been the case. They find themselves at 17-17 and 5 games behind the Royals for first. It is really hard to put a finger on why the Sox are underachieving, they seem to be really inconsistent, one day their pitching will be great and the next their hitting. There is still a ton of time for this team to hit its stride and make a run, but it needs to find a balance, and after watching them play the Athletics this past weekend I think they are starting to find it. Abreu has not been the same hitter he was last season but Avisail Garcia has begun to emerge as an offensive force, batting at .336 with a .371 OBP. And if Samardzija can find a way to be more consistent with Chris Sale and Carlos Rodon, look out because here come the White Sox. I personally believe that they can be a scary team to play because of the middle of their lineup, but unless they find some consistency, that will not be a factor.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays. It seems like every year we keep saying that on paper this is a great team but on the field it is a different story, 2015 has been the same. The Jays made a huge move in the offseason acquiring Josh Donaldson from the Athletics and signing catcher Russell Martin. They did however suffer a major blow in spring training when their ace Marcus Stroman tore his ACL during pitchers fielding practice. This team has puzzled me for some time now, they have an immense amount of talent in their lineup that includes Jose Reyes, Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Martin and newcomer Devon Travis who has been hitting the cover off the baseball. Despite all these talented hitters, they just have not seem to be able to put it together. It is hard to say what exactly this team needs to do to compete in this difficult division, players just need to step up and grind through it. The Jays just finished getting swept over the weekend in a 4 game series against the Astros, losing all but one game by one run. When it all comes together this team will be putting up video game like home run numbers, but someone needs to step up and get them on the right track.
Miami Marlins
Sometimes you can have all the young talent in the world and still struggle, and the Marlins are a perfect example of a team that has all the right pieces, but none are falling into place. The fish announced the firing of their manager Mike Redmond on Sunday after almost getting no hit by the Braves. It is safe to say that they have hit the panic button on the 2015 season. This is a team that is searching for answers, and it hoping that a new voice in the clubhouse will help answer their problems. The Marlins acquired Dan Haren, Dee Gordon, Mat Latos, Martin Prado, David Phelps and signed Michael Morse and Ichiro Suzuki this offseason, giving a whole revamped look to their lineup. I just cannot understand why this team is struggling this much, although I know one reason is they have not been able to hit to their full potential. There are certain players that are holding their own in the lineup but others are nowhere to be found. Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Adeiny Hechavarria are contributing their share of offensive, but everyone else has been either streaky or not living up to their hype. Hopefully when they get back their ace Jose Fernandez next month they can start playing at a higher level, but until then, they need to start winning ball games or else they will fall far behind the Mets and surging Nationals in their division.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
April Review
The first month of the 2015 season has come and gone and we have learned a lot already in only the first 4 weeks. There have been a couple teams and players that have caught the attention of the baseball world and seem to climbing the ladder at a quicker rate than most people expected. Teams that most people thought were still in the works of rebuilding have now shown everyone that they are for real and ready to start making a run at a title. Other teams made bold moves over the offseason to try and bolster their roster but those moves have started to backfire and a couple teams find themselves already in a deep hole. It is sill too early to make bold predictions about the playoff picture, but as an analyst it is always fun to make them and see how it all turns out in September.
Here is my first month analysis of some of the big stories that came out of the first 4 weeks of the season.
Must see teams that have grabbed everyones attention.
Houston Astros
Yes the Astros. The team that only two season ago had 111 losses have almost half the number of wins they had that season through the first 28 games. It is exciting to see that one of the teams that spends almost every year in the cellar of baseball is now playing great baseball and found a great balance of hitting and fantastic pitching to lead the charge. Led by offensive stud Jose Altuve who won the batting title last year, the first in the Astros franchise history and under the radar acquisitions of Evan Gattis, Colby Rasmus, Jed Lowrie and Jake Marisnick. The Astros just had their 10 game winning streak snapped this past week, but are still sitting atop the AL West with a 5 game cushion over the second place Angels. Their pitching has been very impressive in the early going led by ace Dallas Keuchel who is 3-0 with a 0.80 ERA (which leads the MLB) in 45 innings this season.
St. Louis Cardinals
A team that always finds themselves at the top of their division are off to a high flying start again in 2015, with the best start in their franchise history through 27 games. The Cardinals were horrified with news a few weeks ago that they would have to go the rest of the season without their ace Adam Wainwright who tore his achilles after turning his ankle running out of the batters box on a pop up. But ever since they heard that news they have not missed a beat, the rest of the rotation has picked him up tremendously and the team has opened up a 5.5 game lead in the NL Central. Offensively they are led by the usual cast of Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and newcomer Jason Heyward who they acquired in the offseason from the Braves.
Must see players.
Joc Pederson
The pride of Palo Alto high school here is the Bay Area has been a spark for the Dodgers this season as their new everyday centerfielder to replace Matt Kemp who they traded to the Padres in the offseason. Joc is off to a tremendous start in the outfield, already helping out the Dodgers on defense, especially with Yasiel Puig being on the shelf for most of the season so far. Offensively he is hitting .272 AVG with 9 HRs 18 RBIs and 19 R in his first 27 games. The craziest statistic about Pederson has come in the past week, his last 7 hits have all been home runs. After his ridiculous season last year in minor leagues last year his success so far seems pretty sustainable, the home runs are coming at a crazy pace, but he is doing all he can to help the Dodgers. Definitely a player people should keep their eye on this season.
Nelson Cruz
Cruz has brought his boomstick to Seattle and the Mariner fans are loving so far this season. The veteran slugger has been tearing the cover off the baseball with 14 home runs in his first 28 games. To go along with a .333 AVG with 26 RBIs, 19 R, .757 SLG he has been the most potent bat in the Mariners lineup this season that is searching for some consistency this season after a dismal 11-17 start to the season with a seat in the bottom of the AL West. Regardless of how the Mariners are doing, Cruz is definitely a player to watch this season and see how many home runs he can hit.
Impact of the new rules
The new pace of play rules have been implemented this season around the MLB and a clock has been put in stadiums that gives 2 minutes and 25 seconds between each inning for pitchers to warm up between innings to keep the game moving and allow fans to stay more interested. I believe that the changes are making a little difference, as an everyday fan I have noticed that games have been moving at a lot swifter pace than usual, so it seems like the new rules are working.
Final review
It is hard to make serious predictions in April with such a long season, but as many people say, it is hard to win a division in April, but it is easy to lose one. A few teams that are going to have trouble turning this around are the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. I am not sure that the overall plans are for these teams, they do not seem to be making serious enough moves to make them contenders.
Here is my first month analysis of some of the big stories that came out of the first 4 weeks of the season.
Must see teams that have grabbed everyones attention.
Houston Astros
Yes the Astros. The team that only two season ago had 111 losses have almost half the number of wins they had that season through the first 28 games. It is exciting to see that one of the teams that spends almost every year in the cellar of baseball is now playing great baseball and found a great balance of hitting and fantastic pitching to lead the charge. Led by offensive stud Jose Altuve who won the batting title last year, the first in the Astros franchise history and under the radar acquisitions of Evan Gattis, Colby Rasmus, Jed Lowrie and Jake Marisnick. The Astros just had their 10 game winning streak snapped this past week, but are still sitting atop the AL West with a 5 game cushion over the second place Angels. Their pitching has been very impressive in the early going led by ace Dallas Keuchel who is 3-0 with a 0.80 ERA (which leads the MLB) in 45 innings this season.
St. Louis Cardinals
A team that always finds themselves at the top of their division are off to a high flying start again in 2015, with the best start in their franchise history through 27 games. The Cardinals were horrified with news a few weeks ago that they would have to go the rest of the season without their ace Adam Wainwright who tore his achilles after turning his ankle running out of the batters box on a pop up. But ever since they heard that news they have not missed a beat, the rest of the rotation has picked him up tremendously and the team has opened up a 5.5 game lead in the NL Central. Offensively they are led by the usual cast of Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams and newcomer Jason Heyward who they acquired in the offseason from the Braves.
Must see players.
Joc Pederson
The pride of Palo Alto high school here is the Bay Area has been a spark for the Dodgers this season as their new everyday centerfielder to replace Matt Kemp who they traded to the Padres in the offseason. Joc is off to a tremendous start in the outfield, already helping out the Dodgers on defense, especially with Yasiel Puig being on the shelf for most of the season so far. Offensively he is hitting .272 AVG with 9 HRs 18 RBIs and 19 R in his first 27 games. The craziest statistic about Pederson has come in the past week, his last 7 hits have all been home runs. After his ridiculous season last year in minor leagues last year his success so far seems pretty sustainable, the home runs are coming at a crazy pace, but he is doing all he can to help the Dodgers. Definitely a player people should keep their eye on this season.
Nelson Cruz
Cruz has brought his boomstick to Seattle and the Mariner fans are loving so far this season. The veteran slugger has been tearing the cover off the baseball with 14 home runs in his first 28 games. To go along with a .333 AVG with 26 RBIs, 19 R, .757 SLG he has been the most potent bat in the Mariners lineup this season that is searching for some consistency this season after a dismal 11-17 start to the season with a seat in the bottom of the AL West. Regardless of how the Mariners are doing, Cruz is definitely a player to watch this season and see how many home runs he can hit.
Impact of the new rules
The new pace of play rules have been implemented this season around the MLB and a clock has been put in stadiums that gives 2 minutes and 25 seconds between each inning for pitchers to warm up between innings to keep the game moving and allow fans to stay more interested. I believe that the changes are making a little difference, as an everyday fan I have noticed that games have been moving at a lot swifter pace than usual, so it seems like the new rules are working.
Final review
It is hard to make serious predictions in April with such a long season, but as many people say, it is hard to win a division in April, but it is easy to lose one. A few teams that are going to have trouble turning this around are the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. I am not sure that the overall plans are for these teams, they do not seem to be making serious enough moves to make them contenders.
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