2011 Postseason Predictions

After quite possibly the most exciting night in baseball history, it's time for the postseason to provide a decent follow-up act (if possible)! Let's take a look at each series, and how I think they will unfold. First, the National League.


National League Division Series: Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (96-66)

The Brewers cruised to the NL Central crown with a rock solid bullpen, a frightening offense, and a decent starting rotation that is light years better than they were in 2010. This enabled them to win their first ever division crown since 1982, when they were still in the AL East. In addition to this, they won a franchise record 96 games, breaking the old record of 95 set in 1979 and 1982.

Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy has been one of
the best (and most underrated) starters in baseball this year.

The Diamondbacks however, became only the third team in baseball history to reach the postseason after losing 97 games the previous year (the 1991 Braves and the 1999 Diamondbacks are the other two). They raced to the division crown featuring a decent offense and a very underrated pitching staff, led by Ian Kennedy, who finished with a ridiculous 21-4 record with a 2.88 ERA.

My prediction: Diamondbacks 3 games to 1. I believe that Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson will be on top of their game, stalling Milwaukee's offense along the way. Arizona's offense will find just enough pop to get by Milwaukee, and that will help lead them to their first NLCS appearance since 2007.

National League Division Series: St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (102-60)
The Redbirds were huge underdogs in the NL Central heading into 2011, as many prognosticators believed the Reds and Brewers were better teams (myself included). Honestly, for the first five months, this definitely appeared to be the case, as St. Louis was a whopping 10.5 games behind Atlanta in the Wild Card race as late as August 25. The Cards caught fire after that day, going 22-9 the rest of the way, while the Braves went a dismal 10-20 to miss the playoffs in one of the biggest collapses of all-time.

Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay may not no-hit the Cardinals,
but he'll help lead Philly to the NLCS for the fourth straight year.

The Phillies were just the Phillies, winning their fifth consecutive division title with a franchise-record 102 victories. They did this with the best rotation in baseball leading the way, which masked the fact that their aging, injury-prone offense wasn't much to write home about. However, the Phils slumped toward the end of the season, going on an eight-game losing streak just days after clinching.

My prediction: Phillies 3 games to 2. The Cardinals are a team on fire right now, and they will ride that momentum going into the postseason. St. Louis has also given Philly fits this year, going 6-3 against them in the regular-season. Nonetheless, the Phillies will hang on only because their rotation will be just strong enough for them to extinguish the Cards.

American League Division Series: Detroit Tigers (95-67) vs. New York Yankees (97-65)

Justin Verlander will have a lot on his
hands dealing with New York's potent offense.

The Tigers rode to their first division title since 1987 mainly behind the efforts of starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who has a terrific shot at becoming the first pitcher to win the MVP since 1992. The Tigers also have a solid offense, with AL batting champion Miguel Cabrera leading the way. Also, once you give the ball to closer Jose "Papa Grande" Valverde, it's game over; Valverde went a perfect 49 for 49 in saves this year.

The Yankees, as always, are riding on the heels of their intimidating offense into October, but the guy leading the wasn't Jeter, A-Rod or Teixeira. It was former Tiger Curtis Granderson, who hit an unprecedented 41 homers and drove in 119. The Yanks also stayed afloat with a piecemeal rotation behind ace C.C. Sabathia, as White Sox castoffs Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia have come through big for them this year.

My prediction: Yankees 3 games to 1. The Tigers will steal game one behind Verlander, but the lack of depth in their rotation will do them in against New York's mighty offense.

American League Division Series: Tampa Bay Rays (91-71) vs. Texas Rangers (96-66)

The Rangers will need for C.J. Wilson to
be on top of his game all throughout
the postseason.

Tampa Bay made their third postseason appearance in four years behind a comeback for the ages (and a collapse for the ages from the Red Sox). However, this should not mask the fact that they have one of the best rotations in the game, and all of their starters are under 30! Their team ERA of 3.58 was the second-best in the American League, only trailing the Angels' 3.57. Their offense isn't much to write home about, but then again, it wasn't last year, and they still managed to win 96 games. Simply put, their hitters know how to drive people in when it counts.

The Rangers theoretically are still the team to beat in the American League. After all, they are the defending American League champions and they are back in the playoffs. They reached the postseason again behind some decent pitching and an intimidating offense. As a team, the Rangers hit an AL-best .283.

My prediction: Rangers 3 games to 2. The Rays are on fire right now, but Texas will certainly cool them off behind their blistering offense and solid pitching. Like last year, the Rangers will need all five games to take out the Rays.

The Rest of the Postseason:
ALCS: Rangers over Yankees, 4 games to 2.
NLCS: Phillies over Diamondbacks, 4 games to 2.
World Series: Rangers over Phillies, 4 games to 3.

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Now, for my other award predictions:
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays
NL Manager of the Year: Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Also, for your reading pleasure, here's Tom Verducci's brilliant recap of last night's drama. (Sports Illustrated)

That's all for now. Take care, and enjoy the playoffs tomorrow!

My top five NL MVP candidates

The end of the MLB regular-season is just five days away and the writers' votes for each MLB award will be submitted by then. Who will get the nod for each award? Obviously I do not have a say, but let's take a look at who I think should be the top five MVP candidates in the National League.

Fifth-place vote: Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals
Through September 23: .300 BA, 31 HRs, 91 RBIs, .411 OBP, .522 SLG
There is no question that Berkman is the slam-dunk NL Comeback Player of the Year. However, his efforts with keeping the Cardinals afloat throughout the season cannot be denied. Even when Albert Pujols was slumping early in the season, Berkman caught fire and found a second life in the Gateway City, putting together numbers that are reminiscent of his glory days in Houston. Right now, the Cardinals are walking the tightrope in the NL Wild Card hunt, but if Berkman weren't there this year, the Cards would be somewhere between the Pirates and Cubs in the Central Division.

Fourth-place vote: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
Through September 23: .292 BA, 31 HRs, 88 RBIs, .372 OBP, .536 SLG

The biggest surprise contender of the year would easily go to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are on the brink of pulling off a shocking upset victory of the NL West over the Giants. A big reason for this has been Justin Upton. He has been carrying the load in a lineup that has far less protection than Lance Berkman, and has put up similar numbers. While the improvement of the bullpen is the biggest reason for Arizona's turnaround, Upton's terrific year in an otherwise average lineup should not go unnoticed.


Third-place vote: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
Through September 23: .330 BA, 31 HRs, 104 RBIs, .393 OBP, .584 SLG
Currently, Braun is leading the National League in batting average, and is part of the intimidating one-two punch in Milwaukee's lineup, along with Prince Fielder. Really, you can flip-flop these two on the ballot, and I would have no problem with it at all.

Second-place vote: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Through September 23: .293 BA, 34 HRs, 112 RBIs, .408 OBP, .544 SLG
The other half of Milwaukee's dynamic duo, Fielder is having another terrific year with the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers. He's currently third in the National League in both RBIs and on-base percentage, and he's tied for fourth in home runs with Florida's Mike Stanton. Take either Braun or Fielder away from this Milwaukee lineup, and they are a significantly less threatening team offensively.

First-place vote: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Through September 23: .326 BA, 36 HRs, 118 RBIs, .403 OBP, .582 SLG, 40 steals
Yes, he is on a losing team this year. However, a MVP winner does not necessarily have to come from a winning team (see Alex Rodriguez- 2003, Andre Dawson- 1987, Ernie Banks- 1958 and 1959). However, when a player has an offensive year that simply cannot be ignored, voters take notice. Right now, many are beginning to notice the fact that he has a fantastic shot at becoming the National League's first Triple Crown winner since "Ducky" Joe Medwick in 1937. He's only one homer away from tying Albert Pujols for the NL lead, only .004 points away from equaling Braun in the batting average race and he currently leads the league in RBIs by five. Even if he does not achieve the elusive Triple Crown, he'll finish close enough to it to warrant winning the NL MVP.

Giants hang tough in crucial series vs. Arizona

In what is easily the biggest series of the year for the defending World Champion Giants, they got off to a good start last night, defeating the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2. Their victory also snapped Arizona's nine-game win streak, which helped the Snakes vault to a commanding six game lead in the division prior to their loss. The Giants' work isn't finished however, as they will definitely have to sweep the series in order to stay alive in the NL West. While the deficit San Francisco faces isn't insurmountable (five games back with 24 left), the season has definitely gotten to the point where they almost need Arizona to cool off a bit for them to come back.

The scary thing about the Diamondbacks however, is that they look legitimate this year. They don't have that "fluke" feel to them like San Diego did last year, not to mention that Arizona actually got hotter in late August as opposed to last year's Padres. Ian Kennedy is quietly putting together a fantastic year in their rotation, as he enters today with a 17-4 record and a 3.03 ERA in 187.1 innings. Justin Upton is leading their offense in nearly every major statistical category, including batting average (.295), home runs (26), RBIs (80), OBP (.374) and hits (152). While their team ERA ranks a pedestrian ninth in the NL at 3.88, they are fifth in the NL in runs scored with 614. Arizona is also just one of two teams with a positive run differential in the division at +35 (the lackluster, third-place Dodgers are the other at +8).

The Giants certainly will not go out quietly, as Matt Cain twirled a gem for them last night, and they have Tim Lincecum on the hill this afternoon against Kennedy. However, time is running out for the defending champs, and it is against a team that may be a little better than people give them credit for. At this point, the Diamondbacks can go just 13-11 the rest of the way to finish with 91 wins, while the Giants will need to go 18-6 just to match them. They still have five games left against each other, including the final two of this weekend's series. If the Giants want to have another shot at October glory, they better get busy.

At long last, I'm finished with school! Now, some thoughts on realignment, the DH and interleague play

Folks, I am proud to say that I am officially finished with college! I graduated last week with a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Cincinnati, and I am more than relieved that my five-year journey of obtaining a college education is finally over.

Now, back to business here on the "South Side Hit Parade." Recently, there have been some rumblings that MLB may consider some form of realignment. Nobody is really sure how the teams will be realigned at this point, but some suggestions have been offered. The one that appears to have the most talk surrounding it right now would be to move the Houston Astros to the American League West, and have interleague play year-round. Some other suggestions include moving either the Colorado Rockies or the Arizona Diamondbacks to the American League West, if only for the reason that they are two of the newer NL teams, and because they would each give the Rangers a time zone buffer (Texas is a Central Time Zone team, while the A's, Angels and Mariners are all in Pacific Time. Ouch.).

While some old-school folks may have a problem with year-round interleague play and realignment, I actually look forward to seeing something like this happen. I have always enjoyed interleague play, and it always seemed a bit bizarre to me to sequester this to just one portion of the season. If you have it year-round, it would solve the problem of "unfair" scheduling, such the Cardinals playing the Royals six times, while the Reds play the Indians six times (Never mind the fact the Reds are 1-5 against K.C. in their last six games against them, including losing two of three to them at home last year).

Another benefit to having year-round interleague play would likely mean that the National League will finally get with the times and adopt the Designated Hitter. Listen, I do not mind the differences between the leagues at the moment. However, I am starting to prefer the American League style of play. I do not care about losing the "strategy" of the game by having the pitcher in the batting lineup. There is still plenty of strategy in American League baseball, as there is in any baseball game, DH or no DH. However, I prefer to watch Vladimir Guerrero hit than to watch Tony Larussa think. There is a lot more excitement with watching Paul Konerko step to the plate in a big situation as opposed to watching Dusty Baker using the double-switch late in a game. Change can be good in the game of baseball sometimes, and it would be for the better if the National League finally adopted the DH. There would be more balance between both leagues, and you could easily have interleague play year-round.

One more thought for the evening: Even if realignment and year-round interleague play never happens, what in the hell is wrong with interleague play right now? People love to complain about it, citing the scheduling inequities teams have. It is not that big of a deal. It is just 16-18 games out of 162. Over the course of 162 games, the cream is going to rise to the top. There are no flukes; any team that makes the playoffs has earned it. If you miss the playoffs by one or two games, you can point your finger at several reasons why you failed to make it other than your interleague record. If you miss by five or six games, then you just were not good enough to make it, even if you do have a better record than a postseason team in another division. I was very upset when the White Sox missed the 2006 postseason with 90 wins, despite the fact they would have won the sad-sack NL Central by 7.5 games over the Cardinals. However, baseball, like life, is not always fair.

That's all I have for you now, talk to you soon!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 3- Arizona Diamondbacks

We're heading down to the desert for day three of our report cards, as we check up on what went down with Kirk Gibson's boys in Arizona.

Arizona Diamondbacks:
Record: 65-97 (Last place in NL West, 27 games behind San Francisco)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Kelly Johnson (.284)
Home Runs: Mark Reynolds (32)
RBIs: Adam LaRoche (100)
On-base Percentage: Kelly Johnson (.370)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Ian Kennedy (9)
Strikeouts: Ian Kennedy (168)
Innings Pitched: Rodrigo Lopez (200)
ERA: Ian Kennedy (3.80). Bullpen- Blaine Boyer (4.26)
WHIP: Ian Kennedy (1.20)
Saves: Juan Gutierrez (15)

Highlight of the Season: On June 25, Edwin Jackson tossed the second no-hitter in franchise history, blanking the Rays 1-0.

Lowlight of the Season: A ten-game losing streak from May 23 through June 2. Making matters worse, Arizona lost the final two games of that streak in 1-0 extra inning games.

The Lowdown:
Where did the promise go? Just three years ago, they were the young, fresh surprise of baseball, winning the NL West with a youthful, yet talented roster. Even though they fell to division rival Colorado in the NLCS, many people believed that 2007 would be the first step toward greatness for this team. That promise has been left unfulfilled in the three years since, and now the team is left wondering what to do with a below-average roster and a below-average minor league system. Their lineup is an all-or-nothing one in which they strike out way too many times, and the pitching (especially the bullpen) is absolutely dreadful. Manager Bob Melvin was canned in favor of former World Series-hero Kirk Gibson during the season, and even though a change in leadership was probably necessary, it didn’t translate into on-field results, as the team’s 97 losses were their most in six years.

Offense:
While they can’t connect for base hits consistently (their .250 team average was 21st in the majors), they make the most of it when they do. Their team slugging percentage ranked 10th in baseball this year at a clip of .416, and their 180 home runs ranked sixth. Their “swing for the fences” mentality is embodied in their slugger Mark Reynolds, who paced the team in homers with 32, in spite of his disappointing .198 average. He wasn’t alone either, as Chris Young, Kelly Johnson and Adam LaRoche each hit at least 25 homers without hitting above .290 (Johnson had the highest team average at .284). Their all-or-nothing approach at the plate resulted in the team recording an incredible 1,529 strikeouts, setting an all-time major league record.

With such a low batting average and an insanely high amount of strikeouts, you would think the Diamondbacks could learn a thing or two about taking some pitches and exhibiting more plate discipline. However, Arizona drew the fourth-most walks of any big-league team in 2010 with 589. The D’backs feature just enough power in their lineup to make opposing pitchers pick their spots with them. Despite this, a team with this many hitters with the potential to be better should be a lot better at the plate.
Final Grade: C-

Pitching:
Here lies the reason why Arizona lost as many games as it did in 2010. Their pitching was downright awful this season, as their ghastly 4.81 team ERA was 28th in the majors. Even Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson (who were both traded mid-season to contenders) did not fare well in the desert, as each of them recorded ERAs over 4.5. While Ian Kennedy was serviceable in the rotation with a 3.80 ERA in 194 innings, their other top starter, Rodrigo Lopez, was awful (a 5.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.42 in 200 innings).

Once the starters gave way to the bullpen, a bad situation usually got worse. Their 5.74 bullpen ERA was by far and away the worst in the majors, over a full run higher than the next worst team. All of their relievers who pitched in at least 40 or more games had an ERA over four, with Chad Qualls topping out the quartet of doom with an 8.29 ERA in 43 appearances. Just on the merits of the bullpen alone, Arizona will receive the grade they deserve for their awful year on the mound.
Final Grade: F

Wild Card: Daniel Hudson
Starting pitcher Daniel Hudson came over from the White Sox in a trade that sent aforementioned starter Edwin Jackson to the South Side back on July 30, and the trade would pay huge dividends for a beleaguered pitching rotation. In just 11 starts with the team, Hudson went 7-1, with a 1.69 ERA and a WHIP of 0.84 in just 79.2 innings. The 23-year-old has shown a considerable amount of promise since joining the Diamondbacks, and he’ll likely be near the front of the rotation next year, if not at the top. This move could not have come at a better time for them.
Final Grade: A

Overall:
Arizona is a classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” kind of team. They can slug it out and hit home runs with the best of them, but their inability to manufacture runs by shortening up and getting base hits has to kill a ton of would-be rallies. Compounding matters is the fact that if they do get a sizable lead, the bullpen would always there cough it back up. If they could get some more pitching (especially in the bullpen), and teach the lineup that it’s okay to not swing for the fences in every at-bat, they could return back to respectability.
Final Grade: D-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Baltimore Orioles!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Days 6 and 7- New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks

Welcome back once again, everybody! I want to apologize for not being on here with you yesterday; I was unfortunately tied up with a final paper that I had to turn in by today. Now that Christmas break has begun, I can be on here with you on a daily basis!

Plus, just to sweeten the deal and make up for my absence yesterday, I will offer you not one, but two report cards on two teams; the New York Mets (yesterday's team) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (today's team)! Without further adieu, let's take a look at the Mets, their record, and their team leaders in 2009:

New York Mets:
Record: 70-92 (Fourth place in the NL East, 23 games behind Philadelphia).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: David Wright (.307)
Home Runs: Daniel Murphy (12)
RBIs: David Wright (72)
On-base Percentage: David Wright (.390)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Johan Santana (13)
ERA: Johan Santana (3.13). Bullpen- Pedro Feliciano (3.03).
Strikeouts: Johan Santana (146)
Innings Pitched: Mike Pelfrey (184.1)
WHIP: Johan Santana (1.21)
Saves: Francisco Rodriguez (35)

Highlight of the Season: The grand opening of their new home, Citi Field, on April 13against the San Diego Padres. Unfortunately, for the Mets and their fans, they would lose to the Padres that night, 6-5.

Lowlight of the Season: For a season that was as bad as this, there were not too many moments that stood out. My vote would probably have to go to the game on August 23, when they lost the game on an unassisted triple play turned by Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett. It was only the 15th unassisted triple play in MLB history, and it was only the second to end a game (Johnny Neun did it for the Tigers in 1927).

The Lowdown:
There was nothing "amazin'" about the Mets this year, except that they were amazingly bad. However, to be fair, there was probably no other team in MLB this year that was as plagued with as many injuries as the Mets. Stars Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran each spent considerable amounts of time on the disabled list this year and only played in a combined 143 games. With nobody adequate enough to fill their shoes, the team wound up resembling their AAA team, the Buffalo Bisons, by the end of the year. Making matters worse was that their pitching- sans Santana- was pretty below average this year, sometimes reaching levels of downright embarrassing. Let's begin to break down the "Amazin' Mets," starting with their offense.

Offense:
Much has been made about the dimensions of their new park, Citi Field, this season. "Deep" left center is 384 feet from home plate, and "deep" right center stretches out to an ungodly 415 feet from home. However, the deep power alleys are offset by the shorter distances to "straight-away" right center and left center, which are 378 and 364 feet, respectively. Could this be the reason why the Mets offense was so lackluster, despite missing three of their big bats? They only scored 671 runs as a team this year, which was 25th in the majors. Also, because of their lack of power (or maybe the ballpark size), they were the only team in the majors last year to not reach 100 home runs, finishing with a dismal 95. Despite this, they still managed to tie for fourth place in MLB in batting average, hitting a collective .270. Looking at those stats and judging from a distance, they appear to be a team that could get base hits and get guys on, but they could not bring them around to score.

David Wright and Luis Castillo were their two best hitters average-wise in 2009, hitting .307 and .302 respectively. It was a puzzling season for Wright, who, saw his home run total drop sharply from 33 last year to just 10 this year. Although his batting average and on-base percentage were okay, one has to wonder if Citi Field is swallowing up some of his home runs. Other than that, the only other regular that hit over .280 was Fernando Tatis, who hit .282. The only person on the team who hit more than 10 home runs was Daniel Murphy, who hit 11.

This is a difficult grade to hand out, perhaps the most difficult one of them all, simply because this year's Mets lineup was not the real New York Mets. Do I give them a bad grade because they were impostors, or do I keep that grade up knowing that this isn't the true team? Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Final Grade: C-

Pitching:
Much like Zack Greinke sums up the starting rotation in Kansas City, Johan Santana sums up the rotation for the Metropolitans. Santana was Santana this year, fashioning a 3.13 ERA in 166 innings this year. However, he would end up being shut down by the team on August 25 due to a bad elbow. Even though the team was sunk, the Mets would have likely finished with a slightly better record had he been healthy and pitching in the final month.

Once you get past Santana though, the rotation becomes a complete mess. Three of their other starters who logged at least 100 innings (Mike Pelfrey, Livan Hernandez and Tim Redding) each logged ERAs of five or higher. John Maine was putting together a decent year for the Mets, before he ended up having a date with the disabled list in June. He would not return to the rotation until September. In the end, he finished with a 7-6 record and a 4.43 ERA, which is not too shabby for a number two starter. Considering the limp-dick offense the Mets had after their "big three" went down, their weak pitching staff looks even worse when they don't get any run support.

In the 'pen, it was the Pedro Feliciano and K-Rod (Francisco Rodriguez) show for the Mets. Feliciano appeared in a whopping 88 games for the Mets this season, and he did a solid job for them, finishing with a 3.03 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. The $9 million man Francisco Rodriguez put together a decent season as a closer for the Mets, finishing with 35 saves. However, his seven blown saves and his conspicuously high 3.71 ERA as a closer made his season look more pedestrian. Considering how much money the Mets are giving him over the next few years, these numbers have to improve.

Overall, the only real standouts in this staff are Santana, Feliciano, and, to a lesser extent, K-Rod. Everybody else is not worth the trouble wasting bandwidth over.
Final Grade: C-

Wild Card: Triples
I'm not sure if this is a "chicken-egg" scenario, but the Mets did finish third in MLB with 45 triples. Was it because of the ballpark dimensions, or was it because of their team speed? I'll let you be the judge.
Final Grade: B

Overall:
I'm not sure what grade I should give this team because clearly, the Mets aren't this bad when they are healthy. However, even if Beltran, Delgado and Reyes were all in the lineup, this pitching rotation is still pretty suspect once you get past Santana. Nonetheless, I will give the Mets the benefit of the doubt and spare them from getting a really bad grade.
Final Grade: C-

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It is time to leave our "Empire State of Mind" behind for the hot and dry desert of Arizona. Here are your 2009 Diamondbacks:

Arizona Diamondbacks:
Record: 70-92 (Last place in the NL West, 25 games behind Los Angeles).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Justin Upton (.300)
Home Runs: Mark Reynolds (44)
RBIs: Mark Reynolds (102)
On-base Percentage: Justin Upton (.366)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Dan Haren (14)
ERA: Dan Haren (3.14). Bullpen- Clay Zavada (3.35).
Strikeouts: Dan Haren (223)
Innings Pitched: Dan Haren (229.1)
WHIP: Dan Haren (1.00)
Saves: Chad Qualls (24)

Highlight of the Season: The emergence of young star Justin Upton.

Lowlight of the Season: Manager Bob Melvin getting canned on May 8, with the team sitting in last place with a 12-18 record. It would only get worse from there.

The Lowdown:
If the Cleveland Indians have had the biggest fall of any team in the last two years, the Arizona Diamondbacks would have to come in at a solid number two. In 2007, the youthful Diamondbacks rolled to their first division crown in five years, and their fourth in ten seasons of existence. Not only that, but they also finished with the NL's best record that year at 90-72. Despite making easy work of the Cubs in the first round, they were swept by the white-hot Rockies in the NLCS. Even though the loss stung, things were certainly looking up for this young team, as many people thought that they had the talent to continue their success. They kept their success rolling for most of 2008 until everything fell apart for them in August and September. They have not recovered since, basically picking up where they left off in 2008 by continuing the stink-fest into 2009. Their prolonged malaise has left many Diamondbacks fans, wondering just what in the hell happened to this team? With this report card, we'll try to uncover some of the things that led to their downfall in 2009.

Offense:
From an outsider's point of view, the offense was merely average in 2009 when just looking at the stats. They finished 20th in runs scored with 720, and they managed to show off a considerable bit of power in 2009 by going deep 173 times as a team (tied for 11th with the Los Angeles Angels). However, this lineup's downfall was their tendency to be free-swingers. The D'backs paced the majors in strikeouts at the plate this year, recording 1,298 as a team. They were paced by third baseman Mark Reynolds, who struck out a major league record 223 times. The more remarkable thing is that Reynolds broke his own major league record, which he set last year by whiffing 204 times. Reynolds was not the only strikeout artist on this team though; Justin Upton and Chris Young also struck out at least 130 times each for Arizona.

For as bad as their strikeout totals were, Reynolds and Upton put together fantastic seasons at the plate in '09. The 44 home runs Reynolds hit were good enough for fourth in the majors, and the Pikeville, Kentucky native also saw his batting average increase from .239 in '08 to .260 this year. While .260 is not great, it is certainly a big improvement from .239. However, the thing that may be giving Diamonbacks fans the most excitement is the emergence of their 22-year-old star Justin Upton. In 138 games, he hit 26 home runs and drove in 86, while fashioning a solid .366 on-base percentage. He also showed off flashes of his speed once he reached base, stealing 20 of them in 2009 as well. The fact that he is 22 and he is putting up these kind of numbers is scary. He has the potential to become somebody really special.

Aside from those two, the only other real standoust I saw in the D'backs' lineup were catcher Miguel Montero and left fielder Gerardo Parra. Montero put together a solid season at the plate (for a catcher), hitting 16 home runs and driving in 59, while batting .294 in 128 games. Parra also fashioned a solid batting average himself, hitting .290 in 120 games.

Overall, this is a pretty decent lineup, one that's probably almost as good as they were in 2007. However, they have a crippling tendency to be very inconsistent, and that's only made worse by how many times they strike out.
Final Grade: C

Pitching:
Starting pitcher Dan Haren paced the staff in nearly every major statistical category for Arizona last season, as you can see in our "pitching leaders" portion of this report. His obscenely low 1.00 WHIP, led the majors. Fireballing right hander Max Scherzer also had a decent year for Arizona, going 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA in 170.1 innings. His strikeout total is worth noting, as he strikes out an average of 9.19 people per game. The white elephant in the room, however, was the absence of Brandon Webb from the rotation this season. Webb was only able to start one game during the season- April 6 against Colorado- and got slammed, giving up six earned runs in just four innings of work. The 2006 Cy Young award winner had to be placed on the DL a week later due to shoulder trouble, and would not start another game for the rest of the season because of it.

Lefty Clay Zavada was the star in Arizona's bullpen, finishing with a 3.35 ERA in 49 appearances this season. His 52 strikeouts in 51 innings were also pretty solid as well. Closer Chad Qualls also did a tip-top job, recording 24 saves in 29 chances, while walking only seven men all year in 52 innings pitched. A most impressive year for Mr. Qualls.

Collectively, Arizona's pitching staff is fairly average, but the fact that they gave up the sixth most runs of any team in baseball does not help them win any popularity contests. It also certainly does not help them win any games, either.
Final Grade: C-

Wild Card: Errors
The D'backs committed 124 of them in 2009, the second most in MLB behind Washington. It's not rocket science; if you give the opposition more opportunities to score, they'll more than likely take advantage of it.
Final Grade: D-

Overall:
After analyzing this team, I'm still a bit baffled as to why they haven't been that good since the second half of 2008 began. I guess it could start with their inconsistent, free-swinging offense, or you could point a finger at their pitching, which has been mediocre at their best (sans Haren) and bad at their worst. However, they are a staff that sorely needs their best pitcher, Brandon Webb, in order to compete. I'm giving them the grade they deserve, because they flat out underachieved this year. This team is much more talented than their 70-92 record suggests.
Final Grade: C-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Houston Astros!