The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 7- Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals

Record: 69-93 (Last place in NL East, 28 games behind Philadelphia)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: Ryan Zimmerman (.307)

Home Runs: Adam Dunn (38)

RBIs: Adam Dunn (103)

On-base Percentage: Ryan Zimmerman (.388)

Pitching Leaders

Wins: Tyler Clippard (11)

Strikeouts: Livan Hernandez (114)

Innings Pitched: Livan Hernandez (211.2)

ERA: Livan Hernandez (3.66). Bullpen- Joel Peralta (2.02).

WHIP: Livan Hernandez (1.32). Bullpen- Joel Peralta (0.80).

Saves: Matt Capps (26)

Highlight of the Season: On June 8, rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his much-anticipated debut before a crowd of 40,915 at Nationals Park. Many wondered whether the hype was worth it (and plenty still do), but there was no question that he dazzled even the most skeptical observers on this night, striking out 14 and walking none in a 5-2 victory over the Pirates.

Lowlight of the Season: The excitement over Strasburg was unfortunately short-lived, as he went down with an arm injury on August 21 in Philadelphia. He had already struck out six Phillies hitters through 4.1 innings when the injury occurred. Shortly thereafter, the team announced that he needed Tommy John surgery, shutting down his 2010 season, and possibly 2011 as well.

The Lowdown:

The Nationals weren’t a national embarrassment in 2010, as the team improved by 10 wins over last year to 69. Although not spectacular by any means, their win improvement still serves as a big step forward for a franchise that’s trying to become relevant. They did gain some relevancy once they called up their star pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg on June 8, placing the Nationals on something they haven’t seen since early 2005: the national spotlight. Each one of Strasburg’s starts received incredible amounts of press coverage, and he was making himself a worthy candidate for NL Rookie of the Year before going down with an injury on August 21. By that point, Strasburg was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts, featuring a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 92-17, which gave Nationals fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the team’s future. Also giving Nats fans hope for the future are the team’s bevy of young talent waiting to mature into stardom, including second baseman Ian Desmond, reliever Drew Storen, and their number one overall draft pick waiting in the wings, Bryce Harper. Even though the last few years have been lean for the Nationals, brighter days are certainly ahead should they continue to draft and scout well.

Offense:

The Nationals as a team ranked near the middle or bottom of MLB in many of the major offensive categories, including runs (25^th), batting average (20^th), on-base percentage (22^nd) and home runs (18^th). While they didn’t collectively hit well, they did feature some good individual performers. The club’s mainstay at third, Ryan Zimmerman, put together a solid year at the plate, hitting .307, with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs, while slugging at a clip of .510. These numbers were good enough for “Zim” to earn his second-consecutive Silver Slugger award at third, giving him more recognition as of the elite hitters of the National League.

Zimmerman wasn’t the only player in the Nationals lineup to produce power numbers, as teammate Adam Dunn put together one of his prototypical seasons at the dish, hitting 38 home runs while driving in 103. The only blemishes on his season were- as you might have already expected- his batting average and his strikeout totals. Dunn hit only .260, while striking out 199 times, finishing second in the majors in strikeouts to the free-swinging Mark Reynolds. While those two stats could be tolerated in a better overall lineup such as the Phillies or the Rangers, they can be crippling on a team struggling to score runs every night like the Nationals. Left fielder Josh Willingham was expected to serve as a complimentary power bat to Dunn and Zimmerman, and he unfortunately saw a drop in his numbers due to injuries, hitting just 16 home runs while driving in 56 in 114 games.

There are certainly some good pieces in this lineup as I have already mentioned. However, they do not make up for the lack of hitting throughout the rest of the order.

Final Grade: C-

Pitching:

Even though Washington improved their pitching in 2010, they still have more work to do in order to contend. The staff lowered their team ERA by nearly a full run, going from a pathetic 5.00 in 2009 to 4.13 this year, good for 19^th in MLB. The main workhorse in their rotation this year was Livan Hernandez, as he would be the only starter to log over 200 innings on the team. He also put together some solid numbers on a staff that desperately needed a leader, going 10-12 with a 3.66 ERA, setting a good example for some of their younger starters to follow: make sure you are healthy enough to be out there on the hill every fifth day, and go deep enough in ballgames to give your team a chance to win. The rest of the rotation (sans Strasburg) was pretty unimpressive, as John Lannan had an ERA of 4.65, while the rest of the starters that had a minimum of 15 starts featured ERAs over five.

Nonetheless, the bread and butter of this staff is in the bullpen. The Nationals saw more improvement in their bullpen than any other team in baseball, as they went from having the worst bullpen ERA in MLB last year (5.09) to the fifth-best this year (3.35). Their fans certainly had to feel confident if the team held a lead late into ballgames, because unlike last year,, the Nats probably weren’t going to cough it up. The ‘pen was led by long-relief man Tyler Clippard, who ended up leading the team in wins with 11. He would make 78 total appearances, throwing a total of 91 innings while earning 23 holds, 112 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.07.

Another impressive arm in the Nats bullpen was lefty Sean Burnett, who featured an ERA of 2.14 in 73 appearances. He would also earn 20 holds as a set-up man this year, giving the Nationals a great one-two, lefty-righty punch in the seventh and eighth innings of games. Doug Slaten and Joel Peralta were also terrific out of the ‘pen, garnering ERAs of 3.10 and 2.02 respectively. Closer Matt Capps was rock solid closing out games before getting traded to the Twins, earning 26 saves and a 2.74 ERA.

The pitching staff improved altogether this year, and took a giant leap forward toward becoming respectable. While the starting rotation could use more improvement, their bullpen was fantastic.

Final Grade: C

Wild Card: Stephen Strasburg

Strasburg came along at just the right time for the Nationals, who desperately needed a boost in ticket sales at their box office. Wherever and whenever Strasburg would pitch, games would either sell-out or come close to it, as fans wanted to see what the hype was all about. The odd thing about all of the hype Strasburg received though, was that he was actually living up to it, putting together great numbers before getting injured. Many people were impressed with not only how effortlessly he would hit triple-digits on the radar gun, but also with the control of his fastball. He also complimented his fastball with great off-speed pitches to keep hitters off balance, making any at-bat against him seem almost hopeless. Even baseball legend and former rookie phenom Bob Feller had very complimentary things to say about him after watching him pitch in Cleveland against his Indians. It is very unfortunate that Strasburg had to suffer the injury he did this year, and hopefully for baseball’s sake, he can return to his dominant form once he recovers.

Final Grade: A

Overall:

The Nats are finally beginning to make their climb toward respectability, especially with their influx of young talent they have that will likely get better. Their recent signing of Jayson Werth, as extravagant as it might be, will only help them out with getting better as well. This year may not have been all that great, but it was still light-years better than last year, and they finally won’t have the number one overall pick in next year’s draft, either.

Final Grade: D+

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Chicago Cubs!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 6- Cleveland Indians

As we make our way eastward from Kansas City, we’ll first take a stop on the shores of Lake Erie to issue our sixth report card. Today’s team: the Cleveland Indians.

Cleveland Indians

Record: 69-93 (4th place in AL Central, 25 games behind Minnesota)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Shin-Soo Choo (.300)
Home Runs: Shin-Soo Choo (22)
RBIs: Shin-Soo Choo (90)
On-base Percentage: Shin-Soo Choo (.401)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Fausto Carmona (13)
Strikeouts: Justin Masterson (140)
Innings Pitched: Fausto Carmona (210.1)
ERA: Fausto Carmona (3.77). Bullpen- Chris Perez (1.71)
WHIP: Fausto Carmona (1.31). Bullpen- Chris Perez (1.08)
Saves: Chris Perez (23)

Highlight of the Year: On September 17, right fielder Shin-Soo Choo had himself a ballgame, going 4-5 with three home runs and seven RBIs in an 11-4 rout over the Royals in Kansas City.

Lowlight of the Year: Often times in baseball, a moment that can be considered historic for one team can be considered a nightmare for another. That is precisely what almost happened on June 2, when the Indians nearly had a perfecto tossed against them by Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for Galarraga), first base umpire Jim Joyce blew the call that would have been the 27th consecutive out.

The Lowdown:
For the Indians and their fans, the promise that followed their fantastic 2007 season seems like an all too distant memory. Since then, the team has failed to produce a winning season, with the last two featuring at least 90 losses, something the Tribe hasn’t done since 1977-1978. Trading away most of their star power from that team certainly doesn’t help the cause, but what’s worse is that outside of Carlos Santana, they haven’t acquired anybody through those trades that is major-league ready. First baseman Matt LaPorta (who they picked up from the Brewers in the CC Sabathia trade in 2008) had a disappointing year, hitting only .221 with just 12 home runs and 41 RBIs, and the other three players Cleveland acquired in the Sabathia deal (Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and Michael Brantley) have yet to accomplish much.

Even the four players they acquired from the Phillies in the Cliff Lee deal a year later (Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson) have yet to do much with the team as of yet. While Justin Masterson (who they acquired from Boston in the Victor Martinez trade) has been serviceable at best, only Carlos Santana seems to have the potential for stardom so far, while the jury is still out on LaPorta.

Regarding this year’s team though, it was pretty clear from the beginning that they weren’t going to be very great, and injuries to star center fielder Grady Sizemore, designated hitter Travis Hafner and catcher Carlos Santana didn’t exactly help matters. Outside of Shin-Soo Choo, they couldn’t hit for average or power, and their pitching staff was among the worst in the game. The Tribe went 18-31 in April and May (with six of their wins coming against the White Sox oddly enough), while getting outscored by 65 runs, and once Sizemore went down for the season on June 4 due to knee surgery, they were already playing out the string by the time interleague play rolled around.

Offense:
The Tribe finished near the bottom of the majors in most of the major offensive categories, including runs (26th), batting average (25th), slugging percentage (25th) and home runs (23rd). The only potent bat left in the lineup after injuries afflicted Sizemore, Santana and Hafner was right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, and he did not disappoint, putting together a fantastic season at the plate. Choo was one of the more underrated bats in the game in 2010, as he displayed a great capability of being an all-around hitter, hitting .300, with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs and slugging at a very solid clip of .484. Unfortunately for this club, his performance was the only one worth mentioning, as most of the other regulars were either mediocre at the plate, or just flat out stunk. Nobody else on the team even hit 15 homers, and the next-best hitter average-wise after Choo was Travis Hafner at .278.
Final Grade: D-

Pitching:
The Tribe’s pitching staff did not fare much better than their lineup did, finishing 24th in the majors in ERA (4.30), 26th in “batting average against” (.269) and 27th in quality starts (74). In their starting rotation, only Fausto Carmona finished with an ERA under four (3.77), as the rest of their starters were either average or worse. Righty Justin Masterson was serviceable in the number two spot behind Carmona, eating up 180 innings this year, but his 4.70 ERA leaves much to be desired. Mitch Talbot, Jake Westbrook and Josh Tomlin all finished with ERAs of 4.41, 4.65 and 4.56 respectively, while David Huff was simply awful, finishing with a 6.21 ERA in 15 starts.

The bullpen however, significantly improved in 2010, lowering their ERA by nearly a run from 4.66 to 3.83, good for 13th in the majors. Closer Chris Perez, in his first full season with the Indians, proved to be a stabilizing force at the back of games, finishing with 23 saves, a 1.71 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08 in 63 appearances this year. Lefty Rafael Perez also improved greatly, lowering his ERA from an unsightly 7.31 last year to 3.25 in 70 appearances this year. Cincinnati native Jensen Lewis improved as well, lowering his ERA from 4.61 in 2009 to 2.97 this year.

Even though the starting rotation was pretty bad, their bullpen quite possibly saved this team from losing 100 games.
Final Grade: D+

Wild Card: Shin-Soo Choo
In addition to his aforementioned hitting prowess, Choo is also a great defensive player in right field. In 142 games in right this year, he led all American League outfielders with 14 assists. Even though it is difficult to imagine the Indians losing yet another star player, it very nearly happened with Choo. During the season, the threat of Choo possibly being sent back to South Korea for mandatory military service loomed over the team. Fortunately for Choo and the Indians, he averted this mandate when his country took home the gold medal in the Asian Games, and the requirement was waived. Indians fans, you can take a deep breath, Choo isn’t going anywhere.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
While there are a couple of good pieces here with this team, they still have a long way to go before they can rise back to the AL Central penthouse. Even if Sizemore, Santana and Hafner were all healthy to back up Choo, the starting pitching on this team is still very sub-par. Even if the Tribe’s lineup were all healthy and hitting well next year, their starting rotation will probably have them lose 90-plus games again.
Final Grade: D

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Washington Nationals!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 5- Kansas City Royals

We're moving on now from the East Coast to the Heartland. Today's stop will be in Kansas City for the fifth day of our report cards.

Kansas City Royals

Record: 67-95 (Last place in AL Central, 27 games behind Minnesota)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Billy Butler (.318)
Home Runs: Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Guillen (16)
RBIs: Billy Butler and Yuniesky Betancourt (78)
On-base Percentage: Billy Butler (.388)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Bruce Chen (12)
Strikeouts: Zack Greinke (181)
Innings Pitched: Zack Greinke (220)
ERA: Zack Greinke and Bruce Chen (4.17)
WHIP: Zack Greinke (1.25)
Saves: Joakim Soria (43)

Highlight of the Year: Well…if there was one to pick, it would probably be Zack Greinke’s complete game, 12 strikeout performance in Cincinnati on June 13. The Royals would win the rubber match against the Reds 7-3.

Lowlight of the Year: On July 26, the Royals got blitzed by the Minnesota Twins 19-1, with staff ace Zack Greinke taking the loss. Adding insult to injury, the Royals fell the next night against the Twins 11-2, with their next best pitcher, Bruce Chen, shouldering the loss. Both games were unfortunately before the home crowd in Kansas City.

The Lowdown:
For Royals fans, 2010 was the same old story, but in a different year. The Royals finished in last place for the sixth time since 2000, and the team has finished above third only once since 1990. The same elements of failure were in place in 2010: a lineup that cannot hit for power under any circumstance, and a pitching staff that cannot pitch effectively. Even reigning Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke wasn’t immune to regression, as his performance left something to be desired. The team attempted to shake things up by replacing former manager Trey Hillman with Ned Yost after 35 games, but that was simply the equivalent of placing a Band-Aid on a wound that requires stitches. You might be able to stop some of the bleeding, but a lot more work needs to be done in order to close up the gaping wound that has afflicted this franchise since 1985.

Offense:
Much like yesterday’s Orioles, the Royals’ offense had the same problem of not being able to hit for power or drive runners in, despite hitting for contact well. Surprisingly enough, the team finished second in team batting average in the majors at .274. Several of their regulars hit over .300 this season, including David DeJesus (.318), Billy Butler (.318), Scott Podsednik (.310) and Mike Aviles (.304). Unfortunately, Butler and Aviles would be the only two to stick around in Royal blue for the rest of the season, as DeJesus and Podsednik were each traded after playing a tad over 90 games. The Royals were also able to draw walks fairly well, as their .331 on-base percentage finished 14th in the bigs.

The main problem with the Royals’ offense is with their inability to score enough runs. They finished 20th in runs scored with 676 this year, along with finishing 19th in slugging (.399) and 26th in home runs (121). Even though you could certainly give the Royals a mulligan in the home run department (Kauffman Stadium isn’t the most homer-friendly park in baseball), they desperately need to find a way to drive runners in more efficiently. Since the Royals apparently have one of the best farm systems in baseball, the cavalry may not be too far away.
Final Grade: C-

Pitching:
Much like the Orioles, Diamondbacks and Pirates before them, the thing that hurt the Royals the most in 2010 was their pitching. They finished near the bottom in almost every major category including ERA (29th), quality starts (28th), WHIP (29th) and “batting average against” (29th). Even more disappointing was the performance of staff ace Zack Greinke, who went 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA and a WHIP of 1.25. That is quite a change from 2009, when Greinke went 16-8 with a 2.16 ERA en route to winning the Cy Young Award. When your staff ace slips up, you better have some capable pitchers backing him up, and the Royals unfortunately did not this year. Bruce Chen was merely serviceable, going 12-7 with a 4.17 ERA in just 140.1 innings, while Kyle Davies was just plain horrible, going 8-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 183.2 innings. Brian Bannister and Luke Hochevar weren’t much better either, as Bannister’s ERA was over six, while Hochevar’s hovered near five.

There wasn’t much to see from the bullpen this year, either. However, closer Joakim Soria might be the most underrated closer in the majors. Soria was nothing short of fantastic this year, notching 43 saves with a 1.78 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 66 appearances. No other reliever who appeared in at least 40 games for Kansas City had an ERA under three, so Soria is Kansas City’s diamond in the rough.

With a lineup that cannot drive runners in all that well, a bad pitching staff certainly won’t do your team any favors.
Final Grade: F

Wild Card: Joakim Soria
Even though the Royals lost 95 games last year, Soria is still a valuable piece to this team. Just imagine how bad the Royals would be if they didn’t have someone as reliable as Soria to close out games. Yikes.
Final Grade: A

Overall:
Even though they have a great farm system, this team is still a few years away from being able to take down the three-headed monster of Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit. Plus, we’ve already seen this movie before: the Royals supposedly have great prospects ready to contribute, but for whatever reason, things don’t pan out. I’m sure Royals fans don’t want to just take the front office’s word that things will get better in the next few years. They want to actually see it for themselves at the major-league level. After all, the Royals do play in the “Show me” state.
Final Grade: D-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Cleveland Indians!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 4- Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

Record: 66-96 (Last place in AL East, 30 games behind Tampa Bay)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Nick Markakis (.297)
Home Runs: Luke Scott (27)
RBIs: Ty Wigginton (76)
On-base Percentage: Nick Markakis (.370)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Jeremy Guthrie (11)
Strikeouts: Brian Matusz (143)
Innings Pitched: Jeremy Guthrie (209.1)
ERA: Jeremy Guthrie (3.83). Bullpen- Koji Uehara (2.86)
WHIP: Jeremy Guthrie (1.16)
Saves: Alfredo Simon (17)

Highlight of the Year: After starting the season with a combined 32-73 record under Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel, they named Buck Showalter as their new manager. The team responded with gusto, as they won 34 of their next 57 games to close out the season.

Lowlight of the Year: A 5-18 April that ended their season as soon as it began. Also worthy of consideration was a horrendous 3-15 record against the Toronto Blue Jays, in which they were outscored by 42 runs.

The Lowdown:
The author T.S. Eliot once wrote that “April is the cruelest month,” and it couldn’t have been crueler to any team than the Baltimore Orioles. The team and their fans saw their season go down the toilet before All-Star ballots could even be issued, as the team went 5-18 and got outscored by a whopping 43 runs during that month. Considering that the team was expected to show some improvement entering 2010, April had to be a deflating month for the O’s and their fans, who haven’t seen a winning season since 1997. Unfortunately, the year would only get worse, as the team went 10-18 in May, 9-17 in June and 8-19 in July, all while facing some of the toughest competition in the majors in the AL East.

However, on August 3, a new sheriff rolled into town by the name of Buck Showalter. He had experience with turning moribund teams around in the past like the Arizona Diamondbacks and even the New York Yankees in the early-to-mid 1990s. His no-nonsense approach to managing seemed to be the best fit for a young Oriole ballclub trying to find their way, and the team responded to him emphatically. They finished the season under Showalter’s watch 34-23, and even more importantly, the Birds looked like they were having fun playing baseball again.

Offense:
While the Orioles were decent enough at the plate batting average-wise (their .259 team average was 13th in the majors), they weren’t that great at driving runners in, as their total amount of runs scored came in at 27th in the majors at 613. They also weren’t that great at drawing walks either, as their team on-base percentage checked in at .314, 24th in the majors. What the O’s have is an amalgamation of mediocre veterans combined with younger players with tons of potential that are still coming into their own. Some of that young talent can be seen in the team’s two future stars, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. The 25-year-old Jones put together solid numbers in his third full season, hitting .284, with 19 home runs and 69 RBIs in 149 games, but he could benefit from greater pitch selection, as his on-base and walk totals indicate. He only drew 23 walks in 581 at-bats, which resulted in his on-base percentage being a very disappointing .325. However, the sky is the limit for Jones, who has nowhere to go but up as his career continues.

Wieters however, was still honing his chops in his sophomore season, and while his numbers on the surface seem disappointing, he still has tremendous potential much like his aforementioned teammate. Wieters received a great amount of playing time this season, playing in 130 games, but he hit just 11 home runs and drove in 55 while hitting just .249. Much like the rest of his teammates, he wasn’t drawing many walks either, as he had just 47 in 443 at-bats.

While no regular player hit over .300 in this lineup, right fielder Nick Markakis certainly came close, finishing at .297. Even though he doesn’t seem like he will become a major power hitter (he hit only 12 this year), he showed that he can become a doubles machine, as his 45 two-baggers tied for fourth in the American League this year.

Despite the promise this lineup holds with some of its players, their inability to hit homers or drive in runs really crippled the team this year. Should the O’s go after a power-hitting free agent this offseason? Their owner Peter Angelos hasn’t been shy in the past about handing out big bucks to star free agents, and their lineup could really benefit from gaining some extra pop.
Final Grade: D

Pitching:
Much like their lineup, Baltimore’s starting rotation has some solid young talent ready to produce. The top two starters the O’s are hoping will lead them to glory in the future are 23-year-old Brian Matusz and 25-year-old Brad Bergesen. The two first-round draft picks received a great deal of playing time in 2010, as each pitcher tossed over 170 innings in their first full seasons. However, this season was a “baptism by fire” of sorts for the two, as each pitcher recorded ERAs over four (Matusz at 4.30, Bergesen at 4.98). While I’m sure Oriole fans expect growing pains from the two, 13 consecutive losing seasons would surely test even the most optimistic fan’s patience, and they probably wanted to see the two producing this year.

As a whole, Baltimore’s pitching staff wasn’t good at all in 2010, as their team ERA ranked 27th in the majors at 4.59, while opponents hit off their pitchers at a clip of .270 (also 27th in MLB). Kevin Millwood, who they signed to be a veteran presence among the young staff, did not help out much on the field as his 5.10 ERA in 190.2 innings indicates. However, the intangibles he brought to this staff will likely help these pitchers in the future, especially as they mature.

The bullpen wasn’t all that great either, as opponents hit off of them at a .274 clip, the third-worst in the majors. Koji Uehara is probably the only reliever on this club worth mentioning, since he finished with a WHIP of 0.95 and a 2.43 ERA in 43 appearances.

While there is promise with this pitching staff, they still haven’t achieved it just yet.
Final Grade: D-

Wild Card: Buck Showalter
The aforementioned results speak for themselves. Buck took the team to unprecedented heights (relatively speaking) once he took over at the beginning of August, guiding them to 34 wins in just 57 games. That would be two more wins in a shorter time frame than the team won in their first 105 games. Kudos to Buck, and hopefully for the team’s sake, the good play can continue next year.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
This team came from hell and back in 2010, and if it wasn’t for their good play to close out the season, they would have easily lost over 100 games, something they haven’t done since 1988. There are still some things they can improve on though, including hitting for power and pitching.
Final Grade: D

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Kansas City Royals!

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 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 2- Seattle Mariners

We head to the Pacific Northwest for day two of our report cards. Here's what went down with the Seattle Mariners in 2010.

Seattle Mariners:

Record: 61-101 (Last place in AL West, 29 games behind Texas)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Ichiro Suzuki (.315)
Home Runs: Russell Branyan (15)
RBIs: Franklin Gutierrez (64)
On-base Percentage: Ichiro Suzuki (.359)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Felix Hernandez (13)
Strikeouts: Felix Hernandez (232)
Innings Pitched: Felix Hernandez (249.2)
ERA: Felix Hernandez (2.27). Bullpen- Brandon League (3.42)
WHIP: Felix Hernandez (1.06)
Saves: David Aardsma (31)

Highlight of the Season: Ken Griffey, Jr.’s game-winning hit to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 on May 20 at Safeco Field. The hit would be a last hurrah of sorts, as Griffey would retire just 13 days later.

Lowlight of the Season: Trading starter Cliff Lee on July 9. Dealing the ace lefty only months after acquiring him via trade with Philadelphia effectively signaled that the Mariners were out of contention.

The Lowdown:
While the Mariners did not finish with the worst record in the majors this season, they certainly had to be the most disappointing team. Great things were expected of the M’s heading into 2010, as they came off of a respectable 85-77 campaign the year before. They bulked up their rotation by adding star left-hander Cliff Lee to form a formidable one-two punch with Felix Hernandez, and they added a dash of speed by signing third baseman Chone Figgins to a four-year, $36 million contract. Even though their lineup was still pretty weak following the loss of Adrian Beltre to free agency, many prognosticators were expecting this team to contend for the AL West title, at the very least. Unfortunately, for Seattle, things took a turn for the worst once the season began.

The weaknesses in their lineup became exposed like an ugly wart once the season began, and things were made worse when the rest of the rotation behind Lee and Hernandez weren’t picking up the slack. Those two things would be the ingredients of a bitter brew that led to disaster in the Pacific Northwest. Adding insult to injury, the team was placed in a precarious situation when it became painfully obvious that Ken Griffey, Jr. was well past his prime in a terrible lineup. Even though Griffey thankfully retired on June 2, the season continued to spiral out of control. Cliff Lee was traded to the Texas Rangers on July 9; Chone Figgins nearly became involved in a dugout altercation with manager Don Wakamatsu on July 24 and the team continued to display a spectacular inability to produce any sort of offense. The Mariners finished the 2010 season on a five-game losing streak, giving them their second 100-loss season in three years and bringing to a merciful end their season from hell.

Offense:
Seattle’s lineup was by far and away the worst in baseball in 2010, as their major league-low 513 runs would attest. In fact, that total would be the least amount of runs scored in a 162-game season since 1971, when the California Angels tallied a miserable 511 (and that was still two years before the advent of the Designated Hitter). It’s also no surprise that the M’s finished dead-last in just about every other major offensive statistical category. Perhaps the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal lineup was Ichiro Suzuki hitting .315, and recording his 10th consecutive 200-hit season. There’s not much else to explain about this lineup, considering they are arguably one of the worst in the last 40 years.
Final Grade: F

Pitching:
A discussion of the Mariners' pitching in 2010 should begin- and end- with Felix Hernandez. Despite his pedestrian 13-12 record, Hernandez put together a fantastic season for the M’s, leading the majors in ERA (2.27) and finishing second in strikeouts (232) and innings pitched (249.2). His won/loss record was not entirely of his doing, since the aforementioned offense of the Mariners was one of the worst to take the diamond in a long time. However, putting up those fantastic numbers for the worst team in the AL was good enough for him to earn this year’s AL Cy Young Award, besting Tampa Bay’s David Price and New York’s CC Sabathia. While Price and Sabathia each had better records than Hernandez, “King Felix” outshone the other two in just about every other pitching category.

During the first half of the season, there was another former Cy Young winner in the Mariners’ rotation virtually matching the performance of Hernandez. Cliff Lee, before getting traded to Texas, put together a fine stretch in a Mariners’ uniform, recording an 8-3 record in just 13 starts, with an ERA of 2.34 and a microscopic WHIP of 0.95. Although Lee’s performance is a small sample size, it is still worth noting, especially when the numbers were that great. Jason Vargas also had a decent year in the rotation, going 9-12 with a 3.78 ERA in 192.2 innings pitched. Seattle has to be hoping that the 27-year-old Vargas is finally turning the corner as a big-league pitcher, as this year would be the first of his career in which he started at least 30 games.

In the bullpen, there weren’t too many leads to hold, mostly because the Mariners weren’t scoring many runs, if at all. However, David Aardsma had a solid year out of the ‘pen, recording 31 saves, with Brandon League recording 13 holds behind him in 79 innings pitched. Overall, the Mariners finished tied for ninth in the majors in ERA at 3.93, which is surprisingly good considering the amount of games the team lost. Their team ERA was also better than three playoff teams (Reds, Twins, Yankees), so I can’t give them too low of a grade.
Final Grade: B-

Wild Card: Felix Hernandez
Garnering the Cy Young for such a pathetic hitting team like this one is no simple feat. He, along with Roy Halladay, are by far and away the two best pitchers in the game right now.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
This team’s pitching really isn’t bad, but that doesn’t save them from the fact that their offense is the biggest reason why they lost 101 games. I can’t honestly give them a good grade based off of their pitching alone, because 101 losses are still 101 losses. “King Felix” keeps this team from receiving a “F,” though.
Final Grade: D-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Arizona Diamondbacks!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 1- Pittsburgh Pirates

Without further adieu, we begin our 2010 report cards in the Steel City, where we break down the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates:
Record: 57-105 (Last place in NL Central, 34 games behind Cincinnati)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Andrew McCutchen (.286)
Home Runs: Garrett Jones (21)
RBIs: Garrett Jones (86)
On-base Percentage: Andrew McCutchen (.365)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Paul Maholm (9)
Strikeouts: Paul Maholm (102)
Innings Pitched: Paul Maholm (185.1)
ERA: Ross Ohlendorf (4.07) Bullpen- Evan Meek (2.14)
WHIP: Ross Ohlendorf (1.38) Bullpen- Evan Meek (1.05)
Saves: Octavio Dotel (21)

Highlight of the Season: Take your pick between rookie Pedro Alvarez’s game-winning home run on August 7, or the fact that the Bucs somehow finished 40-41 at home.

Lowlight of the Season: A 17-64 record on the road.

The Lowdown:
Eighteen consecutive losing seasons is obviously a nightmare for this beleaguered fan base, however 2010 was the nadir, as the Bucs posted their worst record since 1952. A major contributing factor to this was their abysmal 17-64 record on the road, which tied the 1963 New York Mets for the least amount of road wins on a 162 game schedule (somehow, someway, the 1962 Mets were slightly better on the road at 18-62).

Also contributing to this nightmare of a season was their pitching staff, which was by far and away the worst in the majors with a 5.00 ERA. This obviously did not bode well for their offense, which averaged only 3.6 runs per game, ranking 29th in the majors. Adding insult to injury, the Bucs tied for the major league lead in errors with the Nationals with 127. If you can’t hit, can’t pitch and can’t field, you’re likely going to be one of the worst teams in baseball, and the Pirates were THE worst this year.

In spite of all of the negative things that came out of the 2010 season, there were some positive things to take out of this year. Pirate fans certainly have to be excited at what lies in store for rookies Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez. Also, Andrew McCutchen put together a fine sophomore campaign for the Bucs, as he led the Pirates in most of their offensive categories. Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of 2010 however, was the fact that the Pirates finished a respectable 40-41 at home.

Offense:
Pittsburgh struggled mightily with their offense in 2010, as their aforementioned 3.6 runs per game (587 total runs on the season) ranked dead last in the National League, and was second only to Seattle for the worst in baseball. Their team average was also a dreadful .242, which was the second worst in the majors as well. The Bucs did not hit for much power either, as their 126 home runs would indicate (25th in MLB). Despite their poor aggregate numbers, there were some good individual performances by a few of their players, including the aforementioned Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez and Andrew McCutchen. Walker and Tabata performed well in their rookie campaigns, as Walker would hit .296 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs, while Tabata hit .299 in 121 games. Alvarez put together decent numbers as a rookie third baseman, hitting .256, with 16 home runs and 64 driven in over the course of 95 games.

McCutchen featured perhaps the best all-around season of any Pirates player at the plate, hitting .286, with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs, along with a team-best .365 OBP, 163 hits and 33 steals. Garrett Jones also supplied some power in his sophomore season with 21 homers and 86 RBIs in 158 games. However, his numbers were a considerable drop-off from 2009, when he hit just as many home runs in only 82 games.

Even though the young talent on this ballclub showed some promise this year, it was not good enough to rescue the bulk of this lineup from the basement of the National League.
Final Grade: F

Pitching:
The Steel City pitching staff was absolutely dreadful this year, so I’ll just keep this short and simple. They finished dead last in ERA (5.00), WHIP (1.49), batting average against (opponents hit a ridiculous .282 against them) and complete games (1). Paul Maholm was the leader of the starting rotation only by default, as his nine wins and 5.10 ERA were actually among the best of the Bucs’ starting five this year. Otherwise, this rotation was dreadful, as Charlie Morton (2-12, 7.57 ERA), Ross Ohlendorf (1-11, 4.07 ERA), Jeff Karstens (3-10, 4.92 ERA) and Zach Duke (8-15, 5.72 ERA) were all either average or worse.

The only bright spot in this pitching staff was the All-Star performance by reliever Evan Meek. In 70 appearances this year, Meek fashioned a 2.14 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, struck out 70 and recorded 15 holds in 80 innings pitched. Joel Hanrahan also put together a commendable performance in relief, recording 100 strikeouts in 69.2 innings.
When you are surrendering more runs than any other pitching staff in baseball, you do not deserve a passing grade under any circumstances.
Final Grade: F

Wild Card: Blowouts
With a severely deficient pitching staff, combined with an offense that wasn’t much better, the Bucs were on the losing end of quite a few blowouts in 2010. Some of their more epic losses included:
4/22- Brewers 20, Pirates 0
4/26- Brewers 17, Pirates 3
5/17- Phillies 12, Pirates 2
6/23- Rangers 13, Pirates 3
6/25- Athletics 14, Pirates 4
8/30- Cubs 14, Pirates 2

Overall, the Bucs were outscored by a whopping 279 runs this year, by far and away the worst in the majors.
Final Grade: F

Overall:
While I really like the young talent this Pirates team features in their everyday lineup, that didn’t rescue them from being the worst team in baseball this year. Hopefully for Pirates fans, there will be nowhere to go but up for this team heading into 2011.
Final Grade: F

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Seattle Mariners!