Mariners Mid-Season Report Card: Pitching Edition

It’s been quite a while since pitching has been a problem for the Seattle Mariners. Oh, wait, let me backtrack a bit: it had been quite a while since pitching was a problem for the Mariners. See, that first sentence probably implied that the M’s pitching was still good. It’s not. It’s in a pretty fucking sorry state at the moment.   Much like the offense, the pitchers that comprised the rotation and bullpen to start the season represented something of a patchwork affair. Presumably believing that a couple of Triple-A prospects would be in town by June or July, the rotation was filled out by an inconsistent journeyman, a guy who’d never pitched beyond Double-A and another who spent most of last season getting knocked around and couldn’t strike guys out to save his life.    None of this explains why the M’s declined to carry a long reliever; in fact, it only makes that decision more confounding. But the point is, this group was a gamble. Even the #2 starter carried risk, as he entered the season with just 16 big league starts under his belt. That move worked out amazingly well. The rest of them? Well….yeah.   Only starters who made a minimum of ten starts or relievers with at least 12 appearances will be assessed. Performance versus expectations will be a factor in the grading process.     Felix Hernandez: A-minus   There are those who say that The Beatles’ arrival in America meant that much more because it helped our nation heal from the tragic assassination of President Kennedy just a couple of months earlier. In a much more ridiculous sense, King Felix has done something similar for Mariners fans: made these past nine seasons something more than a complete waste of time.   The 2013 campaign has been more of the same for The King: a winning record (despite run support that’s frequently pathetic), lots of strikeouts and ground balls, and a lot of innings. As usual, there have been a couple hiccups along the way, but for the most part, Felix has done nothing to dim his star. He’s still one of the very best starting pitchers in all of baseball.   Entering today, Felix is third in the AL in ERA (2.70), first in innings pitched (116.2), second in strikeouts (123) and ninth in WHIP (1.10). He’s also walking less batters than ever, leading to a 5.59 strikeouts to walks ratio that is light years better than any previous mark in his career. His K’s/9 IP mark of 9.5 is also the best of his career. And it looks like he’s ours for at least the next six and a half years. Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows indeed.     Hisashi Iwakuma: A   Amazingly, Kuma has been even better than Felix has. It’s unlikely that he can continue his roll (and it should be noted that he’s lost his last two decisions), but so far he’s been outstanding.   His 0.89 WHIP is tops in the league, he ranks second in ERA (2.26) and sixth in innings. His 5.65 K/BB ratio is even better than Felix’s, and opponents are hitting just .204 against him. So long as he holds his own in his next two starts, it would be a crime to leave Iwakuma off the All Star team.     Joe Saunders: C-minus   Entering the season, we were told that Saunders and Jason Vargas (last year’s #2, who was traded to the Angels for Kendrys Morales) were basically the same dude. Each was a crafty (read: soft-tossing) lefty who wouldn’t strike anybody out but would eat innings and rack up quality starts. That was the story anyway. But reality suggests that Saunders is at least a little worse than Vargas.    Until recently, Saunders was great at home (he wasn’t nicknamed “Safeco Joe” for nothing), but terrible on the road. That’s started to even out a little bit, but maybe not the way we’d all like. Saunders was shelled at home earlier this week, and now possesses a 4-3 record with a 3.56 ERA at the Safe. That’s not so bad, until you couple it with his road numbers: 1-5 record, 6.46 ERA, 1.717 WHIP.    All told, Saunders is 5-8 with a 4.98 ERA, and he’s probably lucky to be doing that well. In 94 innings pitched, Saunders has surrendered 106 hits (10.1/9 IP). His 1.447 WHIP is his worst since a 2010 season that saw him lose 17 games for the Angels and Diamondbacks.   By the grace of God, Saunders is working under a one year contract, so barring an outbreak of the Black Plague in the Tacoma Rainiers’ clubhouse, he’ll be gone soon.     Aaron Harang: D-plus   The mere fact that Harang’s name is on this page reveals how badly things have gone for the M’s. He began the year with the Dodgers, was DFA’d and ended up in Colorado. From there, he was shipped to the M’s for a non-prospect (we hope).   He’s had a few nice flashes- namely shutouts against the Padres and Astros- but for the most part, Harang has been, well, sort of what you’d expect an over the hill pitcher to be. He’s presently 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA, though to his credit, he can still strike a few guys out and doesn’t kill himself with walks.   It’s not even so much that Harang is terrible; it’s just that he’s in the way. Erasmo Ramirez, a 23-year-old with considerable upside, is languishing in Tacoma because none of Seattle’s starters have pitched poorly enough to lose their job in the past couple of weeks. Which is why I secretly hope that Harang gets shelled every time he pitches.      Brandon Maurer: F   Maurer just wasn’t ready- pure and simple. In ten starts with the M’s, Maurer compiled a 2-7 record with a 6.93 ERA and an atrocious 1.682 WHIP. In 49.1 innings, he got knocked around for 66 hits and 38 earned runs.    Maurer’s struggles were especially acute against lefties, who batted .351 and put up a 1.038 OPS against him. He wasn’t a whole hell of a lot better against righties (.307 avg., .869 OPS), so clearly he’s got a lot of work to do before returning to Seattle. Basically, Maurer made just about every lineup look like the 1927 Yankees.   I’d like those of us who are baseball writers to take on a little project: coming up with a great hitting comparison other than the 1927 Yankees. Yes, they were tremendous, but in the 100-plus year history of Major League Baseball, there have been lots of other offensive juggernauts.    How about the 1970 Orioles? Or hell, the ’76 Reds. The ’97 Mariners. Even different Yankee teams from 1939, 1998, fuck man, the possibilities are staggering. So let’s pick one- I don’t care which- so I can stop leaning on a fucking 86-year-old ballclub as the singular model of offensive potency.    On the plus side, Maurer’s bounced back pretty nicely for Tacoma (2-1, 3.33 ERA, 10.4 K/9), so at least his stay in Seattle didn’t seem to damage his psyche too badly. Still, Maurer is Exhibit Z in the case against putting too much stock in spring training numbers.     Charlie Furbush: C   Furbush was dominant out of the ‘pen for much of the 2012 season. Then he was shelved with a triceps injury and struggled upon his return. Unfortunately he’s looked a lot more like second half Charlie than the bad-ass from the first half.   Though he leads the team in games pitched, Furbush has struggled with his command, yielding 16 free passes in 29 innings of work. His strikeout rate it outstanding; he’s presently whiffing 13.3 batters per nine innings pitched, but the walks are flat out ruining him.   Opposing batters are hitting a mere .181 against him, so it’s not like he’s making lineups look like the 1970 Orioles (see what I did there???), but all those walks have led to a disappointing ERA north of 4. He needs to be better than this. He is better than this.     Tom Wilhelmsen: C   Wilhelmsen owned the ninth inning for the first five or six weeks of the season. Then his curveball deserted him, and he was more than mortal: he was fucking awful. For the year, The Bartender has a 4.02 ERA and 16 saves in 21 chances. But he’s not gonna be adding to that save total until he proves he’s got his stuff back and can be trusted not to, in the words of the late, great Dave Niehaus, “walk the fuckin’ world.”   Wilhelmsen’s last two outings have been encouraging, especially his inning against the Pirates on Tuesday in which he struck out the side. His curveball command seems to have rebounded, and for a guy who lives and dies by his two plus pitches, that’s sort of a requirement.     Carter Capps: D-minus   This guy needs to be sent down to Tacoma in the worst way. But the M’s seem to be following the Dustin Ackley “Let the poor fucker drown forever and ever” philosophy with him. This is unfortunate, because Capps has truly electric stuff. He just can’t get lefties out right now, and lately he’s even sucked at attacking right-handers.    All told, Capps is sporting a miserable 5.97 ERA and an equally abysmal 1.579 WHIP. Amazingly, Capps has surrendered nine homers in just 31.2 innings of work. That’s as many as Felix has given up in nearly four times as many innings. So at yielding gopher balls at least, I guess Capps is presently four times worse than Felix. I expect more from him, but like I said, the team really isn’t helping by keeping him on the club.     Oliver Perez: A   He’s not perfect (as any Mets fan could tell you), and he’d surely have worse numbers if he pitched in a few more challenging spots, but the fact remains that Perez has done everything that the M’s have asked of him.    Like the majority of Seattle’s relievers, Perez is issuing too many walks. But he saves himself from further damage by getting strikeouts when he needs them (12.4/9 IP), and doesn’t give up a ton of extra base hits.    Surprisingly, he’s been more effective against right-handers, holding them to a .151 average. Yet while lefties are batting a solid .277 off of him, their slugging percentage is a Brendan Ryanesque .277 (gotta love kickin’ a guy when he’s down).     Yoervis Medina: B-minus   Medina has been a pretty pleasant surprise, but he’s not quite to the point where I trust him late in a close game. His ERA is very respectable at 2.96, but his Achilles heel has been (you guessed it) walks. In total, Medina has walked 17 batters in 27.1 innings pitched, an average of 5.6 per nine. He’s further hurt himself by uncorking five wild pitches.   Still, he’s been occasionally dominant, and given how poorly the ‘pen has performed, he sort of gets a pass.     Danny Farquhar: D   The good news: Farquhar is a goddamned strikeout machine. Thus far, he’s managed to K 28 batters in 19.1 innings. He’s also done a decent job of limiting walks.   The bad news: he’s getting murdered by righties (yet another Mariners reliever with weird splits), who are hitting a healthy .333 off of him. Furthermore, he’s really struggled when pressed into extended outings. Here’s a crazy idea: take his ass out after one inning.

Mariners Mid-Season Report Card: Hitting Edition

As Jon Bon Jovi once said, “Whoooah, we’re halfway there.” Unfortunately, watching the Seattle Mariners’ putrid performance this season has been even less rewarding than listening to a Bon Jovi record.    The literal halfway point of the Mariners 2013 season won’t come until the conclusion of Saturday’s game against the Cubs, but 79 games is close enough. And away we go…..   Note: Only the ten players with a minimum of 150 at bats will be assessed. Defensive contributions- or lack thereof- will be included in the grading criteria.   Kyle Seager: A-minus   Seager hasn’t exactly been a hitting machine, but the fact that he’s avoided any kind of sophomore slump needs to be celebrated. His .279 average is, to this point, considerably better than what he put up last season, and he’s on pace for just as many home runs.    Seager’s RBI numbers have taken a hit (34 RBI through 77 games, against a total of 86 last year), ans he hasn’t been as aggressive on the bases, but those are the only knocks against him. Seager is on pace to better last year’s totals in hits, doubles and walks, and to record fewer errors, as his .980 fielding percentage leads AL third basemen.     Kendrys Morales: B-plus   When Smoak went to the DL, Morales, primarily a DH, was pressed into service at first, where he managed to hold his own. That said, the time in the field may have taken its toll, and he was hindered by a back problem for a couple of weeks afterwards.   But hey, Morales was brought in to hit, and he’s mostly done that. He’s not hitting as many homers, but his numbers for doubles, RBI and walks while seeing his strikeout numbers drop a tick. I’d really like for us to keep him, but given that Morse’s trade value has been hampered by injury and poor personnel decisions, he’s probably the team’s best bet to cash in at the deadline.     Raul Ibanez: B-minus   You might think that a guy who ranks sixth in the AL in home runs (despite riding the bench for much of April) would earn a higher grade. The problem is, all Raul does is hit homers. His average (.243) is acceptable only by Mariner standards, he’s striking out way more than he did last year, and his defense is atrocious.    That last item wouldn’t really be a problem if Ibanez were being properly utilized, but the injuries to Franklin Gutierrez and Morse have pressed him into regular service out in left.This has caused his oWAR number of 1.1 to be essentially useless, because his dWAR number is a mirror image of it. And that’s why you shoudl take the time to properly construct your roster!     Brendan Ryan: D-minus   If you projected Ryan’s dWAR rating over a full season, he would end up being only half as valuable defensively as he was in 2012. That’s bad news for a guy who might be the worst hitter in the majors.   It’s not that Ryan is suddenly a shitty shortstop; he still makes amazing plays on an almost nightly basis. But he is making more errors, and his fielding percentage is the lowest of his career. He had a nice couple of weeks with the bat, but he’s since returned to his norm, which is awful. In any case, with Brad Miller  crushing the ball down in Tacoma, Ryan’s days in Seattle are numbered, so whatever.     Michael Morse: C-minus   It may feel like Morse hit half of his 11 home runs in the first week of the season, but that isn’t really true; he only hit five of ’em in that span! He added his sixth homer on April 9 during a humiliating 16-9 loss to the Astros, but has left the yard just five times in 47 games since.   Morse’s impact was severely limited first by a broken pinkie, then a strained quad. Following a couple weeks of being limited to DH and occasional first base duties, Morse was finally, mercifully placed on the DL a few days ago. Unfortunately, even if he returns on schedule, he’ll have only a couple of weeks before the trade deadline to audition as a prospective trade chip.     Michael Saunders: D-plus   Maybe that sprained shoulder has bothered him more than he’s let on. Maybe he just endured a horrid month of baseball. Or maybe we’ve already seen the best Michael Saunders has to offer. If nothing else, the final three months of the season will go some ways towards answering that last bit…provided Saunders stays healthy, of course.   The lanky outfielder came out of nowhere last year, playing good defense and missing a 20-20 season by just one home run. His .247 average was less than inspiring, but considering that mark was nearly 100 points higher than his 2011 average, that’s really just nitpicking.    Whether it was injury-related or not, something went very wrong for Saunders right around the time the M’s left for the road trip to New York, Cleveland and Anaheim that pretty much ruined their season. He’s recently shown small signs of emerging, but since his average is at .211 and he hasn’t collected an extra base hit in what seems like a year, he still has a lot to prove. Saunders was good enough last year that he was more or less guaranteed a starting job this season. If this keeps up, that will not be the case next spring.     Endy Chavez: B   It says a lot that Chavez is even on this team, let alone that he’s seventh on the team in AB’s. He wasn’t on the team to begin the year, but injuries to Saunders and Guti (and the decision to carry Ibanez and Bay as the backup outfielders) required the M’s to bring in somebody capable of playing center. Chavez ended up being the guy.   Chavez has no extra base power to speak of, nor is his speed anything like it was ten years ago. But his average and defense are respectable, and on a team this terribly constructed, that counts for quite a lot.     Justin Smoak: C-plus   His average (.244) still isn’t good enough, his home run and RBI numbers are pathetic and he’s the last guy on the fucking planet that I want to see at the plate with runners in scoring position. Still, Smoak is getting on base, his .349 OBP ranking first on the club. That and his slightly above average defense are the only reasons he gets this good of a grade.     Jason Bay: C-plus   Another guy who’s received a little too much playing time. He’s having pretty much the same year he had with the Mets last year, except with a batting average 50 points higher, a few more walks and a few less strikeouts. Oh, and the M’s are only paying him a million bucks this year, while the Amazins gave him $16 million last season. All that considered, Bay hasn’t been horrible.     Dustin Ackley: Incomplete   Let’s face it: Ackley’s 2013 for the M’s has been dog shit. When he was sent down to Tacoma late last month, he was batting .205 with one homer, 8 RBI and one stolen base. Not so great production from the second player chosen in a pretty great draft.   Ackley immediately started raking when he got to Tacoma; he ended up batting .365 with a .472 OBP in 25 games for the Rainiers. Following the emergence of Nick Franklin, Ackley’s being moved (for now anyway) to the outfield, so now he has two challenges: getting the hang of a new position while attempting to prove that he can hit like he did as a rookie in 2011. For the sake of the Mariners, this version and future incarnations, that really needs to happen.

Too Early All Star Team: American League

It’s probably irresponsible to choose your All Stars several weeks before the game will be played, but since when has the risk of irresponsibility kept me from writing? (The answer? Seldom.) STARTERS   Pitcher: MAX SCHERZER: DETROIT   There are a lot of ways this could shake out. Clay Buchholz is a worthy choice, but it remains to be seen whether or not he’ll even be healthy enough to pitch. Despite recent rough outings, the Mariner duo of Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are deserving, but considering that home field advantage in the World Series is at stake, it seems silly to give two innings to guys who play for a team battling the Astros for fourth place. And hell, this could all end up being moot depending on which of these guys end up starting games the weekend before the break. So I’m not sure there’s really a wrong answer here (unless the answer is Aaron Harang…that would be very very wrong).   Scherzer’s perfect 10-0 record has no doubt been helped by the strong run support he receives; his fairly pedestrian 3.08 suggests as much. But he’s racking up strikeouts (second in the league) and isn’t walking anybody. Most significantly, Scherzer has permitted just 64 hits in 96.1 innings pitched and that combined with his low walk rate give him a fabulous 0.91 WHIP, easily the best of his career.     Catcher: JOE MAUER: MINNESOTA   It’s pretty clear now that the power Mauer put up during his 2009 MVP season was a mirage, but he’s still perhaps the second best pure hitter in the AL. His .328 average is good for third in the league, which sets him apart from his peers in somewhat of a down year for catchers.    It is a bit alarming that Mauer is on pace to strike out a great deal more than he ever has, so maybe at age 30, his bat speed is beginning to decline a slight tick. But for now at least, he’s still the best of the bunch. Besides, the Twins need an All Star rep.     First Base: CHRIS DAVIS: BALTIMORE   I don’t see how anyone can argue this pick. It’s difficult to imagine that three years ago, both Justin Smoak and Mitch Moreland were considered to be superior players. No one would dare try and make that case today. Davis leads the AL with 27 home runs (his current pace would give him an outside shot at reaching 60!) and his 1.135 OPS is tops in the league as well.      Second Base: ROBINSON CANO: NY YANKEES   By Cano’s lofty standards, he isn’t having the greatest year. If his .276 average doesn’t improve significantly, he’ll end up with his worst mark since his .271 way back in 2008.    Nevertheless, he’s a second baseman, and his other numbers are good enough to place him first in homers, RBI, slugging and OPS at the position. You also shouldn’t discount the fact that Cano has pretty much been the lone star in an injury riddled Yankee lineup, meaning he’s seeing even fewer good pitches than he used to. All things considered, he’s having a very good year.     Third Base: MIGUEL CABRERA: DETROIT   Cabrera is the reason Mauer is maybe the second best pure hitter in the AL. The 2012 Triple Crown winner leads the league in average, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBI and walks. He currently carries a 4.3 WAR, which is ridiculous at this point in the season. If you aren’t terrified every time your favorite team faces this guy, you should be.     Shortstop: JHONNY PERALTA: DETROIT   JJ Hardy of the Orioles will probably end up being voted in as the starter, but Peralta has a more compelling case. While his power and defense pale to those of Hardy, Peralta has a much better batting average, a far superior on-base percentage and even a higher slugging percentage.     Left Field: MIKE TROUT: LA ANGELS   So much for that sophomore slump so many pundits were predicting. Given how historically spectacular Trout’s rookie year was, practically everyone was projecting a dip in performance. That hasn’t really happened.   Trout leads all AL outfielders in average, on-base percentage, slugging, doubles, walks and runs. He ranks second among them in hits and triples. And he’s still one of the best defensive outfielders on the planet. I would trade absolutely any other player in baseball for him. Without question.     Center Field: ADAM JONES: BALTIMORE   If the Orioles don’t send disgraced former Mariners GM Bill Bavasi a Christmas card every year, they’re some real fucking ingrates. Jones, a former Mariner prospect, is the very best outfielder in the AL not named Mike Trout. He hits for average and power, plays Gold Glove defense in center and is good for 20 or so steals a year.      Right Field: NELSON CRUZ: TEXAS   While not as deserving as Trout or Jones, Cruz does lead AL outfielders in home runs. He’s also second in RBI and slugging percentage, and plays a better right field than he generally gets credit for. Despite his age (he’ll be 33 next month), he should be one of the most sought after free agents this winter, and his likely All Star nod can only help him in that department.     Designated Hitter: DAVID ORTIZ: BOSTON   Despite missing the first month of the season, Big Papi is far and away the best DH in the league this year. At worst, he’s the second best DH of all time, and he’s still going strong at 37 years of age. This might not be his last trip to the All Star Game.     THE RESERVES   Pitchers   – Felix Hernandez-R Seattle   His horrid performance Thursday night against the Angels notwithstanding, King Felix is having another incredible year. Besides, you certainly can’t rule out the possibility that no other Mariner makes the squad.     – Yu Darvish-R Texas    Alright, I’m convinced: Darvish is the real deal. His 2.84 ERA and 0.967 WHIP are reason enough to put him on the team. But what’s most amazing is his 12.2 K’s/9 IP, a ridiculous number for a starting pitcher. He also allows the fewest hits per nine. Has just as much right as Scherzer to be the starter.     – Bartolo Colon-R Oakland   Much like Roger Clemens some years back, it’s really amazing that the 40-year-old Colon is so dominant. I can’t imagine what measures he’s taken to be so good at such an age! He must have an extremely rigorous workout regimen.    Fine, all the bullshit aside (if Colon isn’t on PED’s right now, he definitely was not so long ago), this guy is having a tremendous season. He leads the AL in wins and shutouts and also has the lowest walk rate in the league.     – Clay Buchholz-R Boston   Again, it remains to be seen if Buchholz will be healthy enough to pitch, but you can’t really argue with his numbers. He’s currently 9-0 with an incredible 1.71 ERA. He’s been helped tremendously by the fact that he’s surrendered just two home runs (he gave up 25 of them last year).     – Hisashi Iwakuma-R Seattle   Following two lackluster performances against Oakland in the last week, Kuma’s case isn’t quite as strong as it once was. Still, his 0.89 WHIP is tops in the AL, he ranks second to Buchholz in ERA and he’s fourth in innings pitched.   – Hiroki Kuroda-R NY Yankees   I initially left him off the team, but then ended up omitting a reliever (down year for closers too) and throwing Kuroda on the roster. He ranks eighth in ERA and seventh in WHIP, and his steadying presence has been an enormous reason why the Yankees are still in the hunt.     – Mariano Rivera-R NY Yankees   He’s the best ever, is in his final season and is having his usual amazing season. Any questions?     – Joe Nathan-R Texas   I’ll admit that I was extremely skeptical when the Rangers acquired Nathan to be their closer before the start of last season. Why a two time defending league champion would put the ninth inning in the hands of a 37-year-old who hadn’t been both healthy and effective for three years was a mystery to me,   Well, I guess Jon Daniels is smarter than I am, because Nathan’s been money the past year and a half. He’s got 23 saves to go along with a 1.78 ERA and is a pretty good bet to make his sixth All Star team.   – Grant Balfour-R Oakland   His 18 saves are a bit low, but his 1.17 ERA is terrific, and he doesn’t hurt himself with walks or long balls.      Catcher   – Carlos Santana: Cleveland   With the slumping Matt Wieters seeing a dip in consideration, Santana gets the backup gig. JP Arencibia of the Jays has better power numbers, but his average is horrible and I’m not putting a guy batting .217 on the fucking All Star team.    Santana ranks second among catcher in home runs, third in batting average and second in OPS. And he’s probably the only Indian who’s truly deserving of making the club.     First Base   – Edwin Encarnacion: Toronto   Ercarnacion is following up his breakout 2012 with a very nice encore. He ranks second to Davis among AL first basemen in HR, RBI and OPS.     – Prince Fielder: Detroit   Squeezes out Mark Trumbo by virtue of his superior batting average and OPS. He isn’t having a great year by Prince Fielder standards, but then, Prince Fielder standards are pretty goddamned high.   Second Base   – Jose Altuve: Houston   Once more, Altuve is the Astros’ All Star rep. Dustin Pedroia (and probably even Jason Kipnis) are a little more deserving, but again, Astros.     – Howie Kendrick: LA Angels   He leads AL second basemen in average and hits. It’s funny to say this about a team as star-studded as the Angels, but without Kendrick’s efforts, they’d be in even deeper shit than they already are. Aside from Trout and possibly Trumbo, he’s been their MVP.     Third Base   – Evan Longoria: Tampa Bay   Another great year by a tremendous player. He ranks second to Miggy is HR, RBI and OPS among third basemen. It’s a testament to how well Longoria has played that his team is still in the hunt despite poor pitching from David Price, Fernando Rodney and Jeremy Hellickson.      – Manny Machado: Baltimore Gets the duke over Josh Donaldson, who is also deserving. I just couldn’t justify excluding this 20-year-old bad-ass. He’s batting .325 and is on pace to belt about 70 doubles. Such a tremendous talent. It won’t be very long before he’s starting for the AL team, but he might have to wait a couple years for that.     Shortstop   – JJ Hardy: Baltimore   Though he’s extremely likely to be the starter, on my team, he’s the backup.      Outfielders   – Alex Gordon: Kansas City   I actually voted for him to be a starter, but he’s fallen off a bit since. Still, the Royals need a rep, and he’s having another solid season, ranking seventh among eligible outfielders in average and fifth in hits while playing his usual Gold Glove defense.     – Alex Rios: Chicago White Sox   Chris Sale has been hindered by a lack of run support, Addison Reed has the saves but none of the other numbers, and Adam Dunn has the power but a sub- .200 average, so Rios is the guy for the ChiSox.     – Coco Crisp: Oakland   I remember back in 2007, when Ichiro was in the last year of his contract, my buddy joked that our front office was so inept that we’d probably end up trading him to Boston for Crisp. Fuck, man; if only!   You really need to see this guy play on a fairly regular basis to understand what a pain in the ass he is. He breaks your back in so many different ways: long AB’s, big defensive plays, stolen bases, clutch hits. Something about Oakland must agree with him because he’s been better than ever since going there before the 2010 season.     – Nick Markakis: Baltimore   Like Hardy, I think it’s a bit much that he’s in position to be elected a starter, but hey, you gotta hand it to Oriole fans I guess. Markakis is having his usual type of year: very little power out of the right field spot, but a good average and great defense. He may not be one of the three best outfielders in the league, but he’s definitely in the top ten.   – Jose Bautista: Toronto   It’s something of a down year for Bautista, but considering the drop off in production after Trout and Jones, he’s been good enough to earn a spot.

The ‘pen is Mightier Than Fuck All

Following last night’s soul crushing 10-9 defeat to the Angels, a game in which the M’s squandered a seven run lead, the team was predictably bummed. In dropping three of four to the Halos, the M’s concluded a once promising road trip with a 3-4 record. Yesterday’s loss dropped them to ten games under .500 and, more alarmingly, a mere four games ahead of the lowly Astros for fourth place in the AL West.

 

After the game, shortstop Brendan Ryan had this to say:

 

“We’re not built to put up 15. But we are built to hold on to tight leads and win when we’re ahead.”

 

Unfortunately, Ryan is wrong. The Mariner bullpen is a lot of things, but dependable isn’t one of them. This is starting to feel like the late ’90’s all over again, except with no hitting and way more losing.

 

First let’s be clear: if Felix Hernandez has anything other than his worst game ever, the M’s win last night’s contest. That being said, once Felix left the game, the M’s bullpen immediately blew two separate one run leads. And both times, the end result was entirely too predictable. 

 

For all the losing, all the failed prospects, one thing the M’s were generally able to produce was an effective bullpen. Good closers in particular have been plentiful here for more than a decade; from Kazuhiro Sasaki to Tom Wilhelmsen, the ninth inning has been in pretty good hands since before A-Rod skipped town. Even when a closer fell off, like Brandon League did last year, there was a ready-made replacement who stepped right in.

 

This year is different. Now that the once dominant Wilhelmsen has fallen apart, the Mariners have no one in the ‘pen that they can count on. Oliver Perez has been the most consistent, but he’s certainly got his own history of imploding. Carter Capps and Danny Farquhar have been generally terrible, whereas Charlie Furbush and Yoervis Medina have seen their control completely abandon them a little too often. 

 

Last night, Medina walked in the go-ahead run on four pitches after Capps allowed three hits without recording an out. That’s pretty indicative of their respective struggles this year: Capps doesn’t walk many batters, but he’s getting hit hard, especially by lefties; Medina doesn’t surrender a ton of hits, but gives out walks like Halloween candy (5.9 bases on balls per nine innings pitched).

 

Capps, aside, it’s walks that have really killed these relievers. Wilhelmsen, Perez, Furbush and Medina are all walking at least 4.6 batters per nine innings pitched this season. That simply doesn’t lend itself to success, especially on a team that isn’t exactly capable of putting up a ton of runs. 

 

On balance, relievers surrender more walks than starters do. That, along with their inability to develop more than one or possibly two secondary pitches are the reasons why they end of in the bullpen to begin with. But this is getting ridiculous. 

 

Unfortunately (good lord, I use that word a lot when I write about this team), there aren’t a ton of replacement options on the 40 man roster. There’s right-hander Josh Kinney, currently on a rehab assignment, but he’s a journeyman 34-year-old with severely limited upside. There are lefties Lucas Luetge and Bobby LaFromboise, but the lefties haven’t really been what’s killing the team. Besides, Luetge sucks, and LaFromboise probably isn’t any better. The M’s are way better off with Perez and Furbush.

 

The first move I would make is to demote Capps once Kinney is ready to pitch. That does nothing, I realize, to solve the base on balls problem, but it serves another purpose. Capps has the highest ceiling of anybody in the ‘pen, and to continue sending him out there to get hammered can only hurt him in the long run. 

 

The best option, unfortunately (there’s that word again), is injured Stephen Pryor, who was outstanding before tearing a lat muscle in late April. But his progress has been slow, and he isn’t expected back until after the All Star break. 

 

I suppose there are really only two ways to go: stand pat and continue getting losing games you should be winning, or trim some of the fat off of the 40 man roster to create opportunities. Luetge is a complete waste of a spot. He’s nothing more than a situational lefty, and a pretty bad one at that. Outfielder Eric Thames appears no have no value to the M’s, so you might as well jettison him as well. And if somebody can explain to me why the fuck Anthony Fernandez is on the 40 man, I’d greatly appreciate it.

 

In the late ’80’s and early ’90’s, ass metal bands like Poison made millions and spent millions. I can only assume they figured the money would continue to roll right in for as long as they could muster awful guitar solos. It didn’t work out that way. On a related note, if any of you know somebody who knows Justin Bieber, please give him a message for me: save your fucking money!! The likelihood of the next generation of prepubescent girls deciding you’re cool is roughly nil. 

 

The Mariners’ attitude hasn’t been so different the last couple of years. They boasted a wealth of quality pitching, both in the rotation and the bullpen, and presumably convinced themselves that they could continue to develop pitchers indefinitely. I don’t see any other way you justify trading Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, Michael Pineda, Brandon League, Steve Delabar and Shawn Kelley in less than two years time. 

 

Delabar in particular would be a huge help right now. Yes, he has his own problems with issuing walks (5.3/9 IP), but he’s giving up very few hits and seems to have solved the gopher ball problem that plagued him last season (he’s given up just one homer over 36 innings; he gave up 12 in 66 IP in 2012). His ERA is a sterling 1.75 and he’s striking out 11.8 batters per nine.

 

But hey, we got Thames for him, an outfielder so highly valued that both Endy Chavez and Carlos Peguero got call-ups instead of him. The more I think about it, the more I run out of reasons to justify retaining GM Jack Zduriencik. This is a horribly constructed team.

 

The M’s have a shit ton of issues, and there’s no way to fix all of them in the near future. But in part because projecting performance for relievers is next to impossible, it’s easier to find them via trade or free agency than it is to find an impact bat through similar channels. It’s time to get busy, and whether that means dealing somebody like Thames who isn’t a part of the plan, finding a free agent, or making room for a minor league reliever, something has to happen. 

 

Or not. Hey, I’m not the one who’s gonna lose his job is the M’s finish below the Astros. But Zduriencik and manager Eric Wedge probably will. If that’s not sufficient motivation to change things up in the ‘pen, I have no idea what would be.

We Were Fated to Pretend

Entering the season, expectations were higher for your Seattle Mariners than they’d been in years. I fully acknowledge that isn’t saying a whole lot, but the fact remains, a lot of people- fans and media alike- expected progress.    Some of the more optimistic predicted an 85 win season. For my part, I predicted 77, and even that seems a little unlikely at the moment. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with hope; far from it. But if you’re among those who didn’t see any major obstacles to this team finishing comfortably over .500, my question is this: What the fuck were you thinking???   To be fair, the M’s have been ravaged by injuries, and those have, to a considerable degree, diminished the on-field product. Expected contributors such as Franklin Gutierrez, Erasmo Ramirez and Stephen Pryor have missed most, if not all, of the season. Outfielder Michael Saunders was lost to a shoulder injury at the worst possible time for a couple of weeks. More recently, offseason acquisitions Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales have been hobbled, Justin Smoak is out and even backup catcher Jesus Sucre is on the DL.   Yes, all those injuries have taken their toll. But the impact wouldn’t have been nearly as devastating had the M’s put an adequate amount of thought into the team they were building.   Let’s take a trip, group by group, through Seattle’s fatal miscalculations.   1. The Outfield – If I were to single out one area of profound weakness, both on the big league club and in the minors, it would have to be the outfield. The M’s began the year with these five guys: Saunders, Gutierrez, Morse (the starters), Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay (the reserves).    The one member of this quintet it was fair to expect all around value from was Saunders, who bounced back from a miserable 2011 by raising his average about 100 points while hitting for power, stealing bases and playing good defense. Following a hot start, he’s been in a tailspin for the past month, but I can hardly fault the M’s for failing to foresee this; I sure as hell didn’t.   Other than Saunders though, GM Jack Zduriencik and company have zero excuses to work with. Guti is one of the most brittle, injury-prone players on his generation; Morse is an offensive force when healthy, but a clear detriment in the field. The backups come with their own sets of limitations. Bay saw his career derailed by a concussion, and hasn’t been the same player for several years. Ibanez is an outfielder in name only; a terrible defender, even when he wasn’t 41 years old.   For all intents and purposes, the success of this group depended upon betting Guti would stay healthy. And that was a fool’s bet, if ever there was one. His absence meant that either Bay or Ibanez would be patrolling left field….virtually every day. When Saunders went down, the M’s found themselves with a starting outfield typically comprised of Morse, minor league free agent Endy Chavez and Raul or Bay. Chavez has some value as a reserve, but that he’s starting several times a week for a big league baseball team is fucking preposterous.    2. The Infield – Among the Opening Day starters, only third baseman Kyle Seager was a solid bet to be an above average contributor. First baseman Smoak and second baseman Dustin Ackley were coming off horrid campaigns, having hit .217 and .226 respectively. The shortstop, Brendan Ryan, though a brilliant defender, is among the worst hitters in the game.    To supplement this already dubious group, the club employed Robert Andino as their only infield reserve. Andino rewarded their stupidity by batting .184 over 29 games. He was designated for assignment last month, cleared waivers and is presently with Tacoma.    Andino’s defensive versatility certainly made him a credible major league backup, but his inability to produce with the stick should have been a deafening alarm bell for a team that had just one infielder last season with an average north of .226. It wasn’t, and here we are.    Ackley was ultimately shipped to Tacoma, and is presently tearing the cover off the ball. His replacement at second, Nick Franklin, is off to a very solid start, so I guess we’ll wait and see.    3. Catcher – I have no fucking idea what’s going on here.   We began the season with Jesus Montero, by all accounts an awful defensive backstop, as the starter, and Kelly Shoppach serving as the backup. Montero predictably sucked behind the plate and not-so-predictably sucked at the plate, so he was demoted to Tacoma, where he promptly injured his knee.    From there, the team called up Jesus Sucre to back up Shoppach, now the de facto starter. Sucre was doing fine, probably better than Shoppach actually, but then he got hurt and the team called up Brandon Bantz instead of mega-prospect Mike Zunino.    Once it become clear that Bantz had absolutely no business playing major league baseball, he was DFA’d and Zunino was brought up. This made no fucking sense; why not just cut out the middle man and immediately bring Zunino up? But this wouldn’t be the dumbest thing Seattle would do concerning the position.   Just moments ago, it was announced that Shoppach had been designated for assignment, and that the club had signed former Blue Jay Henry Blanco to be…fuck, I don’t know- minor league depth? The big league backup? The starting fucking catcher? How should I know? (A press release by Zduriencik pretty heavily suggests that Blanco will be the big league backup to Zunino, at least initially.)   In any case, this move seems indefensible. It would appear that Zunino will be on the big league roster now through attrition. If he sucks….well, he’d better not suck, because the alternative is riding out the rest of the season with Sucre and Blanco at catcher. And that sounds almost as horrible as it would look.   4. The Bullpen – Oh Christ. This group had “ridiculous disaster” written all over them from the moment the M’s broke camp. The biggest shock was that the team declined to carry a long reliever when the rotation was highly suspect (more on that in a moment). The M’s were more or less forced to recognize this folly immediately, as Kameron Loe was let go to make room for a guy who could go more than an inning or two (it ended up being demoted starter Blake Beavan; the team also traded for starter Aaron Harang around this time).   Even some of the guys who have been semi-useful have seen their flaws exposed. Righty Carter Capps has the stuff of a future closer, but has displayed a troublesome inability to get lefties out. He should be down in Tacoma figuring this out, but the big club is so low on talent that he’s remained in Seattle.   Mightily struggling closer Tom Wilhelmsen may very well keep his job; not because the team has faith in him, but rather because they have none in anybody else. And I can’t say I disagree with that sentiment.   5. Starting Pitching – No complaints about the top two guys. King Felix is pitching like King Felix, and Hisashi Iwakuma has probably been even better. After that though? Well….   Number three man Joe Saunders has been nearly unbeatable at home and whatever the opposite of that is on the road. Rookie Brandon Maurer was so wildly inconsistent that he was sent down a  couple of weeks ago. Beavan began the year at the back end, but was horrible and was demoted before being recalled in a long relief capacity.   The fourth and fifth spots are currently inhabited by veterans Harang and Jeremy Bonderman. Both have pitched reasonably well of late, but then again, both were probably one bad start from being replaced last week, so what does that tell you?   The final three spots in the rotation have brought such inconsistency that the bullpen has frequently been pushed to the point of exhaustion. That these under-performing starters pitch on successive days means that once every couple of weeks, the ‘pen is either running on fumes, or is forced to add reinforcements from Tacoma.   It was hoped that by the end of the year, at least two spots would be taken by a couple of their young studs, but that now looks impractical. Former second overall pick Danny Hultzen has been shelved for the last six weeks by rotator cuff issues. He’s in extended spring training right now, and given his setback, it would be shocking to see him in Seattle before September.    Presumptive fourth starter Erasmo Ramirez hasn’t pitched for the M’s all year and is currently on a rehab assignment in Tacoma. And lefty James Paxton (part of the so-called “Big Three” that also includes Hultzen and Double-A starter Taijuan Walker) has been horrible for Tacoma.   So to recap, the M’s would be doing fine had they not ignored their lack of talent and depth at starting pitcher, bullpen, catcher, infield and outfield. Fucking astounding.    The further along we go in yet another lost season, the more I start to believe that Zduriencik needs to be shown the door. Yes, injuries have complicated things, but even a 100% healthy roster would still stink of miscalculation; probably even recklessness.   I certainly didn’t expect this level of incompetence, but I sure as hell wasn’t thinking playoffs. Anyone who was needs to consider a twelve step program to get them off that goddamned Kool-Aid. To believe this was a championship-caliber team required a degree of denial that would garner pity from a Fox News correspondent on election night.   It was all a mirage, and not even a convincing one. But at least now it’s clear as day- this team is shit, and will probably continue being shit for the foreseeable future.

Never Mind the Anabolics, Here’s Bud Selig

 

Here we go again. A few days ago, ESPN’s Outside the Lines reported that Major League Baseball will seek to levy 100 game suspensions against more than a dozen players. 

 

Each player that MLB seeks to discipline was named in documents from Anthony Bosch’s Miami-based Biogenesis “anti-aging” clinic. Bosch, who could face legal action, has allegedly agreed to cooperate with MLB in exchange for certain favors, including a security detail and a promise that the league would do what they could to limit Bosch’s legal headaches. 

 

Here’s a partial list of the players being targeted. It’s been reported that the actual number of players facing suspension could end up being somewhere around twenty.

 

– Ryan Braun: Milwaukee

– Everth Cabrera: San Diego

– Melky Cabrera: Toronto

– Francisco Cervelli: NY Yankees

– Bartolo Colon: Oakland

– Nelson Cruz: Texas

– Fautino de los Santos: Oakland

– Gio Gonzalez: Washington

– Yasmani Grandal: San Diego

– Fernando Martinez: Houston

– Jesus Montero: Seattle

– Jordan Norberto: Oakland

– Jhonny Peralta: Detroit

– Cesar Puello: NY Mets

– Alex Rodriguez: NY Yankees

 

The steroid issue has always been a complicated one for me personally. On one hand, I sort of have a, “Who gives a fuck?” attitude. Both because we weren’t actually there, and because the media practiced discretion to a fault before, say, the 1970’s, we really have no idea what types of competitive edges the players of baseball’s golden age were seeking. 

 

There’s a pretty good likelihood that a large percentage of players were loading up on amphetamines long before Mark McGwire shattered Roger Maris‘ record. As far as I’m concerned, that’s not a whole hell of a lot better than PED use. 

 

On the other hand, I can’t deny that numbers matter more in baseball than in any other major sport. I also cannot deny that it bothers me that guys like McGwire and Sammy Sosa were making a mockery of a record that more or less killed Maris. In McGwire’s case, I’m actually fairly convinced that, had he not been using, he never would have recovered from his rash of mid-career injuries, and at best would have settled into being an oft-injured hitter with 30 home run upside. 

 

It also burns me up that so many people consider Barry Bonds to have been a greater player than Ken Griffey Jr., mostly on the strength of what he accomplished as a ‘roided-out slugger in his late thirties and early forties. I suspect that even most people who are sort of lukewarm on the whole PED issue get an uneasy feeling when they see names like Sosa, Bonds and Rodriguez along with those belonging to Aaron, Mays and Griffey.

 

As for what I think will ultimately happen, well, for starters I think MLB is gonna have a hell of a time getting those 100 game suspensions they’re seeking. The justification for that number is based upon the premise that the accused should receive 50 game suspensions for their use of banned substances, and another 50 games for lying about being involved with Bosch and Biogenesis. This outcome, to me, seems next to impossible. 

 

The Players’ Association is going to fight this tooth and nail every step of the way. The MLB offices are surely aware of this, and perhaps their push for 100 game bans somewhat reflects this; maybe they feel that by seeking a harsher punishment, they can obtain 50 games bans more easily than they otherwise would have. Nevertheless, with as forceful as MLB is being, I would be fairly surprised if these players go completely unpunished, even if it takes the better part of a year to sort everything out.

 

Regardless of whether or not “justice” is served, there are a couple things we can surmise.

 

1. The legacies of Braun and A-Rod have been further tarnished, perhaps irreparably. 

 

Braun was extremely lucky to escape suspension early last year (on the premise that his sample wasn’t properly handled). By being named in the Biogenesis scandal, he’s probably lost the benefit of the doubt, and from here on out, any major achievements that come his way will be considered highly suspect. Sometimes being found guilty in the court of public opinion is even worse than in an actual courtroom. 

 

As for A-Rod, if it’s proven that there’s any weight to these most recent accusations, his Hall of Fame odds will drop dramatically. Furthermore, his Yankee legacy, which was already on incredibly shaky ground, will be destroyed. Maybe someday there will be a big ceremony at Yankee Stadium in which #13 is retired, but if that does happen, it won’t be in honor of Rodriguez. 

 

By the way, how amazing is it that A-Rod managed to become a loathsome figure to the fans of all three big league franchises he’s played for? You’ve gotta be a real special kind of douchebag to pull that off. Hey, I always knew you had it in ya, A-Rod!!

 

 

2. MLB is not fucking around.

 

If Bud Selig were forced to tell the truth, I’m damn near positive he would admit that MLB knew full well that players were juicing throughout the ’90’s, but the financial rewards were so tremendous, that they opted to look the other way. I believe this, because the only other plausible explanation is that every single person that works for Major League Baseball is dumb as a box of rocks. 

 

It would seem that baseball is in no way interested in revisiting the backlash that was caused the last time a PED scandal broke. And if there’s any validity to these more recent charges, MLB won’t be able to plead ignorance this time around. Selig and company have absolutely no interest in being branded as enablers (again), and they’ve clearly decided to combat this by being relentless in their prosecution of players who refuse to tow the line. 

 

Based upon MLB’s tenacity, I can only assume that they’ve deduced their only chance to put PED use behind them is to make the penalties so severe that players in the future will be unable to justify attempting to beat the system. And if only because I’m sick of hearing about it, I suppose I can’t say I blame them.

The Nine Worst Top Picks In the MLB Draft

It’s upon us once more- the Major League Baseball Draft! Given how comparatively long it takes for ballplayers to develop and contribute, this event lacks the enthusiasm that accompanies its NFL and NBA counterparts. Hell, even the NHL Draft is probably more anticipated. 

Nevertheless, it is an opportunity for teams to vastly improve their stock….or absolutely fucking destroy it. Because we play up the cynical angle here, I’m proud to present…..

 

THE NINE WORST #1 OVERALL PICKS, FROM 1987 TO THE PRESENT

 

Why starting in 1987? Because that was the year I started religiously following baseball. Also because almost every top pick from the ’60’s and ’70’s was pretty awful. Scouting wasn’t anywhere near the global operation back then that is is today. I don’t really know the specifics, but I’m guessing that GM’s of that era just picked the player whose name they liked the best…or possibly the ones they deemed to be the most handsome.

 

Why nine? Not in an attempt to be cute and play up the whole “baseball/nine” thing like the MLB Network does, but rather because the guy I had listed tenth, 1992’s top pick Phil Nevin, actually enjoyed a pretty decent career, and I felt like a dick for including him.

 

9. Ben McDonald-RHP (Baltimore, 1989)

 McDonald has the look that everyone salivates over when it comes to starting pitchers; namely, he was big (6’7″) and strong. The LSU product racked up an impressive number of honors; he was a 1988 Olympic gold medalist for the US baseball team, was a collegiate All American and won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur ballplayer in the nation. 

 

Unfortunately for McDonald and the O’s, Big Ben never fully got going in the majors. Oh, he enjoyed some success; for instance, he reached double digits in wins four times in a nine year career. But he never came close to realizing his lofty potential. McDonald, a strikeout artist in college, never averaged more than 7 K’s/9 IP until his very last season in Milwaukee, or totaled more than 171 K’s in a season. He stayed relatively healthy; he just never became what he was projected to.

 

Baltimore could have selected…..

– Frank Thomas: #7 to the White Sox

– Mo Vaughn: #23 to Boston

– Chuck Knoblauch: #25 to Minnesota

 

 

8. Tim Beckham-SS (Tampa Bay, 2008)

 The only reason I’m not ranking Beckham higher is that, at age 23 and enjoying a decent season for Triple-A Durham, there’s still a chance he could contribute at the major league level. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

 

To this point Beckham has spent parts of six seasons in the minors, with modest success at best. He’s a career .275 hitter with little power to speak of. His once considerable speed seems to have taken a dip too; he hasn’t reached 20 steals since doing so in 2010 at High-A ball. 

 

It should be some consolation to the Rays that they hit the jackpot just one year earlier with top pick David Price. But for Beckham himself, there probably isn’t much comfort, especially since he ended up not even being the best player with the surname “Beckham” from that draft (that would be the ChiSox’s Gordon Beckham– no relation- who was chosen seven picks later).

 

Tampa Bay could have selected…..

– Buster Posey: #5 to San Francisco

 

7. Kris Benson-RHP (Pittsburgh, 1996)

 A stud pitcher at Clemson (and, like McDonald, an Olympian), Kristen James Benson went undefeated as a junior, and the Bucs were all too pleased to select him first overall. 

 

His best season in the bigs was probably his sophomore campaign in 2000, when he went 10-12 with a 3.85 ERA and collected 184 strikeouts. However, he required Tommy John surgery following that season and was never quite the same again.

 

Benson hung around for nine years and played for five teams, winning 70 games against 75 losses; not terrible, but probably not what the Pirates were hoping for when they gave him a record signing bonus.

 

On the plus side (I guess), Benson is also famous for having a wife that many people deem attractive. Anna Benson was apparently the star of something called Baseball Wives, and made a handful of other media appearances. So at least there’s that.

 

Pittsburgh could have selected…..

– Eric Chavez: #10 to Oakland

– Jake Westbrook: #21 to Colorado

(This was not a very good draft!)

 

6. Luke Hochevar-RHP (Kansas City, 2006)

 Hochevar was actually drafted three times- the first two by the Dodgers- but didn’t sign until he was chosen first by the Royals in ’06. (Though he did accept a deal from LA in ’05 when he dropped agent Scott Boras. The next day, he rehired Boras and rejected the Dodgers’ deal).

 

Yet another strapping right-hander (I’m starting to see a trend here), Hochevar never really took off as a minor leaguer. Nevertheless, this is the Royals we’re talking about and since they’re not exactly picky, Hochevar was called up at the end of the 2007 season and has mor eor less been a regular for KC ever since. 

 

Hochevar spent five seasons in the Royals rotation, but was demoted to the bullpen this spring when the team acquired starters James Shields and Ervin Santana. As a starter, he was horrible (he had a 38-59 record and his best ever ERA was 2011’s 4.68), but he may have found his niche as a reliever. In 16 appearances this season, Hochevar has put up a respectable 2.95 ERA wand a very strong 0.98 WHIP. 

 

Nevertheless, this was a guy that was expected to anchor the Royals’ rotation for years, not to suck for six years and then become a pretty good middle reliever.

 

Kansas City could have selected……

– Evan Longoria: #3 to Tampa Bay

– Clayton Kershaw: #7 to the Dodgers

– Tim Lincecum: #10 to San Francisco

– Max Scherzer: #11 to Arizona

 

5. Paul Wilson-RHP (New York Mets, 1994)

 This one hurt. As many of you know, I grew up as a Mets fan. Back in the summer of ’94, I hadn’t fully made the jump to Mariner Nation, and the Amazins were still very much my team. The 1993 season was a disaster of ridiculous proportions, and the #1 pick in ’94 was the consolation prize…that, in typical Mets fashion, they totally botched.

 

Wilson was yet another big, hard-throwing righty, but unlike many of his draft bust contemporaries, he was actually pretty great in the minors. Prior to the 1996 season, Baseball America ranked him as the second best prospect in the game. He spent that season with the Mets, going 5-12 with a less than desirable 5.38 ERA.

 

The next few seasons brought with them heaps of injuries, to the point that the Mets dealt Wilson to Tampa for a smallish shipment on sunflower seeds at the trade deadline in 2000. He did go on to compile a couple of not completely disgusting seasons with the Reds, but that he was never anything better than back of the rotation filler means he fell about a trillion miles short of what was expected.

 

How insignificant was Wilson’s career? When I tried to look up his stats on BaseballReference.com, he wasn’t even the first “Paul Wilson” to come up; that distinction belonged to Highball Wilson (real name, Howard Paul Wilson), who won a total of 14 games from 1899 to 1904 for the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Spiders. 

 

The Mets could have selected…..

– Nomar Garciaparra: #12 to Boston

– Paul Konerko: #13 to the Dodgers

– Jason Varitek: #14 to Seattle

 

4. Matt Anderson-RHP (Detroit, 1997)

 If you guessed that Anderson was a big righty, congratulations, I owe you a Coke! Anderson, however, was a relief pitcher, and the Tigers presumably expected him to be their eventual closer. 

 

Anderson’s big league career started in promising fashion; as a 21-year-old rookie in 1998, he went 5-1 with a 3.27 ERA and averaged a strikeout per inning. He struggled the next two seasons, as his ERA ballooned and he was unable to limit his walks. 

 

Still, by 2001, he was given the job as closer. That year, he saved 22 games and his walk rate came down quite a bit, but he still surrendered a hit per inning en route to a 4.82 ERA. Not long thereafter, Anderson tore a muscle in his armpit, and once he returned, he was noticeably worst than the not very good pitcher he already was. All told, he tallied 26 saves while going 15-7 with a 5.19 ERA in seven seasons.

 

Detroit could have selected….

– JD Drew: #2 to Philadelphia

– Troy Glaus: #3 to Anaheim

– Lance Berkman: #16 to Houston

 

 

 

3, Bryan Bullington-RHP (Pittsburgh, 2002)

 Most people think the Bucs’ selection of Bullington has more to do with the perception that he’d be easier to sign than many of the other top prospects. They did indeed sign him, but I suspect they wish they hadn’t.

 

Bullington was a perfectly useful minor league pitcher, but his big league numbers left a whole fucking lot left to be desired. At this point, I sort of feel like the less said, the better, so here you go: 26 lifetime major league appearances- 10 starts- good for a 1-9 record, a 5.62 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.

 

Pittsburgh could have selected….

– BJ Upton: #2 to Tampa Bay

– Zack Greinke: #6 to Kansas City

– Prince Fielder: #7 to Milwaukee

 

2. Brien Taylor-LHP (New York Yankees, 1991)

 That’s right, kids- once upon a time, the New York motherfuckin’ Yankees (their formal moniker) were the worst team in baseball. If you root for one of the 29 other teams, you should be thrilled that Taylor didn’t pan out, because if he had, they might have won a couple more titles.

 

The fireballing lefty (he was close to touching 100 mph as a high school kid), Taylor, spurred on by Boras, demanded $1.2 million over three years to sign. The Yanks were reluctant, by George Steinbrenner (who at that time was serving a suspension handed down by Major League Baseball) more or less forced their hand, and Taylor ended up signing for $1.55 million at the eleventh hour.

 

Taylor’s career got off to a terrific start; as a 20-year-old for Single-A Fort Lauderdale, he struck out more than ten batters per nine innings pitched and compiled an excellent 2.57 ERA. The following year, he was promoted to Double-A, where he backslid slightly, but still looked like a star in the making. But then, something bad happened.

 

Just a week before Christmas in 1993, Taylor, seeking to avenge a a beating sustained by his brother, injured his shoulder (he took a swing at his target, missed and fell on his shoulder). He missed the ’94 season, and was a shell of his former self when he did return. 

 

Taylor lost much of the zip off of his once formidable fastball, and endured three miserable seasons in A-ball for the Yanks. The low point was probably Taylor’s 1996 season. That year, he made nine starts for a total of just 16.1 innings, going 0-5 with a 18.73 ERA and a mind-boggling 3.918 WHIP.

 

The Indians took a chance on him on a minor league deal in 2000, but Taylor surrendered 11 hits and nine walks in just 2.2 innings for their Class-A team.

 

The only thing that prevented me from making Taylor my #1 bust was that, had he not been injured, he may well have been a very good player. The occupant of the top spot on this list had no such excuses working in his favor…..

 

The Yankees could have selected…..

– Manny Ramirez: #13 to Cleveland

– Cliff Floyd: #14 to Montreal

– Shawn Green: #16 to Toronto

 

1. Matt Bush-SS/P (San Diego, 2003)

 This was yet another example of a team picking a player they probably liked less than a couple others because they didn’t feel like dealing with Scott Boras. 

 

Originally brought up as a shortstop, Bush struggled through four disappointing minor league seasons before being converted to a pitcher prior to the ’98 season. All told, Bush hit .219 with three home runs in 259 games as a shortstop, and was 7-3 with a 4.14 ERA as a pitcher.

 

Bush might have actually had a future on the mound had he not been such a scumbag off the field. I wanted to include a list of his, er, brushes with the law, but his rap sheet is so extensive that I think I’ll just mention my favorite…..

 

In 2009, Bush was involved in (but apparently not arrested for) drunkenly beating a high school lacrosse player with a golf club while screaming, “I’m Matt fucking Bush!” This episode was apparently captured on video.

 

If you wish to contact Mr. Bush, I assume you can write him a letter care of the Hamilton Correctional Institute in Jasper, Florida. His inmate number is C07392.

 

San Diego could have selected……

– Rickie Weeks: #2 to Milwaukee

– Nick Markakis: #7 to Baltimore

 

Why I Loathe Eric Wedge, Part 76

If anyone knows how to handle a pitching staff, it’s a former catcher, right? You can probably throw that assumption out the window, right along with the Seattle Mariners’ chances for their first winning season since 2009.

There are two things that piss me off to no end about M’s manager Eric Wedge. The first is that I believe, perhaps in the spirit of trying to remain optimistic, he’s sometimes dishonest. But the second seems to come up with much greater regularity- his propensity to stick with pitchers who have either run out of gas or simply don’t have their stuff in a given outing.

This afternoon in Minnesota, Wedge called upon struggling closer Tom Wilhelmsen to protect a two run lead in the ninth, but things quickly got out of hand. Wilhelmsen walked the bases loaded without retiring a single hitter; of his first 20 pitches, 15 were balls.

When he finally did record an out, it was a productive one for the Twins, as Josh Willingham managed a sac fly to reduce his team’s deficit to one run. The next batter, Ryan Doumit, ended the drama, scorching a two-run, game-winning triple. Twins 5 Mariners 4.

While I don’t question Wedge decision to hand the ball to Wilhelmsen, I can’t say the same about his refusal to remove him once is was clear he couldn’t throw strikes. He had rookie right-hander Yoervis Medina warming up in the bullpen, but opted to stay with his location-challenged stopper.

Here’s what future Padres bench coach Wedge had to say for himself:

“If he gets a ground ball, the game’s over. I mean, he’s your closer. Otherwise, you’re going to go to a guy who has never been in that situation, for the closer. It’s just asking a lot from someone who hasn’t been in that situation. With closers, you live and die with them. He makes a pitch there and puts the ball on the ground, the game’s over, and we win. You’ve got to give him every opportunity.”

Wow. Well, he was right about one thing: you live and die with your closer. And today, the Mariners died. The problem was, it was completely predictable. This wasn’t a two out, game-tying home run on a borderline strike; it was a pitcher with absolutely nothing working for him, who, mind you, had previously blown two of his past three save opportunities.

If there wasn’t somebody warming up to begin the inning, there sure as shit should have been somebody warming up once he walked his first hitter. Oh, and you might want to try using that pitcher, too.

I also love Professor Wedge’s assertion that if the ball gets hit on the ground, “the game’s over.” Yes, well reasoned. And if Grady Little– Wedge’s presumptive managerial hero- pulls Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 ALCS, the Red Sox probably win the pennant. But that’s not what happened.

Maybe Wedge’s decision was an effort to instill some confidence in his closer. How’d that work out?

“It’s the worst thing in the world. Letting your team down, there’s nothing else like it. They put you in position to do your job, and when you can’t do it, it makes you feel like [terrible].”

Somehow I don’t think that The Bartender, as he’s stupidly called, would be any worse off confidence-wise had he been removed, even if Medina couldn’t hold the lead. And I think there’s a decent chance Medina could have held the lead; not because he’s such an amazing pitcher, but because it’s the fucking Twins! They practically beat themselves on a nightly basis.

 

There are situations in which I believe you stick with your closer no matter what. But this wasn’t one of them. If this were a rare occurrence, I’d have no problem letting it slide, but this happens way too often. It’s, if I’m being charitable, the second time this season that Wedge’s mismanagement of the bullpen has cost his team a win. 

 

This mismanagement typically involves allowing a reliever who is clearly having an awful outing to drown out on the field. What’s astounding about his penchant for doing that is that Wedge typically has no qualms about burning half of his bullpen to get through a single inning. He uses most of his bullpen like pawns that he’s all too happy to sacrifice; but then he’ll shove his king out to the center of the board unprotected. (If anyone can produce for me a legitimate trophy that says something akin to, Eric Wedge: 1986 High School Chess Champion, I owe you a Coke.)

 

Maybe it isn’t fair, maybe I’m using the skipper as a scapegoat, but when the M’s lose a game like this, my only comfort comes from believing that Wedge is that much closer to getting fired. If that sounds cruel, I’ll point out that Wedge has made close to two million dollars a year for the past three seasons; I think he’ll be okay.