by Derek Franks
With no clear front-runner, MLB is wide open as ever.
It’s almost as if no one wants a pennant this year.
As we’ve made it through the first quarter of the MLB season, all of these teams seem on a collision course for mediocrity with no clear leader of the pack. Thus, the early part of 2014 has amounted to a mixed bag of so-so teams who are either falling short of expectations or doing better than expected.
But the focus should clearly be on the typical successful franchises, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of this world, who just haven’t found their groove yet.
Thus far, we’ve seen a lot of “blah” in the MLB season. Looking at Baseball standings, win-loss records are very close across the board. Outside of Detroit (27-15) and Oakland (30-15), the first place teams in each division are a combined 131-93 with a very unspectacular average of 26-19.
The time is now for teams with high expectations that are having a rough start to 2014. Several playoff clubs from a year ago find themselves in the dumps so far: The Rangers (8 games back), Rays (6), Indians (7.5), Pirates (8), Reds (6) are all near or at the bottom of their division. The always-assured St. Louis Cardinals and everyone’s preseason darling, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are both four games behind and a very mediocre 25-22 on the year. While the defending champion Boston Red Sox are fairing even worse, 20-25 and second to last in their division.
So who has the most to worry about? That’s a toss up too.
Boston, Cleveland and Los Angeles have all taken part in one of baseball’s toughest stretch of games to start the year and as schedules usually go, they will have their go at easier tilts as we move into the middle portion of the season. In contrast, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Texas, Cincinnati, the New York Yankees (24-21, 1st in East) and St. Louis are all in the bottom 15 of strength of schedule so far, with the Yankees and Cardinals, bringing up the rear in schedule difficulty.
These teams have not done enough with what they were given which will surely hurt them as they go along this season. They will wish they had taken advantage of those series’ with bottom-feeder clubs like Houston, San Diego, Arizona, and both Chicago franchises.
By the numbers, those who seemed to be sure-bets at the start of the season are keeping everyone guessing. The struggles of some of the most prominent teams in baseball can be understood by looking at a very simple component. Those regarded as the better hitters and pitchers have failed do just that: hit and pitch.
Looking at the MLB standings, the number that stands out difference between runs scored and runs against. There are a lot of negative numbers and very few positive ones. In particular, the Yankees (-11), Red Sox (-17), Rays (-27), Indians (-23), Pirates (-24) and especially the Rangers (-36) have been on a hard path to missing the playoffs because of their run differential. Only 13 of the 30 major league teams have scored more runs than they’ve given up.
Injuries have killed teams this season too. But one has had the worst luck of all.
Texas is possibly the most battered of them all—13 of its players on the active roster are currently on the injured list, including big-time pitchers Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison and Derek Holland, consistent hitters Adrian Beltre and Sin Soo Choo and the newly acquired Prince Fielder who has slumped mightily and is now pondering season-ending surgery. The Rangers are arguably one of the most talented teams in baseball. Getting healthy seems to be the key at getting back into the mix.
Other teams that desperately need to get healthy are Boston, Washington, LA Dodgers, Tampa Bay and Atlanta as the season dips toward the mid-way point.
This is the time of the season where baseball clubs that have struggled must start to turn the tables. The quarter-way point is typically recognized as the time where teams can set their sails in a different direction or remain on the same heading. These teams all must find a way to produce at the plate and improve on the mound or we could have Milwaukee vs. Toronto in the World Series—and no one saw that coming.
Who Wants It in MLB?
by Derek Franks
With no clear front-runner, MLB is wide open as ever.
It’s almost as if no one wants a pennant this year.
As we’ve made it through the first quarter of the MLB season, all of these teams seem on a collision course for mediocrity with no clear leader of the pack. Thus, the early part of 2014 has amounted to a mixed bag of so-so teams who are either falling short of expectations or doing better than expected.
But the focus should clearly be on the typical successful franchises, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of this world, who just haven’t found their groove yet.
Thus far, we’ve seen a lot of “blah” in the MLB season. Looking at Baseball standings, win-loss records are very close across the board. Outside of Detroit (27-15) and Oakland (30-15), the first place teams in each division are a combined 131-93 with a very unspectacular average of 26-19.
The time is now for teams with high expectations that are having a rough start to 2014. Several playoff clubs from a year ago find themselves in the dumps so far: The Rangers (8 games back), Rays (6), Indians (7.5), Pirates (8), Reds (6) are all near or at the bottom of their division. The always-assured St. Louis Cardinals and everyone’s preseason darling, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are both four games behind and a very mediocre 25-22 on the year. While the defending champion Boston Red Sox are fairing even worse, 20-25 and second to last in their division.
So who has the most to worry about? That’s a toss up too.
Boston, Cleveland and Los Angeles have all taken part in one of baseball’s toughest stretch of games to start the year and as schedules usually go, they will have their go at easier tilts as we move into the middle portion of the season. In contrast, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Texas, Cincinnati, the New York Yankees (24-21, 1st in East) and St. Louis are all in the bottom 15 of strength of schedule so far, with the Yankees and Cardinals, bringing up the rear in schedule difficulty.
These teams have not done enough with what they were given which will surely hurt them as they go along this season. They will wish they had taken advantage of those series’ with bottom-feeder clubs like Houston, San Diego, Arizona, and both Chicago franchises.
By the numbers, those who seemed to be sure-bets at the start of the season are keeping everyone guessing. The struggles of some of the most prominent teams in baseball can be understood by looking at a very simple component. Those regarded as the better hitters and pitchers have failed do just that: hit and pitch.
Looking at the MLB standings, the number that stands out difference between runs scored and runs against. There are a lot of negative numbers and very few positive ones. In particular, the Yankees (-11), Red Sox (-17), Rays (-27), Indians (-23), Pirates (-24) and especially the Rangers (-36) have been on a hard path to missing the playoffs because of their run differential. Only 13 of the 30 major league teams have scored more runs than they’ve given up.
Injuries have killed teams this season too. But one has had the worst luck of all.
Texas is possibly the most battered of them all—13 of its players on the active roster are currently on the injured list, including big-time pitchers Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison and Derek Holland, consistent hitters Adrian Beltre and Sin Soo Choo and the newly acquired Prince Fielder who has slumped mightily and is now pondering season-ending surgery. The Rangers are arguably one of the most talented teams in baseball. Getting healthy seems to be the key at getting back into the mix.
Other teams that desperately need to get healthy are Boston, Washington, LA Dodgers, Tampa Bay and Atlanta as the season dips toward the mid-way point.
This is the time of the season where baseball clubs that have struggled must start to turn the tables. The quarter-way point is typically recognized as the time where teams can set their sails in a different direction or remain on the same heading. These teams all must find a way to produce at the plate and improve on the mound or we could have Milwaukee vs. Toronto in the World Series—and no one saw that coming.