MLB Recap: The Most Disappointing Teams Of 2010
Comments (2)
The division champs have been drawn, wild card winners have been dealt and baseball’s second season is looming. The playoffs are here and the true contenders have emerged after 162 games of maple-splintering action.
In the midst of such excitement, it is easy to forget about the disappointing teams that have been sent packing. The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets are a couple of teams that were expected to make playoff noise but ended the regular season with barely a whimper.
But to be a true letdown, an organization has to have some semblance of talent on the starting roster. Accordingly, if you ended the season with Shelley Duncan as your clean-up hitter, there is a strong chance your team does not qualify as one of the year's most disappointing (sorry, Cleveland Indians).
Furthermore, the playoffs need to have been more than just a pipe dream for your team to earn a look of disappointment that rivals the one you got after tossing back a few too many glasses of eggnog and streaking through your great grandmother’s living room at the family Christmas party. Honestly, it’s not like the Pittsburgh Pirates were clearing a spot in their trophy case when spring rolled around.
Now that the groundwork has been laid, let’s examine the four teams that sent more people away shaking their heads than The Godfather: Part III.
Batting Leadoff…
Aside from suffering from an identity crisis, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were plagued by key injuries and erratic pitching in 2010.
When star first baseman Kendry Morales collapsed with a broken leg in May, so did the Angels’ playoff chances. The team had already parted ways with former lineup staples like Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins in the offseason. The loss of Morales left a void in the middle of the lineup that the Angels simply could not fill.
Also, aces Jered Weaver and Dan Haren (for the second half of the season) were the only two pitching commodities the Halos could count on. Scott Kazmir floundered in his first full season in Southern California with a 5.94 ERA, while Ervin Santana and Joel Pineiro were a mixed bag at the back end of what was a promising starting rotation on paper.
To make matters worse, a bullpen that had once been a strength for the organization provided anything but relief. Former closer Brian Fuentes was never the stopper the team hoped for before he was shipped to Minnesota. Middle relievers Scot Shields and Kevin Jepsen combined to build a shaky bridge to the ninth inning that even Indiana Jones wouldn’t dare cross.
After entering the season with a strong chance to win a fourth straight AL West title, the Angels finished third in the division and 10 games out of first place. Somewhere the Rally Monkey is crying into a banana daiquiri.
Rounding Second…
When your roster boasts legitimate NL MVP and Cy Young contenders, a playoff absence is made that much more conspicuous. Such is the case with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Albert Pujols offered further proof that he is a cyborg this season by leading the NL in home runs and RBIs. His sidekick on the mound, Adam Wainwright, was equally dazzling in a 20-win campaign accented by 213 strikeouts and a 2.42 ERA.
But a 25-30 combined record in August and September doomed the Red Birds. The rough patch included series sweeps at the hands of the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs.
The losses of promising third baseman David Freese and veteran pitcher Brad Penny to season-ending injuries contributed to the team’s late season demise.
Outside of Pujols and Matt Holliday, the team struggled to find consistent hitting, especially at the top of the order. Meanwhile, the back end of the starting rotation lobbed so many gopher balls it was like they were pitching in the home run derby.
It’s a good thing Anheuser-Busch has a brewery in St. Louis because Cardinals fans are going to need a heavy dose of hops to forget this season.
The Hot Corner…
Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” should have been replaced by the theme song to M*A*S*H as the rallying cry for Red Sox Nation after the injury-plagued season their team suffered through.
The BoSox endured season-ending injuries to superstars Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Kevin Youkilis. And with several other key players hitting the DL for extended periods of time, manager Terry Francona was forced to navigate more treacherous waters than the Titanic.
Boston entered the season with an imposing roster that included shiny new acquisitions Adrian Beltre and John Lackey. But several former lynchpins faltered this year. Former ace Josh Beckett looked like he should be throwing in Eric Byrnes’ softball league as his ERA soared above 5.00 for most of the season. Utility infielder Mike Lowell also struggled, and closer Jonathan Papelbon appeared light years removed from his 2009 dominance.
It’s hard to fault the Red Sox for missing the postseason after the hardships they encountered. But finishing seven games back in the AL East after making the playoffs for three consecutive seasons (one that included a World Series championship) should have fans shaking their heads in Beantown.
Heading Home…
Divorces are rough, but never before has one torn apart a 40-man roster quite the way the McCourt trial did with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Many baseball pundits expected Los Angeles to run away with the NL West. But those predictions did not account for a front office that is more dysfunctional than the Jersey Shore household.
The tension upstairs appeared to make its way down to the clubhouse as the season progressed. On June 12, Los Angeles was 12 games over .500 and looked like the team most expected going into the season. But the Dodgers ultimately finished the season 80-82, 12 games behind the NL West champion San Francisco Giants.
An opening day roster that included an All-Star closer, a former batting champion and a World Series winning coach was never a serious threat to claim the division. The team ultimately traded away a disgruntled Manny Ramirez, demoted struggling closer Jonathan Broxton and sent Joe Torre into an inauspicious retirement.
A turbulent front office never made the critical deadline deal that could have propelled the Dodgers to a postseason run. The acquisitions of Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot and Ted Lilly provided only a faint ripple effect in the playoff waters while the Giants and Padres were making big waves.
By the end of the season, the Dodger dogs being consumed in the bleachers were filled with higher quality ingredients than the team on the field.
To reach staff writer Michael Green, click here.
Sign up for Neon Tommy's weekly e-mail newsletter.
