CRP: How do you win a championship three years in a row? By finishing 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd in runs scored, and 4th, 3rd, and 3rd in ERA over that stretch. Same-old same-old: paced by Josh Hamilton (.335, 29 HR's) and four other players who hit 20 or more homers, a starting rotation which featured Ubaldo Jimenez (17-8, 2.09) and Jered Weaver (18-6, 2.88), and a bullpen with Heath Bell (2.00, 26 saves), the Patriots won 90+ games for the third year in a row.
Factoid: Despite a lefty-leaning lineup (Hamilton, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, and Russ Branyan), Conn River batted 48 points and slugged 78 points better against portsiders.
Outlook: The Patriots will have an uphill climb for a 4th title: With the exception of Carlos Beltran and McCann, everybody had a worse offensive year (and some, like Johnson and Branyan, pretty much fell off the map), and the rotation after Weaver looks grim.
CAQ: The Quakes improved from 68 wins to 95 in a single season, reaping the benefits of a good draft and some great seasons by Joey Votto (1.103 OPS, 46 HR's) and Carlos Gonzalez (.943, 35). The big improvement was in the pitching, which went from dead-last (4.84 ERA) in 2010 to a respectable 6th (3.79) this season. Part of that was due to the surprise performance of Jake Westbrook (13-5, 2.78), but the Quakes' drafts over the last couple of years have been spectactular: Gonzalez, John Axford, Jason Heyward, Andrew McCutchen, David Freese... Are you listening, Montreal?
Factoid: The Quakes tried more squeezes than any other team, 17, being successful 7 times (Montreal was the most successful, going 9 for 12).
Outlook: Heyward had a horrible sophomore season, and there was a slight decline by others, but with Hamel and Cueto at the top of the rotation and at least six solid hitters in the lineup, Castaic should be back in the thick of things next year.
WAC: The Cheesewedgers also made a notable improvement, going from 78 wins to 91. A big reason for that was the jump from 10th to 4th in team ERA, fueled largely by the bullpen: after posting a 4.65 ERA in 2010, worse than all but two other teams, West Allis' relievers worked to a 3.13 ERA, bettered only by Bowie and Virginia Beach. That made up for a noticeable slide by the offense, which declined by 58 homers and managed only a .247 average.
Factoid: The Cheesewedgers kicked it into gear in the stretch run. After going only 6 games over .500 in the first four months of the season, they went 35-22 in August and September.
Outlook: West Allis has some issues, mainly injuries to key players like Buster Posey and Ike Davis. But the two Matts -- Cain, who had his best season, and Kemp, who had an MVP year -- should assure them of a playoff spot.
BOW: Another 19-game improvement over the previous year. It certainly wasn't due to their hitting; because of their ballpark, Bowie's always been at the bottom of the league in that department, but this year they were even worse, batting 10 points lower and scoring 102 fewer runs. The difference was a pitching staff which went from sixth in ERA at 4.34 to first at 2.72.
Factoid: In 94 of their 162 games, Bowie held its opponent to 3 runs or less. Of course, in 97 games they scored three runs or less, perhaps explaining the fact that they played 62 1-run games, the most in the league by far.
Outlook: They've lost Adam Wainwright to injury, but a team with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee at the top of the rotation, Jose Valverde as closer, and Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup is going to be a force. They've got some significant holes, though, and it's not going to help at cutdown that at least three of their key players (Gonzalez, Valverde, and J.J. Hardy) are American Leaguers.
LIT: The Rockies also improved, from 65 wins to 77. A big reason was the offense; despite playing in a hitters park, they finished 11th in runs scored in 2010, but moved up to 7th this year. The acquisition of Albert Pujols was certainly part of that; although he performed slightly worse than he did in real life, 43 HR's is nothing to sneeze at. Had it not been for the collapse of Aramis Ramirez, who went from a .954 OPS in 2010 to a .669 OPS this year, Littleton probably would have made the playoffs.
Factoid: The Rockies hit .344 with the bases loaded, best in the league by far, but had only 5 extra base hits, including 1 home run; their 63 RBI in that situation was lower than all but Montreal, which hit .198 and had 59 RBI.
Outlook: Ramirez rebounded this year, and the starting pitching should be solid with Justin Verlander, Yovanni Gallardo and Jaime Garcia. The bullpen is a concern, but a bigger one is Pujols: after this year, with his big AL salary, he may be unaffordable. This could be the season that Littleton has to make a move.
MMM: David Wright and Ryan Howard combined for 51 homers, which was almost exactly half of the team total; no one else finished in double figures. The Maulers got solid seasons from Johan Santana (8-11, 2.99), Roy Oswalt (12-9, 3.13), and Josh Johnson (8-7, 3.24), but that wasn't enough to overcome a lackluster offense and a bullpen where the closer, Brandon Lyon, posted a 4.26 ERA.
Factoid: Maui was the only team that didn't hit a grand slam this season.
Outlook: Although 1st round draft pick Mike Stanton didn't do anything for the Maulers this year (.219, 9 HR's), he should give them a solid 30 to 40 homers a year from here on out. The bigger problem is shoring up the pitching, which will lose Santana and now needs a closer.
Factoid: Despite a lefty-leaning lineup (Hamilton, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, and Russ Branyan), Conn River batted 48 points and slugged 78 points better against portsiders.
Outlook: The Patriots will have an uphill climb for a 4th title: With the exception of Carlos Beltran and McCann, everybody had a worse offensive year (and some, like Johnson and Branyan, pretty much fell off the map), and the rotation after Weaver looks grim.
CAQ: The Quakes improved from 68 wins to 95 in a single season, reaping the benefits of a good draft and some great seasons by Joey Votto (1.103 OPS, 46 HR's) and Carlos Gonzalez (.943, 35). The big improvement was in the pitching, which went from dead-last (4.84 ERA) in 2010 to a respectable 6th (3.79) this season. Part of that was due to the surprise performance of Jake Westbrook (13-5, 2.78), but the Quakes' drafts over the last couple of years have been spectactular: Gonzalez, John Axford, Jason Heyward, Andrew McCutchen, David Freese... Are you listening, Montreal?
Factoid: The Quakes tried more squeezes than any other team, 17, being successful 7 times (Montreal was the most successful, going 9 for 12).
Outlook: Heyward had a horrible sophomore season, and there was a slight decline by others, but with Hamel and Cueto at the top of the rotation and at least six solid hitters in the lineup, Castaic should be back in the thick of things next year.
WAC: The Cheesewedgers also made a notable improvement, going from 78 wins to 91. A big reason for that was the jump from 10th to 4th in team ERA, fueled largely by the bullpen: after posting a 4.65 ERA in 2010, worse than all but two other teams, West Allis' relievers worked to a 3.13 ERA, bettered only by Bowie and Virginia Beach. That made up for a noticeable slide by the offense, which declined by 58 homers and managed only a .247 average.
Factoid: The Cheesewedgers kicked it into gear in the stretch run. After going only 6 games over .500 in the first four months of the season, they went 35-22 in August and September.
Outlook: West Allis has some issues, mainly injuries to key players like Buster Posey and Ike Davis. But the two Matts -- Cain, who had his best season, and Kemp, who had an MVP year -- should assure them of a playoff spot.
BOW: Another 19-game improvement over the previous year. It certainly wasn't due to their hitting; because of their ballpark, Bowie's always been at the bottom of the league in that department, but this year they were even worse, batting 10 points lower and scoring 102 fewer runs. The difference was a pitching staff which went from sixth in ERA at 4.34 to first at 2.72.
Factoid: In 94 of their 162 games, Bowie held its opponent to 3 runs or less. Of course, in 97 games they scored three runs or less, perhaps explaining the fact that they played 62 1-run games, the most in the league by far.
Outlook: They've lost Adam Wainwright to injury, but a team with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee at the top of the rotation, Jose Valverde as closer, and Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup is going to be a force. They've got some significant holes, though, and it's not going to help at cutdown that at least three of their key players (Gonzalez, Valverde, and J.J. Hardy) are American Leaguers.
LIT: The Rockies also improved, from 65 wins to 77. A big reason was the offense; despite playing in a hitters park, they finished 11th in runs scored in 2010, but moved up to 7th this year. The acquisition of Albert Pujols was certainly part of that; although he performed slightly worse than he did in real life, 43 HR's is nothing to sneeze at. Had it not been for the collapse of Aramis Ramirez, who went from a .954 OPS in 2010 to a .669 OPS this year, Littleton probably would have made the playoffs.
Factoid: The Rockies hit .344 with the bases loaded, best in the league by far, but had only 5 extra base hits, including 1 home run; their 63 RBI in that situation was lower than all but Montreal, which hit .198 and had 59 RBI.
Outlook: Ramirez rebounded this year, and the starting pitching should be solid with Justin Verlander, Yovanni Gallardo and Jaime Garcia. The bullpen is a concern, but a bigger one is Pujols: after this year, with his big AL salary, he may be unaffordable. This could be the season that Littleton has to make a move.
MMM: David Wright and Ryan Howard combined for 51 homers, which was almost exactly half of the team total; no one else finished in double figures. The Maulers got solid seasons from Johan Santana (8-11, 2.99), Roy Oswalt (12-9, 3.13), and Josh Johnson (8-7, 3.24), but that wasn't enough to overcome a lackluster offense and a bullpen where the closer, Brandon Lyon, posted a 4.26 ERA.
Factoid: Maui was the only team that didn't hit a grand slam this season.
Outlook: Although 1st round draft pick Mike Stanton didn't do anything for the Maulers this year (.219, 9 HR's), he should give them a solid 30 to 40 homers a year from here on out. The bigger problem is shoring up the pitching, which will lose Santana and now needs a closer.
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