Baseball Power Report, Memorial Day edition

The season has been going for a couple months, things are settling into position. Memorial Day, about a quarter of the way through the season, is really the first great opportunity to classify each team.

Let me say that finding a unique and interesting statistic or two for each of 30 teams takes a while. Especially as things change every day. This is like my 3rd attempt at it this season.

1. Rangers. They still lead the American League in runs scored, fewest runs allowed, and as a result, winning percentage, and that’s the magical triple crown in sports. Josh Hamilton is playing as good as anyone ever, and I believe he will win the batting Triple Crown. Yu Darvish is 5-0 at home (if Yu considers Texas his home).

2. Dodgers. 16-7 (68%) with Matt Kemp, 8-4 (67%) without him. 21-5 at Dodgers Stadium. At age 33, Chris Capuano has been one of baseball’s most consistent pitchers. Wait, who?

3. Nationals. Nats have won all five series they’ve played against division rivals. Pitching has been stellar. None of their starting five have even missed a start. Bryce Harper has come out with a bang. While none of their hitters has really stood out, everyone is contributing.

4. Cardinals. You may think this is high for a team trailing in their own division, but the Cardinals are showing all the signs of a great team. Their hitting post-Pujols and without injured Berkman is only behind the Texas Rangers. The pitching rotation has been healthy and very consistent. Compare this team to last year: new coach, 3-4 sluggers injured or gone, ace of the pitching staff hurt, led by Renaissance men Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal.

5. Rays. Joe Maddon continues to do his thing, reload and keep firing. Longoria has been hurt and the four Rays with the most at bats are all hitting .235 or worse yet the team is still in the middle in most offensive stats. Closer Kyle Farnsworth has been out all year and Fernando Rodney stepped in and has been brilliant. All Jeremy Hellickson does in the majors is win.

6. Orioles. O’s have been the most surprising team in baseball. The pitching has likely overachieved, but let’s see how long they can keep it up. Baltimore hasn’t had a winning team for 14 years. The bullpen currently holds a record of 11-5 and has been the brightest spot.

7. Reds. Aroldis Chapman has been practically unhittable and seems to have found his niche as a closer. Joey Votto continues to show he is a regular MVP candidate.

8. Yankees. The starting rotation is giving up tons of home runs, most in the majors. Andy Pettitte has been better than the Yankees could have hoped for in his return. After a sluggish start, Teixeira and Cano are heating up. A-Rod has hit in the cleanup spot all year but is 6th on the team in runs batted in, and that’s pathetic.

9. Indians. How they maintain a division lead, I don’t understand. Mediocre offense, below average starting pitching, worst bullpen ERA in the American League, -15 run differential. But a league-best 10-2 record in close games has made the difference for them. I don’t see that record holding up through summer.

10. Marlins. Quietly the hottest team in May. As a team they have stolen 58 bases, 13 more than anyone else.

11. Angels. After a dreadful start, they are right back in contention led by outstanding starting pitching. 7 wins in a row and they are back to .500.

12. White Sox. Winning 10 of their last 11 games has carried them close to the top of the division. Adam Dunn remembered how to hit. Paul Konerko, Mr. Quiet Consistence, is now batting close to .400.

13. Mets. Another very surprising start as the other team in New York is sitting in second place in the division. David Wright is really carrying the team. The bullpen has real issues. Injuries are starting to pile up and look at this upcoming schedule: Phillies, Cardinals, Nationals, Yankees, Rays, Reds, Orioles, and Yankees. Check back with me on June 24 and tell me how they are doing.

14. Phillies. Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee have not been their usual dominant selves this year, which is bad news with the poor hitting behind them. But Cole Hamels has stepped up to keep the team afloat. Carlos Ruiz has been one of few bright spots in the lineup, along with Hunter Pence’s power.

15. Blue Jays. Starting to fade after a nice start. Edwin Encarnacion (15) is only 2 home runs shy of last year’s total, making up for a slow start for Jose Bautista.

16. Braves. A rough week drops them from first to last. I know he’s a legend in Atlanta, but Chipper Jones should have retired years ago. Brandon Beachy has allowed 2 or fewer earned runs in 9 of his 10 starts.

17. Red Sox. Scoring runs is never an issue with the Red Sox. I don’t get why Bobby Valentine is playing his 3-time Gold Glove winning first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, in right field, so that an unproductive Kevin Youkilis can play first.

18. Giants. Sad but true: Tim Lincecum has been the worst starting pitcher in the National League. Meanwhile, Melky Cabrera is going nuts, hitting .426 over the last month.

19. Tigers. Detroit was supposed to coast through an easy division but here we are at Memorial Day and they are 23-25. It’s not because of their stars as Verlander, Cabrera and Fielder have been excellent.

20. Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is developing into a real superstar, but he’s the only batter on the team that is doing anything. Pirates are dead last in runs scored. But the stellar pitching has kept them at .500 to this point. Let’s see if they can keep it up for 114 more games.

21. Diamondbacks. Last year looks like a one year wonder for the Dbacks, who haven’t had any player do particularly well so far.

22. Astros. They are hanging in there and I still can’t name any player on their team.

23. Athletics. Josh Reddick has been a lone bright spot for the A’s, who have now lost 6 in a row. As a team they are batting .211 and have scored the fewest runs in the AL. This is a team going nowhere in a hurry.

24. Mariners. 2-10 against the AL East, good thing they don’t play in that division.

25. Brewers. Rickie Weeks is batting .115 in May and striking out in 41% of his at bats.

26. Royals. 5-17 home record, what?

27. Rockies. The curse of Coors Field has returned as the Rockies rank at the bottom of the league in pitching. Carlos Gonzalez is leading the team in every offensive stat.

28. Padres. 16 games out of first place already.

29. Twins. Justin Morneau has found his power stroke since coming off the DL. The starting pitching has been awful, as is evident by 9 different starting pitchers being used this MONTH.

30. Cubs. Finally ended their 12-game losing streak, but that was 12 games too late. The bullpen has blown 57% of their save opportunities. Here’s a stat: 1-9 in games facing a lefty pitcher.

crazy but true

After an agonizing week capped by a pathetic 6-0 shutout against the Royals on Monday, I prepared to write a blog about the demise of the Yankees. A busy work schedule left me no time to write it. Two games later things look slightly better. The Yankees hit rock-bottom Monday night and hopefully the only way to go is up.

This season has left us no shortage of oddities. Here are a few stats that are worth a second look. Let me know of any others that you find.

- Winning cures all? The Cleveland Indians are off to a hot start, holding a surprisingly comfortable division lead. But despite being in first place, the Indians are dead-last in attendance. What gives? Meanwhile, the Phillies are struggling and currently in the division cellar. As you might guess, they lead all baseball in attendance.

- Game attendance isn't a number most people notice so how about some more interesting figures: the percent that ballparks fill up when a road team comes to town, or in other words, the road teams that draw the best crowds. #1 is the Cubs, and #2 is the Padres. Both teams are in last place. Logical, of course.

- As Nancy Kerrigan says, "why, whyyyyyyyyy?" It's not a statistic you have a lot of control over perhaps, but the numbers for times players get hit by a pitch is eye-opening. After 46 games the Seattle Mariners have been hit by a pitch 3, count them, 3 times. Meanwhile, those Tampa Bay Rays have been hit by 29 stray pitches. That's 10 times as many incidents.

- Must be the coaching: the same team leads the American League in strikeouts, times grounding into double plays, and worst stolen base percentage. They are 2nd to last in most errors. Naturally, this is the Baltimore Orioles, who happen to have the best record in the AL.

- Mets ownership decided that the field in their new stadium was too big and too hard to hit a homer in so they moved the fences in closer before the season. Last year the Mets averaged 0.67 home runs per game. This season? Less (0.56 per game).

- Key to winning is score more than your opponent, right? The Rangers have this figured out. They lead the American League in runs scored and fewest runs allowed.

- Time to move: the Mariners are batting .249 on the road and .201 at home.

- Pitching to win? The Phillies and Angels pitchers have had the most quality starts (6+IP, 3 ER or fewer). Both are in last place.

- Tigers are definitely off to a bad start. One reason could be that batting average of .129 with the bases loaded. Yikes!

- Why bother? Pinch hitters for the Blue Jays are 1-19 (.053). The Indians have only used 6 pinch hitters and don't have a hit.

- Season slump: Rickie Weeks is batting a woeful .155 (coincidentally, after 155 at bats).

- Thanks, guys: Statistically, Red Sox Clay Buchholz has been the worst starting pitcher to still have a job. He also has a 4-2 record. How is that? 12.22 runs of support per game, yeah, that would do it.

- Compare that to poor Ervin Santana, who's Angels got shut out in 5 straight games that he pitched.

- So if each team has 5 starting pitchers that would be 150 current starting pitchers in baseball. Yankees' Phil Hughes (11), Hiroki Kuroda (10), and Ivan Nova (10) are all in the Top 8 for most home runs allowed. Sabathia (8) isn't far behind.

- Batters are hitting .167 against Nationals' Gio Gonzalez this year. That's nasty.