Mid season biggest suprises and biggest disappointments

[Baseball Guru]

Biggest suprise teams- Anaheim and Los Angeles

Biggest disappointing teams-Mets and Cubs

Suprise player-Lance Berkman-We know he would be good but this good??
Also-Derek Lowe-closer converted to starter and is starting the AS game....
Eric Gagne-Where did this guy come from??
Paul Konerko-one of my favs.....He is good but who knew he'd have a first half like this....

Disappointments-Jeromy Burnitz-What has happend to this guy
Roberto Alomar-Starting to pick it up a bit but is still under .270 and not playing the D we were expecting from the future HOF'er
Carl Everett-hurt again this year and still under .200
Bret Boone-still getting the rbi's but whats up with the .229 average??


There are many more...Just wanted to throw a few out there to get the ball rolling......

[PissedPrincess]

Well, I did a similar post in the Sox forum. So I can't add much.

Moose's high ERA is a bit of a shock. Gagne is OUT OF HIS MIND!

WTF IS HE EATING?

Lowe I agree with. The Expos are surprising, Ishii, the HUGE number of managers getting fired.

[pmeares17]

the cubs, i dont particularly like there team but its sad to see them so bad. firing baylor and that other goof wont do much good imho.

[bd811]

Biggest Surprise Teams-Reds, Expos, Angels

Biggest Disappointment-Cubs, Mets, White Sox, Phillies

[GiveHyzduashot]

How can Mike Williams not be a surprise? I doubt anyone can say they thought he'd be an all star.

I'd also add (for varying reasons) Hinske, Blalock, Fogg, Wells, Aramis Ramirez, Hunter, and Barrett as surprises.

[GiveHyzduashot]

As more surprises how about Pat Burrell, Odalis Perez, and Junior Spivey?

Add Sheffield to the negative surprises as well

[Baseball Guru]

Handing out halfway hardware
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

It's been a great year to be a contraction candidate, a former Orix Blue Wave or a Junior named Spivey, not Griffey. It's been a lousy year to be a manager, a labor negotiator or a Junior named Griffey, not Spivey.

And now, the envelopes please ...


AL MVP of the half-year
Alfonso Soriano. Ichiro Suzuki may be the most charismatic player in the whole sport, but he isn't the MVP. Why not? Consider this: Through July 4, Soriano had scored just two fewer runs out of the leadoff hole than Ichiro -- but had driven in almost twice as many (51-28). Soriano has a shot to be the first player in history with 100 extra-base hits and 50 steals. And at midseason, he was leading the league in both stolen bases and total bases -- a daily double accomplished by four men in history and none since 1945 (when Stuffy Stirnweis did it).

Apologies to: Ichiro, Nomar Garciaparra, Torii Hunter, Darin Erstad, Alex Rodriguez, Eric Chavez, Paul Konerko.

NL MVP of the half-year
Shawn Green. Look, it's hard to argue that anybody is more valuable to his team than Barry Bonds . We know that. But no team has gotten more out of the sum of its parts than the Dodgers. And we'll also concede that a big chunk of that is Eric Gagne 's doing. But if you can find a bigger reason than Green why the Dodgers' once-suspect offense has scored more runs than the Braves, Phillies, Reds or Mets, we'd love to hear it. The Dodgers were shut out eight times in their first 40 games, and were 22-18 (.525). In the 40 games after Green stepped off the plane in Milwaukee on May 21, the Dodgers went 27-13 (.675), they got shut out one time, watched Green make 23 home-run trots (to Bonds' 10) and took control of the NL West. THAT'S an MVP.

Apologies to: Bonds, Gagne, Jose Vidro, John Smoltz, Jim Edmonds, Lance Berkman, Todd Helton, Sammy Sosa.

AL Least Valuable Player (LVP) of the half-year
Greg Vaughn. His batting average is 200 points lower than Mike Sweeney's. He's been outhomered by Melvin Mora, Omar Vizquel, Mark Bellhorn and Rob Mackowiak. And he's heading for the worst batting average of modern times (.163 at last check). So let's hear it for Greg Vaughn, that rarity of rarities -- a unanimous LVP.

NL Least Valuable Player
Moises Alou. We've often thought of Alou as one of the toughest outs of his generation. So what the heck happened? Halfway through the season, he was seen hitting .119 with men in scoring position, with six homers and 23 RBIs. That's fewer homers and RBIs than he had just during his 22-game hitting streak last year. So Alou barely edges an evenly matched field of NL LVP candidates (Eric Young, Mo Vaughn, Kevin Young, Jeromy Burnitz and many more).

AL Cy Young of the half-year
Derek Lowe. What a story. We don't know where Derek Lowe's season is going. But we know where it's been. He leads the league in wins (12), ERA (2.36) and lowest batting average by the poor schlubs who've been forced to hit against him (.198). Over the last 20 seasons, the only American League pitchers who have rung up a lower ERA than 2.36 over a full season are Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Bret Saberhagen. That group owns 15 Cy Young trophies. If Lowe keeps this up, he'll own one, too.

Apologies to: Freddy Garcia, Pedro, Barry Zito, Mark Buehrle, Paul Byrd and the multi-league Cy Young, Bartolo Colon.

NL Cy Young of the half-year
Curt Schilling. The race is so close among Schilling, Tom Glavine and Randy Johnson, you could decide it with a coin flip, a dartboard or a hat with three names in it. But we'll go with Schilling, because the only significant department in which he doesn't lead the others is ERA. And Schilling doesn't pitch like a man trying to win an ERA title. He pitches like a man trying to win the game that night. Halfway through the season, hitters' on-base percentage against Schilling (.228) was lower than their batting average against Glavine (.233). After 19 starts, Schilling still had more wins (14) than walks (13). And not only is he going to obliterate the all-time record for walk-strikeout ratio, but if he maintains his current rate (14.31 K per BB), only two pitchers in history (Pedro Martinez and Cy Young) will ever have had seasons with ratios half that good.

Apologies to: Glavine, Johnson, Odalis Perez.

AL Cy Yuk of the half-year
Chan Ho Park. Kevin Brown and Mike Hampton haven't been the only poster boys for Why It's a Dumb Idea to Pay a Pitcher 13-to-15 Million Bucks. Park (five years, $65 million) has gone to the top of the AL Cy Yuk charts by establishing himself as the free-agent bust of the year. His ERA is 8.01 and hadn't been under 8.00 at any point since May. He had yet to beat an AL team on the road, or win back-to-back starts, or beat a team with a winning record. He was 0-4, 9.86 after dark. He'd allowed a .364 average and (gulp) .782 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position. Ugly, ugly stuff.

NL Cy Yuk of the half-year
Mike Hampton. All right, so he went to Denver for the schools. Who knew his ERA (6.86) would look like his school district's SAT scores (math portion only)? The heck with Coors Field. Halfway through the season, Hampton was 2-8, 7.89 on the . The on-base percentage against him leading off innings was .442. He's gone 27 straight starts without winning two in a row. And since last July, he's allowed nine hits or more 15 times. Send in some paratroopers and free this man from the mountaintop. He's not this bad.

AL rookie of the half-year
Eric Hinske. He was the least -celebrated rookie third baseman in baseball this spring, behind Hank Blalock, Sean Burroughs and Morgan Ensberg. But halfway through the season, Hinske had the best on-base percentage of any third baseman in the AL, the most doubles and a higher slugging percentage than anyone except Eric Chavez. Yeah, he's made 17 errors, most of any player at any position. But only two of them have come since June 1.

Apologies to: Jorge Julio, Rodrigo Lopez, Travis Driskill, Nick Johnson, Kevin Mench, Dustan Mohr.

NL rookie of the half-year
Kazuhisa Ishii. After 244 trips to the mound in Japan, it's absurd to think of this guy as a "rookie" the same way we think of Josh Fogg as a rookie. But the rules are the rules. And as long as Ishii is eligible, how do you argue with 11 wins, a Zito-esque curveball and more strikeouts than Kerry Wood?

Apologies to: Fogg, Brad Wilkerson, Jason Jennings, Austin Kearns, Jason Simontacchi, Ryan Jensen.

Managers of the year
Grady Little and Jim Tracy. You were expecting maybe Phil Garner and Davey Lopes? Little helped lift the cloud over the Red Sox franchise with his unique combination of humanity and humor. Tracy's team lost Kevin Brown, traded Gary Sheffield, let its closer (Jeff Shaw) walk and still got off to its best start in 25 years. That has something to do with a manager whose club never ceases to play in overdrive.

Apologies to: Ron Gardenhire, Mike Scioscia, Bobby Cox, Frank Robinson.

[Baseball Guru]

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/gwynn_tony_m.jpg
Tony Gwynn
AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP
Sammy Sosa
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Eric Gagne
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Anaheim Angels
Biggest disappointment
Chicago Cubs
Breakout player
Eric Gagne
AL team to watch
Chicago White Sox
NL team to watch
Cincinnati Reds

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/sutcliffe_rick_m.jpg
Rick Sutcliffe
AL MVP
Ichiro
NL MVP
Lance Berkman
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Tom Glavine
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Los Angeles Dodgers
Biggest disappointment
Texas Rangers
Breakout player
Eric Gagne
AL team to watch
Oakland A's
NL team to watch
Houston Astros

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/candiotti_tom_m.jpg
Tom Candiotti
AL MVP
Alfonso Soriano
NL MVP
Barry Bonds
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Randy Johnson
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Austin Kearns
Biggest surprise
Montreal Expos
Biggest disappointment
Texas Rangers
Breakout player
Paul Konerko
AL team to watch
Boston Red Sox
NL team to watch
Montreal Expos

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/gammons_peter_m.jpg
Peter Gammons
AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP
Barry Bonds
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Curt Schilling
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Eric Gagne
Biggest disappointment
Rangers/Mets
Breakout player
Pat Burrell
AL team to watch
Oakland A's
NL team to watch
San Francisco Giants

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/kurkjian_tim_m.jpg
Tim Kurkjian
AL MVP
Nomar Garciaparra
NL MVP
Shawn Green
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Tom Glavine
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Montreal Expos
Biggest disappointment
Chicago Cubs
Breakout player
Eric Gagne
AL team to watch
Oakland A's
NL team to watch
Montreal Expos

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/stark_jayson_m.jpg
Jayson Stark
AL MVP
Alfonso Soriano
NL MVP
Shawn Green
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Curt Schilling
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Dodgers, Expos
Biggest disappointment
Cubs, Mets, Phillies
Breakout player
Pat Burrell, Odalis Perez
AL team to watch
Oakland A's
NL team to watch
Houston Astros

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/neyer_rob_m.jpg
Rob Neyer
AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP
Barry Bonds
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Tom Glavine
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Junior Spivey
Biggest disappointment
New York Mets
Breakout player
Mike Sweeney
AL team to watch
Chicago White Sox
NL team to watch
San Francisco Giants

http://espn.go.com/i/columnists/dibble_rob_m.jpg
Rob Dibble
AL MVP
Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP
Lance Berkman
AL Cy Young
Derek Lowe
NL Cy Young
Curt Schilling
AL Rookie
Eric Hinske
NL Rookie
Kaz Ishii
Biggest surprise
Paul Konerko
Biggest disappointment
Chicago Cubs
Breakout player
Pat Burrell
AL team to watch
Anaheim Angels
NL team to watch
Montreal Expos

[Misha77Piazza]

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS: Jeromy Burnitz-we have been waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting for him to come around. :angry: Shawn Estes-After he aimed at Clemens' ass, he has gone downhill ever since. Now he sorely needs the run support. Alomar-need to say anymore? Al Leiter-hmm, he needs to get his stuff together ASAP! :ohno:


PLEASANT SURPRISES: Mo Vaughn-he finally came around after mid-June after being in slump since April. Steve Traschel-you know how I felt about him last year? Yeah, he finally got himself together this year even though his pitch count is high but he gets his job done. :biggrin:


HEART ATTACK MOMENT: You know who! :freak:

In other teams....

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Juan Gonzales-lately he has been taking his trip to DL. Hell, he's in my fanasty league. :ohno: Manny Rameriz-um....do I have to explain? :hmm: Garces-that fat Red Sox pitcher shouldn't pitch and ought to be sent to the fat farm, minor league that is to shape up and lose some more weight. (lose that thunder thighs, buster! :angry: )


PLEASANT SURPRISES: Red Sox is still in the race!!!! :biggrin: I can't wait to see it to sit on the top. :biggrin:
Todd Zeile-he now kicks asses after being traded to the Rockies. He sucked the rotten eggs when he was with Mets. Robin Ventura-he has gotten much better than last year. :ohno: I miss both of them. :pout:

[bd811]

o yea id like to nominate Mark Bellhorn as a surprise player. He came over in a deal that everyone thought was very lopsided because the As got a good prospect(who by the way is now hitting only .225). Since he has come over, all he has done is hit. He has 11 homers in a limited role, and theres no tellin how many he'd hit if he had 500 ABs. He has raised his average considerably lately. Granted he strikes out a lot, but he plays every position except pitcher and catcher, and he is a switch hitter. If there has been a bright spot to the Cubs season, he is it.

[Liter22]

Misha I agree with every darn thing that you said