Mid-Season 2012 Surprises & Disappointments

So now that we're (almost) halfway though the 2012 MLB season (I know I'm a few weeks early, but I was bored so shut your face), I figured it'd be nice to take a look at how some players have performed so far this year.  Surely there are a number of players who have overwhelmingly exceeded expectations and those that have performed far below their projections.  Here's a few guys that really stood out to me:

Nice Surprises

Bryce Harper, OF (Nationals)

• Surprise surprise.  Harper is a young phenom and should continue to impress.  He was called up amid many injuries for the Nationals and has solidified his role on the team.  He's been a huge asset for the Nationals and provided some much needed offense.  

Mike Trout, OF (Angels)

• I don't really need to go over how good this kid has been (yeah, he's a kid.  He's younger than me -_-), but he's been FAR and above one of the best players in baseball.  He has far exceeded any expectations anyone had for him, especially this early in his young career.  

Jake Peavy, SP (White Sox)

• There's no question about it: Jake Peavy is a great pitcher.  He's always had great stuff and the ability to get guys out.  However, he has always been plagued by injuries.  This year he hasn't had the same injury bug (yet) and has been able to find some success in the American League after many years of success (and injuries) in the National League with the Padres.  Can he keep it up?  Probably.  As long as he stays healthy.  Will he stay healthy?  Probably not.

Josh Hamilton, OF (Rangers)

• He started off the season as THE hottest player in baseball, mashing 9 home runs in April and an incredible 12 in May.  He's cooled down in June so far but that mostly may be credited to an illness he has suffered from.  We have to wonder if he'll start going on a hot streak again soon, perhaps after the All Star Break.

Melky Cabrera, OF (Giants)

• To think he was released from the Braves a few years ago.  He's come a long way from that and has really turned himself into a great impact player.  Unfortunately the Yankees didn't hang onto him and aren't reaping the rewards of his high batting average and production.  However, we never know whether he would have been this good if he wasn't as motivated, which apparently he is now after his release from the Braves.  

• For some more on his breakout player status, check out this interesting article on River Ave Blues:  http://riveraveblues.com/2012/06/kevin-long-talks-about-melky-cabrera-superstar-70671/

Gio Gonzalez, SP (Nationals)

• You had to wonder how Gio would pitch going to the National League.  And, well, he's been a beast.  He's solidified the Nationals' rotation and helped them (with Harper) become viable contenders for the NL East Division. Who knew that a little run support would help so much?

Brandon Morrow, SP (Blue Jays)

• Great breakout year until he went down with the oblique injury a few weeks ago.  Hopefully he keeps it up after his return, which might be awhile.

Jason Kipnis, 2B (Indians)

• Wow, just wow.  The numbers he has put up are amazing.  Considering how he was available in free agency in our league and was added/dropped several times, this is a true value player.  I read some articles saying he might be a top 2B next year too, which just makes this breakout year for Kipnis that much more impressive.

Jose Altuve, 2B (Astros)

• Another breakout guy.  Altuve has been low on the radar because he's on the Houstin LAstros (Credit: Jay), but he's been pretty stellar.  This is another guy who started off the season on fire and has since cooled down, albeit not by much.  He's still (as of June 22) batting a cool .313, which is pretty impressive.

Mike Moustakas, 3B (Royals)

• The man some affectionately call "Moose" (as much as it pains me to say the name due to fond memories of Mike Mussina) has really surprised with some consistent numbers thus far this season.  He's definitely got the talent and ability but no one really thought he be THIS good.  Too bad I traded him.  Lesson of the day: make trades with me, the players generally end up doing really well after I trade them.

Disappointments...so far

Michael Morse, OF (Nationals)

• Injuries have really put a damper on his season so far.  Many hoped he would follow his breakout year last year with similar or even better numbers.  So far though, no luck.  Maybe he'll start hitting soon.

Eric Hosmer, 1B (Royals)

• Another guy that had a strong season last year.  Last year was his rookie year and he showed some solid skills.  So far this season he has suffered from what many believe to be a sophomore slump.  He has shown some signs of breaking out and hitting for a better average but has not produced anywhere near his early round draft selection thus far.  

Albert Pujols, 1B (Angels)

• Let's be honest here.  After the April he had, he HAD to make this list.  This is not The Machine we have grown to know and love after so many seasons.  The Dripping Pujols

Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), Carl Crawford (Red Sox), Ryan Howard (Phillies), Chase Utley (Phillies), Brett Gardner (Yankees)

• Strictly because they spent such a significant period of time on the disabled list.  Nothing personal guys.  If you were on my team you might be in danger of being blacklisted though.

Roy Halladay, SP (Phillies)

• Doc hasn't been himself so far this year.  He's put up some oddly bad numbers that aren't what we're used to.  Has he lost it?  Is the Doc no longer in?  Probably not, he probably was just hurt.  Hopefully he'll rebound after the break.  For the Phillies (and their playoff chances) sake, they should hope so.

Tim Lincecum, SP (Giants)

• Big Time Timmy-Jim hasn't really been himself either.  Maybe The Freak's freaky delivery isn't working anymore.  There's probably some mechanical flaw that's tipping his pitches or something.  Who knows though?  Timmy is far too good not to figure it out in the second half.  

Dee Gordon, SS (Dodgers)

• He's been doing a little better since I traded him.  Still stealing bases, but really just not getting on base enough.  Hard to steal bases when you don't get on base in the first place.

All of my closers (Jose Valverde, Carlos Marmol, Heath Bell, Hector Santiago, etc.)

• You don't deserve an explanation.  Just look at my number of blown saves.  You guys suck.

This, of course, is not a comprehensive list of both surprises and disappointments as I'm bound to have missed a few.  Just remember that the season is 162 games and how someone performed through the first half is not necessarily indicative of how they will perform the rest of the season.  Hopefully some of those disappointments turn things around for the better as some of the surprises likely will come back down to earth.

Nationals Park

Stadium name: Nationals Park
Home of: Washington Nationals
Location: Washington, DC
Years in existence: 2008 to present
Fan Capacity: 41,546


I visited Nationals Park in August of 2011 when visiting my friend Steve, who was going to law school in DC, with my friend Mark.  Getting to the stadium was extremely easy with the use of the metro down there, which was really convenient.  It has its own stop and everything.  Plus, it's a new park.  Really nice.  We sat above the Nationals bullpen and naturally made some comments to their bullpen pitchers, including Todd Coffey (who sucks by the way).  Drew Storen refused to acknowledge us, which was disappointing as well.

Anyway, the stadium was awesome.  Not too crowded, but had enough fans to fill up the park to make it loud.  Field was really nice and it was a great game.

View of bullpen and field from seats

Walking into the park

Full field view

The Presidential Race (held in the 4th inning) around the warning track, featuring Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt (on a bike), George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson

The Presidential Race is a must-see for any visitor!  One of the most exciting parts of the visit besides the game.  If you're lucky before the game you can meet and take pictures with some of the presidents!
Edit: Up until the Game 162 of the season for the Nationals, Teddy Roosevelt had never won a race.  He won the first time the Nationals made the playoffs on the last game of the regular season.



Times visited: 1
Record of home team: 1-0

Steve and I with Teddy Roosevelt before the game

For more on Nationals Park, visit...
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ballpark/index.jsp

MLB Ballparks

As some of you may know, I really enjoy visiting MLB ballparks.  One of my goals is to see all of the current active ballparks.  Taking in the atmosphere, the surroundings, and watching some different teams play baseball are some of the main reasons I'm fond of doing it.  Each park I go to, I usually take some pictures and sometimes get a souvenir (recently I've been going for t-shirts for some reason).

As of this post, I've gone to 7 different ballparks.  Here they are in no particular order:

1. Yankee Stadium (old one)
2. Yankee Stadium 
3. Citizens Bank Ballpark
4. Camden Yards
5. Nationals Park
6. Tropicana Field
7. Marlins Park

Later on this month I have plans to visit Wrigley Field, Comerica Park, and Miller Park.  Hopefully sometime this summer I'll get a chance to check out Fenway Park and Citi Field as well, but we'll see.

To go along with this, I save all my ticket stubs in a collection from most, if not all, the baseball games I've been to (Hey, I can't control whether I kept some of them when I was younger).  Obviously they're organized by date, as if there was any other way to do it!  I also have an Excel spreadsheet which I use to track all of games I attended along with the date, opposing team, the final score, and the team's overall record when I've been at the game. 

To me, all this stuff is pretty awesome.  Is it nerdy?  Yeah.  Is it stupid?  Probably.  But it's actually something I enjoy doing and consider to be a hobby.  Anyway, the point of this post is to introduce some more posts I will make in the future on individual ballparks.  I'll include some pictures, what I liked, and probably the team's record when I went to the game.  Maybe I'll try to include some interesting facts.  It probably won't be really funny material (as I know you're all probably used to!) but I hope you'll find it as interesting as I do.

My Blacklisted MLB Fantasy Players

There are some certain players that, for whatever reason, suck when they are on my fantasy team.  Therefore, I will no longer consider them for positions on my fantasy team.  When draft time comes around, I won't take them.  What if they're available a few rounds later than they should be?  Still, I'll pass on them.  If they're offered to me in a great deal?  Unless it helps me in some other area, I probably won't touch these players.  That's how much faith I lost in their ability to play for my fantasy team.  This list, while incomplete, is the product of several different years of fantasy baseball leagues and not just one.  So, there's probably some players that I forgot to include on my blacklist.

Here's my blacklisted players:

• Nelson Cruz
• Every time I put him in my lineup he went 0 for 4 with 2 K's.  But when I decided to bench him, he decided to hit a home run.  Thanks but no thanks Nelson, you've been blacklisted.
• Mark Reynolds
• He just plainly cannot hit.  Sure he's got power, but what else?  I'll leave him on the waiver wire, thanks.
• Carlos Marmol
• Overall he's just not really a great pitcher.  Drafted him late and thought I could get some good value out of him.  Boy was I wrong.  Thanks for all the blown saves Carlos.  I'm sure Cubs fans appreciate those too.
• Side note: Hector Santiago and Heath Bell could probably join this category as well.
• Rickie Weeks

• Yeah Rickie, things didn't work out as expected.  I had Curtis Granderson last year and decided to get some value for him and since my second baseman sucked, I figured I'd trade for you.  You really didn't do much better.  You were the chosen one to fill my second base need. But you really didn't do that, did you?
• Lance Berkman aka "Lance Berkshit"
• Yes, that's a name I gave to Lance after he was on my fantasy team a few years back.  Classy?  No.  Accurate?  I'd have to say yes.  Got him late and felt that I was forced to take him where I did.  It wasn't worth it.  He did pretty awful.  Was hurt a lot and didn't put up the numbers he was expected to.  This was also the year he was traded to the Yankees mid-season.  Everyone said "oh, this will definitely help his numbers.  He will start to hit a lot as a Yankee."  I have news for you, he didn't.  That season (2010) was one of the worst he's ever had.  He finished with a combined average (between the Astros and Yankees) of .255 with 14 home runs.  Fourteen.  The man as of this date has a career average of 33 home runs per 162 games.  Thanks for nothing Lance.

That's all I can think of right now.  There certainly more than I can't remember and if I can remember them, I'll be sure to add them.  

There's a lot of players as well that I'd stay away from but wouldn't necessarily actively work against adding to my fantasy team.  I didn't add these guys just because they haven't necessarily wronged me.  The aforementioned players have spited me for some reason and therefore will be hard-pressed to find themselves on my team again.

EDIT: Added Lance Berkman

The League's League Fantasy Baseball - Year End Trade Analysis

This is a list of all the processed trades that have been processed and completed as of July 16, 2012.

Please note: team names may have changed throughout the season and may not properly reflect what the team name is at the end of the season.  










DL traded Mike Aviles, Bos 2B to Raper
DL traded Roy Halladay*, Phi SP to Raper
CUNH traded Aramis Ramirez, Mil 3B to Disabled List
CUNH traded Yu Darvish, Tex SP to Disabled List
CUNH traded Jeremy Hellickson, TB SP to Disabled List
DL dropped Carlos Quentin, SD OF to Waivers
DL dropped Marco Scutaro, Col SS to Waivers






CBB traded Mark Trumbo, LAA 1B to Hitmen
GL8 traded Adam LaRoche, Wsh 1B to Bail Bonds
GL8 traded Josh Beckett, Bos SP to Bail Bonds
CBB dropped Mark Reynolds, Bal 3B to Waivers






R2C2 traded Robinson Cano, NYY 2B to Train
R2C2 traded Johnny Cueto, Cin SP to Train
OERT traded Dustin Pedroia*, Bos 2B to R2C2
OERT traded Anibal Sanchez, Mia SP to R2C2
OERT traded Ernesto Frieri, LAA RP to R2C2
OERT traded Trevor Plouffe, Min SS to R2C2






CBB traded B.J. Upton, TB OF to Raper
CBB traded Kenley Jansen, LAD RP to Raper
CBB traded CC Sabathia*, NYY SP to Raper
CUNH traded Hanley Ramirez, Mia SS to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Bryce Harper, Wsh OF to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Dan Haren*, LAA SP to Bail Bonds






THG traded Freddie Freeman, Atl 1B to Raper
CUNH traded Torii Hunter, LAA OF to Games
CUNH traded Chris Perez, Cle RP to Games






R2C2 traded James McDonald, Pit SP to Train
OERT traded Matt Joyce*, TB OF to R2C2






R2C2 traded Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF to Raper
R2C2 traded Jeremy Hellickson, TB SP to Raper
CUNH traded Carlos Santana, Cle C to R2C2
CUNH traded Hiroki Kuroda, NYY SP to R2C2






DL traded Anibal Sanchez, Mia SP to Train
OERT traded Frank Francisco*, NYM RP to Disabled List
OERT traded Andy Pettitte*, NYY SP to Disabled List






COCO traded Matt Wieters, Bal C to Mark Rossi
COCO traded Madison Bumgarner, SF SP to Mark Rossi
COCO traded Jason Motte, StL RP to Mark Rossi
TMR traded Carlos Ruiz, Phi C to Commissioner
TMR traded Michael Young, Tex 1B to Commissioner
TMR traded Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS to Commissioner
TMR traded Tyler Clippard, Wsh RP to Commissioner






OERT traded Ryan Vogelsong, SF SP to Lastros
LAST traded Josh Willingham, Min OF to Train






CBB traded Miguel Cabrera, Det 1B to Raper
CBB traded Aramis Ramirez, Mil 3B to Raper
CUNH traded David Ortiz, Bos DH to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Mark Teixeira, NYY 1B to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Mark Trumbo, LAA 1B to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Jarrod Parker, Oak SP to Bail Bonds






R2C2 traded Evan Longoria*, TB 3B to Train
R2C2 traded Matt Moore, TB SP to Train
OERT traded Ryan Zimmerman, Wsh 3B to R2C2
OERT traded Ichiro Suzuki, Sea OF to R2C2
OERT traded Ian Kennedy, Ari SP to R2C2






CBB traded Carlos Santana, Cle C to Raper
CBB traded Brandon Morrow, Tor SP to Raper
CUNH traded Jesus Montero, Sea DH to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Desmond Jennings, TB OF to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Lance Lynn, StL RP to Bail Bonds







R2C2 traded Jon Lester, Bos SP to Raper
CUNH traded Nelson Cruz, Tex OF to R2C2
CUNH traded James McDonald, Pit SP to R2C2






LAST traded Mark Teixeira, NYY 1B to Raper
CUNH traded Ryan Howard*, Phi 1B to Lastros
CUNH traded Jaime Garcia, StL SP to Lastros






CUNH traded Josh Beckett, Bos SP to Hitmen
GL8 traded Bryce Harper, Wsh OF to Raper






GL8 traded Alex Gordon, KC OF to Train
GL8 traded Ian Kennedy, Ari SP to Train
OERT traded Mike Moustakas, KC 3B to Hitmen
OERT traded Jarrod Parker, Oak SP to Hitmen
OERT traded Matt Garza, ChC SP to Hitmen






LAST traded Daniel Murphy, NYM 2B to Train
LAST traded Brian McCann, Atl C to Train
OERT traded Miguel Montero, Ari C to Lastros
OERT traded Mike Aviles, Bos 2B to Lastros
OERT traded Jake Westbrook, StL SP to Lastros






R2C2 traded David Ortiz, Bos DH to Raper
CUNH traded Alex Rodriguez, NYY 3B to R2C2
CUNH traded Drew Smyly, Det SP to R2C2






THG traded Nelson Cruz, Tex OF to Raper
CUNH traded Bryan LaHair, ChC OF to Games






CUNH traded Adam Jones, Bal OF to Lastros
LAST traded Dan Haren, LAA SP to Raper






R2C2 traded Eric Hosmer, KC 1B to Train
OERT traded Dustin Ackley, Sea 2B to R2C2
OERT traded Howard Kendrick, LAA 2B to R2C2






OERT traded Bryce Harper, Wsh OF to Hitmen
OERT traded Dee Gordon, LAD SS to Hitmen
OERT traded Jason Hammel, Bal SP to Hitmen
GL8 traded Dustin Ackley, Sea 2B to Train
GL8 traded Matt Garza, ChC SP to Train






CBB traded Desmond Jennings*, TB OF to Raper
CUNH traded Andre Ethier, LAD OF to Bail Bonds
CUNH traded Derek Holland, Tex SP to Bail Bonds






R2C2 traded Jayson Werth*, Wsh OF to Mark Rossi
R2C2 traded Cliff Lee, Phi SP to Mark Rossi
TMR traded Eric Hosmer, KC 1B to R2C2
TMR traded Kendrys Morales, LAA 1B to R2C2
TMR traded Jon Lester, Bos SP to R2C2
TMR traded Shaun Marcum, Mil SP to R2C2






CBB traded Joe Nathan, Tex RP to Hitmen
GL8 traded Matt Harrison, Tex SP to Bail Bonds




R2C2 traded Jaime Garcia, StL SP to Raper
CUNH traded J.D. Martinez, Hou OF to R2C2






GL8 traded Austin Jackson*, Det OF to Dodgers
GL8 traded Kyle Lohse, StL SP to Dodgers
GL8 traded Doug Fister*, Det SP to Dodgers
LAID traded Chase Headley, SD 3B to Hitmen
LAID traded Matt Garza, ChC SP to Hitmen






R2C2 traded Jaime Garcia, StL SP to Raper
CUNH traded J.D. Martinez, Hou OF to R2C2






R2C2 traded Michael Bourn, Atl OF to Train
OERT traded Nick Markakis*, Bal OF to R2C2
OERT traded Matt Moore, TB SP to R2C2






OERT traded Grant Balfour, Oak RP to Lastros
OERT traded Chad Billingsley, LAD SP to Lastros
LAST traded Howard Kendrick, LAA 2B to Train
LAST traded Heath Bell, Mia RP to Train






CBB traded Ubaldo Jimenez, Cle SP to Hitmen
CBB traded Jonathan Papelbon, Phi RP to Hitmen
GL8 traded Ryan Roberts, Ari 2B to Bail Bonds
GL8 traded Aramis Ramirez, Mil 3B to Bail Bonds
GL8 traded Gavin Floyd, CWS SP to Bail Bonds






LAID traded Cameron Maybin, SD OF to Raper
CUNH traded Rick Porcello, Det SP to Dodgers






GL8 traded Derek Holland, Tex SP to Raper
CUNH traded Melky Cabrera, SF OF to Hitmen






CUNH traded Kevin Youkilis, Bos 3B to Hitmen
CUNH traded Josh Hamilton, Tex OF to Hitmen
CUNH traded Emilio Bonifacio*, Mia SS to Hitmen
CUNH traded Ian Kennedy, Ari SP to Hitmen
CUNH traded Derek Holland, Tex SP to Hitmen
GL8 traded Jose Reyes, Mia SS to Raper
GL8 traded Melky Cabrera, SF OF to Raper
GL8 traded Giancarlo Stanton, Mia OF to Raper
GL8 traded Lance Lynn, StL RP to Raper
GL8 traded Yu Darvish, Tex SP to Raper






R2C2 traded Zack Greinke, Mil SP to Mark Rossi
R2C2 traded Cory Luebke*, SD SP to Mark Rossi
TMR traded Chris Perez, Cle RP to R2C2
TMR traded Mat Latos, Cin SP to R2C2
TMR traded Neftali Feliz*, Tex RP to R2C2