Which team is a glorified AAA club? The playoff bracket you'll never see.
WHICH is the worst team in baseball this year?
There could certainly be a case made that it is my New York Mets. They have quickly become an embarrassment both off and on the field.
But what about the Nationals? They are the joke of any franchise, surely? They were terrible as a Canadian team, arguably worse in the nation's capitol and they fail to spell their own name right.
Outside the NL East though, there are still plenty of other contenders - the Padres, Royals and Diamondbacks spring to mind.
I've been joking that the Mets are playing like a AA team and Hyun Young at 'Made in San Diego' joked about her Padres being a AAA club.
I'm sure other fans are feeling the same about their clubs. Especially if you wake up supporting the Royals or As every day.
I actually don't think the As are the worst team in baseball and I do think they are a legitimate big league club. The Mets and Padres and Nats, I'm not so sure.
So anyway, I'm going to conduct an experiment. It's not scientific and it actually proves nothing, but it will make me feel better about getting to follow some other miserable bums for a change.
Over the next few weeks I'm going to track the fortunes of 8 lovable losers. I'll put them into a fictitious playoff bracket and see just who is the worst team in the league right now.
More importantly, I want to see which team should get demoted to the minors. My instincts right now say the Nationals. They really do suck. But, for 'scientific' purposes, I'll let the results take care of themselves.
Here is the bracket, in all of its ridiculous and random glory.
So, let's meet the teams:
New York Mets (44-50)
10.5 games back
4th in NL East
- They have $57m of talent on the DL.
- Mets VP Tony Bernazard challenged the AA Binghampton Mets to a fight.
- The Mets rank last in home runs at just 54.
- They can't find the gaps either - they also rank last in extra base hits (244).
- Mets pitchers have given up the most walks of any team (372).
Kansas City Royals (37-57)
12.5 games back
Last AL Central
- Only the Padres have scored fewer runs this year.
- Alex Gordon has a worse hip than my great grandma.
- Gil Meche. Yes, the 4-9 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP back spasming Gil Meche. Enough said.
San Diego Padres (37-59)
24.5 games back
Last in NL West
The Padres are on a worse run right now than even the Nationals, and that is saying something.
- They are 2-8 in their last 10 games and 3-17 in their last 20.
- They have only won 19 games against a starting right-handed pitcher (worst in the majors)
- Their road record (13-33) is second, only to Washington.
- They have rank last in hits (738), runs scored (350) and RBI (335) and average (.230)
Oakland As (40-54)
16 games back
Last in AL West
- Two words - Jason Giambi. Batting a league-worst .193 and now on the DL. Excellence.
- Bottom 5 in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage.
- Matt Holliday was never going to post 2007 numbers outside of Coors. People expected too much.
Arizona Diamondbacks (41-55)
20.5 games back
4th in NL West
- Only the Nationals are more defensively inept in the field.
- You have Chris Young on your team. Ouch. Batting .198 with 6 home runs.
- Conor Jackson has Valley Fever pneumonia swine flu plague and
Brandon Webb. Well, don't get me started on his 4 innings of work in
2009.
- You know you're in trouble when your best player leads the league in Ks. Again!
Cleveland Indians (38-58)
12.5 games back
4th in AL Central
- The Indians rank dead last in ERA (5.31)
- Grady Sizemore has been a massive flop - no power, no speed, no All Star vote.
- It took Cliff Lee 20 - yes twenty - games to get his fifth win.
Baltimore Orioles (41-53)
16.5 games back
Last in AL East
- Their pitchers rank inside the bottom four teams in the majors for strikeouts, hits and ERA.
- 'All Star' - and I use that term loosely - Melvin Mora has 26 RBI. In 2008 he had 104.
Washington Nationals (28-67)
27 games back
Last in NL East
Okay, it's pretty easy to see why the Nationals don't deserve to be a Big League club. Yes, they took two out of three from the Mets, but they are still the worst franchise in the country.
- They are 5-15 in their last 20 games
- They have the worst home record in the majors (18-32)...
- ...AND the worst road record (10-35)
- They rank dead last when they play teams under .500 (12-19)
Great bracket. It is strange to see the Mets in a bracket like this as they are usually pretty good. But here are my thoughts. The O's have it tough in the same division as the Sox, Yanks, and Rays. They are a good young team. The Royals are pretty bad right now but eventually they will be a good team.
-Dillon
http://dillonm.mlblogs.com
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I find this really funny, that's like saying who's the worst US President ever. I had the Mets and Athletics making the post season. Oh well, let's cut the Mets some slack, shall we?
Matthew T.
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I dont find this funny. The Tribe has had a ton of great years, that obviously people seem to be forgetting. They have produced some of the greatest hitters & pitchers of all time. They are one of the most well known teams in baseball, & not because they always lose but because of things like knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs in 2007.
I dont mean to be rude, but every team can have a bad year, & I really hate it when the Tribe gets no respect from people. I give even my rival teams respect, so I would really be happy if I could have some back. http://tribechick.mlblogs.com/
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Thanks Dillon - I actually agree with you about the Orioles. Most teams would struggle in that division.
And Matthew, that one is easy - James Buchanan.
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Heya Tribechick - Firstly, I want to apologize if I offended you or any of the Indians fans. This was not a slight against their fan base or what the team has accomplished during its history.
What this is however is a light-hearted, whimsical joke. It is not to be taken seriously and it was never intended as disrespectful.
It is merely a reflection of less than 100 games in a season. Teams rise and fall not only across decades but also within seasons too.
Until last night they were in last place in their division with the worst pitching staff - statistically - in baseball this year.
The Indians of the mid-to-late 1990s are not around any more and the team that finished first year after year is gone. With the franchise names of the club failing to produce as expected, this bracket was simply my way of saying they are struggling. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ash
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Okay, I'm calm now. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be rude at all. I understand why you made it now, dont worry you dont need to be sorry. I kind of reacted a little too strongly. I guess it's sort of my first reaction is to be defensive. http://tribechick.mlblogs.com/
-TC
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Heya TC - no need to apologize. It's good that you defend your team so strongly, it shows that you care about your ballclub. It's the passionate fans like you that make baseball so great.
Ash
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I think the Mets should get a pass because of all the guys on the DL. I mean, the team has been destroyed by injuries!
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
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Btw, I just noticed your ticker tape graphic, Ash. It's so much fun! Good job!
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
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First of all, I did not call my team a Triple-A club as a joke. I was serious about that. Well, I still am. Anyway, they have not been playing very well and it's frustrating for me and the fans. We are playing the Nationals today and Padres really need to pick it up from that point.
http://hyunyoung.mlblogs.com
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Oh Lord Ash - I really hope my Red Sox do not help the O's move up in the bracketts this weekend! lol!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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Jane - I agree that the Mets should get a break. But they are playing like a minor league club right now (because their roster is pretty much filled with minor leaguers, with the exception of a select few) and so I've not shown bias towards them and added them to the bracket
Don't worry, Julia. If the Os really stink it up this next week, there's still a good chance that the Nationals will be worse. Don't despair.
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Ash,
You do come with such intereting topic. I remember the Expos when they were a very good team. If it wasn't because of Rick Monday on a Monday, the Expos would have gone have advanced to the World Series in 1981.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
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Very clever. Love it.
I would say that the Royals, Mets, D-Backs, and Indians are too good to go to the minors. They have an identity. Maybe inuries are hurting them now, but they have talent and potential.
I think that the Padres and O's have talent and seem to have a little direction to the franchise.
Right now, the A's and Nats are by far the worst franchises out there. With the A's moving Holliday today, I see them just trying to get younger and save money, not trying to win. The Nats are a mess. They remind me of my Devil Rays of 5-6 years ago. No direction. Little talent. No pitching. No idea what to do to get out of this mess they're in. I see the Nats as the next AAA team.
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com
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Hi, interesting experiment, I shall also keep an eye on your blog. thanks for your kind comment about mine, and oh, I think that the Nats are the worst team in the MLB, this year anyway. Looking forward to seeing how your experiment turns out.
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Interesting post today.
You can never tell about these ball clubs. Last year I spent most of the year defending my Dodgers during their long slumps and then they won the Western Division NL. I may have been the only one to buy postseason tickets early on. Everyone scoffed at my team. You never know how it eventually turns out. The team with the best record may not win in all. We bearly made it to .500. And this year the Dodgers still have the best record in baseball so far.
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
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Excellent read to fill the time in the run-up to the Mets quest for a fourth straight tonight. I think you're being pretty harsh on the ol' Nats though!
http://numbertwoisgrit.mlblogs.com
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