Daniel's Huge American League Midseason Report Card

Baltimore Orioles
Record: 36-47
Grade: D

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: C+
Give Dave Trembley some credit. His O's are playing in the division of death. The O's started off the season scorching, but have fallen off since then. Trembley has a very young team in rebuilding mode and has to make due with a weak pitching staff. It's strange that the little things that have gone wrong have been caused by the vets.

Defense: C+
There have been flashes of brilliance, but there's also been subpar defensive play. The team has committed a collective 52 errors, with the most (13) coming from veterans Melvin Mora and Brian Roberts. Aubrey Huff has been adequate at first and Robert Andino has flashed some serious leather. Adam Jones is a great fielder, while Nick Markakis has a rocket arm.

Starting Pitching: F
The team has thrown an MLB-low 27 quality starts. The starting pitching staff also has the second worst ERA (5.43) and batting average against (.285) in the American League. The O's cut Adam Eaton early in the season and have now placed Koji Uehara, who has been consistent but not great, on the disabled list. The "ace" Jeremy Guthrie leads the league in losses (with eight) and has an awful 5.20 ERA. Rich Hill (3-2, 7.43 ERA) and Jason Berken (1-5, 6.25 ERA) have been too inconsistent. Brad Bergesen (5-3, 3.59 ERA) has been outstanding and is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Bullpen: C-
The bullpen hasn't fared much better. They're the third worst in the American League, with a 4.69 ERA, .278 batting average against, and 11 blown saves. Danys Baez (2 BS, 4.50 ERA), Brian Bass (4.71 ERA), and Chris Ray (9.28 ERA, DL) have been unreliable. Jim Johnson (13 H, 3.00 ERA) and Matt Albers (3.93 ERA) have been consisent. George Sherrill (18 Saves, 2.43 ERA) has been playing All-Star worthy baseball, too.

Offense: B
The Orioles have a better than average offense, but it's not good enough to overwhelm the terrible pitching. They have All-Star Adam Jones, a .300+ hitter and Nick Markakis, a 50+ RBI hitter. Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott have provided lots of protection, driving in lots of runs. Rookies Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold have improved lots and provided good rookies numbers. Melvin Mora's numbers are down lots, and the bench (Felix Pie, Gregg, Ty Wigginton) is not a strong suit.

Team Thoughts

Baltimore's most valuable player has been Adam Jones. Jones has been a consistent five-tool player throughout the first half of the season. He's batting .305 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, six stolen bases, and a .858 OPS. Jones is also batting .342 with runners on base and .333 with runners in scoring position and two outs.

Baltimore's least valuable player has been Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie was supposed to be the ace of the pitching staff, but he's just played so awful. He leads baseball in losses and less of his starts have been of the quality variety. He has an awful 5.20 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. It looks like the O's need a new ace.

Baltimore's best moment came on June 30. Going into the bottom of the seventh inning against the Red Sox, the Orioles were down 10-1. Getting offense from virtually everybody on the team, the Orioles scored five in the seventh and five in the eighth, to take the lead (11-10), the game, and save away from Jonathan Papelbon.

Baltimore's worst moment came on July 1. After their miraculous comeback, the Red Sox pulled off one of their own. Going into the ninth inning, the Orioles were up 5-1. After a Youkilis homer got Boston within two runs, Sherrill recorded two outs. However, the next three men got on base and then tied the game. The Orioles would lose in the 11th inning.

Power Rankings

Baltimore's highest ranking was 6.
Baltimore's lowest ranking was 29.
Baltimore's average ranking is 22.54.

Playoff Potential

The Orioles will not make the playoffs. They have absolutely no chance. Their pitching staff is too awful. They're also last place in the hardest division in baseball and 12.5 games out of the Wild Card.

Boston Red Sox
Record: 49-33
Grade: A

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: A
What bad can you say about Terry Francona? He has been forced to deal with a plethora of problems (Big Papi struggling, Lowell on the DL, lack of a shortstop), but he has adjusted his team accordingly. Francona has the Red Sox as the top team in the American League, but more importanly, 8-0 against their main rivals.

Defense: B+
The Red Sox are one of the best defensive teams in the game. They've only committed 45 errors as a team. Kevin Youkilis is looking for another gold glove, as is Dustin Pedroia. Nick Green has had his problems at shortstop as has Mike Lowell at third. The outfield has been great with Jason Bay making sweet plays, Ellsbury still having only committed one error in his career, and Drew does what he has to. Jason Varitek has given up too many stolen bases.

Starting Pitching: C+
Believe it or not, but Boston has one of the weaker rotations in the American League. The starting rotation has an ERA of 4.54 and a WHIP of 1.41. However, the 45 quality starts and five complete games are impressive. After slow starts, Josh Beckett (9-3, 3.67 ERA) and Jon Lester (7-6, 4.16 ERA) have looked like their normal, good selves. All-Star Tim Wakefield (10-3, 4.30 ERA) was a godsend when those two starters were struggling, keeping the Red Sox in the games he pitched. Brady Penny (6-3, 4.67 ERA) has not been as good as people say and John Smoltz (0-2, 6.60 ERA) has struggled mightily. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-5, 8.23 ERA) went on the DL.

Bullpen: A
Boston has the best bullpen in all of baseball. The bullpen has a 3.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Takashi Saito (3.64 ERA), Hideki Okajima (3.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), Manny Delcarmen (1.97 ERA), and Ramon Ramirez (8 H, 2.19 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) have all been great relievers. Justin Masterson (4.12 ERA) has had his problems. Jonathan Papelbon (20 saves, 1.75 ERA) continues to be one of he best closers in the game.

Offense: A
The Red Sox offense is stellar, and must be to compete in their division. They're top-three in almost every offensive category. They have the potential-MVP in Jason Bay, who leads the league in RBI. There's also .300+ hitter Jacoby Ellsbury, the OBP (.417) leader Kevin Youkilis, and Mike Lowell, who was an RBI machine before going down. David Ortiz has struggled, and JD Drew's and Dustin Pedroia's numbers are down and Jason Varitek stinks. They have a deep, reliable bench in Baldelli, Kotsay, and Kottaras, but help is needed at shorstop.

Team Thoughts

Boston's most valuable player has been Jason Bay. He has been exceptional since coming to fill in for Manny Ramirez. Bay has provided a reliable glove in left field. He also leads the American League with 70 RBI. His 19 home runs and 50 walks are not too shabby either. He's also batting .333 with runners in scoring position.

Boston's least valuable player has been David Ortiz. Yes, he has heated up recently, but he still has been unreliable. Batting .221 with nine home runs and 38 RBI is not impressive, for a "premiere" designated hitter. He has double the amount of strikeouts as walks and is batting .242 with runners in scoring position.

Boston's best moment came on June 11. Going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Red Sox were down 3-1. However, they scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth with a spark from JD Drew. The rally was impressive, but what more impressive is that it capped of an 8-0 record against their rival Yankees.

Boston's worst moment came on June 30. Going into the bottom of the seventh inning against the Red Sox, the Red Sox were up 10-1. The bullpen acted very uncharacteristically and the Orioles scored ten runs in the late innings to take the lead and the game.

Power Rankings

Boston's highest ranking was 2.
Boston's lowest ranking was 24.
Boston's average ranking is 6.15.

Playoff Potential

The Red Sox will likely make the playoffs. Either through the division crown, or the Wild Card. Their pitching (bullpen especially) is too dominant and they have the offense to compete.

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