Daniel's Huge American League Midseason Report Card

Seattle Mariners
Record: 43-39
Grade: B

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: A
Don Wakamatsu is making a strong case for AL Manager of the Year. Wakamatsu is from the "Socratic" school of managers who try to see how knowledgable their players are. This is how he gets the players to improve... and it's worked. The Mariners are in the thick of the AL West playoff race and their pitching has been so dominant.

Defense: F
No team in the American League makes more errors (61) than the Mariners. Jose Lopez, Yuniesky Beancourt, and Jose Lopez all have eight or more errors. Russell Branyan has also contribued six errors to the total. These errors have led to 37 unearned runs.

Starting Pitching: A
There's no doubt about the Seattle Mariners having the best starting pitching staff in the Amerian League (3.86 ERA, 41 quality starts, .249 batting average against, 1.26 WHIP). All-Star Felix Hernandez (8-3, 2.62 ERA) has been dominant all year. Jarrod Washburn (5-6, 3.08) has been effective and underrated. Brandon Morrow (0-0, 3.97 ERA) has been a decent starter. Jason Vargas (3-3, 4.14) and Garrett Olson (3-2, 4.58 ERA) need to be more consistent. Erik Bedard (5-2, 2.47 ERA) was extremely good before landing on the disabled list.

Bullpen: A
The Mariners have the second best bullpen in the American League (3.36 ERA, 25 saves, .243 batting average against). Mark Lowe (10 H, 3.49 ERA), Miguel Batista (7 H, 3.30 ERA), Sean White (9 H, 2.84 ERA), and Shawn Kelley (1.46 ERA) have been effective. Roy Corcoran (7.04 ERA) off the disabled list hasn't looked good. They also have an underrated closer in David Aardsma (17 saves, 1.41 ERA).

Offense: F
They have one of the weakest offenses in baseball. They don't score a lot and they don't get on base a lot. Ichiro is great, obviously, batting .360. They also have Russell Branyan batting well, and if he had any protection or anybody to drive in, he would be an All-Star. Franklin Gutierrez has also played consistently well. Ken Griffey hasn't played well, but he's the hometown hero. Kenji Johjima hasn't been great either. Jose Lopez can drive in runs (48) but needs to get more hits. Ronny Cedeno does not provide any sort of offensive production and we'll see if Chris Woodward can fill in for Adrian Beltre. The bench (Wladimir Balentien, Rob Johnson, Mike Sweeney) is also weak.

Team Thoughts

Seattle's most valuable player has been Ichiro Suzuki. He's batting .360 and he gets on base a lot (.393). He was the fastest player again this year to reach 100 hits and he has been a spark at the top of the Mariners' lineup. He also has 17 stolen bases and continues his great glove work.

Seattle's least valuable player has been Ken Griffey, Jr. Sure, it's a great story. But in all honesty, he's only batting .215 with 26 RBI. He has a low on-base percentage (.331) also. He's only batting .148 with runners in scoring position, also.

Seattle's best moment came on June 19. The Mariners were playing the Diamondbacks and were down 3-0 going into the bottom of the eighth. Russell Branyan hit a home run to put the M's on the board 3-1 and then Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a pinch hit, two-run homer to tie the game. The M's would win the game on an RBI triple from Rob Johnson.

Seattle's worst moment came on May 13. The Mariners didn't blow the lead just once, or twice, but thrice. Johjima, Balentien, and Branyan all gave the pitching staff leads that they couldn't hang on to. The Mariners were winning 5-4 going into the bottom of the eleventh, but lost on a walkoff two-RBI double by Hank Blalock.

Power Rankings

Seattle's highest ranking was 5.
Seattle's lowest ranking was 22.
Seattle's average ranking is 14.31.

Playoff Potential

The Mariners could make the playoffs. They have beasted on the Red Sox, proving they can beat the best. It's a question of whether or not they can compete in the AL West. Can their good pitching beat the good offenses of the Angels and Rangers?

Tampa Bay Rays
Record: 44-39
Grade: B

Season In Review (Grades)

Management: B+
Joe Maddon's being Joe Maddon. When Akinori Iwamura went down, Ben Zobrist filled in. When Maddon wants Willy Aybar in for more time, he gets it and he performs well. Maddon has carried over the success from last year and despite a slow start, the Rays are in the AL East and Wild Card race.

Defense: C
There have been flashes of brilliance here, the team has committed 53 errors as a group. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria have committed eight errors a piece while Jason Bartlett has committed seven. Ben Zobrist and the outfield have been adequate at their positions while Dioner Navarro only catches 24 percent of thefts.

Starting Pitching: C
Tampa Bay's staring pitching hasn't been all that great. In fact, they've got the fourth worst ERA in the American League (4.67), a 1.42 WHIP, and a .266 batting average against. James Shields (6-6, 3.50 ERA) and Matt Garza (6-6, 3.70 ERA) have been effective and recently consistent. Jeff Niemann (7-4, 3.95 ERA) has been bounced around positions, but has been okay. David Price (2-3, 5.21 ERA) has stuck and been inconsistent and Scott Kazmir (4-5, 6.79 ERA) still cannot last long into games.

Bullpen: A-
The bullpen has been seriously upgraded. The bullpen is the third best in the American League (3.38 ERA, 21 saves, 1.25 WHIP, and .230 batting average against). Randy Choate (1.29 ERA), Chad Bradford (3.86 ERA), and Lance Cormier (2.87 ERA) have all been good. Joe Nelson (4.41 ERA) and Grant Balfour (4.19 ERA) have not been good. JP Howell (6 saves, 1.63 ERA) has been great adjusting to the closer's role.

Offense: A
Along with the Yankees and Red Sox, the Rays have one of the best offenses in all of baseball. They're top-three in almost every offensive category. They have Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett batting .320+ with 35+ RBI. Don't forget this team leads the MLB in steals. Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist have combined for 100 RBI. BJ Upton and Carlos Pena have struggled early, but still have driven in runs. Pat Burrell has been a signing bust and Dioner Navarro is nowhere to be found. They have a decent bench (Michel Hernandez, Willy Aybar, Gabe Kapler), too.

Team Thoughts

Tampa Bay's most valuable player has been Carl Crawford. He creates havoc on the basepaths, stealing 41 bases already. He's also batting .318 with eight home runs and 38 RBI. He also has a great glove and scores lots of runs.

Tampa Bay's least valuable player has been Dioner Navarro. This guy was an All-Star last year and has completely stunk this year. He's only batting .214 with five home runs and 24 RBI. His on-base percentage is a minuscule .244 and he only bats .179 with runners in scoring position.

Tampa Bay's best moment came on May 15. The Rays were playing the Indians and were down 7-0 early. They rallied and tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game still tied, BJ Upton launched his first home run of the year and the Rays won on his walkoff homer.

Tampa Bay's worst moment came on May 25. The Rays were facing the Indians, and they were up 10-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. However, the Rays let the Indians bat around the order and they scored seven runs, capped off by a Victor Martinez walkoff, to take the game 11-10.

Power Rankings

Tampa Bay's highest ranking was 7.
Tampa Bay's lowest ranking was 22.
Tampa Bay's average ranking is 14.62.

Playoff Potential

The Rays can make the playoffs, but it won't be an easy task. They will have to fight off the Red Sox and Yankees. Is it viable? They did it last year. The difference is that people notice them now.

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