Biggest MLB Duds of Week 19, Position by Position
"Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever." That was one of the many memorable lines uttered by Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves) in The Replacements, an underrated movie that also starred Jon Favreau and Gene Hackman, among others.
While that was a flick about replacement football players, you'd think the MLB players that occupy this week's All-Dud team were, in fact, replacements for the game's regular stars who had decided to go on strike.
After you see some of the numbers this week's squad put up, you'll question just how quickly pain truly heals—and whether this week's crop of disappointing duds will spend the rest of the season nursing the mental scars from a forgettable week of action.
We've picked 10 players—one per position, including a designated hitter and starting pitcher—who put together disastrous performances over the past seven days—one of whom is walking around with a self-inflicted shiner.
Who made the cut alongside the San Francisco Giants' Hunter Pence? Let's take a look.
Catcher: Dioner Navarro, Chicago White Sox
1 of 10
This week's All-Dud squad starts off with a battle behind the plate between the Baltimore Orioles' Matt Wieters and the Chicago White Sox's Dioner Navarro.
While Navarro scored the winning run against the Miami Marlins on Saturday after a wild pitch from Marlins reliever Kyle Barraclough, that wasn't enough to overcome a week that saw him fail to record an extra-base hit and strike out six times in 17 at-bats.
It's the continuation of what has been a forgettable walk year for Navarro, who may not find a team willing to give an MLB deal to a 33-year-old catcher coming off a season that saw him hit .209 with a .604 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Matt Wieters (BAL): .136 BA, .390 OPS, 1 XBH (0 HR), 1 RBI
First Base: James Loney, New York Mets
2 of 10
With nearly half of their starting lineup on the disabled list—Asdrubal Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, Lucas Duda and David Wright—the New York Mets needed someone to pick up the slack as a run producer last week.
James Loney wasn't up for the challenge.
The 32-year-old, whom the Mets acquired from the San Diego Padres back in May, mustered only three singles and one RBI in 23 trips to the plate, finishing the week with a .261 OPS. Amazingly, six other players posted a lower OPS in Week 19 action.
Dishonorable Mention
Eric Hosmer (KC): .192 BA, .453 OPS, 1 XBH (0 HR), 4 RBI
Second Base: Jonathan Schoop, Baltimore Orioles
3 of 10
Aside from good health and natural ability, one thing we can point to as a driving force behind Jonathan Schoop's breakout season in Baltimore is his genuine love and passion for baseball. If you don't love what you do for a living, it's hard to succeed.
"I'm trying to put myself in a good situation where I can go out there and compete every day," he told the Baltimore Sun's Eduardo A. Encina on Thursday. "It's an honor to see your name in there and try to compete and try to play hard every day, and try to bring something for the team to win."
While nobody questions Schoop's effort, the results weren't there last week. The 24-year-old hit just .208 with a .588 OPS, failing to drive in a run as the Orioles went 3-4, dropping a half-game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League East lead heading into Sunday.
Dishonorable Mention
Raul Mondesi Jr. (KC): .143 BA, .372 OPS, 1 XBH (0 HR), 2 RBI
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Third Base: Travis Shaw, Boston Red Sox
4 of 10
Travis Shaw said that his love for the game began at Dodger Stadium more than a decade ago, when his father, Jeff, was a reliever in Los Angeles. So it wasn't surprising to see Shaw start the week off with a 1-for-4 showing in the Boston Red Sox's series finale against the Dodgers, his fourth consecutive game with a hit.
What happened after that, however, was surprising.
Shaw would reach base safely only once more during the week, courtesy of a six-pitch walk from New York Yankees reliever Blake Parker on Wednesday. He finished the week hitting .056 (1-for-18) with an American League-worst .161 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Danny Valencia (OAK): .182 BA, .445 OPS, 1 XBH (0 HR), 2 RBI
Shortstop: Greg Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
5 of 10
After starting the week off as a reserve, Greg Garcia was handed four consecutive starts at shortstop by St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. Even with starter Aledmys Diaz still sidelined by a fractured thumb, those may be the last starts Garcia gets for a while.
The 27-year-old did nothing to make a case that he's deserving of more regular playing time, failing to record a hit in 21 at-bats and posting baseball's lowest weekly OPS (.045), regardless of position.
Were it not for a meaningless walk at the hands of Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta on Friday in a game the Cubs would win by a score of 13-2, Garcia may not have reached base at all last week.
Dishonorable Mention
Adeiny Hechavarria (MIA): .100 BA, .282 OPS, 0 XBH
Left Field: Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers
6 of 10
Justin Upton's first season in Detroit remains one that he and the Tigers would likely love to forget. The 28-year-old has yet to record an extra-base hit in August and managed only three singles and two walks over six Week 19 games, hitting .120 with nine strikeouts and a .305 OPS.
“I’m just playing like (crap) right now,” Upton told the Detroit Free Press' George Sipple. “I’m not hitting the ball well. I’m not seeing the ball well. I’m not able to slow the game now and it’s just not happening.”
While it's not all Upton's fault, his lack of production contributed to the Tigers going 1-5 on the week and, more importantly, falling further behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central and both Baltimore and Boston in the race for a wild-card berth.
Dishonorable Mention
Scott Schebler (CIN): .000 BA, .190 OPS, 0 H, 1 RBI
Center Field: Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
7 of 10
After starting the game 0-for-6, Lorenzo Cain was thrilled to deliver a walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning for the Kansas City Royals against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
“I had been ready to go home for a while,” Cain told the Associated Press (h/t the Topeka Capital-Journal). “I was happy to get the hit. It was definitely a rough game up to that point. I came through for the boys. It’s a very good feeling.”
The same can't be said about the rest of Cain's week. Last year's third-leading MVP vote-getter, who entered Week 19 on a five-game hitting streak, hit just .080 (2-for-25) with a pair of RBI, nine strikeouts and a woeful .200 OPS.
Dishonorable Mention
Marcell Ozuna (MIA): .050 BA, .224 OPS, 0 XBH, 1 RBI
Right Field: Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
8 of 10
Nobody's ever questioned Hunter Pence's toughness, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see the right fielder refuse to come out of the San Francisco Giants lineup after fouling a ball off his face, which resulted in a nasty black eye.
“If I’m OK to play, I want to give it everything I can,” Pence told the Star-Telegram's Stefan Stevenson. “I don’t claim to be anything special or tough. I just want to play. It’s an honor to be out there with those guys and a privilege to play for the Giants. It’s awesome.”
But his 13 strikeouts on the week—tied with St. Louis' Brandon Moss for the MLB lead—were anything but awesome. Neither was Pence's .087 batting average or .255 OPS, both the worst numbers put forth by any of San Francisco's regulars in Week 19.
Dishonorable Mention
Jay Bruce (NYM): .125 BA, .285 OPS, 0 XBH, 1 RBI
Designated Hitter: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
9 of 10
Picking the designated hitter for our All-Dud team this week was easy. Of the seven qualified DH candidates, only one failed to hit .300 or post an OPS of at least .780—Albert Pujols.
In fact, Pujols didn't come close to either of those numbers, hitting just .158 with a .368 OPS, though he did drive in four runs for the Los Angeles Angels—not that they mattered, as the Angels dropped all five games in which Pujols played.
If that wasn't bad enough, Pujols found himself the target of a $27 million lawsuit from his cousin, former St. Louis farmhand Wilfrido Pujols, according to TMZ. While the suit seems frivolous, it only made Week 19 that much more forgettable for the future Hall of Fame inductee.
Dishonorable Mention
None
Starting Pitcher: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
10 of 10
Adam Wainwright doesn't want to hear that there's no shame in getting beaten by the best team in baseball.
"That's one of the worst starts of my career. Period," Wainwright told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch after the Chicago Cubs tagged him for six hits and seven earned runs over just two innings of work Friday. "One of the most disappointing starts, too. We needed a win. The team over there had won 10 straight games and had a very good pitcher on the mound. I just didn't show up today. That was embarrassing."
It didn't help that one of Wainwright's worst starts came after a dismal performance against Atlanta last Sunday, when the last-place Braves put six earned runs on the board over six innings of work.
On the week, Wainwright went 0-2, allowing 13 earned runs and 15 hits over eight innings, walking six and striking out five.
Dishonorable Mention
Jonathan Gray (COL): 0-2, 15.75 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 8 IP, 16 H (2 HR), 5 BB, 9 K
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of MLB.com and are current through games on Aug. 13.
Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR
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