Albert Pujols, Tim Lincecum and MLB's Quarter-Pole Disasters

Albert Pujols seems to be getting back on the right track.

After collecting a single home run in his first 36 games this season, Pujols has homered on consecutive days. Though we're talking about an extremely small sample size, he has looked much more like himself since the Angels fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher.

From a big-picture perspective, however, the first quarter of Pujols' first season in Anaheim has been an absolute disaster. The Angels have not gotten the kind of bang for their buck that they were hoping for.

That's the kind of season it's been for Prince Albert, but at least he has company in his misery. Numerous other notable players around the league have gotten off to disastrous starts, and some of them have yet to show signs that they're about to turn things around. 

With the season a quarter of the way done (give or take), we figure we may as well pay tribute to the worst of the worst so far in the 2012 MLB season. Ahead of you is a rundown of disasters from all over the field and on the mound.

You're welcome to shed a few tears along the way. I also won't discourage you from pointing and laughing.

Catcher: Russell Martin, New York Yankees

Man...What's happened to Russell Martin?

There was a time when Martin was one of the best all-around catchers in baseball, but it's pretty obvious right now that those days are well in the past. He's having an ugly season.

Martin's offense numbers leave a lot to be desired (an understatement). He's hitting .167/.322/.292 with three home runs and just nine RBI. His .167 batting average is the lowest in baseball among qualified catchers, as is his .292 slugging percentage.

This time last year, Martin was hitting .261 with seven homers and 22 RBI.

To make matters worse, Martin's catcher's ERA is 4.48. It was 3.71 last season, which was the lowest mark in the American League among qualified catchers.

Obviously, the Yankees' lousy pitching has a lot to do with that, but it just kinda highlights just how rough this season has been for Martin. He's not hitting, and he's not having a fun time behind the dish either.

For what it's worth, his 0.5 WAR (per FanGraphs) is not the worst in baseball among qualified catchers, so at least he has that going for him.

And besides, at least he plays on a great te...uh, never mind.

First Base: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels

Coming into this season, Albert Pujols was a .328/.420/.617 career hitter. Between 2001 and 2011, he compiled a WAR of 87.8, better than any player in the major leagues.

It suffices to say this season isn't going according to plan. 

Even after his recent hot stretch (if you can call it that), Pujols is still hitting just .214/.248/.325 with three home runs and 18 RBI. These numbers look decidedly not Pujols-like.

Just how bad is it?

Well, Adam Lind has a higher OBP than Pujols, and he's still batting under the Mendoza line. James Loney has a higher slugging percentage than Pujols, and he's...well, he's James Loney.

It gets worse.

Pujols' WAR for the season is -0.6, according to FanGraphs. Among first basemen, that ranks him barely above Eric Hosmer and just behind Justin Smoak.

I have to be honest: This sucks. The world is a much happier place when Pujols is hitting.

For the record, it's my presumption that this has something to do with the Mayans.

Second Base: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers

Rickie Weeks had to spend some time on the disabled list last season, but he ended up with numbers remarkably similar to the numbers he put up in 2010. He hit .269/.366/.464 in 2010, and .269/.350/.468 in 2011.

Weeks' bat hasn't been quite as productive this season. He's hitting just .156/.292/.296 with four home runs and seven RBI.

Weeks has the lowest batting average and lowest slugging percentage among all qualified second basemen, and his -0.4 WAR places him just ahead of Gordon Beckham, according to FanGraphs.

He's struggled in the field too. Weeks has never been an elite defender, but so far this year he has a -5.4 UZR and -8 defensive runs saved.

Weeks' struggles have been a pretty major problem for a team that was hoping to contend this season, despite the loss of Prince Fielder. He hasn't helped a Brewers offense that has been rather pedestrian this season.

The bad news is that things are only getting worse. Weeks hit .186 in April, and he's hitting .102 in May. 

Third Base: Brent Morel, Chicago White Sox

Before we go any further, we should be fair here. It's not like anybody had great expectations for Brent Morel heading into the season.

It's therefore almost impressive that Morel has managed to be a massive disappointment anyway. He's hitting .177/.225/.195 in 35 games, with no home runs and five RBI. He ranks dead last among qualified third basemen in average OBP and slugging.

Morel has been a nightmare in the field too, as he's made three errors and he currently boasts a -0.6 UZR.

According to FanGraphs, Morel's WAR is -0.7. That's the worst among qualified third basemen, and the guy closest to him (Michael Young) has an even 0.0 WAR.

I'll give the guy credit for playing through some nasty back pain, but...man...

You know what? I'm starting to feel bad for him, so let's just move on.

Shortstop: Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels

Question: Why exactly did the Angels think it was a good idea to sign Erick Aybar to a four-year extension worth $35 million?

Reasonable Answer: Because the franchise is too reckless with its money, and because it doesn't know an overrated player when it sees one.

Aybar has had some decent seasons in the past, but nothing too special. He's certainly been anything but special this year, as he's presently batting a hideous .189/.214/.236. 

He's been bad in the field too, which comes as no surprise. He had no business winning a Gold Glove last year, and this year he's already made five errors and he currently has a -3.3 UZR.

Aybar's -1.0 WAR ranks last among all qualified shortstops, according to FanGraphs.

It bears repeating that he just got a $35 million contract. 

I just LOL'd.

Left Field: Delmon Young, Detroit Tigers

Delmon Young turned out to be a great pick-up for the Tigers last season. He hit .274/.298/.458 with eight home runs and 32 RBI in 40 games with Detroit, and he went on to hit five home runs in the postseason.

Young's first full season in Detroit isn't going nearly as well. It's been a struggle, to say the least.

Young currently finds himself hitting .226/.286/.313 with one home run and 10 RBI. His OPS of .599 is the second-worst in MLB among qualified left fielders.

His WAR of -0.5 is the worst in MLB among qualified left fielders, according to FanGraphs.

And of course, there was that whole hate crime thing (see the Detroit Free Press for more).

No further comment is needed.

Center Field: Drew Stubbs, Cincinnati Reds

Drew Stubbs has the potential to be a very good player, but he's just so not a very good player.

Stubbs' first two full years in the majors were pretty good. He hit for power and showed off impressive base-stealing skills. If he could bring himself to cut down on his strikeouts and be more selective at the plate, he could turn into a star.

We're still waiting. In fact, things have taken a turn for the worse.

Stubbs isn't hitting all that well this season. He's batting just .238/.277/.340 with three home runs. Just as discouraging is the fact that he's still striking out a lot, and his walk rate has dipped to 4.5 percent.

Despite all his strikeouts, he was able to keep his walk rate over 9.0 in 2010 and 2011.

He's struggled to get on track in the field too, as his UZR checks in just under zero at -0.1.

Put it all together, and you get a WAR of 0.1, according to FanGraphs. Only Marlon Byrd has a worse WAR among qualified center fielders.

Come on, Stubbs. You're better than this. I think...

Right Field: Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers

I'm not trying to pick on Tigers outfielders here, but Brennan Boesch has been even worse than Delmon Young this season (inside the park, anyway).

Boesch does have five home runs and 16 RBI, which isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. His batting line of .235/.269/.362, on the other hand, is bad. His .632 OPS is the lowest in baseball among qualified right fielders.

Where Boesch has really killed the Tigers, however, is in the field.

He already has a -7.5 UZR and -6 defensive runs saved. His defense, or lack thereof, has been a major problem for a Tigers team that has had to deal with far more problems than any of us anticipated.

All told, Boesch has a WAR of -0.9, according to FanGraphs. That's the worst in MLB among right fielders, and it's not close.

The good news is that he has a 10-game hitting streak going. The slightly-less-good news is that it's only raised his batting average from .209 to .235.

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

In 2008 and 2009, Tim Lincecum was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. And though he had his ups and downs, he was still very much an ace in 2010 and 2011.

This year, not so much.

Lincecum's numbers don't look like numbers that should belong to a two-time Cy Young award winner. He has a record of 2-3 to go along with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

Control has been a major issue for Big Time Timmy Jim this season. His BB/9 is a very un-Lincecum-like 4.53, and he's averaging more than 18 pitches per inning. This is a key reason why he's pitched at least six innings in just three of his eight starts.

And yes, diminished fastball velocity has been a key problem for Lincecum.

Per FanGraphs, his average fastball velocity is down from over 92 mph in 2011 to just under 90 mph this year. He can get by with a fastball like that, but only if he controls it. He hasn't been able to do that this season.

There's still hope for Lincecum, but his days as one of baseball's most dominant pitchers are over.

Starting Pitcher: Ubaldo Jimenez, Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians gave up a lot to get Ubaldo Jimenez last year, and he didn't pan out after he came over from the Colorado Rockies.

He's still not panning out.

Jimenez does have a respectable 4-3 record, but he has an ERA over 5.00 and his WHIP is an astonishing 1.70. This has a lot to do with his disgusting 6.26 BB/9, and it doesn't help that his K/9 is all the way down to 5.48.

Jimenez has done a pretty good job of wriggling out of trouble this season, and he deserves credit for that. However, this is a compliment you're supposed to pay to a No. 4 or No. 5 pitcher, and the Indians were hoping for a No. 1 when they traded for Jimenez.

He's not a No. 1.

The Indians got robbed.

Starting Pitcher: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox

It's looking like Clay Buchholz may be starting to turn a corner. He hasn't been dominant in either of his last two starts, but he's at least been able to limit the damage effectively. That's something that he couldn't do in any of his first six starts.

Even despite his slight turnaround, Buchholz has a 7.77 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. His ERA is the highest in baseball among qualified starting pitchers, and so is his WHIP.

It's not hard to decipher what's up with Buchholz. His control has been erratic all season, and he's just not missing many bats. He has a K/9 of 5.11 and hitters are hitting .333 off of him.

Right now, it's a complete mystery how Buchholz managed to win 17 games with a 2.33 ERA back in 2010. The best explanation anybody can come up with is that 2010 was a fluke.

Anybody care to argue that notion?

Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers

With his stuff, Max Scherzer should be one of the most dominant starting pitchers in baseball.

He's not, and it's frustrating to no end.

In eight starts, Scherzer has a 2-3 record, an ERA of 6.26 and a WHIP of 1.73. Ugly numbers no matter which way you choose to look at them.

The strange part is that Scherzer has the highest K/9 of any starting pitcher in the American League at 10.37. His problem is what happens when hitters make contact, as he has a BABIP of .403. Hitters are hitting .318 off of him.

Some of this is bad luck, but it's mostly due to Scherzer's various shortcomings as a pitcher. He's maddeningly inconsistent from pitch to pitch, and his mistakes tend to end up being base hits.

He should be good, but it's awfully hard to make excuses for him at this point.

Starting Pitcher: Hiroki Kuroda, New York Yankees

The Yankees signed Hiroki Kuroda in hopes that he would provide one thing: 

Stability.

So much for that. In eight starts, Kuroda has a 3-5 record to go along with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He's finding out every day that pitching in the AL East is not the same as pitching in the NL West.

The biggest concern is all the home runs. Kuroda gave up a career-high 24 homers in 2011, and this year he's on pace to give up close to 40 of them. 

The Yankees are paying Kuroda $10 million; it suffices to say this can't continue if they want to get a good return on their investment.

There are worse pitchers out there than Kuroda, but few of them have his contract and the expectations that come tethered to it.

Closer: Heath Bell, Miami Marlins

Heath Bell's 2012 season represents further evidence that it's just plain dumb to give closers rich contracts.

The Marlins signed Bell to a three-year deal worth $27 million this offseason, and he responded by blowing four saves by May 4. His ERA was 11.42 after his fourth blown save.

Bell has settled down somewhat in recent games, but his overall numbers still look pretty ugly. He has a 9.24 ERA and a 2.37 WHIP, and he's struck out just nine hitters in 12.2 innings pitched.

That's a K/9 of 6.39, which is down from 11.06 as recently as 2010. The only thing that's uglier is his Carlos Marmol-like 8.53 BB/9.

Bell just hasn't had good stuff this year, and that's a continuation of a trend that started to develop last season. He was clearly in decline, but the Marlins signed him anyway.

They're paying the price so far this season.

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