Each MLB Non-Playoff Team's Biggest Scapegoat for 2013 Failures

As the MLB season winds down, many teams are preparing for a playoff run.

However, there are those who aren't contending and there are multiple reasons why. From the Blue Jays to the Angels to the Giants, there are multiple teams who were supposed to be in the playoff hunt, but aren't.

There are also teams who we knew wouldn't have a shot at the playoffs and have struggled just like we thought they would.

But whose fault is it?

Inevitably, many fans in a fanbase will point to one person as the reason why their team is struggling this year. It could be a player, coach or executive. Regardless of who it is, someone is the scapegoat.

So, who is the scapegoat for each team that won't make the playoffs?

Note: A few contenders are listed as well because I feel they won't make the playoffs.

Houston Astros: Ed Wade

From 2007-11, Ed Wade was the general manager for the Astros. During that time, he had a roster full of promising talent but traded it all away in an effort to get something for his young stars.

During his tenure in Houston, Wade traded away guys like Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt. Because of those trades, the Astros bolstered their depth in the minor leagues and struggled over the last few years at the MLB level.

Now, I'm not saying the trades were bad, because getting guys like Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart and Brett Wallace are good for the future. However, that didn't do anything for the 2013 Astros.

The only trade where he clearly lost was the deal that sent Bourn to the Braves. The Astros got Juan Abreu, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Jordan Schafer in the deal. And Schafer isn't even with the team anymore as he was put on waivers and claimed by the Braves.

None of the players left on the roster from this deal are promising. Clemens is 4-5 with a 5.54 ERA this year. Oberholtzer has been decent at 4-3 and a 2.98 ERA, but is very inconsistent.

Other than that, Wade made a few good moves to get the Astros better in the future.

Fans can use him as the scapegoat for 2013, but they will also give him credit when and if the team starts winning.

Chicago White Sox: Rick Hahn

Rick Hahn has performed horribly as the general manager of the White Sox this year, and thus is their scapegoat.

With a chance to improve on a roster that went 85-77 last year, all Hahn could do was sign Jeff Keppinger in free agency. A.J. Pierzynski, Francisco Liriano and Kevin Youkilis left in free agency, but Hahn left the roster looking pretty much the same after that.

This year, catchers have stunk at the plate for the White Sox, batting .205 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI. Keppinger, on the other hand, has batted .244 with four home runs and 37 RBI.

Hahn had a chance to improve the roster and he failed.

And, to top it all off, he traded Alex Rios on Aug. 9 to the Rangers for a player to be named later (Leury Garcia). Since being called up, Garcia has batted .206. His career batting average is .198.

What makes this move even worse is the fact that Rios wasn't even a free agent after this season. He still had one more year on his contract, along with a team-option year in 2015.

Hahn has really dropped the ball as the GM and is the reason the team has failed this year, and the likely reason why they will fail next year.

Minnesota Twins: Josh Willingham

While not much was expected out of the Twins this year after a 66-96 record last year, fans expected Josh Willingham to still put on a power display.

In 2012, Willingham batted .260 with 35 home runs and 110 RBI. It was the most home runs the Twins had seen from a player since 1970 when Harmon Killebrew hit 41.

However, 2013 has been anything but a good year for Willingham as he's batted .212 with 14 home runs and 48 RBI. That's not exactly what fans were hoping to get out of him.

The Twins' problems go beyond Willingham, but he's the easiest to point out after having a good 2012.

Seattle Mariners: Chris Gwynn

The Mariners have issues, and it has nothing to do with the players, general manager or owner.

Player development is one of Seattle's biggest weaknesses. They draft so many guys with high upside, and it's a 50-50 crapshoot on whether they will turn out good or not.

Of course, you have the cases like Felix Hernandez, but his development was years ago. I'm talking about the here and now and the failures in player development fall on Chris Gwynn, brother to Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.

Gwynn has been the director of player development for the Mariners since the end of the 2011 season. During that time, he's been able to get his hands on a multitude of high-end talents, including Mike Zunino. 

Zunino was brought up way before he was ready, and it's showing on the field. He's batting .213 with three home runs and 11 RBI. The kid was a can't-miss catching prospect, and he has somehow missed.

Some people will say it's early, but we've seen the same with Dustin Ackley in the organization. They'll also look at the development of guys like Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen and James Paxton, which has been pretty good.

However, those are pitchers. Position players are the ones who aren't getting developed right as they're not ready to make the jump to the big leagues. And that falls on Gwynn, whether it's fair or not.

Another good example is Nick Franklin, who was the No. 53 prospect in baseball in 2010. That's about the best he's been and this year has proven why. Franklin is batting .215 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI. It's decent power for a rookie, but a .215 average just won't cut it.

Gwynn is still only in his second year, so he deserves more time. But the fans won't be able to sit back and watch the same thing happen to recent first-round pick D.J. Peterson.

Things have to improve in the player development department. If they don't, Seattle will never see the playoffs.

Toronto Blue Jays: Alex Anthopoulos

The Blue Jays are going to the World Series...well, that's what we were told after the team brought in the likes of Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and R.A. Dickey, among others.

Toronto gave up a bevy of talent to acquire those former All-Stars. And all three have largely disappointed this year, although Reyes' disappointed came mainly because of injury. 

It all started with the trade that sent Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles to the Indians in exchange for Esmil Rogers. Gomes has batted .290 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI, while Aviles is batting .256 with nine home runs and 41 RBI.

Rogers, on the other hand, has gone 5-7 with a 4.42 ERA, which includes 18 starts out of 42 appearances. In a bit of irony, Rogers has given up the same number of home runs that Aviles and Gomes have combined to hit.

Next came the blockbuster with the Marlins that sent Henderson Alvarez, Jake Marisnick and Adeiny Hechavarria (among others) to Miami for Reyes, Johnson, John Buck, Mark Buehrle and Emilio Bonifacio.

The Marlins got three good pieces to build towards their future. In return, the Blue Jays got a decent season from Buehrle (11-9, 4.17 ERA), and a season full of injuries for Reyes and Johnson. Of those four players, Johnson is a free agent after this year, and Bonifacio was traded to the Royals.

Anthopoulos then made another big deal, this time with the Mets. They gave up the No. 12 and No. 19 prospects in all of baseball in Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud, along with John Buck. In return, they got a 38-year-old Dickey, who was fresh off a Cy Young, and Josh Thole (a career .249 hitter).

In return, Dickey has gone 13-12 with a 4.21 ERA. In the meantime, New York called up d'Arnaud after an injury ended Buck's season. Syndergaard proceeded to dominate over two levels in the minors this year, going 9-4 with a 3.06 ERA and 133 strikeouts.

In short, the Blue Jays gave up a lot of top prospects to try to win a World Series this year, which seriously backfired. Now, the only big pieces they have left for 2014 are Dickey, Reyes and Buehrle.

Anthopoulos is to blame for the season. He mortgaged the future, banking on a World Series this year, and came up as a massive failure.

Los Angeles Angels: Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton got a five-year, $133-million contract from the Angels and pretty much failed all year.

Hamilton has batted .245 with 21 home runs and 72 RBI this year. That's a far cry from 2012 where he hit .285 with 43 home runs and 128 RBI.

It actually took Hamilton until June 17 to hit double-digits in home runs. Compare that to 2012 where he had 10 home runs by May 7.

Most people wouldn't consider those numbers bad, but when you're getting paid $17 million this year, those numbers aren't good enough.

Some people will point to the struggles of Tommy Hanson and Joe Blanton in the rotation, saying they should be the scapegoats. That falls more on the general manager for putting more of an emphasis on signing another power hitter instead of putting that money towards Zack Greinke. 

But, on a team with a lot of high-priced players, the one that isn't performing like he should will receive the blame. And that's Hamilton.

Kansas City Royals: Mike Moustakas

I've done my fair-share of ragging on Eric Hosmer, but it's Mike Moustakas who is the real scapegoat for the Royals.

Moustakas is batting .235 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 127 games this year. In his three years in the big leagues, Moustakas has largely been a disappointment with a .245 career average.

He has the fifth-most errors of all third basemen in baseball with 14, and had the sixth-most in 2012 with 15.

Moustakas hasn't developed into the talent the Royals thought he would be when they drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick in 2007. If he doesn't get it together, and soon, his days in Kansas City are numbered.

New York Yankees: CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes

The Yankees have dealt with a multitude of injuries, but Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia are the scapegoats this year.

Sabathia is 13-13 with a 4.90 ERA, while Hughes is 4-13 with a 5.07 ERA. Last year, the pair combined to go 31-19 with a 3.79 ERA. They were a huge reason why the Yankees finished the regular season with 95 wins.

However, this year has seen both go downhill with no real explanation.

It would be easy to blame the injuries and make them the scapegoat, but that's just a cop out. Both Hughes and Sabathia shouldn't be affected by injuries to other players and should be able to perform like they have before.

For that reason, they will take on some of the blame.

Texas Rangers: Nelson Cruz

Yes, you're seeing this correctly. I don't think the Rangers will make the playoffs and it's all Nelson Cruz's fault.

While the Rangers are two games above .500 since he was suspended for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, this latest slump by the Rangers will be blamed on his absence.

Sure, the Rangers traded for Alex Rios and have gotten great performances by Yu Darvish on the mound. But Cruz was also leading the team in home runs when he was suspended, something they have sorely missed since then.

A lot of other things have gone wrong, but people will point to Cruz's suspension as the reason why they don't make the playoffs.

Miami Marlins: Jeffrey Loria

Jeffrey Loria is the devil incarnate in the minds of some baseball fans. The guy simply sold away just about all of the Marlins' best pieces, angering the small fanbase.

Less than a year after bringing in guys like Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes, Loria traded those guys away to bring in younger talent. Most fans don't give him enough credit in that he did bring back a few good pieces for the future.

However, many believe all he'll do is trade those players away as well, and continue to play with a bevy of younger players.

Of course, Loria is likely smirking considering the performances of Jose Fernandez, Henderson Alvarez and Jacob Turner, but that's not the point.

The Marlins are once again one of the worst teams in baseball because Loria won't keep good players around long enough to make a difference. Giancarlo Stanton is still there, but for how long? In fact, how long will Fernandez be there?

With Loria at the helm, there's no telling what might happen with the Marlins.

Chicago Cubs: Starlin Castro

After two All-Star years, Starlin Castro has been an extreme disappointment for the Cubs this year.

So far, Castro is batting .243 with nine home runs and 41 RBI. It's a far cry from last year where he batted .283 with 14 home runs and 78 RBI.

Even more, Castro once again made headlines for mental mistakes in the field, including a gaffe in the field that allowed the Cardinals to score a run in August.

After having signed an eight-year deal worth $60.57 million last year, most would think Castro wouldn't be having these mistakes. But he is.

And it's hard not to look at one of the stars of the team having this many issues. If he's doing this sort of stuff, what will stop other guys from doing it?

The Cubs weren't going to compete for the playoffs this year anyway, but Castro's continuing mental mistakes make him an easy target as a scapegoat. 

Milwaukee Brewers: Yovani Gallardo

Yovani Gallardo is supposed to be the ace of the Brewers. However, an ace doesn't go 11-9 with a 4.29 ERA in the National League. It just doesn't happen.

Gallardo gave Brewers fans a lot of hope last year when he went 16-9 with a 3.66 ERA and 204 strikeouts. But he simply hasn't been cutting the mustard and the rest of the pitching staff has followed suit.

In total, the starting staff has a 4.38 ERA, which ranks them 23rd in the league.

Sure, the blame can be placed on Ryan Braun, but he dealt with injuries this year before being suspended for his role in the Biogenesis scandal.

The real issue has been with the pitching. And with Gallardo the supposed ace of the staff, it all starts with him.

New York Mets: Ike Davis

Ike Davis is the scapegoat for the Mets every year and this year is no different.

This year, Davis is batting .205 with nine home runs and 33 RBI. It got so bad that he was demoted to Triple-A in early June and spent about three weeks there.

Davis honestly has no business being the Mets' first baseman. Lucas Duda is more than capable of filling that role. The Mets should just focus on getting outfield help to replace where Duda would normally be.

While holes in the outfield have been an obvious problem for the Mets over the last few years, that could easily be fixed if the Mets were willing to invest the money in talent.

What won't change is Davis having any type of success at the plate. He's gone the way of Jeff Francoeur and is beyond being able to be saved.

Colorado Rockies: Troy Tulowitzki

The Rockies have no real scapegoats, but if I had to nit-pick, I could go with Troy Tulowitzki, who happens to get injured a lot.

Honestly, the real problem for Colorado is playing in a high-altitude environment for half of its games every year. Because of that, pitchers are generally going to give up more runs, causing the bullpen to be called upon a lot. Put it this way, the Colorado bullpen has logged the fourth most innings this year (510).

But back to Tulowitzki, as I can't make Coors Field the scapegoat.

He broke a rib this year, which caused him to miss four weeks. In 2012, it was his left groin, while in 2010 it was a fractured wrist.

In four of his seven full seasons, Tulowitzki has spent some time on the DL with one injury or another. If I'm going to be a nit-pick, this would be my reason to make Tulowitzki a scapegoat.

San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain

Matt Cain is easily having one of the worst seasons of his career with the Giants, going 8-9 with a 4.24 ERA.

The Giants have had multiple problems, but with their ace having struggled all year, it affects the rest of the team.

It would be easy to say Tim Lincecum is the scapegoat with his 10-13 record and 4.40 ERA, but we all saw this coming last year when he struggled. He would have been a good pick last year, but picking him this year would have been like picking Barry Zito.

Cain needs to be the ace of the staff, and his struggles in the early part of the year got the Giants into a funk.

I will admit that Cain has gotten things together as of late, but it's a little late.

San Diego Padres: Ron Fowler and Josh Byrnes

Once Ron Fowler bought the Padres, many fans were made to believe it would result in an increase in payroll for better players.

While that was the plan, it's something GM Josh Byrnes failed to deliver on and something Fowler didn't hold him to. It's only been one offseason, but when Byrnes failed to sign anyone of significance in the offseason, Padres fans just groaned.

Was it all just talk to get fans to come to the ballpark again?

In a story by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Byrnes said his focus will be on spending wisely:

"

I've been doing this long enough to know that payroll isn't a number—it's relative to what your competitors are doing and, most importantly, how you're spending your money, Byrnes said after the new ownership group was introduced in a press conference at Petco Park. (Signing free agents) is an ingredient. We aren't opposed to it, but the key to our strategy won't be signing free agents. It's going to be a mentality of keeping our players.

"

While that is mostly true, bringing in some top talent to compete with the likes of the Dodgers and Giants is important. It takes money to do that.

Instead, all we heard about was the possibility of re-signing Chase Headley, when instead, the Padres should have been pursuing a Michael Bourn or Francisco Liriano.

Not a good way to start out your first year as owner.

Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay is just a shade of his former self with the Phillies. He's currently 4-4 with a 6.71 ERA, his highest since 2000.

Halladay has faced shoulder issues the last two years, but it was never thought to be that bad.

With Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee joining him in the rotation, the Phillies were once thought by many to have the best trio in all of baseball. But it's been anything but that this year.

Although you can't help injuries, fans have already blamed the age of the team and Ryan Howard for their problems. So, why not blame another aging veteran like Halladay?

Arizona Diamondbacks: Kevin Towers

For the life of me, I'll never understand by Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers traded away Justin Upton.

Sure, he had an off year in 2012, but there was no reason to think he couldn't rebound in 2013. Instead, they traded him to the Braves for some reason.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal thinks it's because Upton wasn't gritty enough:

"

The Diamondbacks want a certain type of player — single-minded, outwardly intense, fierce. Cody Ross is that kind of player. Martin Prado is that kind of player. Upton, according to one of his former teammates, is not—at least not in the perception of Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson.

“The problem is that he didn’t play with a high level of energy,” said the former teammate, who spoke on the condition that he would not be identified. “What I think they want is guys who play with the speed, energy and intensity of the Oregon football team—all out, all the time.

"

Whatever helps Towers sleep better at night.

While it's only been one season, Upton has shown his value to the Braves, basically carrying the team in the early part of the season.

Meanwhile, Prado is having a pretty good year, while Randall Delgado is not. Prado is batting .277 with 13 home runs and 75 RBI, while Delgado is 5-6 with a 3.98 ERA. Zeke Spruill has a 5.56 ERA in six appearances, and Nick Ahmed and Brandon Drury have spent the entire year in the minors.

There is one other thing. The throw-in player, Chris Johnson, is on the verge of winning the NL batting title. How did Towers let him get away?

Overall, trading away the face of the franchise just because he isn't gritty enough is no way to do business.

Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman

The Nationals are looking to make a run to the playoffs, but will come up short.

Part of that reason is the leadership, or lack thereof, displayed by Ryan Zimmerman. When the Nationals struggled early in the year, Zimmerman didn't show his leadership.

It's sad that a second-year player like Bryce Harper saw the lack of leadership and spoke up about it on July 31. That was Zimmerman's role, but something he failed to do. The military has a saying that leaders lead from the front. Zimmerman didn't do that at all this year.

Had Zimmerman taken on that role of leader and done something to get his team going, maybe the Nationals would be in the lead in the NL Wild Card.