Ranking the Biggest Disappointments of the 2015 MLB Postseason so Far
Not everyone who has taken part in the 2015 MLB postseason can be like the New York Mets' Daniel Murphy.
While the unassuming second baseman has been the biggest surprise of the playoffs, there's also been no lack of players and teams who have been downright disappointing.
Expectations were a big part of the equation in ranking the biggest underachievers thus far. After all, disappointment is all about unfulfilled potential. There was also room on the list for players and clubs who have failed in epic fashion.
As it turns out, a couple of front-line starters who haven't been remotely ace-like in October were left to jockey for the top spot in the rankings.
Dishonorable Mentions
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Here's a look at a few big leaguers who face-planted in the playoffs but managed to avoid landing a spot in the top 10. These guys missed out either because they or their team had relatively low expectations heading into the playoffs.
- Brett Anderson, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: 18.00 ERA, .438 opponents' average
- Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros: .154 average (0-for-17 skid to end the postseason)
- LaTroy Hawkins, RP, Toronto Blue Jays: 37.80 ERA (.636 opponents' average)
- Miguel Montero, C, Chicago Cubs: .095 average
10. Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland
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First basemen and designated hitters are supposed to provide pop.
In the American League Division Series, Mitch Moreland and Prince Fielder didn't provide the Texas Rangers with much of anything at all.
Moreland was 0-for-13 and chipped in a key error in the Rangers' seventh-inning collapse in Game 5 at Rogers Centre.
Fielder checked in with a .150 average (3-for-20) and didn't collect a single extra-base hit. The DH did pick up an RBI in Texas' Game 5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, but that was his first RBI in 94 playoff plate appearances dating back to the 2012 ALCS, which was the second-longest mark in postseason history, per the Fox Sports: MLB Twitter account.
9. New York Yankees
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The New York Yankees landed on this list because of the way in which they bowed out of the postseason.
In the AL Wild Card Game against the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks barely had a shot. The Astros pulled ahead in the second inning courtesy of a solo home run from Colby Rasmus and never looked back. AL Cy Young Award candidate Dallas Keuchel made the Yankees look helpless, as the club only tallied three singles in the 3-0 loss.
Alex Rodriguez, who starred for New York during the regular season, was 0-for-4 including 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. As ESPN's Stephen A. Smith noted on First Take, A-Rod now owns the worst average in postseason history with runners in scoring position.
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8. Pittsburgh Pirates
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The National League Wild Card Game has not been kind to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After Jake Arrieta led the Chicago Cubs past the Bucs 4-0 in this year's edition of the contest, the Pirates have now seen their season end in that must-win clash in back-to-back campaigns.
Make no mistake about it: There was definitely some bad luck involved in the Pirates' early exit from October. After all, they ran into Arrieta first, and he had ripped off a 0.75 ERA in the second half of the regular season.
Still, when a team racks up the second-most wins in the regular season (98) and then is one-and-done in the postseason, "disappointing" is the word that comes to mind.
7. St. Louis Cardinals
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Like the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals were a regular-season heavyweight who quickly tumbled out of the postseason picture.
For the Cards, who lost 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, the central problem was the lack of offensive firepower. Aside from Stephen Piscotty and Jason Heyward, nearly every St. Louis bat was missing in action. Just take a look at the averages for the following key cogs:
- Matt Carpenter: .235
- Matt Holliday: .125
- Yadier Molina: .125
- Jhonny Peralta: .143
- Kolten Wong: .143
To be fair, it wasn't just the lineup that let down St. Louis. The rotation, which led the world in ERA during the regular season (2.99), also faltered in the NLDS. Michael Wacha, who ran up an 8.31 ERA in his lone outing, was the biggest culprit.
6. The Chicago Cubs' NLCS Bats
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The Chicago Cubs were historically cold in the National League Championship Series.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, the team's .164 average against the New York Mets was the worst mark ever in the NLCS. There's no ignoring the reality that rising Mets aces such as Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom deserve a ton of credit for shutting down the Cubs. Still, the squad's offensive futility was staggering.
Aside from Jorge Soler (.417 average) and Kyle Schwarber (two home runs), the bats were nowhere to be found. Regular-season mashers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant both checked in with a .214 average. And while Bryant drove in three runs, Rizzo didn't collect a single RBI or extra-base hit.
5. Jake Arrieta
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After smashing past the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Wild Card Game, Jake Arrieta ran into a brick wall.
In his final two starts of the postseason, the righty allowed eight earned runs in 10.2 frames. For a bit of context, Arrieta only allowed nine earned runs in 107.1 innings after the All-Star break.
Manager Joe Maddon offered a simple explanation for the starter's unfortunately timed breakdown.
“It’s just the workload in general, it’s a lot of innings this year,” Maddon said on 670 The Score’s Spiegel and Goff show, via Kyle Thele of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Considering the numbers, it's difficult to disagree with Maddon. In 2015, Arrieta logged 229 regular-season innings, which dwarfed his previous career high of 156.2.
4. Texas Rangers
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The Texas Rangers just couldn't get the job done.
The Rangers were one win away from the ALCS, but instead dropped three consecutive contests to the Toronto Blue Jays to bring their season to a crashing halt.
With the club clinging to a 3-2 edge after one of the strangest scoring plays in postseason history, the wheels fell off in the bottom half of the seventh inning in Game 5. The Rangers made three errors in the infield, and then Toronto's Jose Bautista capped off the comeback by crushing a three-run bomb.
Sam Dyson, the reliever who served up the blast, was none too happy with Bautista's emphatic bat flip that followed.
"He's a huge role model for the younger generation that's coming up and playing this game," Dyson said, per ESPN.com. "He's doing stuff that kids do in whiffle ball games and backyard baseball. It shouldn't be done."
Dyson's comments sounded like a classic example of deflecting blame. And why wouldn't he deflect? After all, it's going to take the Rangers a long time to forget that ugly seventh inning of Game 5.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
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Another year. Another early October exit for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The NL West club has won the division title three years in a row, but has only made it the the NLCS once during the run. That lack of postseason success has led to the Dodgers and manager Don Mattingly mutually parting ways, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported Thursday.
While the deposed skipper makes for a popular scapegoat, Mattingly was far from the only problem at Chavez Ravine. With the exception of Justin Turner (.526 average in the NLDS) and Adrian Gonzalez (.316 average), the offense no-showed in the postseason.
The bullpen, which wrecked the Dodgers' October run a season ago, was once again a major liability. And the rotation depth was nonexistent. Author Molly Knight summed it up best on Twitter: "They had to pitch Kershaw on short rest, again, in a best of five series. With a $300 million payroll. That is...not ideal."
As the Dodgers embark upon the offseason, there's no question that they have lots of work to do. And adding more pitching is right at the top of the list.
2. Johnny Cueto
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Johnny Cueto appears to be wearing out his welcome with the Kansas City Royals.
After the Toronto Blue Jays shelled the right-hander in Game 3 of the ALCS, Cueto told Fox Sports KC that he had a difficult time pitching off the mound at Rogers Centre. But not even his manager Ned Yost was buying that excuse.
"I don't think Kris Medlen [who replaced Cueto] had trouble adjusting to it," Yost told 610 Sports Radio KC.
Whatever was behind Cueto's struggles, there's no avoiding the fact that Cueto's clunker was one of the worst outings in postseason history. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Dominican became the first pitcher ever to allow eight earned runs and 11 baserunners in two or fewer innings of work.
Cueto has a 7.88 ERA in three postseason starts for the Royals, but it is his gem in Game 5 of the ALDS that saves him from landing in the top spot on this list. In that clincher, Cueto punched out eight and allowed just two hits in eight innings.
But after the ALCS debacle, the free-agent-to-be has to earn back the ace status he carried in Cincinnati.
1. David Price
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David Price is like a different pitcher when the postseason rolls around.
The lefty ace, who sported a 9-1 record and a 2.30 ERA in his 11 regular-season starts with the Toronto Blue Jays, has racked up a 7.02 ERA in three 2015 playoff outings (two starts). Those postseason woes are nothing new for Price, as the 30-year-old has now piled up losses in seven consecutive playoff starts.
The good news for Price and the Jays is that the starter still has one chance to change the narrative, as he gets the ball for Game 6 of the ALCS Friday at Kauffman Stadium.
As was the case in his dud of a start in Game 2, Price will have to watch out for the seventh inning. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, the opposition swung at a clip of .289 against Price in that frame during the regular season. That was his highest mark of any inning. To make things worse, the Kansas City Royals hit .275 during the seventh, which was the best mark of any AL team.
Price, like Johnny Cueto, is auditioning for free-agent suitors. Friday is his prime opportunity to earn back some of the money he may have lost earlier this postseason.
Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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