April Wrap-Up

No more excuses.  April is over, and by law, we no longer have to preface any statement about the baseball season with the phrases, it’s early, it’s too soon, or some other variation of meaning that what we just saw was meaningless.  So, in the first edition of the Monthly Wrap-up, as we will continue to do so in the future, we say farewell to the April, or as may like to call it, extended spring training, and take a look at who performed well, who didn’t, and what to look for in the future.

Team of the Month- Arizona Diamondbacks

Is there any other choice here?  The only question is whether they should qualify as the most suprising team as well.

We all knew that they could pitch, and with the addition of Dan Haren a lot of people figured they would have the most dominating staff in the league, so the fact that they lead the league in ERA and that opponents hit .220 off them during the month of April is no shocker.

But who could have predicted that their offense would be this good?  After scoring 712 runs last year and completely destroying their Pythagorean (which states they should have went 79-83, not 90-72), no one expected them to do much offensively this season.  Justin Upton was expected to help a little, but everyone figured they’d be in a lot of one run games just like last year.

Think again.  This year’s edition is on pace to score 955 runs, and that’s without a recognizable slugger in their line-up.  As Jayson Stark kindly pointed out in a recent ESPN article, the last team to score that few runs since the strike and then make that big of a jump the following year was the 1998 Diamondbacks, who went from 665 to 908.

I’d like to believe their story book run, but outside of Upton, I don’t believe anything I’ve seen from this club.  Mark Reynolds was an early catalyst, hitting six homers in their first eight games, then had a nine game drought until the next one.  I wouldn’t go as far as calling him this year’s Chris Shelton, he had legitimate power in the minor leagues, where he hit 31 homers in 2006 while with their single and double A affiliates, but I doubt he will exceed that mark this season.

Then you have Conor Jackson, the 26-year-old boy wonder who’s early numbers qualify him as one the game’s elite players of the young season.  He’s currently hitting .344/.423/.615 with five homers and 25 RBI.  Out of the two, he’s the one to be skeptical of.  He got called up when he was 24, and though he managed to flirt with a .300 average over the last two seasons, his power numbers have lacked.  So it’s hard to know if this is a result of him hitting his prime, or if it is a fluke.  We’ll find out.

Never the less, the Diamondbacks just beasted on the competition thus far, but one thing to be wary of, they haven’t met the Phillies, Mets, Braves, or Cubs yet, and played almost exclusively within their division throughout April. 

Most surprising team of the Month- Saint Louis Cardinals

A lot of candidiates for this one.  The Orioles were expected to lose all their games, the Rays are surging, and the Yankees struggles could be considered a surprise, but I’m going with the Cardinals.  Mostly because out of all the teams they are the one that I think can at least maintain their current success to some degree.  They opened up May with wins against the Cubs, effectively ending Rich Hill’s season for the time being, so it may be time to start taking them serious.  With help on the horizon look for them to at least stay in the mix.

Runner-Up:  Baltimore

Look out Now

The Rockies are in critical condition.  They were six games under .500, and nine games out of first place coming into May, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get better.  Troy Tulowitzki, who is hitting well below the Mendoza line,  is on the shelf until the break.  At this point it might actually be a relief with the way he was struggling.  At least there isn’t pressure from the front office to keep their new poster boy in the line-up. 

MVP of the Month-   Hanley Ramriez

Lot of guys that could have qualified here, namely Chipper Jones who has kept the not-so-impressive-super-hyped Atlanta Braves alive.  That’s great and all but I decided to go with Ramirez.  How can you not?  He has the Marlins, and their Double-A line-up, sitting a half game out of first.  Which becomes even more impressive now that Josh Willingham is on the DL.  Ramirez’s .319 average pales in comparison to Jones .410, but defensively he has been stellar, and he’s whacked eight homers.  He’s arbitration eligible after this year; get your offers ready.

Close but not quite:  Chase Utley, Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee

Pitcher of the Month- Cliff Lee

Easiest decision I’ve ever made.  Do I buy it?  Hell no, but that doesn’t matter.

Runner-Ups:  Brandon Webb- He’s one of three active pitchers to win six games in April, along with Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, and Tom Glavine.

Break Out Performance of the Month- Edinson Volquez

He’s 30 innings over the Rookie barrier, which I was completely unaware of until I took a look at his numbers, but, like everyone else outside of Texas, I had no idea this guy existed until this season.  In fact, I still failed to give him the attention he deserved early on as Johnny Cueto took the league by storm.  Volquez, on the other hand, built his momentum slowly and currently sits atop the Major League leader board in strikeouts, and his 1.27 ERA isn’t far behind either.  Cueto?  Well he is quickly earning his way back to the minors.

Others that Could Qualify:  Joakim Soria, Nate McClouth, Mark Reynolds, Josh Willingham, Joe Sauders

Biggest Offseason Blunder

The Yankees not gift wrapping a package that included both Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes in exchange for Johan Santana.  I know, I know, I’ll say it for you, it’s early, but I think we’ve seen enough. Hughes is finally off the books for the time being, and I’d be surprised if the Yankees rushed him back, but at least he has some type of Major League future, what about Kennedy?  His ERA just keeps climbing, he’s lasted more than five innings only once this season, and all but two of his four of six starts came against a combination of Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Baltimore… Yikes!