There's not much to talk about other than the NL getting their butts handed to them again last night, which kills my earlier statements. Although, Interleague play isn't over yet. Anyway, here are the players really underperforming to this point.
Catcher- Kenji Johjima (SEA)
I thought about Victor Martinez because of his power numbers, but I guess his elbow injury gives him a slight pass. Anyway, Johjima's .224/.265/.299 line is much lower than his career .278/.317/.418 line, and that line even includes this season's statistics. He's not a power guy, but right now, he's on pace for about 6-7 HR when he's hit 14 and 18 in the past two seasons. And the Mariners want to give him more AB's?
First Baseman- Adam LaRoche (PIT)
I thought about Carlos Delgado and Mark Teixeira here, but Delgado has been steadily declining and Tex is just a personal frustration. However, LaRoche has just been pathetic. His .221/.302/.370 line is much lower than his career .267/.335/.477 line. His 7 HR puts him on pace for 15-16 HR, which is much lower than 21, 30, and 20 HR in the previous three seasons. This is not the guy they traded Mike Gonzalez for.
Second Baseman- Robinson Cano (NYY)
Freddy Sanchez almost made it, but I figure no one really expected the last two seasons from him anyway, but Cano was supposed to continue to get. So, his line is .230/.276/.330 which is much lower than his career .302/.336/.467. His BA has always been around .300, and I don't think 70 points comes from random variation. His HR and RBI numbers are down in a lineup where he should have plenty of opportunities. Johan looks really good about now, doesn't he? Actually, I wouldn't have given Cano up for him either.
Third Baseman- Bill Hall (MIL)
There were a couple good ideas on this one (Adrian Beltre, Ryan Zimmerman), but they were at least close to their numbers even though both have been worse than expected. Hall, however, has just been sad. How sad? Sad enough to give up part of his job to Russell Branyan. His .218/.285/.390 line is worse than his career .259/.317/.460 line. His HR totals aren't worse than last year, but he was supposed to be better now that he is back at third, right? The one thing he's not doing is hitting doubles (10 this season; 35, 39, 39 the previous three).
Shortstop- Derek Jeter (NYY)
The up-the-middle combination for the Yankees is just not up to par. Jeter's career line: .316/.386/.459. This season: .272/.326.375. Ouch. After getting 39 doubles each of the past two seasons, he only has nine this season. He's on pace for his lowest HR and RBI totals since 2003. Cap'n Jetes has to pick it up, or the Yankees might not make the playoffs.
Left Field- Matt Holliday (COL)
How much more disappointing can you get? After deserving the MVP last season, he's been quite short of that this season. His .324 BA is fine, but it's his power that's disappointing in a place where power doesn't disappear. He only has 8 HR, 18 DB, and 31 RBI, which is significantly less than his 36 HR, 50 DB, and 137 RBI. He's more on pace for 24 HR and 80 RBI, which isn't bad but not MVP-like. Thr Rockies are struggling, and Holliday's lack of production is a big reason why. He's not a number two hitter. He's a clean-up guy.
Center Field- Nick Swisher (CHW)
Never known for his BA, his .229 BA is not terribly lower than his .248 career, but everything else is down. His SLG is .386, down from his career .454. He's only on pace for about 18-20 HR, about 60 RBI, and 25 DB, which are lower than last season's 22, 78, and 36. At age 27, he should be going up, not down.
Right Field- Alex Rios (TOR)
His .268 BA and .327 OBP aren't significantly lower than his career .285/.337, but his .371 SLG is a lot lower than his career .443. Why? He only has 3 HR compared to his 24 last season. He only has 16 DB compared to his 43 last season. At a time when the Blue Jays needed him to cement the middle of the order, his power disappeared.
Starting Pitcher- Roy Oswalt (HOU)
So many to choose from, but I stayed away from Barry Zito and Dontrelle Willis because they get bashed enough. How about let's bash Oswalt? Okay, his 5.04 ERA is almost 2 full points over his career 3.19 ERA. In a rotation that desperately needs him to be their ace, Oswalt just hasn't been there and, apparently, either has his fastball.
Relief Pitcher- Rafael Betancourt (CLE)
After being a best-kept secret in Cleveland, Betancourt has pitched like a best-kept-in-AAA guy. After being an instrumental part of the Indians' run last season, he's been a significant reason of their demise this season. His 6.23 ERA this season pales in comparison to his 3.11 career mark and even worse to his 1.48 ERA last season. Joe Borowski was bad, but at least, you knew what you were getting with him.
Closer- Manny Corpas (COL)
Like Betancourt, Corpas had been huge in the Rockies playoff run last season by going 19 of 22 in save opportunities, so they gave him a four-year, $8 million dollar contract that could grow to 6-years, $22 million. This season, he's 4 of 9 in save opportunities with a 6.37 ERA. Last season's ERA was 2.08. Even the year before when he was just a regular, old middle-reliever, his ERA was 3.62. But I guess the whole team is underachieving, not just him.
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