MLB In Review: April Surprises

             

            Image Courtesy of Sports.Yahoo.com    

            Eventful would be an understatement when describing the first two weeks of the MLB season.

            We’ve been witness to impossibly bad offense, incredible starts to the season by a handful of pitchers and two near no-hitters. Some teams have started better than expected (See: Atlanta) while others haven’t had quite the start they’d hoped for (think Hollywood).

            Although a dozen or so games is too small of a sample size to make any long-term judgments, what’s transpired so far is worth talking about. So without further ado, here are the major story lines so far:

HOTlanta:

            The past two Atlanta Brave seasons have ended with a total collapse that cost them a playoff spot and a rain of garbage that tarnished the final game of Chipper Jones’s career. Meanwhile, it appeared they lost as much as they gained in the off-season. So you’ll have to excuse the baseball world’s utter shock upon seeing the Braves are 11-1 with a +37 run differential despite three of their best hitters not producing so far.

Adrelton Simmons (batting .211), Dan Uggla (.171), B.J. Upton (.163) and Jason Heyward (.103) are all off to pretty horrific starts. In fact, newly-acquired Justin Upton may be the only big bat who hasn't disappointed thus far. The former Diamondback has a hitting line (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average) of .348/.415/.891 with a National League-leading seven homers. Reclamation project Evan Gattis (.324/.385/.735) and first basemen Chris Johnson (.405/.436/.513) have provided most of the offensive spark so far.

However, the main catalyst in the Braves success has been the pitching. Four of five starters have an ERA of 2.50 or lower. In fact, veteran journeyman Paul Maholm has not yet allowed a run in over 20 innings of work. He, along with Kris Medlen, Tim Hudson, Mike Minor and Craig Kimbel in the bullpen, should provide above average pitching for the Braves throughout the season.

Simmons, Heyward and B.J. Upton won’t be this bad all season and the team should expect to see Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman by mid-May. So while the pitching will likely fall back to Earth and while they won’t play half their games against the Marlins and Cubs, the offense should improve enough to keep Atlanta competitive.

LA Slump Continues:
            After making some of the most prominent and large-scale moves in 2012, both the Angels and the Dodgers failed to qualify for the postseason. Both organizations reached deeper into their pockets this offseason-the Dodgers nabbing lefty ace Zach Greinke for a record $148 million and the Angels adding slugger Josh Hamilton for $125 million-but both have been unable to achieve any sort of on-field success thus far.

            The Dodgers (7-9) haven’t been terrible so far but this can’t be what the owners had in mind when they approved spending nearly a quarter billion dollars on this season alone. The Blue Crew has a negative run differential and is 27^th in the league in scoring. The pitching, especially Clayton Kershaw, has been stellar thus far. But now Greinke has been lost for an extended period of time and the rest of the rotation doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsly and Chris Capuano aren’t stars by any measure but will have to take on a lot of the load to make up for this hole-filled lineup.

            Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Angels (4-9) are suffering through another horrendous April without the option of calling up Mike Trout this time. The pitching has been, as expected, putrid. Ace Jered Weaver has landed himself on the disabled list and the rest of the staff doesn’t appear to be up to the task of replacing him. The Halos have surrendered 71 runs, tied for tops in the majors. Even Weaver wouldn’t have made enough of a difference to make this pitching respectable.

            The offense, thought to be one of the most dangerous units in the league, has disappointed thus far. Trout has been good but has failed to replicate his historically good 2012 numbers. Albert Pujols has also been getting on base at a high percentage (.431) but hasn’t exactly been tearing the cover off the ball (two home runs). Howie Kendrick and Mark Trumbo round out a totally average quartet for the Angels.

 While these four haven’t met expectation so far, they also haven’t been terrible. The same cannot be said for the off-season’s top hitting prize. Hamilton has nothing short of awful this year. He’s hitting .216/.276/.412 with a .688 OPS and just two home runs. He’s already struck out 17 times and he’s on pace for a career worst in nearly every category. On the bright side, he’s only owed $100 million after this season.

A Familiar Look in the AL East:
            All throughout the winter and early spring baseball pundits, reporters and fans preached the demise of New York and Boston dominance in the AL East. While that may very well be the case eventually, it has not been so far. Currently, the teams hold the top two spots in the division and have succeeded where they were expected to fail. Despite a litany of injuries and free agent losses, the Yankee offense has scored the most runs in the AL East thus far. Boston’s pitching, which was thought to be as inept as last year’s squad, has performed nicely so far, led by the resurgence of Clay Bucholz (3-0, 0.41 ERA). While it’s been only two weeks, both the Red Sox and Yankees have shown they aren’t going quietly into the night.

We are the Marlins: 

          When Jeffrey Loria stripped his team apart and traded nearly every player of value, it became obvious the Marlins would be in for a tough couple years. But tough doesn’t begin to describe the start they’ve had. The Fish are 2-11 and have scored only 23 runs so far. In comparison, the A’s have scored 85 runs already. The difference, 62 runs, matches the output of the Atlanta Braves, baseball’s eighth-best offense. The team’s only recognizable player, Giancarlo Stanton, is out with a shoulder injury. This leaves Placido Polanco and Donavan Solano (.238 average) as the best hitting options. It could be a long year in Miami. But, on the bright side, this exists!

What to watch for this week:
             If you’re a fan of excellent pitching, this has been quite an April for you. Here’s a few matchups this week worth keeping an eye on:

Cole Hamels vs. Adam Wainwright Thursday 7 p.m. MLB Network.
            Wainwright has been his usual dominant self to start the season while Hamels is still looking to get back on track. No matter what the circumstances, this is a matchup of two of the best in the world. It’s worth keeping an eye on.

Chris Sale vs. RA Dickey Thursday 7:07 p.m.

            Both of these guys have had rough starts after shocking the baseball world in 2012. Both will be looking to get themselves and their teams back on the right track Thursday.

Steven Strasburg vs. Matt Harvey Friday 7:10 p.m.

            The two young aces of the NL East will face off Friday night. While Strasburg has been very good for Washington (2.95 ERA, 1.20 WHIP), Harvey has been lights out for the Mets. His numbers (3-0, .82 ERA, .55 WHIP, 25 strikeouts) have been unbelievably good thus far, making every start a must-watching. Facing off against another one of the game’s best only enhances the matchup’s potential.

That’s it for this week. Stay Hungry, My Friends.