On Baseball Tonight last night they listed the Reds,Brewers and Pirates as the worst teams in Baseball, why?, lets take a look at these three teams and let everyone here decide which, if any of these teams are the worst in the game.
Cincinnati Reds,
the Reds have fallen a long way down since there 1 game playoff loss to the Mets in 1999, they brought the "Kid" home in an offseason trade with Seattle in 2000, but have not been able to stay in contention, injury's and bad pitching have plagued the team over the past 4 seasons, will 2004 be any different?.
On the Field:
going into spring training last year, the Reds had, what many believed could be the best offensive Outfield in Baseball with a healthy Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns, but injury's ended up taking there toll and the Outfielders never really got to be in the same lineup very often,
a year later all three are healthy again, maybe this year we'll see if they are the best hitting Outfield in the game,
the Reds defense:
C Jason LaRue
1B Sean Casey
2B D'Angelo Jimenez
SS Barry Larkin
3B Brandon Larson
LF Adam Dunn
Cf Ken Griffey Jr.
RF Austin Kearns
The Reds were not able to address there needs at 3B as they would have liked to, and new Reds G.M. Dan O'Brien said that Barry Larkin is the teams regular SS,
On the Mound:
no Reds Starter made 30 starts last season, further more no Reds pitcher won 10 games last season,
the Reds hope that the addition of Corey Lidle can help solve both of those issues, Reds did not do much to help rebuild the staff and will try to win with what they have,
Rotation:
RHP Corey Lidle
RHP Jimmy Haynes
RHP Paul Wilson
the final rotation spots are up for grabs, there are a lot of candidates, for the openings
Bullpen:
Danny Graves will resume his Closer duties after spending most of last season as a starter, the rest of the 'pen is open, many of the pitchers who don't make the rotation will probably fill out the bullpen.
The Milwaukee Brewers:
the Brewers have not had a winning season since 1992, realigned to the N.L. Central in 1998, in hope that changing leagues would make the team more competitive, moved into a new Ballpark, and have watched attendence drop over the past 2 seasons since the park opened, and are trying to run on a 30.million dollar payroll,
they traded away there best overall hitter, Richie Sexson is the only Brewer in franchise history to post back to back 40+ Home Run seasons, on the bright side, they do have the runner up in last season's N.L. rookie of the year voting.
On the Field:
of the players acquored in the Sexson trade, 3 were Infielders giving the Brewers a whole new Infield, the are only temporary additions, and all could be dealt over the course of the season, the Brewers have some very good Prospects on the horizon, and all could be ready within the next 2 seasons.
the Brewers defense:
C Chad Moeller
1B Lyle Overbay
2B Junior Spivey
SS Craig Counsell
3B Wes Helms
LF Geoff Jenkins
CF Scott Podsednik
RF Ben Grieve
On the Mound:
the Brewers rotation picture is a little clearer than that of the Reds, led by Ben Sheets, a one time former top prospect, has struggled at the big league level, he has finished amongst the N.L. leaders in losses the past 2 seasons,
Rotation:
RHP Ben Sheets
RHP Matt Kinney
LHP Doug Davis
LHP Wayne Franklin
LHP Chris Capuano
Bullpen
RHP Danny Kolb returns as the Closer, saved 21 games after assuming the role after trading Mike DeJean
Luis Vizcaino, Dave Burba and Brooks Kieschnik are amongst the holdovers looking for spots in the 'pen.
The Pittsburgh Pirates:
the Pirates were once the best team in the N.L. East, winning three straigt division titles from 1990-1992, back when some guy named Bonds played in there Outfield, last season the team showed signs of life, and actually challenged for 1st place at one time, but the team traded away it's veteran players during last season, and have done little in this years free agent market, hoping to strike gold with some last minute additions, like they did with Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders a year ago.
On the Field:
this years Pirates, right now, look to be the weakest team they have assembled in recent years, and if Larry Beinfest fails to make some late improvements this team will struggle to score runs.
the Pirates defense:
C Jason Kendall
1B Carlos Rivera
2B Freddy Sanchez
SS Jack Wilson
3B Chris Stynes
LF Jason Bay
CF Tike Redman
RF Craig Wilson
Kendall was almost traded to the Padres, but the deal fell through, they tried to get Carlos Guillen from Seattle, but could not put together a good enough package, and after being pillaged in this years rule 5 draft, has left the team short on prospects.
On the Mound
the Pirates rotation may actually be there strong point, which is not saying much.
Rotation:
RHP Kris Benson
RHP Kip Wells
RHP Josh Fogg
LHP Oliver Perez
the 5th spot is open with about four or five pitchers competing for the job.
Bullpen:
Juan Acevedo is the front runner for the Closer's job this season, Acevedo saved 28 games for the Tigers two years ago, but struggled last season splitting the year between the Yankees and the Blue Jays, Brian Boehringer and Joe Beimel will also be in the 'pen, a few of the pitchers who don't win a spot as a starter should also make the bullpen.
While it looks like the Pirates may be worse off then the other two teams, decide for yourself who the best of the worst is, and who should probably just stay home.
Cincinnati Reds,
the Reds have fallen a long way down since there 1 game playoff loss to the Mets in 1999, they brought the "Kid" home in an offseason trade with Seattle in 2000, but have not been able to stay in contention, injury's and bad pitching have plagued the team over the past 4 seasons, will 2004 be any different?.
On the Field:
going into spring training last year, the Reds had, what many believed could be the best offensive Outfield in Baseball with a healthy Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns, but injury's ended up taking there toll and the Outfielders never really got to be in the same lineup very often,
a year later all three are healthy again, maybe this year we'll see if they are the best hitting Outfield in the game,
the Reds defense:
C Jason LaRue
1B Sean Casey
2B D'Angelo Jimenez
SS Barry Larkin
3B Brandon Larson
LF Adam Dunn
Cf Ken Griffey Jr.
RF Austin Kearns
The Reds were not able to address there needs at 3B as they would have liked to, and new Reds G.M. Dan O'Brien said that Barry Larkin is the teams regular SS,
On the Mound:
no Reds Starter made 30 starts last season, further more no Reds pitcher won 10 games last season,
the Reds hope that the addition of Corey Lidle can help solve both of those issues, Reds did not do much to help rebuild the staff and will try to win with what they have,
Rotation:
RHP Corey Lidle
RHP Jimmy Haynes
RHP Paul Wilson
the final rotation spots are up for grabs, there are a lot of candidates, for the openings
Bullpen:
Danny Graves will resume his Closer duties after spending most of last season as a starter, the rest of the 'pen is open, many of the pitchers who don't make the rotation will probably fill out the bullpen.
The Milwaukee Brewers:
the Brewers have not had a winning season since 1992, realigned to the N.L. Central in 1998, in hope that changing leagues would make the team more competitive, moved into a new Ballpark, and have watched attendence drop over the past 2 seasons since the park opened, and are trying to run on a 30.million dollar payroll,
they traded away there best overall hitter, Richie Sexson is the only Brewer in franchise history to post back to back 40+ Home Run seasons, on the bright side, they do have the runner up in last season's N.L. rookie of the year voting.
On the Field:
of the players acquored in the Sexson trade, 3 were Infielders giving the Brewers a whole new Infield, the are only temporary additions, and all could be dealt over the course of the season, the Brewers have some very good Prospects on the horizon, and all could be ready within the next 2 seasons.
the Brewers defense:
C Chad Moeller
1B Lyle Overbay
2B Junior Spivey
SS Craig Counsell
3B Wes Helms
LF Geoff Jenkins
CF Scott Podsednik
RF Ben Grieve
On the Mound:
the Brewers rotation picture is a little clearer than that of the Reds, led by Ben Sheets, a one time former top prospect, has struggled at the big league level, he has finished amongst the N.L. leaders in losses the past 2 seasons,
Rotation:
RHP Ben Sheets
RHP Matt Kinney
LHP Doug Davis
LHP Wayne Franklin
LHP Chris Capuano
Bullpen
RHP Danny Kolb returns as the Closer, saved 21 games after assuming the role after trading Mike DeJean
Luis Vizcaino, Dave Burba and Brooks Kieschnik are amongst the holdovers looking for spots in the 'pen.
The Pittsburgh Pirates:
the Pirates were once the best team in the N.L. East, winning three straigt division titles from 1990-1992, back when some guy named Bonds played in there Outfield, last season the team showed signs of life, and actually challenged for 1st place at one time, but the team traded away it's veteran players during last season, and have done little in this years free agent market, hoping to strike gold with some last minute additions, like they did with Kenny Lofton and Reggie Sanders a year ago.
On the Field:
this years Pirates, right now, look to be the weakest team they have assembled in recent years, and if Larry Beinfest fails to make some late improvements this team will struggle to score runs.
the Pirates defense:
C Jason Kendall
1B Carlos Rivera
2B Freddy Sanchez
SS Jack Wilson
3B Chris Stynes
LF Jason Bay
CF Tike Redman
RF Craig Wilson
Kendall was almost traded to the Padres, but the deal fell through, they tried to get Carlos Guillen from Seattle, but could not put together a good enough package, and after being pillaged in this years rule 5 draft, has left the team short on prospects.
On the Mound
the Pirates rotation may actually be there strong point, which is not saying much.
Rotation:
RHP Kris Benson
RHP Kip Wells
RHP Josh Fogg
LHP Oliver Perez
the 5th spot is open with about four or five pitchers competing for the job.
Bullpen:
Juan Acevedo is the front runner for the Closer's job this season, Acevedo saved 28 games for the Tigers two years ago, but struggled last season splitting the year between the Yankees and the Blue Jays, Brian Boehringer and Joe Beimel will also be in the 'pen, a few of the pitchers who don't win a spot as a starter should also make the bullpen.
While it looks like the Pirates may be worse off then the other two teams, decide for yourself who the best of the worst is, and who should probably just stay home.
)
Comment