Three of the teams that were widely expected to be favorites for World Series contention (Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees) are at home licking their wounds.
Two teams not even expected to make any progress at all (Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians) surprised just everyone connected with baseball.
A team that was 10.5 games out of the wild-card chase on Aug. 25 (St. Louis Cardinals) is just two games away from being called World Series champions.
Keeping along that same vein, there is one word that could describe all 30 teams in MLB as well.
Bleacher Report will attempt to attach that one word to every team, with an eye toward defining what each word means for each specific team.
When the Arizona Diamondbacks ended their 2010 season, they appeared to be a team that was in rebuilding mode after two straight 90-plus loss seasons.
After Kirk Gibson guided the D-Backs to a 34-49 finish in 2010 after taking over for the fired A.J. Hinch, Gibson was given the job permanently by new general manager Kevin Towers. Towers went about rebuilding a porous bullpen, bringing in free agent J.J. Putz and trading for setup man David Hernandez.
All of a sudden, just one short year later, the D-Backs are now being called contenders, with a collection of youngsters and savvy veterans, a fearless leader who commands respect (Gibson), a potential franchise player in Justin Upton and a visionary GM who landed the right complementary pieces to affect a successful change.
Promising is clearly the word that best defines these Diamondbacks.
Two teams in Major League Baseball captured immortality in the most dismal of ways during the 2011 season, the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves.
With just one month to go in the regular season, the Braves had a 9.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the National Wild Card, only to lose 20 of their last 30 games to finish out of the postseason.
For a team that was seemingly firmly entrenched as a postseason entrant, by the end of the day on Sept. 28, Braves fans were, in a word, speechless.
For a franchise that last saw a winning season in 1997, depressing would be the only word to describe the Baltimore Orioles, a once proud franchise that has struggled to find its way.
Orioles GM Andy MacPhail attempted to make positive changes prior to the 2011, bringing in veterans Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero, and acquiring J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds in separate trades, in an obvious intent to bolster the offense. Youngsters like Adam Jones and Matt Wieters showed promise for the future as well.
But once again, the results were lacking, leading to a last-place finish once again for the O's.
The Boston Red Sox joined the Atlanta Braves as the only franchises in MLB history to blow at least an eight-game lead for a playoff spot on Sept. 1, and the collapse was indeed epic.
In winning only seven games for the month of September, the end result led to the loss of manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein, and a bucketful of issues regarding the clubhouse culture.
With two straight third-place finishes in the AL East, the Red Sox are now left scrambling to pick up the pieces and figure out the various issues that led to their epic collapse.
Armed with a new GM in Ben Cherington, he will be tasked with finding a new manager to lead the franchise, and reinvigorate a fan base that was left with a bitter taste in its mouth.
For the first time in years, Cubs fans actually have something to look forward to. That was clearly evident on Tuesday, when the Cubs officially introduced Theo Epstein as its new president of baseball operations.
Epstein promised to breathe life back into a franchise that hasn’t won a World Series championship in 103 years, and hasn’t been to the Fall Classic since 1945.
Epstein has a tall task ahead. He must first assess the skills of current manager Mike Quade and decide whether or not he is the man to continue leading the Cubs on the field. Then, Epstein will be tasked with dealing with the bloated contracts of several players and implement changes.
Epstein obviously loves tortured franchises, but Cubs fans are indeed hopeful.
Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams thought he had made a serious upgrade to his offense when he signed Adam Dunn to a four-year, $56 million contract. What he got instead was a player who hit .159 and was benched for several games in September to avoid becoming the worst hitter in history for players who qualified for the batting title.
Other anemic performance from several players contributed to the White Sox dismal performance in 2011 as well. New manager Robin Ventura will be tasked with coaxing better performances from those players in 2012, and Williams could be left with egg on his face if Ventura fails to deliver.
The Cincinnati Reds were coming off a 2010 season in which they won their first division title since 1995, so the word at the end of the 2010 season would have been “promising.” However, after their performance in 2011, the only word to describe them would be “backslided.”
Instead of capitalizing on their progress, the Reds regressed instead, falling to 79-83 and a third place finish in the NL Central. Pitching was the main culprit, as the pitching staff posted a 4.16 ERA, just 12th in the NL, and gave up 185 home runs, second to last in the league.
With decisions regarding where to play Yonder Alonso, whether or not Devin Mesoraco is ready to assume full-time catching duties, exercising the 2012 option and/or offering an extension for second baseman Brandon Phillips and revamping the pitching staff, the Reds certainly have some work cut out for them in order to return to 2010 form.
For several months, the Cleveland Indians were the complete surprise of the American League, spending several weeks in first place in the American League Central division before starting to fade in the second half of the season.
However, even with 80-82 finish, there was plenty of optimism for the Indians going forward.
Youngsters Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis showed great promise, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera appears destined to become a franchise player and a stable of good young arms in the pitching staff give great hope for the Tribe headed into 2012 and beyond.
This certainly appears like a team that is ascending.
In listening to Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd, he certainly sounded like a man who was embarrassed by his team’s performance during the 2011 season. A week before the season came to an end, O’Dowd released his frustration for a season gone bad.
"It's an embarrassment," O'Dowd said. "This season has been an utter disappointment."
While the starting pitching was certainly a major factor in the team’s poor play, an offense that hit only .245 with runners in scoring position certainly didn’t help, either.
This winter, while O’Dowd will be looking for rotation help, he’ll also look to complement Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Todd Helton in the batting order as well.
When you’re embarrassed, action is called for, and O’Dowd will clearly be active in rebuilding his squad for the 2012 season.
The Detroit Tigers came within two games of the 2012 World Series, and the late season additions to the team certainly proved to be prosperous for the Tigers in the end.
Doug Fister and Delmon Young were huge additions that propelled the Tigers into the postseason and give them a renewed hope for 2012 and beyond as well. Combined with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, Fister gives the Tigers a formidable one-two-three punch in their starting rotation, and Young helps shore up an outfield that will likely see Magglio Ordonez’s Tiger career come to an end.
The future looks bright in Detroit, and GM Dave Dombrowski certainly helped the Tigers prosper with timely additions.
There’s a whole lot of new going on in South Florida right now. A new manager that will lead the team into a new stadium with a new logo and new uniforms.
Doesn’t get much more futuristic than that, does it?
Maybe Ozzie Guillen and Logan Morrison can launch a Twitter campaign to fill the seats at Marlins Ballpark, now THAT would be something new in South Florida as well.
After a 106 loss season, woeful is clearly the word that describes the Houston Astros.
When and if new owner Jim Crane is approved by MLB, he will have a tall task on his hands. A fan base that is dwindling combined with a possible move to the American League West are just part of the issues that Crane will have to deal with upon taking over ownership.
Dealing with a restructuring of the roster will be in order as well, as decisions on whether or not to keep pitchers Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers will be on tap, as well as what to do with aging veteran Carlos Lee.
Good luck, Mr. Crane, you’re clearly going to need it.
With just one winning season in the last 14 years, the Kansas City Royals have been running in place for a very long time, with no progress to account for.
There is some renewed hope with the arrival of first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas, and the quality seasons provided by Billy Butler, Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur also gave Royals fans reasons for hope.
But the Royals stagnant nature over the course of the last 14 years is clearly grating on Royals fans who long for the days of the 1980s.
While the Los Angeles Angels showed progress in the 2011 season, winning six more games than the previous year, their offense was once again troublesome. Their 667 runs scored signified a 14-run drop off from the previous season, and a whopping 216 runs less than the 2009 team that went to the ALCS.
There will be a new general manager in charge after the resignation of Tony Reagins, and he will be tasked with finding offense somewhere. The possible addition of a healthy Kendrys Morales could help, but third base and catching needs will clearly need to be addressed.
The Angels were able to contend all season long with the Rangers up until the final weeks of the 2011 regular season in the AL West, but with an underachieving offense, it was too much to overcome.
When looking at the 82-79 record for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2011 season, it’s a real tribute to the team that they were able to attain an above .500 record, considering all of the off-field distractions going on around them.
With Frank McCourt and the circus surrounding his handling of team finances, combined with the bankruptcy proceedings and MLB’s involvement in overseeing the day-to-day affairs, almost every day during the season for the Dodgers focused more on the background stuff going on rather than the play on the field.
With superstars Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw likely to receive major awards during the offseason, they clearly deserve to be credited with resilience for the ability to even function on the field.
That would be the key word to describe the Milwaukee Brewers right now—speculation regarding the status of pending free agent Prince Fielder.
Between him and Albert Pujols, the speculation has been rampant regarding just where Prince will land, and while there’s a slim chance he could re-sign with the Brewers, the growing consensus is that he will land elsewhere, and GM Doug Melvin will have to scramble to replace the offense.
The Brewers were phenomenal all season, reaching the NLCS before being ousted by the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals, however now, it’s all about Prince, and speculation rules in Milwaukee.
There may be no one on the planet that seriously thought that the Minnesota Twins would lose 99 games during the 2011 season, and questions abound concerning the future of the Twins.
Injuries clearly ruled the season, as Twins’ hitting leaders Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both missed significant amounts of time on the disabled list. Newcomer Tsuyoshi Nishioka joined them for much of the season on the DL, and Jason Kubel, Alexi Casilla and Kevin Slowey also were out for various amounts of time, leaving manager Ron Gardenhire having to employ a plethora of lineups throughout the season.
Much of the Twins’ future will hinge on the recoveries of Mauer and Morneau, and whether or not GM Bill Smith decides to bring back Michael Cuddyer and Kubel. But above all else, they clearly need to avoid the injuries that helped doom their 2011 season.
There has been so much press surrounding the New York Mets on several fronts, causing what has clearly seemed to be a fragmented franchise.
The pending free agent status of superstar shortstop Jose Reyes is paramount on the minds of Mets fans, as well as the possibility of David Wright being on the trade block.
The pending lawsuit that threatens owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz will clearly continue to be an issue until the trial in the spring of 2012, and the possibility of being on the hook for $380 million will clearly hamper the team’s efforts to be competitive on the open market this offseason.
With an opening day payroll of approximately $207 million, the New York Yankees were clearly favored to contend for the postseason.
They certainly didn’t disappoint in that way, winning the AL East with a record of 97-65. However once they got bounced out of the postseason in the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Tigers, disappointment carried the day.
GM Brian Cashman will have some decisions to make regarding starting pitching, outfield depth and at designated hitter, and while the Yankees will no doubt once again freely spend money to bring in the right pieces, they will aim to do so without bringing more disappointment to the fans in the Bronx.
The Oakland Athletics are clearly a team hampered by several issues, not the least of which is finding a new stadium.
The A’s have been looking to move their team 40 miles south to San Jose, where owner Lew Wolff hopes to build a brand new stadium. However, the San Francisco Giants control the territorial rights to the area, and MLB commissioner Bud Selig is expected to rule shortly on the pending move.
Because of a dwindling fan base and a cavernous ballpark, the A’s have had trouble mounting an offense for years, and with decreased revenues, GM Billy Beane has clearly been hampered in efforts to bring in quality top-tier free agents.
Is there really any other word that can describe the Philadelphia Phillies than the word “frustration?”
For a team that won a franchise-record 102 victories and had three of the top pitchers in the National League to get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round was nothing less than disappointing, to say the least.
The Phillies have already announced that they are not picking up the 2012 option for pitcher Roy Oswalt, and decisions will likely follow regarding the status of Brad Lidge. Jimmy Rollins is looking for a new deal, and decisions need to be made regarding Raul Ibanez and a possible upgrade at third base as well.
Still, the 2011 season was marked with high hopes, yet frustration ruled the day.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves in first place in the NL Central division in late July, the team was in buying mode for the first time in 19 years at the trade deadline, and optimism clearly ruled the air.
The following two months saw the team backslide, eventually winding up with their 19 th straight losing season, but there was clearly signs of the team turning around their fortunes. Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker have become stalwarts for the offense, and the pitching staff was more than a pleasant surprise as well.
GM Neal Huntington received a long-term extension, and he will be tasked with building on the success that the first four months of the past season brought to Pittsburgh. Could it be that the Pirates are finally turning the corner? Pirates are certainly optimistic of the chances of that happening.
Just a year ago, the San Diego Padres were in contention in the NL West division until the final day of the season. Now, there appears to be nothing but troubled times in its future.
With the fourth-lowest payroll in the majors at approximately $45 million in a relatively small market, the Padres are stuck like a rock in a hard place—unable to attract top-tier players, and unable to sign their own homegrown talent once they reach free agent status.
Troubling is the word to describe a franchise that is currently stuck in neutral.
The San Francisco Giants need a serious dose of Viagra to help their offense, because there is no question it’s completely impotent.
The 570 runs generated by the impotent offense was easily the worst in the majors, and stars that led them to the 2010 World Series championship were woefully inadequate the following year. Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross all underperformed in 2011, and the losses of Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez certainly didn’t help.
With one of the best pitching staffs in the majors, GM Brian Sabean can concentrate solely on building a solid offense that can augment the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, Brian Wilson et al.
I could have actually used the same word that I previously used for the San Francisco Giants when referring to the 2011 Seattle Mariners (impotent), but instead I chose “deficient.”
With an offense that was dead last in several offensive categories, the Mariners were literally finished before they even started. Manager Eric Wedge must have been wondering what he got himself involved in.
Safeco Field has seen a 25 percent drop in attendance in recent years, and rightfully so. The Mariners’ play on the field over the past few years certainly hasn’t inspired fans to stream through the turnstyles.
GM Jack Zduriencik was retained by ownership, and he’ll need to repay their faith in him by continuing the development of young talent like Dustin Ackley, Mike Carp and Kyle Seager, continue to rebuild the farm systems and use whatever resources are available to make prudent decisions regarding free agents. Then and only then, the deficiencies can be reversed.
No other word describes what the St. Louis Cardinals achieved during the 2011 seasons. Winning 23 of their last 31 games just to get into the playoffs, the Cardinals then beat the two best teams in the National League, and are now just two games away from winning the World Series.
When the preseason started with the news that star pitcher Adam Wainwright was down for the count with an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery, combined with the Cardinals and Albert Pujols breaking off talks on a long-term contract, the 2011 season certainly didn’t paint a rosy picture as far as results were concerned.
Boy, were we wrong.
Enthusiasm certainly reigns supreme on a team that suffered so much upheaval during the previous offseason. The Tampa Bay Rays lost Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Matt Garza, Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour and others, so the 2011 season certainly seemed like it would be a gloomy one.
But the Rays proved everyone wrong, coming back from an 8.5 game deficit in the wild-card race on Sept. 1 to overtake the Boston Red Sox and make the postseason on the final day of the regular season.
While there are some questions that need to be addressed during the offseason, Rays fans are clearly feeling enthusiastic about a team that had previously been left for dead.
This particular word may have been the easiest word for me to find for any of the MLB teams. The Texas Rangers are just one game away from their first-ever World Series championship, and manager Ron Washington has his team running like a well-oiled machine.
An offense that is clicking without a fully healthy Josh Hamilton, a pitching staff that is coming up with timely outings, a bullpen that has answered the call, and an ownership who takes pride in giving its fans bang for their buck, cohesive is clearly the word that best describes this Rangers team.
The Toronto Blue Jays finished the season with an 81-81 record, and quite frankly, they were an enigma for much of the season, and a team that had almost a Jekyll and Hyde-type personality.
GM Alex Anthopoulos put together a team that, on paper, looked like they would at least provide stiff competition for both the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East.
However, Ricky Romero was the only consistent starter all season long, the bullpen was shaky at best and the offense relied way too heavily on the shoulders of Jose Bautista, and without a competent supporting cast, were unable to provide a consistent offensive attack throughout the season.
GM Alex Anthopoulos has not shown a penchant for signing top-tier agents, preferring instead to build through trades, however maybe this offseason Anthopoulos can pry some money out of Rogers and work to help out Bautista and company. Otherwise, this franchise will continue to deliver an unsettled feeling.
The Washington Nationals finished the season just one game under .500, yet many fans considered the season to be a success, and for good reason.
Young phenom Stephen Strasburg made a successful return from Tommy John surgery, making five starts at the end of the season that can only be described as terrific. Starters Jordan Zimmermann, Jason Marquis and John Lannan also provided productive seasons, and the tandem of Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen were terrific on the back end as well.
Offensively, Michael Morse had a career year, Ian Desmond continues to develop as a fine young shortstop, Ryan Zimmerman returned from abdominal surgery for a productive second half, and Wilson Ramos looks like the real deal behind the plate.
Combined with all the hype surrounding Bryce Harper, the Nats certainly have high expectations for the coming years.
Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter,
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