Hello everybody! It's only a few days away from Opening Day and I have the excited went of letting everybody know that starting today and going hopefully throughtout the season, I am going to have a guest contributor to my blog once in awhile. Her name is Hannah (@hpacluv97) and she is a big baseball fan! I'm not sure how often or how many times she is going to blog for me, but I'm looking forward to combining our thoughts and hopefully covering some more teams for you guys this year!
Here is Hannah's first blog:
Here is Hannah's first blog:
Tampa Bay Rays:
Lineup: Adding people this offseason who can get on base and hit the ball,such as Jeff Keppinger and Luke Scott,and bringing back Carlos Pena will help the Rays gain more runs during games.As for the lineup as a whole,no one on the team had a batting average of over .280 last season.(Joyce had highest BA at .277,while Lobaton had the lowest at .176) If the Rays were to start hitting well enough to match other areas where they have high expertise (such as pitching) they may not only win more games,but possibly end up in the World Series.
Bullpen: Going into the 2012 season,it looks like the Rays have been working very hard to have a strong bullpen.Adding Fernando Rodney and moving Wade Davis down to the bullpen will only make the bullpen stronger.As of right now,it looks like Kyle Farnsworth will be the main closer through the season.He saved 25 games last year and was injured part of the season.If he stays healthy,he will continue to be the main closer it looks like.
Defense: There is no doubt that the Rays have a very strong defense system because they have amazing speed and
accuracy.That being said, BJ Upton on the DL and Sam Fuld being out 4-5 months for surgery leaves the outfield in question.Right now,Jennings has the most speed in the outfield out of Joyce,Zobrist,and himself.When balls come their
way,they're going to need to run and catch the ball.Having Jennings in center where he could run either way until BJ comes back is the Rays best option.Also,having veteran,Jose Molina,behind plate will help the Rays defensively as well.
Starting Rotation:The Rays starting rotation is arguably the best in the AL and all of baseball.When you
have a guy with a 4.09 ERA (Jeff Niemann) in the 5th starting postion,its a sign that you have a very strong rotation.James Shields had 11 complete games last season,Jeremy Hellickson was named AL rookie of the year,and Matt Moore didnt
let a single run happen during the ALDS game 1 against the Rangers,and that was his 2nd game ever in the majors.David Price was in somewhat of a slump last year;if he has his mojo back there's no doubt in my mind he will be a candidate
for the Cy Young.
Final Verdict: If the Rays
outfield suffers because of BJ and Fuld's injury, possibly trading Niemann or Davis for an outfielder will be the best option for the Rays.That being said,I'm positive the Rays will end up in the postseason.
Lineup: Adding people this offseason who can get on base and hit the ball,such as Jeff Keppinger and Luke Scott,and bringing back Carlos Pena will help the Rays gain more runs during games.As for the lineup as a whole,no one on the team had a batting average of over .280 last season.(Joyce had highest BA at .277,while Lobaton had the lowest at .176) If the Rays were to start hitting well enough to match other areas where they have high expertise (such as pitching) they may not only win more games,but possibly end up in the World Series.
Bullpen: Going into the 2012 season,it looks like the Rays have been working very hard to have a strong bullpen.Adding Fernando Rodney and moving Wade Davis down to the bullpen will only make the bullpen stronger.As of right now,it looks like Kyle Farnsworth will be the main closer through the season.He saved 25 games last year and was injured part of the season.If he stays healthy,he will continue to be the main closer it looks like.
Defense: There is no doubt that the Rays have a very strong defense system because they have amazing speed and
accuracy.That being said, BJ Upton on the DL and Sam Fuld being out 4-5 months for surgery leaves the outfield in question.Right now,Jennings has the most speed in the outfield out of Joyce,Zobrist,and himself.When balls come their
way,they're going to need to run and catch the ball.Having Jennings in center where he could run either way until BJ comes back is the Rays best option.Also,having veteran,Jose Molina,behind plate will help the Rays defensively as well.
Starting Rotation:The Rays starting rotation is arguably the best in the AL and all of baseball.When you
have a guy with a 4.09 ERA (Jeff Niemann) in the 5th starting postion,its a sign that you have a very strong rotation.James Shields had 11 complete games last season,Jeremy Hellickson was named AL rookie of the year,and Matt Moore didnt
let a single run happen during the ALDS game 1 against the Rangers,and that was his 2nd game ever in the majors.David Price was in somewhat of a slump last year;if he has his mojo back there's no doubt in my mind he will be a candidate
for the Cy Young.
Final Verdict: If the Rays
outfield suffers because of BJ and Fuld's injury, possibly trading Niemann or Davis for an outfielder will be the best option for the Rays.That being said,I'm positive the Rays will end up in the postseason.
Atlanta Braves:
Lineup: The Braves have strong bats in McCann and Freeman. This being Chipper's last season, one he comes back from surgery, if he does, I expect him to leave with a big band! As for Heyward, if he gets out of the slump he was in last season, and plays like he did in the 2010 season, he can help the Braces out a lot. For Uggla, if he's not in a slump, he will contribute a lot to the lineup, like last year when he went on a 30 day hitting streak!
Bullpen: The Braves have a very strong bullpen with young arms, such as Venters and Craig Kimbrel, who had 47 saves in his first season in the majors. He also won NL Rookie of the Year. Christhain Martinez recently getting a DUI and possibly missing a few games, may hurt the bullpen.
Defense: McCann is very good behind the plate and Freeman may possibly be an All-Star this year and play during the All-Star game because Pujols and Fielder moving to the AL. The Braves outfields are error prone and they need to go ahead and find a new 3rd basemen for when Chipper's on the DL and next year when Chipper retires.
Rotation: Their rotation is pretty strong with Hanson, Hudson and Jurjens. The majority of their pitchers have decent speeds, but nothing really powerful. Although, they can get the job done in the NL East.
Final Verdict:On paper, the Braves look like an obvious postseason candidate. They have problems playing under pressuse, look at last season when they had a 9 game lead on the Cardinals and blew it all in September and especially on September 28, 2011 against the Phillies, they lost in extra innings.
Lineup: The Braves have strong bats in McCann and Freeman. This being Chipper's last season, one he comes back from surgery, if he does, I expect him to leave with a big band! As for Heyward, if he gets out of the slump he was in last season, and plays like he did in the 2010 season, he can help the Braces out a lot. For Uggla, if he's not in a slump, he will contribute a lot to the lineup, like last year when he went on a 30 day hitting streak!
Bullpen: The Braves have a very strong bullpen with young arms, such as Venters and Craig Kimbrel, who had 47 saves in his first season in the majors. He also won NL Rookie of the Year. Christhain Martinez recently getting a DUI and possibly missing a few games, may hurt the bullpen.
Defense: McCann is very good behind the plate and Freeman may possibly be an All-Star this year and play during the All-Star game because Pujols and Fielder moving to the AL. The Braves outfields are error prone and they need to go ahead and find a new 3rd basemen for when Chipper's on the DL and next year when Chipper retires.
Rotation: Their rotation is pretty strong with Hanson, Hudson and Jurjens. The majority of their pitchers have decent speeds, but nothing really powerful. Although, they can get the job done in the NL East.
Final Verdict:On paper, the Braves look like an obvious postseason candidate. They have problems playing under pressuse, look at last season when they had a 9 game lead on the Cardinals and blew it all in September and especially on September 28, 2011 against the Phillies, they lost in extra innings.
Milwaukee Brewers:
Lineup:Having slugger Ryan Braun on your team will help any team's lineup. Hart, Morgan, Gamel, Weeks and Braun all had batting averages over .255. Izturis and Ramirez have lower batting averages. Not having Prince Fielder in the lineup anymore may hurt the Brewers.
Bullpen: The Brwers have two very strong cloers in John Axford, who has saves 71 games in his career and KRod (Francisco Rodriguez) who has saves 291 games in his career. Any team would want both of these closers on their team, because they can pitch out of most situations given to them.
Defense: Not having Prince Fielder on first base will be the Brewers biggest challenge this year because not only did they lost a great defensie player, they also lost a leader in the clubhose. There outfield is pretty strong with both Hart and Braun having 2+ All-star selctions. Having Aramiz Ramirez on 3rd base was a good move for the Brewers because is very good at 3rd base and also has 2+ All-Star nominations. Basically, their defense can get the job done, but it's nothing special.
Rotation: None of the Brewers starting pitchers (Gallardo, Greinke, Wolf, Marcum and Naverson) had ERA under 3.50.Being in the NL Central, the Brewers are very lucky that there was only one other strong team in their division, The Cardinals. The starting rotation isn't the Brewers strong point.
Final Verdict: Even though they have strong bats and bullpen, if you don't have a strong starting rotation it can reck a team. It's possible that the Brewers make the postseason again, but by the looks of it, it's not very likely.
Lineup:Having slugger Ryan Braun on your team will help any team's lineup. Hart, Morgan, Gamel, Weeks and Braun all had batting averages over .255. Izturis and Ramirez have lower batting averages. Not having Prince Fielder in the lineup anymore may hurt the Brewers.
Bullpen: The Brwers have two very strong cloers in John Axford, who has saves 71 games in his career and KRod (Francisco Rodriguez) who has saves 291 games in his career. Any team would want both of these closers on their team, because they can pitch out of most situations given to them.
Defense: Not having Prince Fielder on first base will be the Brewers biggest challenge this year because not only did they lost a great defensie player, they also lost a leader in the clubhose. There outfield is pretty strong with both Hart and Braun having 2+ All-star selctions. Having Aramiz Ramirez on 3rd base was a good move for the Brewers because is very good at 3rd base and also has 2+ All-Star nominations. Basically, their defense can get the job done, but it's nothing special.
Rotation: None of the Brewers starting pitchers (Gallardo, Greinke, Wolf, Marcum and Naverson) had ERA under 3.50.Being in the NL Central, the Brewers are very lucky that there was only one other strong team in their division, The Cardinals. The starting rotation isn't the Brewers strong point.
Final Verdict: Even though they have strong bats and bullpen, if you don't have a strong starting rotation it can reck a team. It's possible that the Brewers make the postseason again, but by the looks of it, it's not very likely.