MLB Report Cards

By: Eli Kaberon

The start of June means only one thing to nearly every student in the country: School is almost over and summer is about to begin. But before thousands of kids can enjoy the beach, sleeping late and Fourth of July fireworks, there’s that important thing called grades. Have a poor report card, and a student’s summer can turn from backyard barbecues to taking notes in summer school in a matter of moments.

Baseball report cards have less importance. With four more months and over 100 games left, teams and players have a chance to improve their grade and make the playoffs. But that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t interesting to sneak a peek at the report cards for the first third of the 2008 Major League Baseball season.

A

phpujqqy1am.jpgChicago’s Carlos’ — Last summer, the Cubs gave ace starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano a new 5-year, $91 million contract. When it was signed, the North Siders were expecting that Big Z pitch like one of the league’s best hurlers all the time, not every other start like he has done the last few summers. Based on that, 2008 has been so far so good. Zambrano is 7-1, has a career low ERA (2.33) and has pitched six or more innings in each of his 12 starts this season. His teammate, reliever Carlos Marmol, has been equally dynamic. Marmol leads the National League in holds, averages over one strikeout per inning and holds opponents to a .127 batting average. With his help, the Cubs have one of the best bullpens in the NL. Across town, the White Sox’s Carlos Quentin is having an amazing year of his own. Acquired from Arizona in the off-season, many wondered if Quentin would even crack the starting lineup on the South Side. Now the question is, where will Quentin fit in the AL All-Star lineup? The leftfielder is among the leaders in home runs, RBI and on base percentage and has been one of the White Sox’s only consistent sources of offense so far this season.

Two-Way Trade — Nobody expected the Dec. 12, 2007 trade between the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds to be the most important transaction of the baseball off-season. Yet when Josh Hamilton was swapped for Edinson Volquez, it turned out that one team got a potential Cy Young Award winner while the other got a legitimate candidate for the Triple Crown. Volquez, now on the Reds, has the lowest ERA (1.31), the most strikeouts (76) and the second lowest opposing batting average among eligible pitchers in the National League. And Hamilton, a former #1 overall draft pick by the Devil Rays who battled through drug and alcohol problems before finally making an impact last season, has been outstanding for Texas. His .324 batting average is third best in the AL, while his 13 home runs is second and 58 RBI is by far the most. Both teams are happy with the deal, one of the rare times that can be said after a trade.

B

Resurgent Rays — The history of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays is a sight for sore eyes. In the ten completed seasons of the franchise, the D-Rays finished last in the AL East nine times, with the only exception being 2004, when they placed fourth out of five. ‘04 was also the year of the franchises all-time high in wins at 70, under former manager Lou Piniella. So to say it’s a minor surprise that Tampa is in first place in the league’s most expensive division, the AL East, at the end of May is a gross understatement. In reality, it’s a shock. Led by former first round picks Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton, as well as pitchers Scott Kazmir and James Shields, the Rays have played the best two consecutive months in their franchises entire history. Only time will tell if they can keep it up, but if they make the playoffs, or even finish as high as third in the division, it will be a huge success for the Rays.

C

‘07 World Series Teams — Last year’s Fall Classic wasn’t really a classic, as the Red Sox won all four games from the Rockies. Still, both teams were expected to be contenders this season, since both Boston and Colorado brought back almost every key player from last October. Yet two months into the season, and neither the Sox or the Rocks are in first place. Boston, who started the year with a crazy cross-country schedule that took them to Japan for their first two games, is a game behind those Rays in the AL East. Injuries and struggles of key players have hurt the Red Sox, but it has been nothing compared to what has gone on in Denver. The Rockies, who have the fewest wins in the Major Leagues, have nine players on the disabled list, including stars Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki. The only reason these teams get a passing grade is because of their history and the horrible luck they’ve had.

High priced managers — Players win games, not mangers. But that doesn’t mean the guy calling the shots in the dugout don’t make a huge impact on the standings. That’s why it is such a shock some of the games most well known (and highest paid) skippers struggling so much. Joe Torre, who won four World Series titles with the Yankees, has not had a very big affect in his debut season wearing Dodger blue. Los Angeles is one game under .500 right now, ten games worse than where they were a year ago. Torre, who is the highest paid manager in baseball at $14 million over three years, says things will turn around, but only time will tell. Across the country, another high-priced skipper, the Mets Willie Randolph, is also fighting to earn his paycheck. After last season’s epic choke-job where New York lost a seven game lead with 17 games to go, the Mets had to make a statement this season. So they brought in the games best pitcher, left hander Johan Santana, in a trade from Minnesota. But it hasn’t paid any dividends, as the Mets are currently in fourth place in their division. Randolph is paid $5.65 million for three years, and for that, I’m guessing the Mets and their fans expect something other than another frustrating season in Queens.

D

The entire AL Central — The only grade that stands for anything is F, which means failure. But in this case D can symbolize disappointing, because that is what the AL Central has been. Last year, the Indians were a few innings from going to the World Series. In ‘06, the Tigers did make the Fall Classic. And in ‘05, the White Sox won it all. (Not to mention the Twins, who have the division’s best record over the past five seasons). But in ‘08, when both Detroit and Cleveland were mentioned among the very best teams in all of Major League Baseball at the start of the year, it looks like no team from the AL Central will even finish the year with a winning record. Right now, the White Sox have the division’s best record. The Sox also have a team batting average of .246 and are getting career years out of two of their young pitchers. Behind them in the standings is Minnesota, who has won 28 games, 18 of them against their four competitors in the division. Then come the Tigers and Indians, each of which has more down years than stocks on the NASDAQ. And brining up the rear is Kansas City, who just completed a stretch where they lost 12 consecutive ballgames. Still, the Royals are only three and half games out of third place. The Central’s recent history of post-season success appears to be at its end.

F

None. The Cubs are in first place; the White Sox too. That means for this trimester, nobody fails.

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Eli Kaberon is a 2005 graduate of Evanston Township High School and currently is attending Columbia College in the loop, majoring in print journalism. A life-long fan of the Cubs, Bears and Bulls, Eli also works as a seat vendor at Wrigley Field and has sold hot dogs to everyone ranging from Bears tight end Greg Olsen to Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Eli can be reached at ekaberon@yahoo.com.

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