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[Magatsu]

Wow, this is the first time I saw the Mariners win it all in a modern day dynasty.

Good luck for you and your Devil Rays next season.

M

[jaykno14]

2005 League Leaders: Pitching

 
American League

#   TOP 10 Wins         W 
1   R. Halladay (TOR)   23 
2   J. Washburn (ANA)   19 
3   M. Thornton (SEA)   18 
3   C. Bootcheck (ANA)  18 
5   A. Van Hekken (DET) 17 
6   B. Kim (BOS)        16 
6   F. Garcia (TEX)     16 
6   P. Rigdon (BOS)     16 
6   B. Madritsch (SEA)  16 
10  L. Hernandez (CLE)  15

#   TOP 10 Saves      SV 
1   S. Andrade (ANA)  45 
2   A. Taylor (SEA)   39 
3   D. Shepard (NYA)  38 
4   K. Foulke (BOS)   30 
5   L. Walrond (MIN)  29 
5   M. White (CLE)    29 
5   E. Cammack (OAK)  29 
8   Y. Mizuo (TB)     28 
9   D. Marte (CHA)    27 
10  S. Colyer (DET)   25 

#  TOP 10 Comp. Games  CG 
1  R. Halladay (TOR)   8 
2  L. Hernandez (CLE)  7  
3  C. Bootcheck (ANA)  6 
3  S. Ponson (BAL)     6 
5  C. Reyes (TB)       4 
5  R. Bell (BAL)       4 
5  K. Millwood (CHA)   4 
8  M. Buehrle (CHA)    3
8  K. Wells (CLE)      3 
8  A. Van Hekken (DET) 3 

#  TOP 10 Shutouts    SHO 
1  R. Halladay (TOR)  3 
1  S. Ponson (BAL)    3 
3  G. Meche (SEA)     2 
3  M. Buehrle (CHA)   2 
5  B. Kozlowski (TEX) 1 
5  C. Bootcheck (ANA) 1 
5  M. Thornton (SEA)  1 
5  V. Santos (KCA)    1 
5  C. Reyes (TB)      1 
5  F. Garcia (TEX)    1 

#   TOP 10 Strikeouts   K's 
1   R. Halladay (TOR)   271 
2   B. Madritsch (SEA)  223 
2   M. Thornton (SEA)   223 
4   J. Affeldt (TB)     220 
5   R. Beltran (BOS)    212 
6   B. Kim (BOS)        210 
7   F. Garcia (TEX)     208 
8   M. Buehrle (CHA)    207 
8   J. Santana (MIN)    207 
10  J. Contreras (NYA)  198 

#   TOP 10 ERA         ERA 
1   M. Thornton (SEA)  2.47 
2   R. Halladay (TOR)  2.52 
3   B. Madritsch (SEA) 3.00 
4   K. Honel (CHA)     3.30 
5   J. Washburn (ANA)  3.54 
6   H. Ramirez (NYA)   3.67 
7   F. Garcia (TEX)    3.73 
8   S. Trachsel (BOS)  3.75 
9   V. Santos (KCA)    3.84 
10  R. Harden (OAK)    3.93 

#   TOP 10 WHIP          WHIP 
1   R. Halladay (TOR)    1.05 
2   M. Thornton (SEA)    1.17 
3   J. Washburn (ANA)    1.18 
4   P. Rigdon (BOS)      1.21 
5   F. Garcia (TEX)      1.21 
6   G. Meche (SEA)       1.23 
7   S. Trachsel (BOS)    1.23 
8   J. Duchscherer (OAK) 1.24 
9   M. Buehrle (CHA)     1.25 
10  V. Santos (KCA)      1.25

National League

#  TOP 10 Wins        W 
1  J. Griffiths (NYN) 24 
2  P. Martinez (STL)  19 
3  E. Milton (MIL)    18 
3  C. Oxspring (SDN)  18 
5  C. Tsao (COL)      17 
6  E. Jackson (LAN)   16 
6  J. Cruz (ATL)      16 
8  J. Seo (NYN)       15 
9  T. Walker (SFN)    14 
9  A. Burnett (MON)   14 

#   TOP 10 Saved           SV 
1   J. Childers (MIL)      39 
2   J. Pearson (STL)       35 
2   E. Gagne (LAN)         35 
2   L. Hawkins (CHN)       35 
5   T. Spooneybarger (FLO) 34 
6   R. Biddle (MON)        33 
7   H. Almonte (PIT)       32 
8   F. Rodriguez (SFN)     28 
8   J. Valverde (ARI)      28 
10  S. Dohmann (COL)       27 

#  TOP 10 Comp Games   CG 
1  M. Morris (SDN)     7 
2  P. Martinez (STL)   5 
2  W. Miller (PIT)     5 
4  E. Milton (MIL)     4 
5  B. Lyon (ARI)       3 
5  J. Schmidt (SFN)    3  
7  M. Prior (CHN)      2 
7  C. Tsao (COL)       2 
7  C. Oxspring (SDN)   2 
7  B. Lawrence (MIL)   2 

#  TOP 10 Shutouts   SHO 
1  P. Martinez (STL) 3 
2  C. Oxspring (SDN) 2 
2  E. Milton (MIL)   2 
2  B. Webb (ARI)     2 
5  W. Miller (PIT)   1 
5  M. Morris (SDN)   1 
5  J. Schmidt (SFN)  1 
5  C. Zambrano (CHN) 1 
5  B. Lyon (ARI)     1 
5  B. Lawrence (MIL) 1 

#   TOP 10 Strikeouts  K's 
1   P. Martinez (STL)  304 
2   C. Oxspring (SDN)  284 
3   M. Prior (CHN)     270 
4   J. Beckett (FLO)   248 
5   M. Nannini (FLO)   247 
6   C . Tsao (COL)     243 
7   J. Cruz (ATL)      241 
8   B. Webb (ARI)      227 
9   W. Miller (PIT)    226 
10  J. Schmidt (SFN)   221 

#   TOP 10 ERA         ERA 
1   C. Oxspring (SDN)  2.46 
2   J. Griffiths (NYN) 2.55 
3   E. Jackson (LAN)   2.73 
4   T. Walker (SFN)    2.77 
5   P. Martinez (STL)  2.81 
6   C. Zambrano (CHN)  2.88 
7   M. Nannini (FLO)   2.91 
8   E. Milton (MIL)    3.28 
9   J. Acevedo (CIN)   3.30 
10  J. Peavy (SDN)     3.36 

#   TOP 10 WHIP        WHIP 
1   P. Martinez (STL)  0.99 
2   J. Griffiths (NYN) 1.02 
3   C. Oxspring (SDN)  1.09 
4   B. Lawrence (MIL)  1.09 
5   M. Nannini (FLO)   1.10 
6   T. Walker (SFN)    1.12 
7   C. Gissell (SFN)   1.12 
8   E. Milton (MIL)    1.14 
9   C. Tsao (COL)      1.14 
10  B. Sweeney (SDN)   1.15

[jaykno14]

2005 Awards

 
MVP:
American: 3B Eric Chavez, OAK, (546 AB, .306 AVG, 37 HR, 129 RBI, 98 R, 167 Hits, .952 OPS)
National: LF Brian Giles, SDN, (550 AB, .305 AVG, 39 HR, 117 RBI, 125 R, 168 Hits, 1.010 OPS)

Cy Young:
American: Roy Halladay, TOR, (Record: 23-4, 2.52 ERA, 285.1IP, 271 Ks, 60 BB)
National: Jeremy Griffiths, NYN, (Record: 24-4, 2.55 ERA, 243.1IP, 193 Ks, 46 BB)

Rookie of the Year:
American: Chris Bootcheck, ANA, (Record: 18-11, 3.94 ERA, 239.2 IP, 181 Ks, 99 BB)
National: 1B Larry Broadway, MON, (576 AB, .267 AVG, 16 HR, 87 RBI, 77 R, 154 Hits, .723 OPS) 

Gold Glove:
AL:
Pitcher: Gil Meche, SEA
Catcher: Joe Mauer, MIN
First Base: Travis Hafner, CLE
Second Base: Michael Young, TEX
Third Base: Corey Koskie, MIN
Shortstop: Angel Berroa, KCA
Leftfield: Jermaine Clark, DET
Centerfield: Pablo Ozuna, DET
Rightfield: Jeff Inglin, DET
NL:
Pitcher: Mike Hampton, ATL
Catcher: Matt Treanor, FLO
First Base: Jason Phillips, NYN
Second Base: Jose Reyes, NYN
Third Base: Scott Rolen, STL
Shortstop: Kazuo Matsui, NYN
Leftfield: Chipper Jones, ATL
Centerfield: Jacob Cruz, HOU
Rightfield: Richard Hidalgo, HOU

[jaykno14]

2005/Pre-Offseason Analysis: Position-by-Position

Catcher
Both Hall and Barajas had pretty disappointing years. Barajas got most of the starts, 137 to be exact, although he cooled down as the season went on. He did hit better the last two months but May-July he struggled below .200. He could only hit .223 with runners in scoring position and was only able to drive in 57 all season long. Defensively he threw out 30.9% of runners that tried stealing on him and only had three pass balls. We chose not to extend Barajas' contract. Hall also had a disappointing year hitting only .234 in 94 AB, but he is still on our team because we were able to keep him through arbitration. He was 1-13 with runners in scoring position and was 1-4 pinch hitting. He threw out 13/29 runners that tried stealing on him, good for a 44.8% of RTO. OFFSEASON PLAN: I am planning on signing another veteran type guy who I can get for little money, and plays good defense. I will most likely attempt to get Matt Lecroy or Eli Marrero for cheap.

First Base
Josh Phelps started all 162 games here last year. It seems as though he may have tired out as the year wore on so we are thinking about getting another first baseman to back him up this year. He was only able to hit .246 but drove in 88 guys and hit 25 home runs. He had a .755 OPS and did strike out 160 times. If he doesn't improve this year, we may look to trade him away and improve here for the 2007 season. I am also attempting to teach 3B Milford Morin to play 1B also in case I need to have him play there. OFFSEASON PLAN: I will try getting Scott Spiezio, Carlos Baerga, or Randall Simon for cheap to play there. Tony Clark is also an option.

Second Base
Overall it wasn't a very good year at second base for us. Bobby Hill was the main guy there for most of the year after we got rid of David Newhan. Hill could only hit .225 which was better than Newhan's .189 or whatever it was, but still we wish to have better production out of 2B. I am thinking that we were able to solve the problem within the orginization by moving Frank Catalanotto back to his original position. Our outfield is pretty well stacked so I think that if we can play Cat. at 2B it will improve us offensively immensely. Lorretta was able to hit .267 while he was with us, but we elected not to resign him after the season and let him go to free agency. OFFSEASON PLAN: We are going to remain the same here most likely. We might elect to send Hill down to AAA and if we do that we will just sign a cheap 2B to back him up.

Short Stop
This was probably most likely our worst offensive position this year with Julio Lugo running the show. Lugo hit .184 and struck out 127 times in 538 at bats. He also was only able to hit .180 with RISP and had an OBP of .247! His OPS was .504 and he wasn't even able to get more than 100 hits with only 99. Jesse Garcia was brought up later in the year but didn't provide any help and only hit .190 in 21 AB. Both Lugo and Garcia were let go this offseason, so a free agent SS is a need. OFFSEASON PLAN: We will try to get the best guy we can here. This is the most important glaring hole in the team. Edgar Renteria or Michael Young are two names to look for.

Third Base:
We are pretty much set here. Aubrey Huff hit .252 with 20 home runs but did drive in 95 RBIs. I am hoping that because it seemed that at times he had to carry the team, he just had too much pressure. He started all 162 games at 3B also, and that may have been a problem. His OPS was a career low .756 this season, lower than his rookie season's mark at .758. His 20 HR also marked a career low for Huff along with the most strikeouts he has ever had at 121. Jared Sandburg is going to be on the bigleague club next year so no backup is necessary in free agency. In his short while with the big league club Sandberg hit .286 with two home runs and five RBIs. He also had six hits in 21 AB. Greg Norton was granted free agency after struggling to a .205 average.

Left Field:
Finally something good to talk about! The outfield had a pretty good season this year, especially left field. Frank Catalanotto, the new 2B, hit .296 with 13 HR and 56 RBI. Sure that isn't very good power stats, but I'm trying to look at the positive side of things here since there ARE actually positives to look at. Catalanotto had a .366 OBP and tied his career high in HR with 13. Next year's LF, Johnny Gomes, spent the last month or so all over the place, and ended up only hitting .229 for us. Gomes is 24 and was ripping apart AAA in 2004 and 2005. He had a combined total of 58 HR, 171 RBI, 183 runs, 43 SB, and 29 doubles. He combined to hit .295 there also. OFFSEASON PLAN: Pray that this guy isn't a bust. His potential contact isn't very good, but this guy has the talent to hit 50 home runs a year along with 35+ doubles and has very good "eye" ratings also.

Center Field:
This is another place where we were praised with some young talent. CF Josh Hamilton hit .299 and stole 26 bases in 2005 before tearing his rib cage muscle, which ended his season. Hamilton also had 8 home runs and 71 runs. He led off almost the whole year. His .806 OPS was above average for rookies this year also. He had 30 doubles and seven triples along with those eight homeruns to add up to a total 45 extra base hits. He has reached his potential at the age of 24 and is definitely someone who will be a Devil Ray for the next five years. OFFSEASON PLAN: Bring in a cheap veteran who can come off the bench and pinch hit and teach this kid how to play.

Right Field:
We also had pretty good numbers in RF too, only not the power numbers we would like to have. Rocco Baledelli was the main guy here before he was injured and was out for the rest of the season. Baldelli would be an ideal CF, but we didn't think he'd be a good fit in the OF. He had 25 doubles and 10 triples, but was only able to muscle five out of the park. His OBP was also low at .307. His ratings say that he has better potential for power, but we might attempt to find or trade for some one better through free agency. Michael Restovich was able to hit .307 spending his time at DH most of the time. He too does not have much power though, and was only able to hit 6 home runs. He will probably be a pinch hitter for us next season.

[jaykno14]

2005/Pre-Offseason Analysis: Pitchers

Starting Pitchers
Our starting pitchers started the season out strongly, but faded off to end the season. Trading for Andy Pettite, was important IMO because it gives us a guy that can be called an ace for our staff when we are ready to compete. I plan on that being soon. Pettite ended up with an 8-15 record on the year and a 4.66 ERA. His ERAs of 6.67 and 6.49 through August and September rescpectively ruined what started out as a pretty successful season for him. His quality start percentage ended up at 48.4 percent. His big problem was giving up so many gits as he had a 10.7 H/9 rating and 236 total hits. He also gave up 21 home runs. At 33, he is beginning his decline, so therefore fans can expect a run at the division soon. Our second pitcher was Carlos Reyes. Reyes, 36, had another good campaign going 12-13 with a 4.09 ERA. His K/BB ratio was amazing at 161-29. He also had a 59.4 quality start percentage. His big problem was giving up so many home runs, 30. You can expect Reyes, who is signed through 2007, to be in our rotation for at least this year along with Pettite. The next best starter we had after Reyes was Jeremy Affeldt, the 26 year old left hander. Through the last two months, he had ERAs of 8.13 and 5.00, ruining what was a breakout season for him. He ended up with a 9-11 record and a 4.20 ERA. He was able to strike out 10.3 guys per nine innings and 220 overall. He also only gave up 185 hits in 192.2 innings, and only surrendered 19 home runs. Affeldt will definitely be in our rotation in 2006, probably as our #3 starter. Jason Standridge is the next guy we had in our rotation. He could possibly be traded this offseason, to help solve the good problem of having possibly 10 guys that could be in the rotation. A lot of those guys will porbably be traded. They are all at AAA also. Standridge went 12-16 for us this yearwith a 4.39 ERA. He gave us 209.1 innings and only gave up 214 hits in the process so we felt he was a respectable #4 starter. His big problem has been control. He had 4.6 walks/9 and a total of 106. His potential stuff, 9, and movement, 9, show that he could be a very good pitcher in this league if he can work on his control. Another problem of his was giving up 31 HR this year, almost one per start. Our fifth starter was Tim Redding, who I picked up off waivers before the season, hoping we could get a good season out of him as our fifth starter. He ended up 7-9 with a dreadful 5.40 ERA. He will probably be in AAA in 2006 and if he is needed we will give him a call. OFFSEASON PLAN: Possibly trade two or three of the ten guys we have that could be in the rotation. I have a very good problem at SP, but I can't forget that two of them could be gone in three years.

Relief Pitchers
On the relief side of things, it was a bit of a disappointment for me the way our bullpen performed. We got off to a really bad start at this part of the team, therefore making it harder to have good stats at season's end. The bullpen's earned run average by the end of the year was 4.54. Our closer, Ya****aka Mizuo had a bit of a rough year, going 3-6 with a 4.75 ERA and 28 saves. His save percentage was 71.8%, and he blew a total of 11 games. He did only walk 12 guys in 53 IP. He will most likely be our closer again in 2006, hopefully with better results. Bobby Seay was our set up man and ended up at 3-4 with a save and a 3.94 earned run average. The 24 year old gave up only 41 hits in 48 IP and only walked 19 in 48 innings and struck out 48. Another guy that we had at the set up position was Brandon Backe, who started off the first three months roughly, but ended really well. Backe, who made the most appearances for us this season, is a guy who we hope will evolve into the closer's role when Mizuo isn't here any more. We thought twice about that though because he was only able to save the game twice in nine tries. His overall record was 6-6 in 84 appearances, and he had a 4.88 ERA to go along with that. His big problem is walks as he has a 5.9 BB/9 ratio. Vic Darensburg only appeared in 18 total games, but did well with a 1-1 record and a 3.62 ERA. We are going to try to make better use of him this year, most likely in the middle relief role. Danys Baez, Brian Meadows, and Lance Carter were our other relievers this year. Baez, 28, is another person who could become our closer when Mizuo is gone. Brian Meadows made an appearance in 41 games this year. He had a record of 2-2 with one save and a 5.55 ERA. He pitched 73 innings and gave up a wopping 91 runs, but only walked 18. He almost gave up as many home runs as he did walks with 16. Currently he will be a part of the team in 2006, but that could change if he doesn't do well in April. Finally, Carter was 3-4 with two saves and a 4.76 ERA. He only walked 13 guys in 75.2 innings, but like Meadows, gave up a large amount of hits, 92. He also was able to strikeout 63 guys. OFFSEASON PLAN: I am thinking about having a starter or two in the rotation this year so that we can be a little bit more flexible with guys. That would mean the end of guys like Brian Meadows and/or Lance Carter though.

[jaykno14]

2006/Pre-offseason Analysis: The Plan

I will most likely to go with mostly position players. The positions that I don't need much are 3B, 2B, and OF.

Free Agency Needs:
-(1) Catcher
-(1) First Baseman
-(2) Short Stop
-(1) Center Fielder
-(1) Right Fielder

I am planning on getting a lot of these guys through trade. Right now we have four spots on our active roster and five spots on our 40-man roster. The number on the 40-man could decrease with trades also. Some names that could be traded include Lance Carter, Rocco Baldelli, Frank Catalanotto, and some minor leaguers also.