The Mariners have the worst offense in baseball, and Dustin Ackley is the only player with at least 200 plate apperances who has an RC-plus of over 100. Franklin Gutierrez, Miguel Olivo, and Chone Figgins have been so bad that they might as well sign Carlton Lassiter (for you Psych fans out there). I mean really, this team just can't hit! Ackley has been outstanding, but nobody else has been around the league average in hitting (100 RC-plus ). Chone Figgins? He has an atrocious 35 RC , has a -0.8 WAR, and he only provides value on defense (marginal value really).

The funny thing is that offseason acquisition Brendan Ryan has the highest WAR on the team. His RC is only 90, but that's the fourth highest on the team. We all know Ryan can't hit, and the reason why he has value is because of his glove. He has been very good in the field, and Ryan has also been smart on the basepaths this year.

Dustin Ackley will overtake Ryan in WAR, and he has been on fire since his call-up. Ackley's RC of 141 will definitely cool down, but he has really produced for the M's. His ISO is .201, his wOBA is .374, and he has provided value defensively and on the bases as well. In short, Ackley is the team's best non-pitcher. I don't care about regression, because frankly, nobody else on this roster is really that good (again, non-pitchers only).

The Mariners don't really have a good pitching staff either; it's only OK. Even though Casper Wells has been great since the Doug Fister trade, I still don't think the M's should have traded Fister. That mindset might change if Francisco Martinez ends up being a solid major leaguer.

Anyway, Felix Hernandez is a beast so we don't need to talk about him. Now what about Michael Pineda? Nobody is talking about him much anymore, but he's still been very good. His fastball is still getting up there in a hurry (95 mph), and his slider has been nasty. The K's are high (9.13) but so are the walks (3.13). Pineda has had a great season, and he definitely deserves to be the AL Rookie of the Year.

Brandon League has surprisingly held up as a closer and is having a pretty good year. I can't say the same for the rest of the bullpen; especially Jamey Wright and Aaron Laffey. Those two are pitching much worse than what the raw stats would indicate.

In summary, the Mariners stink and will continue their losing ways until some influx of competence in the lineup is created. This offense doesn't nearly resemble a Major League offense, and they have no true power hitter or table setter. If you don't have either of those two, I don't see how you can hope to be at least an average team at this level. And heck, they don't really even have much of a bullpen either. They should be thankful that teams like the A's and Astros exist, because the Mariners would probably be the worst team in baseball, from a pure talent perspective, without them. Well, they might actually be worse than the A's, but that's a debate for another day.

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB, MLB Teams, Tigers, Doug Fister, Mariners, Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Brendan Ryan, Dustin Ackley, Brandon League, Franklin Gutierrez, Casper Wells , Francisco Martinez, Miguel Olivo, Chone Figgins, Aaron Laffey, Jamey Wright, Athletics, Astros, St. Louis Cardinals

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6/2011 Team Scope: St. Louis Cardinals

June 8th 2011 15:11

Even without one of the best pitchers in baseball and staff ace Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals are the best team in the NL Central. They are currently two and a half games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Brewers. Albert Pujols has just started to turn up the heat after being in the worst slump of his career since he was a rookie.

Pujols is only going to get better from here on out, and another sign that points to this is his .257 BABIP. He currently has 14 dingers with 43 runs and 39 RBIs. Lance Berkman has been the story of the team so far. Although he has sucked in the field, as expected, he's been mashing it this year. Bekman is a terrible right fielder, but the Cardinals will take it given his great hitting ability.

Matt Holliday has been the best on the Cards so far this year, but you really have to keep an eye on his too good to be true .395 BABIP. One other note, Berkman also knows how to take a walk. Anyway, Colby Rasmus has looked out of sorts for a little. His fielding and baserunning definitely help him, but I worry about that .325 BABIP, .269 BA, and 22.2% K rate. Rasmus has been nothing less than intriguing thus far.

Ryan Theriot really can't field. Why did they sign him and trade Brendan Ryan again? I asked this same question a long time ago, and Theriot has done nothing to prove me wrong. Ryan can actually play shortstop. Well, look on the bright side. At least Theriot has, for the most part, come in the clutch this year. Look on the dark side- to quote Tony from Psych- because Theriot is struggling against fastballs. At least he's hitting sliders though, and he doesn't swing at stuff outside the zone either. The book on Theriot is that he can't hit, and pitchers give him a steady diet of fastballs too.

Speaking of pitchers, Jaime Garcia and Kyle Lohse have been great this year. The scary thing is that Garcia and ace Chris Carpenter are only going to get better. Carpenter has been very unlucky this year so far. Fernando Salas has been doing well as the new closer, and he'll continue to play well. I don't like his low ground ball percentage, but he's not going to suddenly drop off.

Lohse's slider and changeup have been absolutely nasty this year. I am also liking Carp's curve. Jaime Garcia and Kyle McClellan are also effectively changing speeds right now. Salas, Carpenter, and Garcia are getting hitters to swing out of the zone.

I think the Cardinals will be able to win their division, but they will definitely be challenged by the Brew Crew and the Reds. While the Cardinals aren't a great team, they have two very good pitchers as well as a lineup that features four fantastic and fearsome hitters.