Top 10 Most Disappointing Major League Baseball Players of 2008

10. Roy Oswalt – Houston Astros – Oswalt has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the past few years, yet this season he has hit more speed bumps than anyone could have imagined. The Astros were counting on Oswalt’s consistency to help lead a pieced-together pitching staff, yet the Weir, Mississippi native is just 5-7 on the year with a 5.04 earned run average. Oswalt has also allowed 17 home runs this year.

9. Freddy Sanchez – Pittsburgh Pirates – Just two years ago, this former NAIA All-American won the National League batting crown with a .344 average. Now, however, Sanchez is hitting only .229 and has struck out 35 times. In 2006, when he won the batting title, Sanchez struck out only 52 times.

Sorry Ryan Howard, but you have to be on this list with that horrible batting average. Photo: Newscom

8. Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies – I’m sure some of you are surprised that Howard’s name is on this list. Well, you shouldn’t be. How can I leave a guy that is hitting just .221 off this list? Yes, Howard has 19 home runs and 62 runs batted it, but he’s hitting only .221! Also, the former NL MVP has racked up 101 strikeouts in 272 at bats. In case you were wondering, that means Howard strikes out once every 2.7 at bats. UNBELIEVABLE!

7. Barry Zito – San Francisco Giants – Ah, yes. Barry Zito. I have no idea what has happened to Zito since he left Oakland, but he’s not the same. He’s not earning his $126 million contract. The former Cy Young winner is 2-10 with a 5.88 ERA this season for the Giants. He also has walked more hitters (44) than he has struck out (38).

6. Paul Konerko – Chicago White Sox – It’s hard to believe that Konerko could already be nearing the end of his career. But, that could be what is happening with his stats. Konerko is hitting just .215 for the White Sox. It’s not just the power that has dropped off for Konerko, it’s also the power numbers. He has only eight home runs and 30 RBI this season. His inability to help the White Sox, along with the slumping numbers of Jim Thome could mean Chicago misses the playoffs for the third straight season.

5. Carlos Delgado – New York Mets – Delgado, like Konerko, is showing signs of slowing down. Delgado hasn’t hit .300 in a season since he joined the Mets. This season, he is hitting only .238 and has power numbers similar to that of Konerko’s with nine homers and 32 RBI. Delgado didn’t have a stellar season in 2007 either, but his 2008 season has been especially disappointing.

4. Andruw Jones – Los Angeles Dodgers – To be fair, Jones had a horrible season with the Atlanta Braves last year. However, he is doing even worse in L.A. this year. Jones is batting well below the Mendoza Line at .165 in 133 at bats. He’s not hitting with power this year, since he has only two home runs and not driving in runs either (seven total RBI). I doubt Joe Torre ever thought before the year began that Jones shouldn’t be in the lineup instead of mulling over the whole Juan Pierre controversy. Either way, Jones’ stats are pathetic and he could easily be the biggest free agent signing bust of the year.

3. Khalil Greene – San Diego Padres – A couple of things Greene needs to finally figure out; he’s not at Clemson University anymore and he’s not using an aluminum bat. Greene flat out tore it up at the plate in college. But, he hasn’t figured it out at the professional level. This season, he’s hitting just . 226 and has a .271 on base percentage. Greene has also struck out 69 times and drawn only 16 bases on balls.

2. Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks – Milwaukee Brewers – I have to put both of these guys together at the number two slot. Both have had absolutely horrible starts to the 2008 season. Hall is hitting only .216 in 213 at bats this season. He owns a .285 OBP and has whiffed 60 times, while earning only 18 walks. Weeks is just as bad, batting just .210 this season.

1. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers – Coming into the 2008 season the Tigers were one of the top favorites to contend for the AL title. There’s no secret that Verlander was going to be the ace of the pitching staff and again be dominant. Except, he hasn’t been. Verlander is just 3-9 this season with a 4.55 ERA. He has scouts wondering why his arm slot has dropped causing his velocity to fall and his breaking ball to flatten out. He’s won at least 17 games in his last two seasons, yet this year, he could lose that many.

Just missing the list are Robinson Cano, Jason Isringhausen, Ian Snell, Brett Myers, Gary Matthews Jr., and Jim Thome.

Post from: EveryJoe

Thursday 10 – Most disappointing players of 2008

In today’s Titusville Herald, Seth Murphy takes a look back at some of the mistakes by the Pirates in the draft, but he really hammers on the 2002 draft, when Pittsburgh selected Ball State right-hander Bryan Bullington with the number one overall pick. Murphy writes about how the Pirates took Bullington over guys that are stars today, including:

“B.J. Upton, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Jeremy Hermida, Joe Saunders, Khalil Greene, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels, James Loney, Jeremy Guthrie (who the Pirates drafted in 2001 but didn’t sign), Jeff Francouer, Joe Blanton, Matt Cain and Mark Teahan.”

Bryan Bullington, who is still in search of his first big league win, has hopes of staying in the majors with the Pirates this time. Photo: Newscom

Well, that’s quite a list. Who knew these guys were going to be good? Wait… Fielder was heralded to be the next big slugger at the young age of 15, when he blasted a home run out of Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. And B.J. Upton also created quite a stir out of high school. And Greene was single-handedly leading the Clemson Tigers to the College World Series. I guess the Pirates really wanted the guy that dominated the Mid-American Conference instead of the Atlantic Coast Conference. So, yeah, I guess Murphy is right. The Pirates sure did mess up.

Maybe Pittsburgh is happy with their selection of Bullington. He owns a lifetime 5.89 earned run average in the big leagues with an 0-3 record. Although, he was recently called up to the Pirates’ active roster after making a sudden turnaround in the minors. But, it has taken Bullington much longer than these other guys drafted after him in 2002 to make it to the majors. So maybe, Bullington will finally become the superstar pitcher that the Pirates had hoped for when they drafted him, but I wouldn’t count on it. Already at 27-years-old, Bullington is behind most pitchers that make a name for themselves in the majors, especially those drafted as high as he was.

The 2008 draft is only days away and I’m sure most fans are not shocked to see the Pirates near the top of the draft order. That’s right – Pittsburgh will try to put an end to their horrible draft history this year with the second overall pick in the draft. Maybe this time they will get it right.

Post from: EveryJoe

Pittsburgh Pirates’ draft history a bit cloudy