The Major League Baseball All-Star Break began today. This means we are at the halfway point in the season.
Already this season, we have had several controversial calls, four managerial firings, two perfect games, and a lot of close games.
With all the talk being about who will make the playoffs, I decided to go off-topic and look at the worst teams in the league. I only looked at the last place team in each division, although I'm sure there are arguments for other teams as the worst team.
Here are some statistics and interesting facts about each team. You make the call: who is the worst MLB team this season?
Arizona Diamondbacks
What team fires their manager and General Manager in the same season? Better yet, what team does it less than halfway through the season? The Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dbacks fired AJ Hinch and Josh Byrnes. Hinch had an 89-123 record in 14 months.
Arizona just went 2-2 against the Florida Marlins at home to lead in to the All-Star Break.
Their pitchers are currently worst in the league, boasting a 5.27 ERA.
Baltimore Orioles
Here is another team that fired their manager before the halfway point. The Orioles fired Dave Trembley on June 4. The team has gone 14-19 since he left.
The Orioles have decent hitting numbers, with .258 batting average as a team and 784 hits.
Their pitching, on the other hand, needs a lot of work. They are third-worst in the league in ERA with 4.99, and second-worst giving up 863 hits and only striking out 516.
On the plus side, the Orioles went 4-0 against the Texas Rangers before the break.
Cleveland Indians
With Lebron James departing, the city of Cleveland rests their hopes on the Indians. Well, let's hope not. The Indians went 1-3 against Tampa Bay before the much-needed break.
They have lost three hitters to injury this season. Their leadoff hitter, Asdrubal Cabrera, went down, followed by their No. 2 hitter Grady Sizemore. Just this week, their No. 3 hitter Shin-Soo Choo went down.
The only category the Indians are last in is striking out their opponents. The bullpen has only struck out 487 batters this season.
With all those injuries, they are in trouble.
Pittsburgh Pirates
What would this list be without the Pittsburgh Pirates?
They have extended GM Neal Huntington and manager John Russell's contracts through the 2011 season. This duo has been there three years and has yet to produce a 70-win season.
I guess that's why Pittsburgh have the Steelers.
The Pirates have lost six in a row against Milwaukee and Houston and needed this all-star break to regroup.
They are not having good luck at the plate, only scoring 284 runs this season (good for last place). They also have the league's worst batting average as a team at .235.
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners had a big six-player deal recently in which they acquired 1B Justin Smoak and sent P Cliff Lee to Texas. The Mariners are trying to add some sort of spark to the team.
They went 1-3 against the New York Yankees their last four games.
The Mariners have one of the worst hitting teams in the league. They are last in homeruns with 57 and last in slugging percentage with .346 average.
They also only have 697 hits on the season (second-worst), and an abysmal .238 batting average (second-worst).
They do have decent pitching, so that is why their record is not as bad as it could be.
Washington Nationals
The city of Washington D.C. likes to rely on their young players. We have seen this with Jason Campbell of the Redskins and Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals. Enter Stephen Strausburg.
Similar to his two counterparts, Strausburg is doing fairly well, but his team is not.
The Nationals went 1-2 against San Francisco before the break.
They do not have horrible numbers, boasting a .259 batting average, a .404 slugging percentage, and 79 homeruns.
They have also given up 836 hits, 282 walks, and only struck out 536 (good for fourth-worst).
Hopefully, Strausburg can boost the team up for the second half of the season.
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