Hitting 2009

Thursday, March 25 2010 @ 02:30 PM EDT

Contributed by: Magpie

As we turn our thoughts to the 2010 edition, let's start setting the context. Yup, it's Data Table time.

Your AL offenses in 2009 performed as follows.

TOTAL          AB   R    H    TB  2B 3B  HR RBI  BB   SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
                                                                                   
NY Yankees   5660  915 1604 2703 325 21 244 881 663 1014 111 28 31 39  54 144 .283 .362 .478   979    6.05
LA Angels    5622  883 1604 2482 293 33 173 841 547 1054 148 63 43 52  41 128 .285 .350 .441   863    5.35
Boston    5543  872 1495 2516 335 25 212 822 659 1120 126 39 19 51  70 137 .270 .352 .454   893    5.52
Minnesota    5608  817 1539 2406 271 40 172 770 585 1021  85 32 51 57  45 147 .274 .345 .429   824    5.03
Tampa Bay    5462  803 1434 2400 297 36 199 765 642 1229 194 61 25 45  49 104 .263 .343 .439   843    5.24
Toronto    5696  798 1516 2508 339 13 209 766 548 1028  73 23 24 49  45 130 .266 .333 .440   829    4.97
Texas    5526  784 1436 2458 296 27 224 748 472 1253 149 36 40 51  37  97 .260 .320 .445   791    4.82
AL AVERAGE   5569  781 1485 2384 295 28 183 746 550 1094 110 39 36 46  52 130 .267 .338 .428   797    4.88
Cleveland    5568  773 1468 2321 314 28 161 730 582 1211  84 31 39 50  81 140 .264 .339 .417   789    4.80
Oakland    5584  759 1464 2218 307 21 135 723 527 1046 133 48 31 54  50 130 .262 .328 .397   729    4.42
Detroit    5540  743 1443 2307 245 35 183 718 540 1114  72 33 53 39  61 131 .260 .331 .416   757    4.61
Baltimore    5618  741 1508 2333 307 19 160 708 517 1013  76 37 13 46  39 131 .268 .332 .415  763    4.67
Chicago Sox  5463  724 1410 2248 246 20 184 695 534 1022 113 49 34 39  62 139 .258 .329 .411   730    4.51
Kansas City  5532  686 1432 2242 276 51 144 657 457 1091  88 29 38 32  42 135 .259 .318 .405   700    4.28
Seattle    5543  640 1430 2228 280 19 160 613 421 1093  89 33 56 44  49 124 .258 .314 .402   687    4.16
As you see, Toronto was sixth in the league in runs scored. Along with most of the league, they were a clear step behind the three really good offensive teams - two of which reside in their own division, natch. But despite Kevin Millar, despite the offensive sinkhole that were their catchers, despite the huge disappointments named Vernon wells and Alex Rios, despite the failure of Travis Snider to take the league by storm, despite the Mysterious Ways of Cito Gaston... they were actually pretty good. They were comfortably better than league average, and clearly were not one of the really bad offensive teams.

They've made some changes - different players will be starting the season at catcher, shortstop, third base, and right field than we saw out there last year. But at nine of the ten offensive spots, the team can reasonably be expected to be roughly as good as last season. If not better. Which doesn't mean they actually will be better, of course. But there are worse places to start from. It's at at the tenth spot where... well, oh dear. Oh dear dear dear. The single greatest fall-off at any single roster spot from last year's team to this year's does not come at the head of the starting rotation.

It comes in the infield.

Let's look at the whole thing by position.

CATCHER        AB    R    H   TB  2B 3B  HR RBI  BB   SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC   RC/27
Minnesota    612   96  208  316  35  2  23  83  80  77   4  1  0  5  2  20 .340 .415 .516   130    8.08
Kansas City  601   70  162  303  32  8  31  99  30  167   6  3  3  2  6  10 .270 .310 .504    90    5.18
Boston    578   71  138  241  43  0  20  85  83  124   1  0  0  8  3  10 .239 .333 .417    84    4.78
Oakland    643   88  172  280  40  1  22 109  34  87   8  1  1  7  7  16 .267 .308 .435    83    4.44
NY Yankees   592   78  159  259  34  0  22  98  53  129   1  3  5  6   4  18 .269 .330 .438    81    4.68
Baltimore    571   62  154  232  32  2  14  62  62  119   0  0  1  4   4  14 .270 .343 .406    80    4.81
Chicago Sox  606   71  172  253  28  1  17  64  36   84   1  1  3  3   2  19 .284 .325 .417    77    4.45
AL AVERAGE   584   70  148  238  32  2  18  76  50  121   3  2  4  5   6  15 .254 .318 .408    73    4.21
LA Angels    549   76  131  224  25  1  22  72  54  160   4  5  9  4  11   5 .239 .317 .408    73    4.32
Cleveland    559   65  126  204  31  1  15  75  74  141   0  0  3  9  18  18 .225 .330 .365    70    3.99
Texas    568   74  133  215  31  0  17  71  41  188   1  2  6  4   2  13 .234 .286 .379    59    3.39
Toronto    618   55  142  231  29  0  20  87  26  108   2  1  6  7   1   9 .230 .259 .374    58    3.05
Seattle    571   50  128  202  31  2  13  54  40  110   4  3  5  2   7  18 .224 .282 .354    53    3.02
Detroit    535   58  115  175  29  2  9  50  53  115   5  1 10  6  10  17 .215 .295 .327    52    3.04
Tampa Bay    571   62  133  199  25  1  13  55  29   81   7  5  9  3   6  21 .233 .276 .349    49    2.79
Yup. Kurt Suzuki RBI machine. Anyway, are you as surprised to see the Royals in second place, ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox, as I am? Go figure. Well, Miguel Olivo and John Buck were both perfectly adequate hitters last season (each had an OPS+ of 103). Neither one of them is Jorge Posada, of course, but all the good Posada did was undone by the evil that is... Jose Molina. Oh, great. Still, considering how disturbingly inoffensive the Barajas-Chavez tandem was last season, just how bad can it get? Hang on... it can get pretty bad indeed. Buck is unlikely to hit as wellas he did last season (he never has before), and with Molina at age 35 what you saw last year is about what you're going to get. But offensive ineptitude actually has a basement, and Barajas-Chavez were pretty damn close to useless already. Buck should be a little better than Barajas overall, and Molina should be a little worse than Molina. It should all even out, more or less.

FIRST BASE    AB    R    H    TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
NY Yankees    641  112  187  363  45  4  41 126  91 121   2  0  0  5 11   14 .292 .386 .566   142    7.91
Detroit    635  101  203  347  37  1  35  105  70 115   6  4  0  1  5   25 .320 .391 .546   128    7.52
Minnesota     630  106  177  336  38  2  39  120  81 106   1  0  0  7  7   19 .281 .366 .533   121    6.72
Boston    597  108  175  288  34  2  25   97  76 128   7  1  0  5 17   19 .293 .386 .482   112    6.68
Seattle    604   81  158  302  32  2  36  97  70 179   2  0  1  6 13   9 .262 .348 .500   108    6.08
LA Angels     622   87  184  333  46  2  33  114  49 136   3  7  0  8  3   17 .296 .346 .535   108    6.16
Tampa Bay     581  101  133  291  31  2  41  107  99 188   5  3  0  3 10   6 .229 .349 .501   107    6.06
Kansas City  640   79  189  309  55  1  21   96  55 109   2  0  0  4  2   21 .295 .351 .483   103    5.79
AL AVERAGE    609   89  165  293  37  2  29  100  70 131   2  2  1  5  8   16 .271 .353 .481   101    5.75
Chicago Sox   597   82  165  288  34  1  29   96  63  96   1  0  1  8  8   17 .276 .349 .482    99    5.74
Toronto    586   77  154  262  46  1  20   91  92 124   0  0  0  3  2   15 .263 .363 .447    97    5.67
Cleveland     587   82  162  271  29  1  26  102  65 103   1  1  3  6 14   17 .276 .359 .462    97    5.67
Baltimore    623   75  163  256  39  0  18   86  50  99   0  6  0  5  4   21 .262 .318 .411    75    4.10
Texas    610   73  138  251  23  3  28   84  38 210   0  0  0  6  3   10 .226 .272 .411    67    3.58
Oakland     576   87  125  205  30  1  16   74  79 121   1  3  5  8  8   15 .217 .316 .356    66    3.65
The end of the Lyle Overbay era approaches, but he isn't entirely to blame for the dismal showing Jays first sackers provided in 2009. There was that Millar fella, never to be seen again, one assumes. Millar saved his real awfulness for those days when he was in the lineup as a DH - nevertheless, Randy Ruiz can hardly help but be better. Overbay should continue to hit doubles, draw walks, and play solid defense. His manager (and much of the fan base) don't seem to like him that much. But he's a good player, although at this stage of his career he definitely needs a platoon partner. Which is where Ruiz comes in, of course. It's possible , of course, that by the end of July Overbay will have been sent on his way (how many contenders are likely to be looking for a first baseman, anyway?) and the Brett Wallace era will be upon us...

SECOND BASE    AB    R    H   TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
Baltimore    659  116  189  299  57  1  17   83  82 112  31  7  1  8  2   10 .287 .364 .454   115    6.10
Toronto    702  105  203  354  37  0  38  111  45 100   6  2  1  4  5   17 .289 .335 .504   113    5.74
Boston    659  120  194  296  49  1  17   79  76  53  20  8  3  6  7   20 .294 .370 .449   109    5.84
Texas    645  110  166  305  35  4  32   92  66  88  32  5  6  6  6   9 .257 .329 .473   105    5.45
NY Yankees    656  106  208  336  49  2  25   87  30  65   5  7  0  4  3   23 .317 .348 .512   105    5.91
Kansas City   607   83  178  270  39  7  13   74  56  56   7  1  1  5  2   18 .293 .352 .445   93    5.45
AL AVERAGE    630   94  173  269  38  3  17   80  56  90  16  5  4  5  5   15 .275 .339 .428    90    4.92
Tampa Bay     584   75  152  231  25  6  14   72  86 114  18  3  2  4  3    6 .260 .356 .396    90    5.22
LA Angels    626  104  179  275  39  6  15  102  42 102  18  7  2  4  6   15 .286 .335 .439    89    5.01
Detroit    678   89  192  273  32  5  13   81  39  60   6  2 10  6 10   15 .283 .329 .403    88    4.47
Oakland    617   80  170  258  38  1  16   92  43  88  18  7  6  6  6   16 .276 .326 .418    82    4.53
Seattle    640   77  170  288  44  1  24   94  33  84   5  4  3  8  5   25 .266 .303 .450    78    4.15
Cleveland     615  101  162  230  36  4   8   51  59 129   7  5  5  2  3   16 .263 .330 .374    74    4.10
Chicago Sox   575   74  145  208  25  4  10   55  53 101  31  5  3  5  9   8 .252 .322 .362    72    4.21
Minnesota    555   71  116  148  20  3   2   43  73 105  23  1 15  5  3   14 .209 .302 .267    51    2.83
Aaron Hill's 2009 season came out of nowhere - just how often does a guy double his previous career high in homers anyway? I have no idea what to expect from him in 2010. The pattern of his 2009 season is interesting - he hit .333/.368/.519 with 12 HRs and 37 RBIs in April in May. The league may have made an adjustment, and while he kept right on hitting homers, everything else disappeared - he hit .241/.293/.476 with 12 HRs and 33 RBI in June and July. And then Hill adjusted to the league - in the final two months he hit .280/.327/.498 with 12 HRs and 38 RBIs. The basic issue with Hill, of course, isn't his production - it's  the enormous number of outs he makes  in the process. If he could just draw 50 walks in a season....

THIRD BASE    AB    R    H    TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
Tampa Bay    623  109  176  330  44  1  36  120  77 144   9  0  0  7  8   26 .283 .365 .530   117    6.55
Texas    650  87  205  328  45  3  24   80  51 113   9  3  0  4  1   18 .315 .364 .505   115    6.51
LA Angels     643  116  195  262  32  7  7   62 100 119  41 17  7  4  1   12 .303 .396 .407   110    6.10
NY Yankees    584   89  158  269  29  2  26  109  88 132  15  1  3  3 10   19 .271 .374 .461   103    6.09
Boston    641   89  184  318  43  2  29  106  55 114   5  2  0  5  6   26 .287 .347 .496   102    5.66
Toronto    615   94  175  270  39  1  18   73  56  95   6  2  1  8  9   6 .285 .349 .439    98    5.55
AL AVERAGE    619   85  166  262  34  2  19   81  60 124  10  4  2  5  7   16 .269 .340 .423    88    4.86
Kansas City   605   89  160  250  35  2  17   60  46 146  12  0  1  3  7   14 .264 .322 .413    81    4.57
Cleveland   639   80  166  252  33  1  17   94  60 130   0  2  4  6  4   21 .260 .324 .394    78    4.13
Chicago Sox   606   78  153  246  36  3  17   86  59 138   9  7  3  4  9   17 .252 .326 .406    77    4.29
Detroit    589   75  138  241  17  1  28   87  56 176   2  6  1  3 17   12 .234 .317 .409    75    4.21
Minnesota    611   73  151  235  27  3  17   72  56 107   2  3  5  6  4   10 .247 .312 .385    74    3.98
Oakland    613   74  151  218  29  4  10   66  63 124  14  2  4  4  2    7 .246 .317 .356    73    3.96
Baltimore     614   66  161  229  26  0  14   67  44  79   4  4  1  3  8   17 .262 .318 .373    70    3.88
Seattle    631   70  156  220  34  0  10   54  35 120  14  4  2  3  8   20 .247 .294 .349    61    3.25

It's unlikely, I suppose, that Edwin Encarnacion will hit as well as Scott Rolen did in 2009. On the other hand, it's even more unlikely that a 35 year old Scott Rolen will hit as well for Dusty Baker this year as he did for Cito Gaston in 2009. Encarnacion and Rolen each hit 8 HRs last season as the Jays' third baseman, Encarnacion in half the playing time. The striking difference between them was: a) Rolen hit a ridiculous number of doubles b) when Rolen put the ball in play, he got lots of hits whereas Encarnacion hit into a lot of outs. That may have been a little random. I really think that if there is a falloff here, it won't be all that bad. (Now when it comes to catching the ball... there will be Trouble. Oh yes. Rolen plays the position as well as anyone I've seen since Brooks Robinson himself. Encarnacion does not.)

SHORTSTOP      AB   R    H    TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
NY Yankees    681  110  226  318  31  2  19   73  72  99  31  7  4  1  7   17 .332 .401 .467   129    7.16
Tampa Bay    595  105  194  305  40 10  17   77  62 113  32  9  4  4  5   5 .326 .392 .513   125    7.77
Toronto    654  109  183  266  39  1  14   67  90  85  14  6  6  8  5   11 .280 .367 .407   103    5.41
LA Angels    606   94  191  256  26  9   7   71  39  69  18  8 15  8  8   10 .315 .360 .422    93    5.40
Cleveland    661   85  188  278  49  4  11   82  52 141  15  4  9  4  2   15 .284 .337 .421    92    4.85
Chicago Sox   594   82  162  237  16  1  19   78  61  80  16  6  6  8  1   15 .273 .337 .399    80    4.58
AL AVERAGE    601   79  165  235  29  5  11   66  48  98  16  6  9  6  4   14 .274 .331 .391    77    4.35
Oakland    634   70  180  245  35  3   8   64  45  86  18  9  6  5  1   20 .284 .330 .386    76    4.19
Texas    555   82  149  206  19 10   6   46  46  88  36  6 15  3  6    4 .268 .330 .371    75    4.48
Minnesota    631   87  166  236  30  5  10   82  47 107   7  3  7 13  1   21 .263 .309 .374    70    3.69
Boston    558   69  131  200  33  0  12   61  41 128   6  4  6  6 11   11 .235 .297 .358    59    3.44
Detroit    532   62  133  182  26  1   7   70  35  98   6  4 22  6  7   12 .250 .302 .342    55    3.27
Baltimore     566   58  141  183  22  4   4   40  30  80  14  7  4  2  3   17 .249 .290 .323    49    2.92
Seattle    576   44  133  193  24  3  10   53  23 100   8  4 19  4  3   17 .231 .262 .335    47    2.57
Kansas City   577   48  128  184  18 10   6   54  23  97   8  3  7  5  1   14 .222 .251 .319    44    2.41
This is the big one, kiddies. Roy Halladay gave up 82 runs in 239 innings last season. Let's assume those innings are picked up by a combination of Shaun Marcum (3.95 career ERA) and the Toronto bullpen (4.08 ERA in 2009.) The team would give up from 30 to 35 extra runs in those innings. Now look at the difference between the runs created by the Toronto shortstops and the runs created by the Boston shortstops. That's right. Read 'em and weep.

And yet... who really wants to complain about saying goodbye to a 34 year old shortstop coming off a season that was simply light years ahead of anything he had done in his career? Especially if you're planning to punt the 2010 season anyway, and just need someone to catch the ball in the meantime until you find a real shortstop? Nothing in Scutaro's past suggested he had a season like 2009 in him, except the always present possibility of Lightning Striking at Random.

LEFT FIELD     AB   R    H    TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
Boston    589  114  157  315  32  3  40  126  99 175  13  3  0  4  9   10 .267 .378 .535   125    7.29
Tampa Bay    646  104  199  305  30  8  20   79  60 106  59 17  2  5  8    8 .308 .371 .472   118    6.63
NY Yankees    663  120  183  322  45  2  30   97  78 104  12  0  3  1  2   13 .276 .353 .486   116    6.10
Texas    608   88  165  287  36  1  28   89  60 133  20  4  5 12  3    8 .271 .334 .472   100    5.52
Toronto    581   77  157  268  39  3  22   82  65 135   5  1  6  3  7   13 .270 .349 .461    94    5.54
Minnesota    652   80  189  295  26  7  22  101  46 127   9  7  2  7  5   20 .290 .338 .452    94    5.05
AL AVERAGE    617   87  165  272  31  5  22   86  63 124  16  5  3  6  6   13 .267 .341 .442    93    5.13
Chicago Sox   637   86  167  268  28  2  23   80  60  93  21  8  2  1 17   14 .262 .341 .421    92    4.94
Kansas City   634   84  173  261  29 10  13   78  65 108   7  8  8  7  8   12 .273 .345 .412    90    4.81
Baltimore    590   74  154  257  25  3  24   74  71 132   8  4  1  3  5   11 .261 .344 .436    89    5.18
Oakland    620   81  161  253  38  3  16   86  66 112  16  5  0  6  8   14 .260 .336 .408    86    4.73
LA Angels    636   86  173  274  27  1  24   88  48  91   8  2  1  5  2   17 .272 .323 .431    85    4.64
Detroit    602   83  153  268  26 10  23   98  66 116  12  6  2  7  2   19 .254 .326 .445    84    4.69
Cleveland    593   85  150  247  35  4  18   77  50 143  18  3  3  9  6   16 .253 .313 .417    77    4.33
Seattle    580   59  127  193  24  6  10   48  49 163  12  4  6  8  0    9 .219 .276 .333    55    2.99
As bad as he was last year - and let's be honest, folks, he was bad - Travis Snider was still no Brad Wilkerson. And Adam Lind had more ABs in LF than Snider did anyway. That's unlikely to happen in 2009, so the youngster needs to Step Up. He had trouble last season adjusting to his first real taste of Adversity and Failure, and seems to have shut out his coaches in the process. On the other hand, he appears to understand that that's what he did, which is encouraging. I think he's going to set a team record for strikeouts in the very near future, and the future begins now. Snider strikes out so often -ore than Adam Dunn - that I've worried about his future. He's not as good as Dunn was athe same age, but he's obviously young enough to improve a great deal, as we all fervently hope. Dunn didn't develop even one little bit from where he was at age 21, but he was already good enough to stay in the league anyway.

CENTRE FIELD   AB    R    H   TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
Detroit    656   98  167  303  24  8  32   77  77 148  20  6  3  2  3   2 .255 .335 .462   107    5.52
LA Angels    627   94  175  276  37  2  20  113  71 135  22  5  1  5 4   10 .279 .354 .440   101    5.64
Boston    677   99  200  274  27 10   9   66  51  89  70 13  6  6  6   17 .295 .347 .405    99    5.16
Cleveland    656   99  172  285  33  7  22   84  72 128  19 12  4  2 10   15 .262 .343 .434    96    4.99
Baltimore    655  103  180  291  29  5  24   94  52 129  12  5  2  8  7   17 .275 .331 .444    94    4.93
Texas    627   75  170  281  40  4  21   94  43 138  10  7  0 10 10   10 .271 .323 .448    90    4.90
AL AVERAGE    629   89  167  254  30  6  15   72  57 122  27  9  6  5  6   13 .265 .332 .404    84    4.55
Seattle    605   88  169  253  25  1  19   72  51 128  16  5 15  2  4   15 .279 .338 .418    84    4.75
NY Yankees    587   88  160  235  25  7  12   78  55  86  27  6 10  5  6   11 .273 .338 .400    83    4.77
Minnesota    601   99  162  219  27  9   4   57  57 121  24 10 15  6 11   4 .270 .341 .364    80    4.44
Toronto    656   87  169  260  37  3  16   69  54  98  18  4  0  6  1   20 .258 .312 .396    79    4.07
Oakland    632   85  177  240  34  4   7   65  43 101  39 11  3  9  9   21 .280 .330 .380    78    4.26
Tampa Bay    639   89  152  241  36  4  15   63  64 175  44 17  3  3  4   10 .238 .310 .377    76    3.92
Kansas City   595   80  144  204  21  9   7   43  64 108  31  6  9  3  5   12 .242 .319 .343    69    3.81
Chicago Sox   587   61  136  189  26  6   5   37  38 120  22 13 10  3  7   16 .232 .285 .322    51    2.79
What to expect from Vernon Wells? After examining the entrails of a number of defunct fowls, I... have no clue. None whatsoever. And neither do you. Whatever happens will be impossible to have honestly expected, which is fun in a weird kind of way. I mean, if we actually knew what was going to happen why would we even pay attention? Still, he was downright bad last season, and he's unlikely to be worse. This is our hope, and there's probably  still some talent there.

RIGHT FIELD    AB    R    H   TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
Seattle    693   96  239  321  35  4  13   54  42  81  27  9  3  3  4   1 .345 .384 .463   127    7.05
Cleveland    615   95  183  288  32  5  21   79  77 139  21  3  1  5 15   11 .298 .386 .468   117    6.84
Boston    578  104  163  303  34  5  32   88  87 138   3  6  1  4  5   11 .282 .378 .524   115    6.98
Minnesota    639  104  176  311  32  8  29   98  63 128   9  3  2  3 6   20 .275 .345 .487   103    5.62
Baltimore    656   94  192  295  45  2  18  101  57 101   6  2  0 10  3   12 .293 .347 .450   103    5.54
NY Yankees    585   93  146  281  36  0  33   89  98 143   2  1  3  6  5   17 .250 .359 .480   102    5.82
LA Angels    617  102  172  263  29  4  18  116  88 125  25  8  0 13  2   16 .279 .364 .426   100    5.55
AL AVERAGE    614   91  171  277  33  4  22 85 68 123 13 5 2 5 5 14 .278 .355 .451 98 5.55
Texas 610 91 161 287 34 1 30 92 63 140 23 5 1 4 2 14 .264 .333 .470 95 5.36
Oakland 602 92 171 261 36 3 16 76 68 134 9 8 1 4 3 10 .284 .357 .434 93 5.46
Chicago Sox 604 91 159 285 29 2 31 98 64 120 2 4 1 3 7 17 .263 .339 .472 93 5.28
Detroit 628 80 175 262 27 6 16 69 67 125 6 1 2 2 1 17 .279 .348 .417 90 5.03
Toronto 629 87 159 278 33 4 26 89 58 134 19 4 1 6 10 19 .253 .323 .442 88 4.72
Tampa Bay 533 68 138 228 39 3 15 79 70 118 14 7 3 7 0 10 .259 .341 .428 79 5.00
Kansas City 607 78 156 214 24 2 10 60 54 101 11 7 4 0 8 14 .257 .326 .353 69 3.84
It could have been even worse - Alex Rios might have been here all season long. Jose Bautista hit 9 HRs in 36 games and posted an .844 OPS in his late season turn as the right fielder last season, which boosted the team total above the Kansas City Experience. A full season of Bautista won't bring back memories of Jesse Barfield, but it should be just as good as the 2009 version of Alex Rios.

DH             AB    R    H   TB  2B 3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG  OBP  SLG    RC    RC/27
NY Yankees    576   93  156  285  26  2 33  106  81 108  4  2  0  4   5  10 .271 .363 .495  106    6.34
Minnesota    596   83  174  275  33  1 22   99  69 117   3  1  0  5   5  16 .292 .367 .461  101    6.00
Toronto    593   98  163  300  38  0 33   93  59 119   3  2  1  4   5  20 .275 .343 .506    98    5.73
LA Angels    622  104  184  292  31  1 25   93  46  99   7  2  3  1   4  25 .296 .348 .469    94    5.40
Chicago Sox   555   81  139  252  23  0 30   97  90 157   5  2  1  4   2  13 .250 .355 .454    92    5.55
Texas    595   99  144  292  32  1 38   97  57 136  18  4  2  2   4  11 .242 .312 .491    91    5.07
Oakland    573   93  144  240  24  0 24   81  85 170   7  2  0  4   5   7 .251 .351 .419    89    5.26
Cleveland    579   71  147  252  36  0 23   79  66 137   3  0  3  6   9  10 .254 .336 .435    87    5.06
Boston    576   83  136  256  35  2 27  103  81 145   1  2  0  7   6  11 .236 .333 .444    87    4.98
AL AVERAGE    581   83  148  258  29  1 26   89  69 132   4  2  1  4   5  13 .255 .339 .443    87    5.07
Baltimore    580   73  151  257  29  1 25   82  62 123   1  2  0  2   3  10 .260 .334 .443    86    5.06
Seattle    575   67  139  241  30  0 24   78  74 103   1  0  1  6   3  10 .242 .328 .419    82    4.70
Tampa Bay    549   73  134  222  23  1 21   90  77 141   3  0  1  8   4  11 .244 .337 .404    78    4.71
Detroit    588   73  144  223  26  1 17   65  67 127   4  2  0  5   5  12 .245 .325 .379    74    4.19
Kansas City   583   64  122  218  20  2 24   84  56 167   1  0  3  3   3  18 .209 .281 .374    59    3.20
Imagine how wonderful this would have been without the awesome work turned in by Kevin Millar, who hit an amazing .129/.247/.243 in his 70 ABs as the DH. Perhaps one shouldn't expect Adam Lind to be as thoroughly outstanding as he was in 2009 - I won't be moaning and gnashing my teeth if he hits .280 with 27 HRs and 95 RBI. But on the other hand... he turns 27 this July (so he should just be hitting his peak), not having to worry about defense definitely agrees with him (although it has its own peculiar entertainment value), and working for Cito Gaston certainly appears to have agreed with him. He could actually improve.

Hey! A happy thought to leave you with.

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