#5 Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have the 5th highest payroll in baseball, over $115 million, which is more than the LA Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Tigers have a great coach in Jim Leyland, but Tigers underachieved throughout the entire season. The late season collapse has now landed the Tigers into a tie for the AL central title with the Minnesota Twins team who spends only $65 million for payroll. Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander have played at a high level and the Tigers are highly talented, but the team has been uninspired and a disappointment whether they make the playoffs or not. A World Series appearance can save the season for the Tigers If Detroit wins the AL Central, the Tigers will be seen as huge underdogs against the NY Yankees, not because the Yankees are so great, but due to the fact that the Tigers have been playing so poorly.
#4 Prince Fielder
The prince of the national league lost big by trying to resolve a conflict with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the clubhouse after the game had ended. ESPN made sure to run the clip over and over and over so that every viewer was convinced that Prince Fielder was just a thug on the inside. That’s how they do with minorities in baseball, they build you up, only to tear you down shortly after. (See recent news on Miguel Cabrera)
#3 The Washington Nationals
The Nats have a pretty new stadium and no one to play in it. Nats tickets are of the same value as those grocery store coupons I find I my mailbox once a week. The team is so bad that the biggest story of the year for them was signing Strasburg, the star pitcher from SDSU, and he threatened to stay out the league for a year to avoid going to such a terrible team. The Nats have a national following and the league is more exciting when the Nats are competitive.
#2 The Chicago Cubs and NY Mets
Representing 2 of the biggest 3 markets in baseball, the Cubs and Mets have come through in disappointing their expansive fan base once again. The Cubs competed to a degree, the Mets did not. Perhaps the Mets did the right thing by laying down since they share a division with the world champion Philadelphia Phillies, but when you have the 2nd highest payroll in baseball at $150 million, you cannot lay down for any reason. The Cubs are not much better since they have the 3rd highest payroll in baseball. These teams should be rolling through teams like the Yankees, and instead they get rolled like a croissant. The Mets brought in a fat K-Rod to close games that don’t matter. The stunning lineup of Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado does not exactly strike fear into NL opponents. The Cubs are closer to success than the Mets, but the Cubs have to do something about the championship drought they have had. It is starting to take on a life of its own and I’m afraid that I will never see the Cubs win a championship in my lifetime. I will quit drinking so that they can get an extra 10+ years to try to win before I join Black Jesus in heaven.
#1 Clean Baseball Players
Steroid use was once again another headline issue for the MLB in 2009. A-Rod admitted his steroid use, which left little hope for any power hitter from the steroid era, including Ken Griffey Jr. The general public was shaken only because A-Rod is such a huge name in baseball and he appears to be the heir apparent to the all-time homerun crown.
Then Manny failed a steroid test and had to sit 50 games during the season. The response to Manny was inaudible because we have become so accustomed to this news, that it is no longer important to us. Manny got some vacation time and lost hardly any fans in the process. If he continues to hit the ball, the Dodgers can easily overlook his steroid suspension. After Manny got popped, confidential government documents were leaked identifying David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, A-Rod, and others as steroid users in 2003. With David Ortiz struggling mightily due to lack of his steroid spinach, the news only reiterated that our favorite power hitters before 2007 are most likely serious steroid users. Ortiz was not much of a shock, except for the fact that he was very public about how clean he was and how steroid users should be severely punished. Now, the only clean players who come off as cleans are the ones who entered the league within the past several years when testing was already in effect. Everyone else including fan favorites like Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. are presumed guilty and must prove themselves innocent to receive any sympathy.