The Hands on Runs statistic determines how much weight an individual player carries in his line-up. Which players were most valuable to their team now that the 2008 season is over?
There will definitely be no A-Rod World Series opt out announcement and it is unlikely that a near $100M deal will be hashed out at a fast food restaurant, but the free agent class for 2009 contains a whole host of current All-Stars, former All-Stars, salvage cases and at least one future Hall of Famer.
The story of Albert Belle can be summed up in one word: controversy. His talent on the field was matched by very few, and his propensity to deal with the media the way he did, made national headlines.
RealGM Search
By Christopher Reina
At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effectively teams are performing. We combine the position players and pitchers' FIC scores to measure which teams have played the best so far in 2008.
Team: FIC Per Game Total (FIC Position Players/FIC Pitchers)
1. Chicago Cubs: 19.1 (8.6, 10.5)
The Cubs are batting .301 with an .882 OPS against the Brewers this season.
2. Boston Red Sox: 19.0 (8.7, 10.3)
Jason Bay has a 1.351 OPS in three games with the Red Sox.
3. Philadelphia Phillies: 18.2 (8.4, 9.8)
Joe Blanton has a 4.80 ERA in his three starts since coming to the Phillies.
4. New York Yankees: 18.0 (8.2, 9.8)
Xavier Nady is hitting .385/.467/.846 with three homers and 10 RBIs in eight games with the Yankees.
5. Chicago White Sox: 17.9 (8.1, 9.8)
Ken Griffey is batting 3-for-7 since Thursday’s trade.
6. New York Mets: 17.8 (8.1, 9.7)
Sunday’s left fielder Nick Evans has a .570 OPS.
7. Texas Rangers: 17.5 (9.2, 8.3)
Jarrod Saltalamacchia looked like a can’t miss prospect but is hitting just .235/.340/.343 with three homers this season.
8. St. Louis Cardinals: 17.2 (8.1, 9.1)
Chris Carpenter is back and gave up one earned run in four innings in his first start.
9. Tampa Bay Rays: 16.9 (6.2, 10.7)
Eric Hinske has been an unsung part of the Rays’ resurgence; he has a .508 slugging percentage and 16 homers.
10. Los Angeles Angels: 16.9 (6.2, 10.8)
Mark Teixeira is batting .222/.391/.389 since coming to the Angels, and his grand slam on Sunday nearly allowed the club to steal the series from the Yankees.
11. Minnesota Twins: 16.7 (7.1, 9.6)
How are the Twins in first place? Nick Blackburn and his 2.45 July ERA, plus Scott Baker and Glen Perkins combined to go 7-2 during the month.
12. Detroit Tigers: 16.4 (8.0, 8.4)
Justin Verlander was 4-2 in July but had a 4.70 ERA.
13. Milwaukee Brewers: 16.3 (6.4, 9.9)
The Brewers are still a little shell shocked following the Cubs’ series, but they are 18-12 in their last 30 games.
14. Toronto Blue Jays: 16.3 (6.2, 10.1)
Jays’ designated hitters have combined for an OPS of just .696 this season. This is almost half of what Barry Bonds once averaged in those prolific first few seasons of the decade.
15. Baltimore Orioles: 16.2 (7.6, 8.6)
The Orioles decided to keep George Sherill, and it’s hard to fully understand why when he has a 4.23 ERA and is 31 years old.
16. Atlanta Braves: 15.6 (6.7, 8.9)
Injuries have decimated the Braves, and they are truly at a crossroads, but Jair Jurrjens’ 3.06 ERA has made the Renteria trade look very good.
17. Houston Astros: 15.5 (6.5, 9.0)
Wandy Rodriguez continues to get better, and with a 3.61 ERA, he has been Houston’s best starter.
18. Pittsburgh Pirates: 15.3 (7.2, 8.1)
Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have a 6.14 and 6.57 ERA respectively making their chances of competing very difficult, and hence they traded away two-thirds of their outfield to the Red Sox and Yankees.
19. Colorado Rockies: 15.2 (6.7, 8.4)
Here comes the NL West, and can the Rockies be the dark horse again? After a slow start Matt Holliday is now batting .347 with 21 homers. More promising is Troy Tulowitzki batting .440 in 50 second half at bats (his career split is an .841 OPS in the second half and .710 in the first half).
20. Los Angeles Dodgers: 14.7 (4.7, 10.0)
Manny may have an unreal 1.769 OPS in his 13 at bats with the Dodgers so far, but Casey Blake’s .976 in 33 isn’t too bad either.
21. Arizona Diamondbacks: 14.6 (4.7, 9.8)
The Big Unit hasn’t given up an earned run in 20 innings in the second half as he’s using a 90 MPH fastball and his reliable slider.
22. Cincinnati Reds: 14.5 (5.6, 8.9)
Tired arm? Edinson Volquez has a 5.87 ERA in three starts in the second half.
23. Cleveland Indians: 14.4 (5.9, 8.5)
Travis Hafner has hit just 11 homers over the past 365 days.
24. Florida Marlins: 14.2 (5.1, 9.2)
The Marlins overplayed their hand in the Manny talks, and although Jeremy Hermida has a .911 OPS in the second half, he continues to strike out too much.
25. Kansas City Royals: 14.0 (4.9, 9.1)
Scrapper Miguel Olivo has a .770 OPS this season, a full hundred points higher than his mark last season with the Marlins.
26. Seattle Mariners: 13.5 (5.3, 8.2)
Like the Jays, the Mariners have struggled to get production out of the DH slot. They have combined for an OPS of .575.
27. Oakland Athletics: 12.8 (3.4, 9.4)
The A’s are batting .245, which is dead last in the AL, but at least it’s better than Nick Swisher’s .230.
28. San Francisco Giants: 12.7 (3.4, 9.3)
After his stellar eight inning, no run performance on Saturday, Barry Zito has a 4.12 ERA over his past four starts.
29. Washington Nationals: 11.1 (3.1, 8.0)
John Lannon may not strike out a lot of batters, but he has a 3.61 ERA and is still just 23.
30. San Diego Padres: 11.0 (2.4, 8.6)
Adrian Gonzalez would be an MVP candidate if he played in another park for a contender as he’s hitting .316/.369/.604 away from Petco.
