Performance is Easy, Under Performance Is Hard!

[DOUGHBOYS]

The subject title is a little misleading. If I had enough room to finish it, it would read, 'Performance is Easy, Under Performance is Hard On Their Owners!'
Anyway....
We are a week away from the half way point of the baseball season. We have more than enough data to start doling out awards.
Today, we'll be looking at the most disappointing hitters at each position. We'll only do hitters. Closers are too numerous to mention and Tim Lincecum is probably a runaway winner for the 'Worst pitcher Drafted in a High Round' award.
I took away season long injuries such as Ellsbury. It's disappointing that he's not playing and hurts his owners, but for the sake of this list, less than season long injuries are the only ones in play for these under achievers.

Catcher-

Carlos Santana .223/29/5/29/2
Alex Avila .234/19/5/20/2

I own Santana on a couple of teams including my Main team. You know a player is under performing when I give Santana a fist pump for grounding out with a runner on third. I've long said that the most overrated ability in Stats Ball is taking a walk. In Santana's case though, a walk is a small victory.

Avila has the excuse of being dinged. Owners don't give a rat's ass about excuses though.

A special mention to Geo Soto who is hitting .165 and has five homers. Soto has knocked himself in five times. Other Cubs, four times. Soto hits like a Geo and runs like a Kia.

First Base-

Adrian Gonzalez .266/36/6/40/0

While Albert Pujols was taking grief for not being Albert Pujols, Gonzalez was being consistent. Not consistently bad enough to get press, but consistently bad just the same.
Now that Pujols is again Pujols, Gonzalez is doing an Eric Hosmer dive.
Don't laugh, Gonzalez only has five more rbi than Hosmer.
Besides 14 points on his average, Mark Teixeira with bronchial problems has outperformed Gonzalez with clean lungs in every category.
Last year Gonzalez was an rbi machine, this year the machine broke and there are five CATCHERS that have as many or more rbi.

Being a high to middle first round choice, I give Gonzalez the first half underachiever MVP award.

Second Base-

Rickie Weeks .184/23/5/20/6
Jemile Weeks .221/30/2/11/11

The Drew bros have competition in under performance!
Rickie Weeks was going to be the leadoff hitter for the Brewers and score 100 runs. Now, he should be thankful he's in the lineup. Mario Mendoza is smiling somewhere.

Jemile was a chic speed pick. He may have to go back to judy school. His owners are not happy and if Weeks is sent back to the minors, it'll be judy's turn to cry.

Third Base-

Kevin Youkilis- .234/25/4/14/0

If you drafted him, you're not averse to risk. Or pusses.
Youkilis is a shell of his former self. You know, the guy that used to care about his at bats.
There are 246 Major League hitters with more rbi, including Juan Pierre and Ryan Theriot.
Sean Rodriguez has the same or better stats in four of five categories.
As far as making excuses for him, don't bother. He's a lot better at it than you are.

Shortstop-

Eric Aybar-

Yep, I own him too.
Like Rickie Weeks, he was gonna be the leadoff hitter and score 100 runs. But, he forgot the first rule to scoring 100 runs....getting on base.
Aybar has done that more lately, but the cow is out of the barn. Trout has taken his leadoff spot and ran away with it.
Stuck hitting at the bottom of the lineup, Aybar loses most of his fantasy persona and with it, his worthiness.
In 90 less at bats, Elliot Johnson has him tied or beat in every category.
Yuck.

Outfield-

Chris Young- .220/15/5/16/2
Cameron Maybin .201/35/3/22/16
Coco Crisp .211/17/4/14/15
Delmon Young .259/19/5/26/0
Brandon Belt .261/17/4/29/4

These are five 'toolsy' players. Figures they'd throw a wrench into owners plans.
Chris Young owners would never have dreamed Young would make this list. 'Mr April' was great till the injury, since then he's been hitting like Chris Young, the pitcher for the Mets.

Maybin has become a judy. A judy that flirts with Mario Mendoza is barely tolerable.

Coco Crisp has been more like Trix. Another poor hitting judy. There seems to be so many of them this year.

Brandon Belt is the RotoWorld poster boy. He's being given the chance that RotoWorld has longed for. Whenever he has a good game, they trumpet the fact. It hasn't happened often though. The 'Baby Giraffe' is a younger Aubrey Huff and that's not a nice thing to say about anybody.

Delmon Young- You know when a guy gets off stage and he's sweating after a show and the P.A. guy comes out and says, "That was So and So, one of the hardest working men in Showbiz!"
Delmon Young is not that guy.
Young went to the JD Drew school of 'What's in it for me?'
When Young wants to play, he'll play. When he doesn't, his owners pay the price.
Young hasn't wanted to play much this year.

So, there you have it. This year's leading list of under performers.
I know I have a couple of these guys on my team, I hope you don't.

[KJ Duke]

Post the ASB, you typically see a number of players turn it around in a big way. The mental break seems to trigger the latent ability. The mid-season lges are interesting because the guy who drafts an all-first half team typically gets crushed, while the bounce-back drafters have both boom and bust teams.

I think Adrian is about to heat up. Nice game today and I'll predict that he blows up in the second half. Add Cocopuffs to my H2 rebounders too.