Choppers relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel
Through most of the 2013 DTBL season, there was a fairly obvious line of demarcation between the contenders and the also-rans. Four teams had legitimate title aspirations most of the season, while the other six were left to build for the future. The Mavericks, Choppers and Naturals were not able to win the league, but to varying degrees, 2013 was a good season for them.
For the second consecutive year, the Mavericks missed winning the league championship by a single point. And the similarities between 2012 and 2013 don’t end there for the Mavericks. Just like 2012, they were the best team in the league in the second half of the season and possibly would have won both years if the season was a week longer. They erased the Kings double digit lead and briefly took over first place at the end of August. But injuries to key players down the stretch eventually did them in. A couple of those injuries could have a lingering effect on their 2014 campaign as well. They had to finish the season without the services of three of their best players: Matt Harvey, Manny Machado and Edwin Encarnacion. Since the season ended, the news hasn’t gotten any better regarding Harvey and Machado. Harvey eventually succumbed to Tommy John surgery and probably will not pitch next year. Machado underwent knee surgery that may not have him back in time for Opening Day. Encarnacion’s injury was less serious, but couldn’t have come at a worse time. He led the Mavericks in home runs and, at the time of the injury, was also the club leader in RBI.
Although they didn’t win the title, the 2013 Mavericks can lay claim to a couple impressive distinctions, arguably including the greatest pitching staff in league history. They broke the league record for lowest team ERA and WHIP. Their 2.63 club ERA smashed the record previously held by the 2011 Jackalope (2.83). In WHIP, they also bested the ’11 Jackalope mark 1.05 to 1.12. They were well on their way to breaking the strikeout record as well before the Harvey injury, but wound up falling nine strikeouts short of the total by the 2007 Mavericks. It is hard to imagine another team besting those team ERA and WHIP totals anytime soon. Harvey, Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg helped make up one of the most dominating rotations ever assembled. Kershaw and Harvey finished 1-2 in both ERA and WHIP. The offense wound up being a bit of a disappointment though, and ultimately was the reason they didn’t win the league. They will look to improve that group next year, particularly since it seems unlikely they will be able to duplicate this pitching performance.
Besides the Kings, the Choppers were probably the team most pleased with their 2013 season. They finished the season in third place, a height in which they had not reached since 2001. In fact, this is the first time they have finished in the top half of the standings since 2006. This was no fluke. They made significant improvements to their offense, and especially their pitching, to finish just nine points out of first place.
The Choppers led the league in home runs, RBI and saves. The saves title was extremely interesting since they spent a good portion of the year with a starting pitcher occupying one of their bullpen slots (Alexi Ogando). But Craig Kimbrel and Mariano Rivera more than made up for that. Their rotation was sneaky good as well. None of these guys got serious Cy Young hype, but Chris Sale, C.J. Wilson, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Jarrod Parker all had outstanding seasons. The staff accumulated 37 pitching points, only exceeded by the record breaking Mavericks. The Choppers offense wasn’t too shabby either. Finishing on top of the league in HR and RBI was a true team effort. Seven different Choppers hit at least 20 home runs while eight guys had 70+ RBI. Pedro Alvarez led the team in both categories (36, 100), and he was nearly matched by Mark Trumbo (34, 100). Also, Jayson Werth was one of the best hitters in the league in the second half of the season. This was a huge stepping stone season for the Choppers. They should enter 2014 as one of the top title contenders.
It is almost always a disappointment for a defending champion when they are unable to successfully defend that title. So the Naturals probably won’t remember this season fondly. However, this year’s squad really wasn’t that much worse than the team that won it all in dramatic fashion a year ago. In 2012, the Naturals won the league with 70.5 points. This year, they only dropped a handful of points down to 66, but that put them in a distant fourth place. Their offense actually earned them more points than a year ago. But because of the emergence of a few other teams’ pitching staffs, the Naturals took a bit of a dive.
Just like last year, the Naturals offense was carried by strong MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera led the league in batting average and finished second behind Chris Davis in both home runs and runs batted in. Interestingly enough, it was batting average that kept him from winning the DTBL triple crown a year ago, a feat he did accomplish in the American League in ’12. Andrew McCutchen further entrenched himself as one of the game’s best hitters this year too. But besides those two players, the Naturals lacked that third dominating player they needed to make a serious title run. As mentioned, the pitching staff took a hit this year. Matt Cain was the biggest disappointment. Mid-season injuries to Zack Greinke and David Price proved costly as well. The Naturals most consistent pitcher from start to finish this year was the under-appreciated Jordan Zimmermann who finished second in the league with 19 wins. The Naturals don’t need to do much to return to the top next year. Perhaps they will focus on building depth in case they face another injury plagued season in 2014.
The final part of my 2013 season review will examine the six teams who were not serious title contenders this year. Look for that sometime late next week. I hope you have been enjoying these baseball playoffs. It has been one of the most exciting Octobers I can recall, with nearly every game coming down to the final pitches. Let’s hope for more of the same the next couple weeks!