With an 80-82 record the Florida Marlins finished in third place in the National League East. Sure this might be everyone’s favorite team to hate, with the worst owner but on the field they are not that bad. They went 37-35 against their divisional opponents, and that includes a 5-13 record against the Philadelphia Phillies. They also went 7-8 in inter league play which is actually good for a NL club. They spent one day with a share of first place, but before the off season moves they felt like a better than average MLB team.

The Marlins offense scored 719 runs, which was 7th best among the 16 NL teams. Their team batting average was just .245, and only disgruntled Hanley Ramirez hit .300 for the season. They racked up 152 home runs on 1,403 hits. Their batters struck out just 1,375 times, second least in the NL, and they drew 514 walks.

When we first look at the numbers the pitching staff also looks to be a tad above average, but they did have a 4.09 ERA and the was the 9th highest in the senior league. Four of their five regular starters had double digit victories and finished with a winning record. However they only struck out 1,168 batters, and walked just 549. That seems to suggest that they throw strikes that opponents are putting into play. Behind the pitching staff the defense may be an issue.

Now Dan Uggla is gone, and this team looks for answers. They have added Javier Vazquez to the starting rotation for one year, and owner Jeff Loria promises more moves. If they make the right moves they sit in a winnable division, but these are the Marlins after all.

Related Links:

• Florida Marlins news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Florida Marlins season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a 97-65 record the Philadelphia Phillies won the National League East. They would go on to lose the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants in six games. However this is a very good baseball team who spent just 68 days in first place and built a seven game lead. They did so by going 44-28 against their divisional opponents and 10-8 in inter league play. However they had just a 9-9 record versus the New York Mets, and a horrible 2-4 record against everyone’s favorite Triple A team the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Their offense was quite good as they scored 772 runs second best among NL clubs, and finished in the top five in the other key offensive categories. Only one of their regular nine starters finished the year with a BA over .300 but as a team they hit .260. They struck out just 1,064 times the tenth fewest among the 16 senior circuit clubs. They were able to draw the fourth most walks with 560. This is a team that does not waste at bats and that is a key part to their success.

The pitching staff was quite good and the staff ERA was 3.68. None of their starting pitchers had a losing record, three of them had double digit wins, and mid season pick up Roy Oswalt went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA. They only racked up 1,183 strike outs, just 9th best in the NL but walked the fewest batters with 416. Two of their starters threw more than 200 innings, and this is a very aggressive pitching staff.

It seems the only thing this club could use is a left handed reliever, of course that could change depending on what happens with Jayson Werth. The club has offered him arbitration but he is a hot commodity and may end up signing with another team.

Related Links:

• Philadelphia Phillies news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Philadelphia Phillies season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a 66-96 record the Baltimore Orioles finished in last place in the American League East. They spent no days in first place, and at their worst they were 36 games behind the divisional lead. They were never over .500 and at their worst they were 41 games under. They got their manger fired, but Buck Showalter actually finished the year with a winning record at 34-23. They went just 24-48 against their divisional rivals. However they were 9-9 against the Boston Red Sox.

On the offensive side of things the Orioles scored the fewest runs (613) in the American League. They hit the fifth fewest home runs, and collected 1,440 hits. As a team they hit just .259. None of the regular nine starters hit .300 for the year, but RF Nick Markakis and DH Luke Scott came pretty close. All in all this team has some talent, and it seems Showalter gets the most out of them.

Things do not get much better for the pitching staff. They had the second least amount of wins at 66, and the staff ERA was the second worst in the AL at 4.59. They did strike out 1,007 batters, but they also walked 520 batters. They also gave up the second most hits in the AL at 1,508. While two of their regular five starters did have double digit victories, none of them finished with a winning record.

This is a team that is in desperate need of upgrading their talent, sure they have some but one or two guys cannot carry a MLB team. I really admire the job Showalter has done there, and if they get him some talent they may be able to compete in the AL East sooner rather than later.

Related Links:

• Baltimore Orioles news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Baltimore Orioles season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With an 85-77 record the Toronto Blue Jays finished 4th in the American League East. Think about that that is almost a good enough record to win a division in today’s MLB, and the Blue Jays come home 4th. For a team that is rebuilding a winning record was the ultimate goal. Now they can get better and start to really compete in this division. This team took care of business against the Orioles going 15-3 against them, but went just 24-30 against the other divisional rivals. They did spend 8 days in first place, but this is a team headed in a new direction so the 85 wins were good enough for 2010.

The Blue Jays did rack up 755 runs, on 1,364 hits. Their team batting average was just .248 and that was tied for 12th amongst the 14 American League clubs. The real knock here is they hit the most home runs, 257, of any team in their league. Had they been able to have more men on base for those home runs they might have had an even better record. Not one of the regular nine starters finished with a BA over .300 and that is certainly a concern.

The Blue Jays pitching staff gave up 728 runs and the staff ERA was 4.23 the 10th highest ERA in the AL. Four of the regular five starting pitchers had double digit victories and none of them finished with a losing record. Those are all good indicators that this team is actually pretty good. They struck out 1,184 hitters; the third most of AL clubs, and issued 539 walks. Their closer Kevin Gregg converted 37 saves.

All in all the numbers look very encouraging for this team. They are a team looking to make a mark in the toughest division in baseball, but finishing with a winning record in said division is a big accomplishment. We shall see how this team adds to their core to continue making big strides.

Related Links:

• Toronto Blue Jays news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Toronto Blue Jays season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a 96-66 record the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League East. They spent a total of 86 days in first place, and built a high six game lead. They did so by going 43-30 against the other teams in their division and by beating up on teams in the American League Central. That helped them over come their 7-11 record in inter league play. They started off very hot, got hotter in the summer months, and cooled a bit in September going just 13-14 that month. It seems they had a real potential to run away with this division.

It is not the Tampa Bay offense that led to these wins. In fact the team batting average was just .247 second worst amongst the 14 AL teams. They did score 802 runs, the third best AL mark. They did so by collecting 1,343 hits (the second least amount in the AL) and hitting 160 home runs. Only Carl Crawford hit above .300 for the season of their regular nine position players. In fact 1B Carlos Pena hit less than .200 for the year.

The pitching staff of the Rays is the real story. They won the most games (96) among AL squads and their staff ERA was 3.78 the second best AL number. They struck out the second most batters, and walked the third fewest. That is a large reason why they allowed just 649 runs. All of their regular five starters had double digit victories, and all but James Shields finished with a winning record. Their closer, Rafael Soriano, converted 45 saves.

It looks like the Rays will lose Crawford this off season, and significantly shake up their lineup due to its poor performance in 2010. Let us also not forget they did get defeated in the divisional round of the playoffs so a serous upgrade is needed to keep pace with the Yankees and Red Sox.

Related Links:

• Tampa Bay Rays news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Tampa Bay Rays season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With an 89-73 record the Boston Red Sox finished third in the American League East. If it were not for the other teams in the AL, and a 13-5 Inter League record the Red Sox would have finished a whole lot worse. They went 9-9 against the Yankees, 7-11 against the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-9 against the sad Baltimore Orioles, but kicked but against teh Blue Jays with a 12-6 record. Even though they finished with a winning record there are some holes on this team, and they are in danger of being passed up by their divisional rivals.

They did score 818 runs, which was second best amongst the American League teams. They also hit 211 home runs also second best, but we have to factor in their ball park in that number. They racked up 1,511 hits which was fifth amongst the 14 AL clubs, and had a team batting average of .268 which was sixth best. They also had the most at bats which can explain some of these numbers, but three of their regular nine did finish with a BA over .300.

Pitching may be a concern here. They did have three of their regular five starters finish with a winning record, but the back end of the rotation is a concern. The fourth and fifth guys went just 18-22 and all had an ERA well over four. The staff ERA was 4.20, just 9th best of 14 AL teams. They did strike out the most batters with 1,207 but they also walked the most batters with 580.

There does not seem to be many easy answers for this club. They are pretty good, but play in a stacked division. That means they have to spend money like the Yankees, and hope they have spent it wisely. They also need to beat up on the Orioles when they have the chance to; those are like free games in this division.

Related Links:

• Boston Red Sox news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Boston Red Sox season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a 95-67 record the New York Yankees finished second in the American League East, and advanced as far as the ALCS before losing to the Texas Rangers in six games. Things may look all rosy from the outside, but when we look at the numbers maybe there is a reason to be concerned in pin stripe land. The Yankees had a losing record against two of their division rivals. They went just 9-10 against the Tampa Bay Rays, and 8-10 against the Toronto Blue Jays. They also only managed a 9-9 record against the Boston Red Sox. Sure they got a 13-5 record against the Baltimore Orioles and a 11-7 record in Inter League play, but their division is catching up to them.

The Yankee offense scored 859 runs, they most in the American League. However their team batting average was .267 just seventh among the 14 AL clubs. Only second baseman Robinson Cano finished the season with a better than .300 batting average. They hit the third most home runs in the AL with 201, and racked up 1,485 hits which was just sixth best in the junior circuit. They struck out 1,136 times and drew 662 walks.

All five of their regular starting pitchers ended up with double digit wins, and all of them had a winning record save Javier Vazquez who went 10-10. The Staff ERA was 4.06 seventh best in the AL. They struck out 1,154 batters and walked 540 of them. They surrendered 1,349 hits which was the third lowest total in the American League. In the end just 639 runners crossed home plate to score.

It seems the Yankees are showing us how to win in the modern day. Today pitching rules all, it also helps if their offense is giving their team a lead to work with. This team was 35-17 in blowout wins, meaning a win by five or more runs. So while pitching rules all, a team has to be able to score runs and score them in bunches.

Related Links:

• New York Yankees news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 New York Yankees season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With a record of 81-81 the Oakland A’s finished 2nd in the American League West. It is easy to see how they did so with a 30-25 record against their divisional opponents, some strong starting pitching, and a 16-12 record in May. Those are pretty good numbers for a team that may be on the rise. However they were not good enough to catch the Texas Rangers, and were pretty disappointing in interleague play with just an 8-10 record. However they played strong the second half of the season and we may see that roll into 2011.

The problems with the A’s seem to lay with the offense. They scored just 663 runs, which was only the 11th highest total of the 14 AL clubs. Their team batting average was just .256, and none of their regular nine starters hit .300 for the year. They racked up 1,396 hits, but only 513 of them were extra base hits and they only had 109 home runs. That was the second lowest HR total in the AL.

Pitching on this team is not the problem as they had the best AL staff ERA at 3.58. They also surrendered the least amount of hits in the AL with just 1315. They struck out 1,070 batters, and issued 512 walks. That seems to indicate that had this team scored a few more runs they would have had a far better record. Three of their starting five pitchers had double digit victories, and their closer converted 25 saves. This could indicate an issue in their bull pen.

Again this is a team that proves it is how one spends their money, not how much of it they spend. Think about it like this, they spent 70 million dollars less than the Detroit Tigers, and ended up with the same 81-81 record.

Related Links:

• Oakland A’s news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Oakland A’s season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With an 80-82 record, the Los Angeles Angels finished third in the American League West. At the start of the season they seemed to be on track to win a division title. They went 44-36 through the first three months of the season, but then in July they bottomed out and went just 9-17. They never recovered from that losing stretch even though considering they played their divisional opponents pretty tough. Beyond their 9-10 record against the Texas Rangers, they went 26-12 against the other members of their division. Of course in Major League Baseball it maters when you win those games.

When we start to look at how this team performed on the field we see why they wound up with a losing record. As a team they scored just 681 runs (9th amongst the 14 AL clubs), and did not have one regular starter bat over .300 for the year. The team BA was only .248 tied with Cleveland for 10th best team BA in the AL. They racked up just 1,363 hits, and that explains a lot of their lack of run production. This looks to be a team that could use a power hitter or two.

At the Trading Deadline the pitching staff was the concern, especially the bottom half of the rotation and they added Dan Haren. However he went just 5-4 for the Angels and did not provide the impact this club needed. As a staff they had a 4.04 ERA which was the sixth best AL staff ERA. However, this staff walked 565 batters the third most in the AL, and that is a big reason why they gave up 702 runs on 1,422 hits.

It is hard to find the fix for the Angels. In today’s MLB pitching rules all and they have one of the best in Ervin Santana. Of course Jered Weaver had a down year, and Dan Haren didn’t give them the boost they were hoping for. I would like to see them add a bat, and another starting pitcher.

Related Links:

• Los Angeles Angels news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Los Angeles Angels season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

What can we say about the 2010 American League Champions? They spent 136 days in first place, won their division after building an 11 game lead through the fall, but really kind of struggled through the season. The key month here is June where they went 21-6; otherwise their, monthly win/loss record was right around .500. They were just 32-25 against the other three teams of the American League West, but had a 14-4 record in inter league play. They won just 90 games, but they have proven just getting to the post season should be the goal, once there anything can happen.

The Texas offense did score 787 runs, and that was the 4th best number among the 14 AL teams. Their team BA was an American League best .276, and they struck out 986 times and drew 511 walks. This means they did not waste a lot of at bats, and when an offense can get on base good things tend to happen. Three of their regular nine starters hit better than .300, and two of those men (Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero) each drove in more than 100 runs.

Of course this team was helped by the mid season trade for Cliff Lee. However he did go just 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA for the Rangers. As a staff they had the third best staff ERA at 3.93 in the American League. They struck out 1,181 batters, which was the fourth best number in the AL. They issued just 551 walks, and gave up 1,355 hits. Of those only 687 crossed home plate. Their closer, Neftali Feliz, converted 40 saves and had a 2.73 ERA.

While 2010 was a great year, with new ownership in place and a financial up swing due to their deep post season run, the Rangers can spend more money on their payroll. They spent some 86 million in 2010, and that number is sure to go up. If they can spend it in the right way this could be a very good team for a very long time.

Related Links:

• Texas Rangers news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Texas Rangers season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

The 2010 Kansas City Royals never spent a day in first place, worse than that they never spent one day of the 2010 season with a better than .500 record. They ended up finishing last in the American League Central by 27 games. They did not have a winning record in any month the closest they came was a 13-14 record in June. They went 5-13 against the Minnesota Twins, and just 24-30 against the other teams in their division. They also only managed an 8-10 record in inter league play.

The Royals offense was able to push across 676 runs, and that was just 10th best among the 14 AL clubs. The offense was led by 1B Billy Butler and RF David Dejesus who both hit .318 for the year. Butler Billy hit 15 home runs and drove in 78 runs, while Dejesus hit 5 home runs and drove in 37 runs in just 91 games. Royals hitters struck out an American League high 905 times, and drew just 471 walks.

The news does not get any better on the pitching side of things. Their staff had an American League high 4.97 staff ERA. Of their starting five only Bruce Chen finished the season with a winning record. Not one of their starting pitchers, including Zach Greinke, finished with an ERA under four. That is a major problem. Their closer, Joakim Soria, did convert 43 saves and had an ERA of 1.78.

The problems of the Royals are directly tied to their payroll. They spent just south of 60 million dollars on payroll in 2010, and have just 37.8 million committed to payroll in 2011. Of course since they sold just only half their 2010 ticket inventory it becomes hard to argue for them to jack up the payroll, but I guarantee you this if they got some talent, and won some games the ticket sales would go way up.

Related Links:

• Kansas City Royals news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Kansas City Royals season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

Another tough year for Cleveland Indians fans. Overall they wound up 69-93 and finished fourth in the American League Central. They never spent a day in first place, and wound up 25 games behind the division winning Minnesota Twins. The only glimmer of hope is they finished September with a winning record. It was the only month in which they had a winning record. While they did go a miserable 6-12 against the Twins, they did have a 38-26 record against the other four teams in their division. Of course that is balanced out with a 5-13 record in inter league play.

The Indians offense managed to score just 646 runs, which was 12th among the 14 AL teams. Shin-Soo Choo was the only regular starter to have a batting average about .300 at exactly .300. It would not surprise you to learn they struck out 1184 times, second most among the AL clubs. Their lineup also featured two regular starters who did not hit .200 in 2010. Quite simply the offense is a mess, and the team once again has some rebuilding to do.

Their pitching staff gave up 752 runs, and the team ERA was 4.30 tied for 10th among AL teams. Of course the news gets worse. Not one of their five regular starters finished the 2010 season with a winning record. They rank in the bottom third in each key stat category among the AL teams. Only Josh Tomlin who started just 12 games ended up with a winning record at 6-4.

This was Manny Acta’s first year as the Indians manger, and he has a three year contract. I would say he needs to do a lot better in 2011 to see the third year of that deal. Otherwise fixing this team seems like a Herculean task. They need, well everything so they must pick a spot and start building. In today’s MLB pitching rules the day so maybe that is where they should begin.

Related Links:

• Cleveland Indians news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Cleveland Indians season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

At 88-74 the Chicago White Sox finished second in the American League Central. In all they spent 27 days in first place, and even built up a 3.5 game lead. They got off to a slow start, played very well over the summer months and they trailed off again down the stretch. Their big problem was they could not beat up on their division rivals. They only had a winning record against the Royals as they went 10-8. Among the rest of the AL Central teams they were just 22-32 including a disastrous 5-13 record versus the division winning Twins.

On offense they were able to score 752 runs for seventh best among the AL clubs. Their offense was led by 1B Paul Konerko who batted .312, with 39 home runs and 111 RBI. As a team they collected 1,467 hits, with 561 of those being for extra bases. They struck out 922 times, and drew 467 walks. This seems to indicate that they need some power in their lineup.

Their pitching staff gave up 704 runs, and the staff ERA was 4.09 8th best amongst AL staffs. They did have four starters earn double digit wins, but three of them also had double digit losses. John Danks was probably their best starter he went 15-11 with a 3.72 ERA. In all they struck out 1,149 batters and issued 490 walks. Their closer, Bobby Jenks, converted 27 saves and had a 4.44 ERA.

It seems that they White Sox are in the same situation as the Detroit Tigers. Both are clearly behind the Minnesota Twins, and clearly ahead of the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians. On top of that it looks like they need the same kind of pieces for 2011. That could make things very interesting this off season.

Related Links:

• Chicago White Sox news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Chicago White Sox season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Minnesota Twins had a pretty good year in their new ball park. They won 94 games, won the American League Central division, and made the playoffs. This team spent 127 days in first place, built a lead as big as 12 games, and went 48-26 after the all star break to lock down the divisional title. They did so by beating up on their divisional rivals; they only went 9-9 against the Detroit Tigers but were 38-16 against the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Kansas City Royals.

The Twin offense is led by Catcher Joe Mauer. He has another great year as he hit .327 with 9 home runs and 75 RBI. As a team they scored 781 runs for fifth best among the 14 AL clubs. Their team BA was .273 good enough for third amongst the AL teams. However they only hit 142 home runs and that is certainly due to their new home and not playing in the homer dome. The really good number here is they struck out only 967 times while drawing 559 walks.

Their pitching staff gave up 671 runs, and the staff ERA was 3.95. They were led by Carl Pavano who went 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA.  As a staff they had the least amount of walks (383) of the entire American League. They struck out 1,048 batters which was just the 10th best number among AL staffs. Their closer, Joe Rauch, converted 21 saves and had a 3.12 ERA.

All in all this is a pretty solid club. Let us not forget they played half the season without Justin Morneau. However the Twins are proving that one of the better ways to win in the AL is with a strong rotation and great defense. This team gave up 1,493 hits, but only allowed 671 of those runners to come around to score.  That is a very impressive number.

Related Links:

• Minnesota Twins news and notes
• The Business of Major League Baseball
• Joshua Lobdell.com

2010 Minnesota Twins season in review is a post from: The Inquisitr

With an 11-5 record it seems that the Green Bay Packers are well on the road to success. However, a wild card round shootout loss to the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 51-45 suggest there is still some work to do. The main need of this team is to find some protection for QB Aaron Rodgers, and then to continue the defensive upgrades. It should not be a ton of work if done in the correct manner. This team is pretty close to being a serious contender again.

The 2009 Packer offense scored 461 points or 28.8 per game. That was good enough for the third best offense in the NFL. Despite being sacked 50 times Rodgers was able to complete 64.7% of his passes. He threw for 4,434 yards, with 30 touch downs, and just seven interceptions. Brett Favre’s replacement is really that good. On the ground this team gained 1,885 yards led by the 1,235 yards of Ryan Grant. Beyond the Offensive line, this team has few issues on offense.

The Defense is pretty good as well, they gave up 297 points or 18.6 points per game, and they were the seventh best 2009 NFL defense. The best stat about his defense is their take away differential it was +24 easily he best in 2009. This is a defense that attacks the ball, and knows how to force their opponent to make mistakes. That stat is also a testament to Rodgers who does not turn ball over.

In the end 50 sacks is way too many, especially for a QB who could pick apart a defense if he had the chance too. The Packers must address their Offensive line, either in free agency or via the draft or Rodgers career could be a very shot one.
 
Related Links:

•Green Bay Packers news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Free Agents
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•NFL Complete.com

2009 NFL season in review: Green Bay Packers is a post from: The Inquisitr

A 10-6 record and Wild Card Playoff birth would be enough to satisfy most NFL fans, in most NFL cities. However, for the New England Patriots and their fans it is somewhat of an under achievement. This is a great football team in almost every way, and the bar for them has been set very high. Sure they won their division, but a first round elimination at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens isn’t good, and given the fact that they lost that game 33-14 suggests that there is some work to do on this roster.

The 2009 Patriot offense scored 427 points or 26.7 points per game. That was good enough for the sixth best 2009 NFL offense. QB Tom Brady completed 65% of his passes and threw for 4,398 yards, 28 touch downs, with just 13 interceptions. WR Wes Welker caught 123 of those passes and Randy Moss caught 83. More impressive than that is six patriots caught 20 passes last year. On the ground they gained 1,921 yard led by Lawrence Maroney and his 757 yards.

On the other hand the Patriot defense gave up just 285 points, or 17.8/game, and that means they outscored their opponents on average by more than a touchdown. How they got blown out in the playoffs seems to lie with the late season injury to Welker. Otherwise this is a team that should have had a far better showing in 2009. All the numbers look good even their take away differential of +6 was 8th best in the NFL last year.

Given all these facts we have to conclude that the Patriots offense is too focused on one player. They could update their defense, but it seems they need a few more playmakers on offense. Maybe some help on the offensive line to help open up the running game some. The point here is there is no glaring need, but an opportunity to tweak the roster to get further in the layoffs in 2010.

Related Links:

•New England Patriots news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Free Agents
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•NFL Complete

2009 NFL season in review: New England Patriots is a post from: The Inquisitr

Oh man do I want to rip the Bengals up and down, but the simple facts here are they had a 10-6 record and made the playoffs and NFL fans in Detroit cannot afford to throw rocks. All season, I sat in my office and awaited the Bengals inevitable collapse. I had the over under on that at week 12. However in the end it seems that a tragic death destroyed this team, not the usual misconduct by the players on the roster. Losing Chris Henry really affected this team, and not even I can bag on the dead.

The 2009 Bengals offense scored 305 points, or 19.1points/game. That was good enough for just 22nd among the 32 NFL teams. For an offense featuring Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, and for part of the season Larry Johnson that is somewhat low. Carson did complete 60% of his passes for 3,094 yards, 21 touch downs, and just 13 interceptions. On the ground this team gained 2,056 yards led by Chris Benson and his over 1,200 yards.

The Bengals defense gave up 291 points, or 18.2/game. That was good enough for the sixth best defense in the NFL, and it underscores the need for the Bengals to score more points. With the offense they already have in place they should be blowing teams out of the water, and their defense is solid should be holding teams to 18 points per game, like they did in 2009.

With all that being said it is hard to fathom how the Bengals were not bigger players in 2009. Sure losing Henry set this team back, but this is a very talented roster that should have been able to rise above that. That seems to indicate that it is that time for Head Coach Marvin Lewis to move to a new team. While the Bengals could use some more weapons for Palmer and the offense, it is Lewis’ failings to get the most out of this team that is holding it back.
 
Related Links:

•Cincinnati Bengals news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Free Agents
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•NFL Complete

2009 NFL Season in review: Cincinnati Bengals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Alas we come to the last team that failed to qualify for the 2009 NFL playoffs. The Houston Texans are a tough team to figure out. They seem to be a whole lot better on paper than their yearly record indicates. Of course playing in a division with the Indianapolis Colts is not exactly the easiest way to get into the playoffs. At 9-7 this was the first winning season in Houston Texans history, and if they continue to get better, as they have over the last few years, they will be in the playoffs very soon.

The 2009 Texans scored 388 points or 24.2 points/game. That was good enough for the 10th best offense in the NFL in 2009. QB Matt Schaub completed nearly 70% of his passes. He threw for 4,770 yards, 29 touch downs, while throwing just 15 interceptions. By far his favorite target was Andre Johnson who got 101 passes in 2009 for 1,569 yards and scored nine touch downs. On the ground the Texans gained 1,475 yards as a team, led by Steve Slaton with 437 yards and Ryan Moats who had 390 yards rushing.

The Texans defense gave up 333 points or 20.8 points/game. Their point differential was +55 and that means that out scored their opponents on average by 3.4 pointer/game. Their takeaway differential was -1, which seems to indicate they could use a little help on the defensive side of the ball. However with three pro bowlers on their defense other needs may take a priority.

Moving forward it seems the biggest need on this team is an offensive guard to help take down the number of sacks this team gives up and to open up some more holes for the running game. Of course we can not look past the need for an upgrade at the RB position. Current Mock drafts have the Texans all over the map when selecting with the 20th pick in April’s NFL draft. The clearest trend there is addressing the needs in their defensive secondary.

Related Links:

• Houston Texans News and Notes
• 2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
• 2010 NFL Free Agents
• 2010 Mock Drafts
• NFL Complete.com

2009 NFL season in review: Houston Texans is a post from: The Inquisitr

The final piece of the 2009 MLB season in review is the World Series Champion New York Yankees. In 2009 they won their 27th World title, opened a brand new stadium, had a steroids controversy, had day to day operational control of the team pass from George Steinbrenner to his son Hank, and had a typical Yankees season in front of the New York media. What else can we say, the Yankees are the premier baseball organization, and with their ownership of the Yes Network, they have a near bottomless source of cash to spend on their payroll. Many say that is unfair, but they have got the business side of baseball figured out.

Their final record was 103-59 and they easily won the American League East. In all they spent 91 days in first place and by early September they have built a 10.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox. As typical of the Yankees they got off to a fairly slow start and by mid May were 6.5 games behind. After the All Star break they won eight consecutive games sweeping both the Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles. The crazy thing about this season was the Yankees actually shed 89 million dollars before the 2009 season by letting a good number of free agents leave including, Ivan Rodriguez, Carl Pavano, Jason Giambi, and Bobby Abreau, on top of the retirement of Mike Mussina.

The Yankees offense was led by Captain Derek Jeter who hit .334 with just 18 home runs and 66 RBI’s. As a unit they batted .283 second best amongst AL teams. They drove in 915 runs, had 1,604 runs, hit 244 home runs, and basically led the AL in most statistical categories. They struck out 1,014 times and drew 663 walks. Their pitching staff featured three starters with double digit victories, and their staff ERA was 4.28. They gave up 753 runs, while striking out 1,260 batters and issuing 574 walks.

In all 3,719,358 fans came to new Yankee Stadiums to see the Yankees play. For their 81 home games they averaged 34,475 fans per game and that was good enough for second amongst teams in the MLB. However they only sold 87.8% of their 2009 ticket inventory.

2009 MLB season in review: New York Yankees is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Colorado Rockies had a very interesting season. They started without Matt Holiday, a key component of their 2007 World Series run, and not knowing who was going to take his place on the team. Through the opening part of the season they were so bad that after an 18-28 start the front office fired manager Clint Hurdle, and replaced him with Jim Tracy. Tracy was able to motivate his team so well that they went on a second half tear and ended up as the winners of the National League Wild card. After losing in the first round of the playoffs, the world of baseball was so impressed with the job that Jim Tracy did that he was named N.L. Manager of the Year.

Their final record was 92-70 and they finished in second place for the N.L. West 3 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. They spent four days in early April in first place and built a .5 game lead before a mid spring slump seem to prematurely end their 2009 campaign. After changing managers they were bale to recover and while they were 12 games under .500 at mid season they improved on that and in October found themselves 24 games over .500. That fact alone underscores why Tracy was named the Manage of the Year.

The Rockies offense was led by 1B Jim Tracy, and they were able to score 804 runs. As a team they batted .261 while getting 1,408 hits, and 180 home runs. This team struck out 1,277 times and drew 660 walks, which was the best among National League teams. Their pitching staff featured two starters with double digit victories. There staff ERA was 4.24 and they struck out 1,154 batters while issuing 528 walks.

In the end 2,665,080 fans came out to Coors Field to see Rockies home games. For their 81 home games they averaged 32,902 fans which was 11th best among the 30 MLB teams. For the 2009 season they were able to sell 65.2% of their ticket inventory.

2009 MLB season in review: Colorado Rockies is a post from: The Inquisitr