Quietly Brutal Hitters

The following players are having terrible seasons, but seem to be avoiding the scrutiny and heckling they deserve.  That means I'm not going to talk about players like Justin Upton and Adrian Gonzalez, the struggles of whom have drawn much publicity.  I tried to pick players who play everyday, and thus inflict even more damage on their own team.  With offense still depressed across both leagues, there were many more players I could not include, but I hope this is a good snapshot.

Carlos Pena (.196/.322/.359)
With Evan Longoria lost for most of the season, Tampa Bay really needed Pena to pick up the slack and be the guy who averaged 36 home runs, 102 RBI and an .884 OPS with the club from 2007-'10.  He's still working his walks, but is on pace to finish with his worst HR/RBI totals since 2006, when he played all of 18 games for my Boston Red Sox.  The 34 year-old first baseman has yet to miss a game, so it might be time to take one off soon.

Casey Kotchman (.233/.287/.349)
Had a nice season with the Rays last year, but just isn't getting the job done for the Tribe this season.

Cliff Pennington (.197/.259/.282)
C'mon Billy Beane.  I know great shortstops are hard to find, but surely you have one in your system better than this.


Dan Uggla (.209/.342/.360)
Ever since joining the Braves, the power hitting second baseman has made a habit of suffering through prolonged batting slumps that languish into the dog days of summer.  Last year on the morning of August 6th, Uggla was riding a 26 game hitting streak at the time but still woke up with a .215/.283/.423 batting line.  Sure, the NL-leading 66 walks are nice, but where's the power?  Uggla has averaged 32 home runs per season throughout his major league career, but enters play today sitting on twelve.  A hot streak is probably just around the corner for the streaky slugger, and I'd be surprised if he fell short of 20 bombs in 2012.

John Buck (.172/.285/.305)
Why is he still catching everyday?  At this point Ozzie Guillen should just pick a random fan out of the stands every night and have him/her put on the pads, because it's impossible to do much worse than this.

Toronto's middle infield (Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar)
Aside from outhomering every American League team that doesn't play its home games in New York, Escobar, it's safe to say Toronto's potent offense has been a disappointment.  And while Adam Lind, Brett Lawrie, and Jose Bautista have all underperformed to some degree, it's Johnson and Escobar who are the worst offenders.  At the keystone position Johnson (.233/.321/.373) has failed to hold up his end of the bargain from last summer's Aaron Hill trade.  Meanwhile Escobar, who's proven himself to be an above average shortstop, is batting a paltry .256/.301/.345 this season.  His protracted slump is reminiscent of 2010, when he was dealt to the Blue Jays midseason and finished with a career worst .256/.337/.318 batting line.  Wondering if we have an every-other-year player in the making here.
Michael Young (.271/.297/.347)
Like Ichiro Suzuki, Young seems to have lost it overnight.  But as long as the Rangers have the best record in the American League, I don't think people are going to start picking on him. It's easy to hide in an All-Star lineup that features Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli, isn't it?  It amazes me that given the caliber of talent around him he's managed only 45 RBI and 50 runs scored despite batting out of the five hole.  Just a year removed from leading the majors in hits and nearly winning a batting title, the 35 year-old is having the worst season of his career by far.  His power has evaporated; he has just three home runs on the season and hasn't gone yard since May 7th, a span of three months! For a guy who splits most of his time between DH and first base, that lack of pop is simply unacceptable.  With nine hits in his last six games he seems to be snapping out of it, but we may have seen the end of Young as an effective everyday player.  Ron Washington will continue to play him out of respect.

Scott Rolen (.236/.312/.382)
Speaking of veterans in the twilight of their careers, Rolen is more washed up than your old pair of gym shorts.  While counterpart Chipper Jones has aged gracefully, Rolen's career has taken the Ken Griffey Jr. approach since he kissed his twenties goodbye.  He's fortunate the Reds have more wins than any other team, otherwise he'd probably be riding the pine more often than not.

Jordan Schafer (.218/.306/.304) and Brian Bogusevic (.212/.299/.316)
In case you didn't hear, the Astros are bad.  Really bad.  I'm guessing these two outfield regulars have something to do with that.

Clint Barmes (.210/.238/.295)
Was alright with the Rockies for awhile there, but since leaving Coors Field behind his flaws have been exposed.