Quick Hits 7/22/09

I’ve had a long week so I apologize for the lack of posts lately but here are some quick hitters from the past couple days.

• The Red Sox made a couple trades today, acquiring Adam LaRoche and Chris Duncan.  They gave up practically nothing (Julio Lugo anyone?) so I can’t say it’s a bad move for them.  I don’t think either player they added will be a key part of their second half but it’s a no-risk, little reward deal and without any risk involved, why not?

• The LeBron dunk video was released on eBaum Nation and I must say, Nike took the tapes for that?  I mean yeah, the guy gets dunked on… but that happens to every guy in the NBA on a monthly basis – LeBron included.  Just because some college kid did it – and speaking of college kids, Jordan Crawford can play – doesn’t mean it’s that embarassing.  I figured he got posterized or something but it’s really not that bad.

• No news here but as a fellow Kansan, I was enthralled in the British Open this weekend because of the performance of Tom Watson.  What a weekend of golf he played.  It’s too bad he couldn’t pull it out but it was a memorable Open.

• Speaking of Tom Watson.  Why the heck is Tim Tebow on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated?  I mean what has he done since the last time he was on the cover to deserve another one?  I understand that there are only so many times you can write baseball features over the summer but a week after one of the most exciting finishes in British Open history – WITHOUT Tiger making the cut – and they can’t have their lead story be about that?  It’s not even a college football preview issue.

• SI.com’s Hot Clicks posted a link today to the Top 10 Price is Right moments of all-time.  It’s completely random, but pretty entertaining.  If you like Bob Barker as much as I do then you’ll enjoy this.  I’m not sure it’s better than when he kicks Adam Sandler’s ass in Happy Gilmour though.

• Finally, I’d like to plug my buddy Cam Norris’ new creation.  It’s called CamSport Live and is essentially a sports text messaging service that provides detailed scores/recaps following every game for your favorite teams.  It’ll really be outstanding for fantasy sports and when the college sports season starts up as you can essentially get scores/recaps on any team/sport in existence regardless of division.  It’s too complicated to explain it all here but I suggest you check it out.  I’ve subscribed to the Marlins feed and they are outstanding!

Midseason Report: AL West

As the first games after the All-Star break begin, I’ll wrap up my midseason report series with the final division, the American League West.  All records and rankings are current as of the All-Star break.

1. Los Angeles Angels (49-37)

The Angels lead one of the most competitive divisions in baseball by a mere 1.5 games over Texas.  How have they done it?  By simply being a solid all-around team, mixing in great hitting with good pitching and the result is 12 games over .500 at the break.

The lineup has been outstanding with eight regular contributors hitting over .290.  It has been a well-rounded group of position players with Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales and Juan Rivera providing the pop – each have 15+ home runs – and Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu providing the speed with 27 and 19 steals respectively.

You wouldn’t have thought the rotation would be having a decent season if I told you that John Lackey and Ervin Santana were having the worst seasons of their career.  But Jered Weaver has really picked up the slack going 10-3 and posting a 3.22 ERA.  Joe Saunders and Matt Palmer have been good back-of-the-rotation guys combining for a 15-6 record.  While I’m worried about Santana, I do think Lackey will turn it around and provide almost a two-ace presence for the Angels in the second half.

It’s tough to replace a closer as strong as Francisco Rodriguez who tested the free agency waters and wound up signing with the New York Mets in the off-season.  However the Angels have done just that, picking up Brian Fuentes and throwing him into the closing role.  It has turned out better than planned as Fuentes has churned out a league-leading 26 saves as a result.

With the most talent in this division, I expect the Angels to continue their winning ways and win the AL West for the third consecutive year.  I think John Lackey will rebound and have a nice second half.  That would definitely make the Angels a contender for the AL pennant.

2. Texas Rangers (48-39)

What a nice surprise the Rangers have been this season.  Finally getting the pitching that they’ve waited so many years for, they are right in the middle of a tight playoff chase.

This squad definitely has a lot of power.  Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, Hank Blalock and Chris Davis all have 15+ long balls and Andruw Jones is not far behind with 14.  You would think Josh Hamilton would be among that group too; but, he only has 152 at bats this season due to injury.

Despite all the power, the Rangers are batting just .255 as a team which is the third lowest mark in the American League.  Numbers like that are usually an indicator that their run production will be difficult to maintain.

It has been the starting pitching that has really set this team apart from previous Rangers squads and it starts at the top with Kevin Millwood and Scott Feldman.  Though neither have terrific stuff or strike many batters out – and their walk rates are fairly high too – they have been able to keep opponents off the scoreboard.  Vicente Padilla and Brandon McCarthy have both been average middle rotation guys and you could do far worse than Matt Harrison as your No. 5 starting pitcher.

Frank Francisco and C.J. Wilson have both been able to hold down the closing role – Wilson replaced Francisco when he was injured – and win games for the Rangers when they lead late.  Darren O’Day has been nasty against right-handers and this bullpen coupled with the rotation has given the Rangers the fourth-best team ERA in the American League.

Without great stuff or command I just don’t buy into the seasons that Millwood and Feldman have had so far.  Between that and their poor team batting average, I think the Rangers are playing a bit above their heads right now and will probably sink closer to .500 as the summer continues.

3. Seattle Mariners (46-42)

Last year the Mariners entered the season with a high payroll and high expectations yet fell flat on their face.  This season, they’ve pretty much turned a 180 as they’re sitting in the playoff picture despite nobody having confidence in them during spring training.

The difference has been great starting pitching and a massively improved defense.  The Mariners added Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez to their outfield this year and while it’s difficult to track a player’s range defensively, everybody will tell you that their outfield defense is top-notch this season.

Offensively they don’t have much.  Ichiro is having another wonderful season and gets on-base at a fantastic rate.  The big surprise is Russell Branyan.  He’s always had power but his 22 home runs this year is a career-high.  What he hasn’t had is the ability to hit for a consistent average – his career mark is .236 – but he is currently batting .280, an incredibly 44 points higher than his career average.

The Mariners are the only team in the bigs who have three starting pitchers whom have started 10+ games and have ERAs under 3.00.  Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Erik Bedard have been simply phenomenal.  You expected Hernandez to be good and Bedard had shown some great stuff back when he was with the Orioles, but where did Washburn come from?  Well for starters, he’s a fly-ball pitcher so he has definitely been helped out by the improved Seattle outfield defense.  Washburn also has added a sinker to his repertoire which has given him better control and command.  Neither of these factors that he credits to his success will change in the second half, so expect him to continue pitching well.

David Aardsma has been outstanding in a closer role that was vacated by super-prospect Brandon Morrow.  Morrow was recently sent down to the minors as a starting pitcher.

It will be interesting to see what the Mariners decide to do as the trade deadline approaches.  With their great starting pitching I would think they have a shot if some things fall their way and they can add a bat.  Their fans will be quite frustrated if they send off Washburn or any other major contributor and throw in the towel.

4. Oakland Athletics (37-49)

A promising off-season acquisition of Matt Holliday gave the Athletics high hopes entering 2009.  Unfortunately, they’ve become victim to a four-team division that has seen three teams play very well and quickly the A’s find themselves looking towards next year.

Holliday has not been as good as advertised.  While his .373 on-base percentage is nice, the other numbers just aren’t there – particularly in the power categories.  He hasn’t received much help from other free agent signee Jason Giambi who is hitting below the Mendoza Line.  His 1B counterpart Bobby Crosby isn’t much better – his average is at .210.  This offense is the third worst in the American League in runs scored.

Oakland is very young on the mound and it has shown this year although there seems to be a lot of promise.  Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Josh Outman and Vin Mazzaro are all 25 years old or younger and have sub-5.00 ERAs.   25-year-old Andrew Bailey has a 1.92 ERA and 10 saves as the youth movement stretches into the bullpen.

Without any run support, it’s tough to boost these kids’ confidence.  Their solid statistics just haven’t been enough to get the Athletics out of last place in the division.

Final Thoughts:

I think it is pretty apparent that the Angels are the most talented team in the division.  Talent doesn’t always translate to wins but it is a pretty common factor.  I’ll take the Angels to win the division but I do think the Mariners have a chance to make it interesting.

Midseason Report: NL West

On an All-Star Tuesday we’ll take a look at the National League West – a division that is surprisingly one of the best in baseball thus far.  Pitching is everywhere out west which makes for some good old school baseball.  All rankings and records are as of the All-Star break.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (56-32)

Everybody thought when Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs that this team was doomed.  Well, they proved everybody wrong.  At the unofficial half-way point of the year (most teams have played 85-90 games when technically 81 is the half-way point) the Dodgers have the best record in the league.

It’s hard to understate the importance of Juan Pierre this season.  Pierre was a guy who was thought to be on the trading block as just a reserve outfielder entering the season but he stepped in for Ramirez and produced a team-high 23 stolen bases and a nifty .328 batting average.

Matt Kemp has been the all-around bat in the order. Ethier’s 18 home runs have supplied the power.  Orlando Hudson, Casey Blake and James Loney are all getting on base and the Dodgers still have guys like Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin in the lineup.

The pitching has been outstanding too.  Chad Billingsley, Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw all have ERAs under 3.50.  Hiroki Kuroda was hurt but has come back to make nine starts.  Eric Stultz, Jeff Weaver and Eric Milton have all seen time in the Dodgers’ rotation and all have thrown better than average as well.

Jonathan Broxton has been the power arm in a bullpen that has also done everything well.  He’s converted 20 saves in 22 opportunities and has struck out a whopping 65 hitters in just 40.2 innings of work.  Broxton is joined by Ramon Troncoso who has a 1.75 ERA and five saves.

Not only are the Dodgers playing well in all aspects of the game but they also have shown they can overcome adversity dealing with the suspension of Ramirez and the injury to Kuroda – two key members of their team.  They are definitely the closest “lock” to winning a division in the league right now.

2. San Francisco Giants (49-39)

Raise your hand if you thought the Giants would make the playoffs prior to the beginning of the season?  Not me.  But the Giants are half way there thanks to quite possibly the best starting rotation in all of baseball.

That rotation features the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner in Tim Lincecum and a pitcher in Matt Cain who has nearly identical numbers.  Lincecum is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA.  Cain is 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA.  The peripherals are a little different as Cain has more walks and far fewer strikeouts than Lincecum, but the two have been the most dominant pair of starting pitchers on the same team in all of baseball.  Barry Zito is finally looking at a season where he might get his ERA under 5.00.  Randy Johnson has been serviceable but was recently placed on the DL.  In his place, Jonathan Sanchez came in and tossed a no-hitter over the weekend.

The Giants also have five relievers with ERAs under 3.00.  And that doesn’t include flamethrowing closer Brian Wilson who has notched 23 saves.  Toss in the rotation and this team has combined to allow the fewest runs in the league to date.

The problem San Francisco has is scoring runs.  They rank 13th out of 16 National League squads in that category – one that is usually pretty important.  Pablo Sandoval has been a nice surprise batting .333 while hitting 15 bombs.  But the jury is out on whether he can keep that up.  Randy Winn and Aaron Rowand have also put together nice campaigns but after that, the well is pretty dry.

I know they always say pitching wins games.  But you really have to question whether the Giants can keep this up.  I have no reason to doubt that Lincecum will but I just can’t see Cain and the bullpen having the same second half that they put up in the first half.  There really isn’t much reason to believe the lineup will improve either.  It’s very unlikely they will catch the Dodgers at this point so the Giants have to hope their pitching is good enough to win the Wild Card.

3. Colorado Rockies (47-41)

Is there a franchise more streaky than the one in Denver?  After winning 21 of 22 games down the stretch to close out the 2007 season and winning the National League, those pesty Rockies are at it again.  They were 20-30 and sitting in last place at the end of May.  Since then, Colorado has gone 27-11 and have jumped to third place in the West and find themselves right in the middle of the Wild Card hunt.

The Rockies lineup has six hitters with double digit home run totals and 30+ RBIs.  They also have seven hitters with 10+ doubles.  The combination is generating a boat load of runs – third most in the NL.  Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe both have on-base percentages just under .400 as this team has found out that hitting is indeed contagious.

What is also impressive is how well they have pitched in a “hitters park”.  The season really turned around when guys like Aaron Cook started to turn in quality start after quality start .  Jason Marquis has also been a pleasant surprise posting an 11-6 mark with a 3.65 ERA.  Having five decent starters is something that is quite rare for this franchise and is a big reason why they are sitting six games over .500.

Huston Street has provided some stability in the back-end of the bullpen – proving that they did receive some value in the off-season Matt Holliday trade.  Street has converted 22 of his 23 save opportunities.  Other than Street, the Rockies bullpen has been pretty unstable with guys like Manny Corpas struggling.

Colorado is definitely the hot and “trendy” team right now as they have played marvelous ball over the past six weeks.  Obviously it’s unfair to expect them to maintain this pace.  However, will they have enough to get themselves into the playoffs?  I think the bullpen is a big question mark and could hamper them down the stretch.  I think they’ll finish around the .500 mark which means they’re probably on the outside looking in during October.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks (38-51)

The Diamondbacks have had a lot of pleasant surprises this year but unfortunately for them and their fans, a few players don’t make a team.

We always knew that Mark Reynolds had pop in his bat.  But what we didn’t know is that he was going to blow up for 24 dingers, 62 RBIs and lead the team in stolen bases (15).  He’s also been durable, playing in 87 of the D’Backs’ 89 games and is getting on base at a .349 clip.  Justin Upton has broke out as well.  The younger Upton brother has a .301 average and his own combination of power and speed as he’s smacked 15 home runs and has 12 stolen bases.  But Arizona has more guys hitting under .230 then you can count and almost zero production from their third OF and 1B positions.

On the mound they have some solid starting pitching but really struggle finishing games out.  Dan Haren is having a Cy Young caliber year with his 9-5 record and 2.01 ERA.  How you lose five games in 18 starts with a 2.01 ERA is beyond me.  Max Scherzer and Doug Davis have also been solid but both sport records below .500.

The Diamondbacks bullpen has been very inconsistent and really lacks a guy with devastating pitches.  Clay Zavada has been the only reliever with good numbers.

Arizona is going to start the re-building process soon.  They have a great foundation with young stars in Scherzer, Upton and Reynolds.  If they can continue to afford paying Haren and add some talent – particularly a big bat – at some of the more “power” positions then they could become a team to contend with.  However, that doesn’t look like it will happen in 2009.

5. San Diego Padres (36-52)

With the worst run differential in the league, the season has been a disaster for the Padres who similarly to the Diamondbacks, have a couple of stars but not much else.  The biggest problem facing San Diego however, is that their stars aren’t very young.

It’s easy to point a finger and say that Jake Peavy’s injury has devastated them.  But even if Peavy started every fifth game the entire year and won all of his starts, the Padres still would be outside of the current playoff picture.

Scott Hairston and Adrian Gonzalez are the only two hitters in San Diego’s lineup having good years and Gonzalez is only batting .250.  Tony Gwynn Jr. and David Eckstein are the only two hitters in the lineup with averages over .250 and neither of them drive in runs or generate extra-base hits.  They’ve scored 22 runs fewer than any of the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball and provide no run support whatsoever for their pitchers.

Not that their pitchers have been very good either.  Other than Peavy, their best starter has been Kevin Correia.  Correia never really made it as a starting pitch in his six-year career with the Giants.   This season he has pitched much better, but his 4.50 ERA and 6-7 record clearly aren’t typical of a No. 2 starting pitcher.

The only bright spot on the pitching staff this season has been closer Heath Bell who just gave up the lead to the American League in the All-Star Game as I typed this.  Bell has been quite possibly the best closer in the league with a 1.69 ERA and 23 saves.  Nobody else really jumps out at you from this bullpen although they rarely have leads to protect anyway.

It’ll be interesting to see if Peavy gets dumped at the deadline.  Obviously his health is now a concern which hurts his trade value a little bit.  The Padres aren’t winning this year and likely won’t be winning next year so you have to feel bad for stars like Peavy and Gonzalez who are stuck with a losing club.

Final Thoughts:

The Dodgers have been without a doubt the best team in the league in the first half.  You would have to think that with Manny Ramirez back they’ll only be getting better.  I don’t think that the Giants and Rockies will have what it takes to win the Wild Card but I hope they prove me wrong.  I really enjoy watching both of those teams play the game.

Midseason Report: AL Central

Our fourth installment, today we visit the AL Central!  All records and rankings are current as of this writing.

1. Detroit Tigers (47-39)

The Tigers crumbled under high expectations in 2008.  An off-season trade to bring in Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins was thought to make them the can’t miss team to win the AL Central and not only did they miss, but they swung at strike three on a 50-foot pitch in the dirt.  Detroit finished in last place in the division – yes, they were worse than the Royals.

But maybe that was an aberration.  Because so far so good for the Tigers in 2009 and the only major “move” they made was trading for Rays pitcher Edwin Jackson.  Well that trade seems to be almost as important as the Cabrera trade because Jackson is 7-4 with a 2.52 ERA.

The lineup does have some holes.  Magglio Ordonez has struggled and Josh Anderson is neither scoring runs or getting on base.  The power displayed by Cabrera, Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson is what has generated a lot of this team’s runs.

But what doesn’t get discussed a whole lot when you talk about the Tigers is how great they are defensively.  Granderson is a highlight reel in center.  Anderson covers a lot of ground in the outfield.  Inge and Adam Everett form what might be the best left-side of an infield defensively in the league.

In addition to Jackson’s breakout season in the rotation, SP Justin Verlander has regained his form as well.  Verlander has a whopping 141 strikeouts in just 115.1. innings pitched and sports a 3.59 ERA.  Rookie Rick Porcello is 8-6 on the year and Armando Galarraga has been serviceable.

The pen has been okay but not great.  Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney have been solid as Rodney is a perfect 19-for-19 in save opportunities.  Joel Zumaya and rookie Ryan Perry give the Tigers some flamethrowers late in ballgames but Perry is now at Triple-A Toledo and Zumaya has just one save in six opportunities.

The Tigers are good.  In fact, they’re very good.  I like this team a lot because of the gas their pitchers throw and the solid defense behind them.  Their pitching staff is very young but with the defense behind them and three guys on pace for 30+ home runs, I think they’ll win the division.

2. Chicago White Sox (45-42)

Let me preface this by saying I’m not a big fan of the White Sox front office.  Ozzie Guillen with his antics and GM Ken Williams seem to have some disagreements.  Maybe it’s just because it seems like anything said in that organization ends up in the media but I’m surprised there haven’t been any blow-ups.  Maybe winning does cure everything.

I’m not sure why Guillen apparently doesn’t like Gordon Beckham.  I had the pleasure of watching Beckham for a summer on Cape Cod and let me tell you, he is the real deal.  He’ll play an integral part of this club in the second half.

Paul Konerko, Scott Podesdnik, Jermaine Dye and A.J. Pierzynski are all hitting barely above .300 and have been a big reason why this team scores its runs.  As Beckham continues to adjust to big league pitching and Carlos Quentin comes off the DL (he’s on a rehab assignment now), this is a threatening lineup.  However, it comes at an expense defensively as the White Sox rank just 25th in the league in fielding percentage.

The Sox are another solid pitching staff anchored by 10-year MLB veteran Mark Buehrle.  He’s a slick 9-2 with an impressive 3.14 ERA and just 25 walks in 114.2 innings.  The staff has also seen John Danks and Gavin Floyd contribute steadily, maintaining winning records and both eating up over 100 innings thus far.  Jose Contreras has also looked great in the last month but I doubt he can keep it up for the entire second half.

The bullpen has been pretty solid as well for the White Sox with Scott Linebrink posting a 1.98 ERA and Bobby Jenks closing down 20 games.

The White Sox are a good club.  I’m not sure what kind of player Quentin will be when he re-joins the team shortly after the All-Star break but he could play a big role in determining how far this goes.  They’re going to need to pitch better than the Tigers in order to surpass them in the standings and with the way the Tigers are looking, that may be a difficult task.

3. Minnesota Twins (44-44)

It’s amazing how a small-market team like the Twins are good year after year.  Their lineup is very impressive and it’s led them to a +23 run differential this season, better than that of the White Sox and equal to that of Detroit’s.

As the Joe Mauer hunt for .400 continues, he’s doing more than just smacking base hits.  He’s also great defensively and has 15 home runs and 49 RBIs despite missing the first month of the season due to injury.  Justin Morneau has been brilliant as always, boasting a .310 average while blasting 21 homers.  Jason Kuble, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Crede all have 14 home runs and Denard Span is getting on base.  Add the second best fielding percentage in the entire league and you have a team that could be dangerous.

As good as the postion players have been is as bad as the pitching staff has looked for the Twins.  Francisco Liriano has shown very few signs that he’s the same pitcher he was prior to Tommy John surgery.  Scott Baker and Glen Perkins have seen ballooning ERAs and Kevin Slowey is on the DL with a wrist injury.  The lone bright spot has been Nick Blackburn who has shown great control and has an ERA of 3.06.

The bullpen has arguably the best closer in the game in Joe Nathan.  His ERA is 1.91 and he has struck out 43 batters while walking just seven.  Jose Mijares is nasty against lefties.  Left-handed batters are hitting .068 off him this year.  He also has a 1.63 ERA in his brief two-year big league career.

The Twins are always competitive and have a lot of upside since their starting rotation has really underachieved this season.  If Slowey can come back and pitch the way he did in 2008 I think this team will be in it heading into the final week of the season.  Pitching and defense wins ball games.  The Twins have the defense, but can they get the pitching?

4. Kansas City Royals (37-50)

For a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since they won the World Series in 1985 – yes, 24 years ago – it looks like this is just another year.  The Royals are at least getting better lately, finishing fourth in the division in 2008 and they have an opportunity to win 70+ games again this season.  But they’re still not competitive and seem to just be Zack Greinke and a bunch of role players.

The lineup is brutal.  An off-season trade to bring in some pop in 1B Mike Jacobs has back-fired as Jacobs has just 30 RBIs, is batting .222, and is terrible defensively.  3B Alex Gordon has been hurt all season.  OF Jose Guillen is hitting just .245.  The only guys getting on-base for this team are 1B Billy Butler, 2B Alberto Callaspo, and 3B Mark Teahen and none of the three are slugging above .460.

Finally the Royals have found some pitching.  Zack Greinke is having a Cy Young type season, going 10-5 with a 2.12 ERA and is the favorite to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday for the American League.  Brian Bannister has pitched well and Luke Hochevar has pitched better lately going 4-1 in his past six starts.

It will be interesting to see if the Royals keep Joakim Soria past the trade deadline as he is one of the most sought-after relief pitchers in the game.  Kansas City’s bullpen is not very good, and losing Soria would make it worse.  But a bullpen is usually the easiest area to re-build and the Royals are out of the race and could get a solid young talent in return.

As they’ve gotten used to saying in Kansas City lately… it’s wait til next year.

5. Cleveland Indians (35-53)

What has happened to the Indians?  After winning the division and 97 games in 2007 they took a step backwards with a .500 campaign last year.  Now they’ll need a miracle to finish .500 as the wheels are coming off the wagon.

The rough season that Grady Sizemore has had definitely is part of the problem.  He’s been injured and hitting just .232 when he has been in the lineup.  Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner have seen a renaissance of sorts and Shin-Soo Choo has been a pleasant surprise with an on-base percentage of .407.  But other than those two, the rest of the lineup has not looked pretty.  They also shipped off utility man Mark DeRosa.  I guess they didn’t really need him since they clearly aren’t in the playoff hunt this year but I’m not really sure what RP Chris Perez brings them.

What has been really bad in Cleveland, though, is the pitching.  Other than Cliff Lee, the well has run dry.  Lee is the only Indians pitcher with more than five starts this year that has an ERA under 5.00.  Fausto Carmona and Jeremy Sowers are a combined 4-13 and have thrown fewer innings together than Lee has.  David Huff has gotten shelled.  It’s not a good sign when Carl Pavano is your second best starting pitcher.

The same could be said about the bullpen where there are very few ERA’s under 5.00 as well.  Kerry Wood has not been effective when given the rare chance to save a game.  He’s blown four of his 16 opportunities and has a 5.28 ERA.  It’s been so bad that the Indians have seen 25 different pitchers throw for them this season.

For Cleveland fans it’s time to look forward to football season or LeBron and Shaq to take the hardwood.  Hopefully in the off-season they can go out and find some arms but until then, this team will continue to be really bad.

Final Thoughts:

I really like the Twins and Tigers.  They seem to have a blueprint and have stuck to it and it is starting to pay off.  I think the White Sox are good enough to hang around but I don’t see much upside other than the return of Quentin.  If the Twins can get some more consistent pitching and the Tigers maintain their pace, this could be a very exciting race!

Midseason Report: NL Central

Another divisional breakdown as we get ready to head into the All-Star break.  Today we visit the National League Central in which all six teams are within 10 games of the leader and five teams are within five games.

All rankings and records are current as of this writing.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (48-40)

Having the world’s best hitter definitely helps, but the Cardinals will head into the break leading the league’s most competitive division and it’s not all because of one guy.

The emergence of rookie Colby Rasmus and journeyman starting pitcher Joel Pineiro have helped thrust the Cards to the top of the NL Central.  Chris Carpenter has maintained his dominance when healthy – and this season he has started 13 games.  Throw in Adam Wainwright and Kyle Lohse and the Cardinals have four of their five starting pitchers with ERAs sub-4.00.

The offseason decision to move Skip Schumaker from the outfield to second base has paid off as it opened up a position in the outfield for Colby Rasmus.  Schumaker and Rasmus have in turn been placed at the top of the Cardinals batting order which is quite important when you consider who is batting third.  Schumaker is hitting .302 on the season while Rasmus’ average sits at .281.

Ryan Ludwick has faced a lot of criticism batting behind Pujols as he has struggled to offer him protection at the plate this year.  However, in the last six games, Ludwick is batting .409 and has driven in 10 runs.  That could be a sign that he is heating up.

SS Brendan Ryan has established some defensive stability in the infield and manager Tony LaRussa is widely considered to be one of the best in the game.  If they can stay healthy, I think the Cardinals will end up winning this division as they are simply the most talented team.

2. Milwaukee Brewers (44-42)

It has been an interesting year for the Brewers.  Their lineup is full of some excellent hitters as well as some really struggling ones but there are not many guys having average seasons.

We’ll start at the top with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.  Both are hitting over .300, have 15+ home runs, 50+ RBIs and 50+ runs scored.  They are definitely among the elite hitters of the National League.  While not elite, 2B Casey McGehee has joined the over .300 club.  An unknown going into the start of the year, McGehee has really turned it on when given an opportunity to play as Bill Hall is hitting below the Mendoza Line and Rickie Weeks is out for the season with an injury.

The Brewers do not have a single regular batting between .260 and .280.  Corey Hart, Mike Cameron and J.J. Hardy are all hitting below .260 and have a high rate of strikeouts.  Hardy struggled mightily last year as well but came back to have a decent second half so it’ll be interesting to see how he responds this year.  I touched briefly on Bill Hall’s plate struggles and everyone knows about Jason Kendall’s lack of hitting ability.  He’s hitting .233 and has just 10 extra-base hits in 249 at bats.

Milwaukee also has struggled on the mound.  Last year they had C.C. Sabathia tossing routine complete games down the stretch as well as Ben Sheets for most of the second half.  This season the Brew Crew has struggled replacing them.  Yovani Gallardo has cut some of the slack by staying healthy and having a brilliant season.  But Braden Looper, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush and Manny Parra have all been worse than expected and have put the Brewers in a bind.

Trevor Hoffman has been average since his string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings came to a close a couple of months ago.  Mark DiFelice, Todd Coffey and Mitch Stetter have definitely given Milwaukee some depth in a sound bullpen.

The Brewers will be able to make a move towards the playoffs if they can solve their starting pitching woes.  I don’t really see that happening though unless they make a trade as I don’t have much faith that any of their four starters not named Gallardo will improve greatly from one half to the next.  I see them finishing around .500 and in the middle of the pack in a tight NL Central.

3. Houston Astros (43-43)

It has taken a few career-years for the Astros to reach this point.  The question is whether or not they’ll be able to keep it up.

Prior to the season if you were to have told me that Miguel Tejada would be batting .330, that Michael Bourn’s average would be at .289, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence would both be above .300, Pudge would have 20+ extra-base hits and that Geoff Blum would be batting .281, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you.  But all of these solid statistics are putting runs on the board for Houston and have them sitting at .500.

They’ve had pleasant surprises on the mound, too.  Wandy Rodriguez’s ERA is a tidy 2.96.  I didn’t think Mike Hampton or Russ Ortiz would even make a MLB team’s rotation at the beginning of the year but remarkably they have been solid and somewhat consistent on the hill.  Roy Oswalt continues to eat innings and despite Rodriguez’s good start, Oswalt is clearly the ace of this staff.

An injury to closer Jose Valverde allowed LaTroy Hawkins to take over that role temporarily and so far both have succeeded.  Valverde is healthy now, which leaves Hawkins in a setup role, but this bullpen has gotten the job done.  Chris Sampson, Alberto Arias, Jeff Fulchino and Tim Byrdak all have been effective.

I sit and wonder how many guys can play so much better than expected for an entire season and just don’t see the Astros being able to keep this up.  There definitely is some veteran leadership on this club with Berkman, Pudge and Darin Erstad out there.  That could keep this team playing at a high level but I think a below-.500 second half is more likely as the Astros win 75-80 games.

4. Cincinnati Reds (42-43)

The Reds are my dark horse to win this division.  Most people would say that the Reds have four really solid hitters in Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Edwin Encarnacion.  Well only two of those four have really played to expectations and one of them has barely played at all.

Jay Bruce has 18 home runs.  But other than that, his numbers are very poor.  Batting just .208 this year, Bruce has only 41 RBIs hitting in the middle of the order for most of the season.  He also has twice as many strikeouts as walks and manager Dusty Baker has decided to give him plenty of time off this week to clear his mind and get back on track for the second half.  After seeing him perform at such a high level last year, it’s obvious that Bruce can play and is just hitting the sophomore slump.  I think he’ll make the adjustments necessary to break out of it and help this team out for the remiander of the season.

Edwin Encarnacion has played just 27 games and is hitting .170 this year due to injuries.  If he can get back to 100% I think he is capable of hitting .275 with 10 home runs in the second half.

The Reds have a decent rotation led by Aaron Harang and Johnny Cueto.  Edinson Volquez’s injury has put a damper in the staff as they have struggled to find depth.  Bronson Arroyo and Micah Owings have both been struggling with their control but haven’t been brutal.  Cincy really needs that fifth starter, whether it be a healthy Volquez (who isn’t due back for at least another month) or Homer Bailey stepping up and pitching the way the Reds expected him to pitch when he was their top prospect just a couple of years ago.

Francisco Cordero has been one of the best closers in the game so far in 2009 and he’s been joined by a solid group featuring Nick Masset, Daniel Ray Herrera, Arthur Rhodes and Dave Weathers.

I say the Reds are my dark horse team to win the division because I can see many of their problems being fixed in the second half.  They do lack depth, which could come back to hurt them if they suffer any more injuries.  But if Encarnacion and Volquez can come back productive, Arroyo and Owings lower their walk totals, and Bruce makes some adjustments, this could be a very good team in September.

5. Chicago Cubs (41-42)

Boy must it be upsetting to be a Cubs fan.  Nobody is running away with the division, yet the Cubs are all the way back in fifth place despite being just 4.5 games out.  They’ve spent far more money than anybody else but seem to be in the news more for Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley’s antics than anything positive on the field.

There is hope, as I’m not sure Geovany Soto, Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley can play much worse than they have been.  Aramis Ramirez is finally back which should help too.  But doesn’t it feel like we’ve seen this several times before.  A team with a high payroll and players under-producing, who just never seem to find a rhythm.  You know its bad when Rich Harden has a higher batting average (.304) than anybody with 100+ at bats on the team.

Despite the struggles, Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriot have played very well and the Cubs have continued to receive solid outings from Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano.  Statistically speaking, their best pitcher might be rookie Randy Wells who has dazzled with an arsenal of pitches and outstanding command.  While Ryan Dempster wasn’t pitching like he did in 2008, he still was having a solid year until he broke his toe trying to celebrate a win.  Rich Harden has been absolutely brutal.  How much did the Cubs pay him for a 5-6 record and 5.47 ERA?

The pen has been a roller coaster as Kevin Gregg has gotten the majority of the save opportunities.  Carlos Marmol has been largely disappointing walking a batter an inning.  Aaron Heilman and Sean Marshall have seen the most innings in relief and both have been average but nothing special.

Will it finally click for the Cubs?  Your guess is as good as mind.  I can’t fathom them finishing the season below .500 and they probably have the most talent in the division so I would think that at some point they’ll get hot.  However it could be too little, too late.  And if that’s the case, there will be more griping among Cubs fans as “Wait Til Next Year” is recited once more.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (38-48)

What started as a promising year for the Pirates – they went 11-11 in April – has slowly slipped away as Pittsburgh drops further and further away from .500.

I’ll start with the Pirates rotation which has been a bit better than most probably expected.  Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Zach Duke and Jeff Karstens have all had decent seasons and have stayed healthy.  The addition of Charlie Morton from the Braves has rounded out the staff as Ian Snell was struggling.  Still, despite the rotation being “decent”, they’re just not good enough to win many games on their own.

That brings us to their lineup which is not any better than average as well.  Rookie Andrew McCutchen has easily been the most entertaining player to watch as his speed can change the game every time he steps to the plate.  Every Pirate regular has a batting average above .255 and an on-base percentage over .300 but other than getting on base, there’s not much there.  Pittsburgh has just one hitter with more than SIX home runs (Adam LaRoche has 12) and no that is not a typo.  There’s not a single hitter in their lineup with 40 or more runs batted in.  Those numbers just astound me.  It’s tough to win games when Adam LaRoche is your best – and only – run producer.

I think the Pirates are headed in the right direction as McCutchen looks like he could be their best position player in a long, long time.  Ryan Doumit finally came off the disabled list yesterday who also is one of Pittsburgh’s best hitters when healthy.  They have a bunch of average arms which gives them more pitching depth than some other teams in their division.  It’s just hard to see them competing for a playoff spot anytime soon without a commitment from upper management and a couple of run-producers added to the lineup.

Final Thoughts:

It’s easy to make the argument that this is a crappy division because nobody has really identified themselves as a great team.  But the same logic could classify this as a solid division because nobody is really awful.  The Pirates may not have a chance to make the playoffs but you know you’re going to face strike-throwers every time you play them.  That makes it difficult to get hot when you’re playing five decent teams 18 times a year.

I believe this race will come down to the Cardinals and the Cubs which would make for a really fun September.  Depending on how the Giants and Rockies play, this division may produce the Wild Card too.  Injuries have been a big factor in how the NL Central has played out in the first half.  I think whichever team stays healthiest will have an inside track to a playoff spot come October.

Quick Hits 7/10/09

Some quick hitters for today.  All are sports related but none are all that news-worthy.  Just injecting some fun into your day!

• Oh the fun you could have writing the headlines for this one.  Apparently Erin Andrews was hit with a ball Wednesday night while on reporting duty for the New York Mets/Los Angeles Dodgers game.  They even took her to the hospital as TMZ reports.  I’ll leave it at that

• I think Rich Eisen is one of the funniest guys around.  I’m not a big fan of his web-show on ESPN.com but the stuff he does on Sunday NFL Countdown is hysterical.  Well, apparently someone thought it would by hysterical to hack his Twitter.  Check it out.  You could do so much better with 140-characters.  Suggestions anyone?

• So everyone by now I’m sure has heard about the LeBron James being dunked on and having the tapes confiscated story.  Well, I would encourage everyone to go out and purchase one of these.

• Ryan Dempster is the latest athlete to injure himself celebrating.  What’s better than how he injured himself is this picture.  Look at the little Cubs fan in the upper-righthand corner?  Priceless!

• And finally for those buddies of mine out there in Seminole land, here’s a great clip of QB Christian Ponder and P Shawn Powell challenging each other to a nine-hole golf challenge.  There is nothing like a punter and a quarterback going at it on the golf course.  Also some solid camerawork and even better trash-talking so I’d suggest you check it out!

Midseason Report: AL East

Here’s the next installment in my MLB midseason reports… the AL East!  Again all rankings and records are current as of this writing.

1) Boston Red Sox (50-33)

It has been another solid season for Red Sox Nation as they have played well and stayed consistent throughout the entire season.  Other than a brief period at the beginning of the year when the Blue Jays were hot, the Red Sox have led this division pretty much since the beginning.

Their lineup has seen it’s fair share of struggles – for the Red Sox anyway – but has started to turn the corner in the past month with the emergence of Big Papi.  2B Dustin Pedroia hasn’t had the kind of season that won him the MVP Award last year but has scored 59 runs and hitting .290. SS Nick Green has done a fantastic job of replacing the injured Jed Lowrie which brings up a big question for the staff when Lowrie is healthy.  Who will play every day?  3B Mike Lowell has been on the disabled list for the past couple weeks but is due back after the All-Star break.

The starting rotation has some question marks but so far, so good.  The biggest concern might be what to do with Dice-K Matsuzaka.  He has been hurt off and on and pitched poorly when healthy and has left a hole in what has been a solid rotation otherwise.  One would think that Brad Penny will break down eventually but he has been the biggest surprise so far on the pitching staff.

Jonathan Papelbon has had a couple of difficult saves but has converted 20 of his 22 opportunities and is the back end of one of the best bullpens in baseball.  Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Takashi Saito, Daniel Bard and Ramon Ramirez all have ERAs under 4.00 and Justin Masterson sports a pretty 4.12 ERA despite holding many different roles this year.

I know the Yankees are playing well and the Rays had a great run last year but the Red Sox should win this division if they can stay healthy.  They simply have the most talent and easily the most depth on their pitching staff which really pays off come September and October.

2. New York Yankees (48-34)

What new Yankees Stadium problem will the club put more emphasis on this off-season?  The amount of home runs hit at their billion dollar bandbox or restructuring ticket prices?  I would hope they push the former more so than the latter.  At least the home runs affect the games.

All stadium jokes aside, both teams play under the same conditions when they head to the new Yankees Stadium.  That place doesn’t affect their record, and all the games played there count towards their march into October.  As you could probably guess, their numbers at the plate are far more impressive than those on the mound.  Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter form a middle infield that is hitting over .300.  They have eight guys with double-digit home runs and Mark Teixeira has 20 bombs himself.  It’s not just home runs either.  Seven Yankees have 10+ doubles and Jorge Posada will become the eighth once he hits his next two-bagger.

But they always say pitching pays off in the long run.  Cliches aside, I think that will hold true in this playoff race as the Red Sox arms are at one end of the spectrum and the Yankees’ staff is at the other.  C.C. Sabathia has a respectable 3.85 ERA but is just 7-5 despite his massive contract.  Andy Pettitte’s WHIP is over 1.50.  And we all know how bad Chien-Ming Wang has been.  Fortunately for New Yorkers, Phil Hughes has looked good in taking Wang’s rotation spot and A.J. Burnett has turned out to be a pretty good signing.  I’m still not sure Burnett is worth what he’s making but the contract is signed and over with.  The only thing that matters now is his performance on the field.

The back end of the bullpen is still pretty good for the Yankees – headlined by Mariano Rivera.  But they clearly aren’t as deep as a staff or in the farm system as Boston.  That will come back to bite this team but I still think they’re good enough to win the wild card and potentially force another thrilling Yankees/Red Sox ALCS.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (45-39)

What the Rays were able to accomplish last year was extraordinary.  Not just because of the state their franchise has been in since they joined the league in 1998 but because of the odds stacked against them by playing in the AL East.  The amount of fans, revenue, payroll and everything else that goes in to not just the Red Sox and Yankees, but even the Orioles and to an extent the Blue Jays, continually puts the Rays in a difficult position.  Credit the front office for some great baseball moves and excellent scouting to get this team an ALCS last year.

Unfortunately, lighting in a bottle doesn’t normally strike twice.  While the Rays are still good and very talented, they still need a lot of things to go right in order for them to make the playoffs.  Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria have kept their pace from last year and Ben Zobrist has been one of the best surprises in baseball.  But the Rays have four regulars hitting below .250 (Carlos Pena, B.J. Upton, Dioner Navarro and Pat Burrell).  Pena has smacked 23 home runs but he will need to improve on that .231 average if the Rays are to make a run in the second half.  The Rays are also going to miss 2B Akinori Iwamura who is out for the season after tearing knee ligaments.

The Rays have also struggled to maintain the great pitching they showed last year.  Andy Sonnanstine, Scott Kazmir and David Price have all been much worse than they were last season – particularly in the playoffs.  James Shields and Matt Garza have given the Rays a little bit of consistency in the starting rotation but compared to last year – when they were arguably the best rotation in baseball – it simply just isn’t the same.

The same could be said about the bullpen who has seen closer Troy Percival go down with an injury and a 6.35 ERA.  The reinforcements have been okay with J.P. Howell taking over the majority of the save opportunities.  His ERA is a nifty 1.63.  Dan Wheeler, Randy Choate, Grant Balfour, and Lance Cormier have all been pretty solid as well.

The Rays have a chance if everything goes well but their margin of error is so small because of what their division.  They’ll need to have multiple position players improve their batting averages in the second half and figure out what’s wrong with Sonnanstine and Price.  Kazmir is finally healthy – or so the team says – so he might be ready to contribute in the second half.  If all the pieces fall in place like they did last season then this could be a great divisional race down the stretch.

4. Toronto Blue Jays (43-42)

It’s hard to not feel bad for the Blue Jays.  First of all they are the only team in the majors these days not in the United States.  It’s not a major issue but different tax laws, passports, etc. make it a less attractive destination for free agents.  Worst than that, they play in the AL East where they have to spend and compete with the Red Sox and Yankees, and even the Rays these days.

The Jays had a great start to their season going 16-9 in April.  But eventually this really good team started to play closer to their pre-season expectations and have since been surpassed in the standings by Boston, New York and Tampa Bay.  As a result, their are rumors flying left and right that they’re going to have a fire-sale trading the likes of Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Scott Rolen.

Wells has certainly struggled this year batting just .262 with eight home runs.  But he joins a great cast of guys that the Jays are shopping around in their effort to re-build some great young talent.  Toronto already has OF Adam Lind with a breakout performance batting .308 with 18 home runs in his third season.  Also in the Jays’ youthful arsenal is rookie-of-the-year candidate LHP Ricky Romero, highly-touted prospect OF Travis Snider, as well as starting pitcher Brett Cecil.

With such valuable trading pieces in Halladay, Rios, Rolen and Wells – and Halladay is the going to be the biggest name on the market this year – the Jays can definitely reel in a boatload of promising prospects and try to build themselves the way the Rays did for their run last year.

5. Baltimore Orioles (37-47)

As I’ve touched on several times with the other teams in this division, the Orioles suffer from being outspent by the two biggest franchises in the league.  However, it seems like the Orioles have been awful ever since Cal Ripken retired and this year they aren’t making things much better.

I really do think that the Orioles have a solid lineup.  Nick Markakis is a very under-rated outfielder despite being inconsistent so far this year.  Brian Roberts is an all-star caliber player and Aubrey Huff is a solid run-producer.  With a youth movement in Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Matt Wieters, the O’s look like they’ll score some runs in the future.

It’s that pitching staff that is brutal to watch and has struggled again this year.  If you asked most baseball fans to name the first pitcher on the Orioles that came to mind, 95% of them would mention Jeremy Guthrie.  But Guthrie has been bad for quite awhile now and his 5.35 ERA this year doesn’t look like it’s going down anytime soon.  The Rich Hill experiement has failed (7.43 ERA and just 39 strikeouts compared to his 31 walks).  Rookies Koji Uehara and Brad Bergesen have thrown well and hopefully for Orioles fans will continue that for years to come.  The only problem with Uehara is that he’s a 34-year old rookie after coming over from Japan.

The bullpen is also well below-average as George Sherrill and Chris Ray are probably the only two guys you’ve ever heard of.  Sherrill has been solid closing games out but Ray not so much.  His ERA is a gruesome 9.28 and he is now on Baltimore’s disabled list with biceps tendinitis.

The Orioles are out of the hunt this year and unlike the Blue Jays don’t have many big names to toss around on the trade market.  With some budding young stars there might be promise for the future but it’s just hard to envision them being much better than the Rays anytime soon let alone the Yankees and Red Sox.

Final Thoughts:

I believe this is the best division in baseball.  In fact the only other division that even comes close is the AL West.  It makes things difficult to project because you know that the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays are all capable of getting hot at any time.  Because of that, if any of those top teams suffer a major injury or two their playoff hopes could be erased in a hurry.  All things constant, I think this division will play out the same way the standings look now with the Red Sox taking the crown and the Yankees winning the Wild Card.  Last year these two big-market teams slept on the Rays and ended up paying for it.  I don’t think they’ll make the same mistake again.

Quick Hits 7/7/09

A lot of things going on in the sports world with NBA free agency, the Steve McNair death and baseball in full swing but I found a lot of good links that I wanted to share today.  So to keep things brief, here are some quick hitters.  We’ll take care of more newsworthy stuff later this week

• We’ll start with the Michael Jackson memorial today.  Current Laker Kobe Bryant spoke and seemed to know nothing about Michael Jackson.  He was followed by former Laker Magic Johnson though and Magic was great.  You could tell he really knew Michael and considered him a good friend.  Below is a clip of what the two had to say (most of Kobe’s lame speech is cut out).  Magic has a pretty funny story about one meal he shared with Michael.

• Our next story is in regards to minor league promotions.  They are generally the best sports marketing ideas ever and this one is brilliant.  I’ll leave the political correctness of it all up for you to debate but after reading this press release, how can you not laugh and want to attend?

• While we’re on the subject of gender, this next link might be the greatest creation for MAN-kind.  Emphasis on the word man.  It seems a little pricey to me but wouldn’t it be great to send the lady to the ballgame above while you set this sucker up in the living room?

• Golf fan or not, this video is outstanding.  I’m not sure what’s more entertaining… what actually happens in the video or Bob Costas and his commentator’s sound effects.

• We will conclude today’s quick hits with a couple of media links on two opposite ends of the spectrum.  First we have quite possibly the worst article ever written according to Dan Le Batard.  And Le Batard is entirely correct.  You’d have to receive a death threat or something to try to possibly take the angle this guy is taking.  And on top of that, he defends it quite poorly.

• Our final bit of media comes from a friend of mine who also was my broadcast partner last summer on Cape Cod.  Andrew Gothelf writes a nice piece today on home run calls that includes several links you can listen to of great calls in the past from brilliant broadcasters.  It’s quite entertaining and I suggest you check it out.

I’m off to watch baseball the rest of the night.  I couldn’t be more excited about picking up some nice seats for the August 1st affair between the Marlins and Cubbies.  More important than the game itself is the fact that The Village People are performing on the field afterwards.  I’m stoked!

Midseason Report: NL East

Since we’re just over the halfway point in the 2009 MLB season, I figured I’d start a little series breaking down each division.  I can’t promise I’ll post one each day but hopefully they’ll all be up by the end of the week.  I’ll start with the division I know best – the NL East.  All rankings and records are based on current standings in the division at the time of this post.

1) Philadelphia Phillies (43-37)

It hasn’t been pretty but the Phillies have played pretty poor baseball (for Philly standards) yet still lead the NL East.  It’s been a rough stretch with Cole Hamels and Jimmy Rollins both struggling to begin the 2009 season but how can you not expect the Phillies to win this division from what we know today?  Rollins finally started hitting again last week and Hamels had a good start tonight as did the entire Phillies lineup, beating Cincinnati 22-1.

The Phillies have depth in their minor league system with OF Dominic Brown, RHP Carlos Carrasco and RHP Kyle Drabek.  Promising young arms can be valuable trading chips if the Phillies wanted to make a move for a big-time pitcher.  Their lineup is downright scary if Rollins turns it on and Ibanez is 100 percent when he comes off the DL.

The only question mark that could keep Philadelphia out of the playoffs is their pitching.  Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer simply aren’t getting it done and the ERA’s posted by Hamels and Brett Myers aren’t much better.  J.A. Happ has been a pleasant surprise since he was added to the rotation but it’s doubtful to think that he’ll keep his 2.96 ERA the remainder of the year.  The bullpen hasn’t been much better as Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson have combined to blow 10 saves.  Lidge struck out the side in a save last night so he might be starting to feel it too but that 7.06 ERA of his is really ugly.

2. Florida Marlins (43-40)

The Florida Marlins might be the most difficult team to figure out in all of baseball.  Their lineup is filled with holes and strikeouts, their starting pitching has been inconsistent throughout the season as a whole, and their bullpen is a mish-mash of arms found from everywhere.  On top of that, their run differential is -18.  Yet somehow the Marlins are three games over .500 and just 1.5 games behind the Phillies (they are in progress in San Francisco at the time of this writing).

I’m not really sure how the Marlins are in this race.  Hanley Ramirez’s NL-leading .346 batting average and Josh Johnson’s 2.76 ERA certainly have helped but baseball has never been a two man game.  They have lots of holes.  In the lineup they need a 3B to replace Emilio Bonifacio and their corner outfielders are light hitting by major league standards.  They’re also brutal defensively with Dan Uggla having limited range at 2B, Ramirez with eight errors at SS, Bonifacio’s league-leading 13 errors at 3B and Cody Ross and Jeremy Hermida having below average range by MLB standards at their respective positions.  Now Cody Ross is still a great fielder, just not a centerfielder.

The Marlins have some tough decisions to make in the next month.  They have to determine whether they really think they have a shot to make the playoffs or whether they should just stick with what they’ve got and see what happens.  Some third basemen rumored to be available are Garrett Atkins, Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre (he’s always rumored to be available) and Joe Crede (him too).  But it’ll be tough for the Marlins to swing a deal without taking on a lot of money or having to give up a nice prospect.  They could also call up Gaby Sanchez from AAA who’s been tearing it up at the plate but is learning to play third base.

The Fish did make a couple moves recently to add depth to their bullpen, picking up Brendan Donnelly and Luis Ayala.  Donnelly played a crucial role in the LA Angels bullpen when they won the World Series in 2002.  He had Tommy John surgery in 2007 but had a 1.75 ERA in 24 appearances for Houston’s Triple-A affiliate this year.  Ayala was sent to Triple-A New Orleans.

Eventually I think the Marlins will probably hit a rough stretch and never recover.  But with Ricky Nolasco finally pitching the way he did last season and Chris Volstad and Sean West having a couple great outings sprinkled here and there, if they can get some consistent pitching they’ll stay in the hunt.

3. New York Mets (39-42)

Wow what have the Mets become?  Every year they sign another big-name player to a huge contract and every year the team disappoints.  This year might be slightly different in terms of it being hard to blame the Mets front office for a team ravaged by injuries but it still has to be very disappointing for Mets fans.

To put a positive spin on it, it’s really amazing that this team is only 4.5 games back.  They’re actually in a pretty good position if they can get healthy and make a move or two unless the Phillies really get hot.  I don’t think John Maine getting healthy will make much of a difference but they really miss Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.

On another note, how can the Mets be so thin with the kind of payroll that they have?  I understand that it’s characteristic for a team to not be able to replace three All-Star caliber players but Gary Sheffield, Alex Cora, and Fernando Tatis?  It’s reasons like this – and maybe it’s because I support a small-market team – that I just cannot fathom why teams give out these huge, lengthy contracts to guys.  Nobody in baseball stays healthy for an entire career anymore and when you’ve spent $40 million on guys that are on the disabled list it can make a lot of people angry.

The Mets have found ways to lose games that I’ve never thought were possible this year and knowing the way their last two seasons have ended, you just get the feeling that they’re going to disappoint yet again.

4. Atlanta Braves (39-43)

I don’t think a lot of people have really thought of the Braves as contenders because they’ve spent the majority of the season in third or fourth place in the division.  But the Braves are within five games too and knowing GM Frank Wren, I’d be shocked if they don’t make a move before the deadline.  They have talent on the farm and they always seem to make a move that benefits their team.

While I doubt that Tommy Hanson keeps the pace (most rookies never do), the Braves’ pitching staff is still outstanding.  It’s funny to think that the Marlins and Braves clearly have the two best pitching staffs in this division so far when nobody would have imagined that in spring training.  Javier Vasquez and Jair Jurrjens have been phenomenal.  Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami have had their struggles but both are better than the two worst starters on any other team in the division.  Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez present a formidable back-end to the bullpen as well.

The Braves’ short-coming comes in their lineup because they basically have none.  2B Kelly Johnson is batting .214 and OF Jeff Francoeur leaves more guys on base than miles per hour on Tommy Hanson’s fastball.  Rookie Jordan Schafer struggled mightily when he was called up and 1B Casey Kotchman doesn’t hit like a first-baseman.  At least OF Matt Diaz has hit the ball well lately.  But even he is a streaky hitter and won’t keep it up for the rest of the year.

I don’t think the Braves have enough fire power in the lineup to win the division but if they make a move like I expect them to, you certainly can’t count them out.

5. Washington Nationals (24-56)

The only positives in Washington this summer are that Adam Dunn is hitting mammoth home runs and the hope that Stephen Strasburg is really as good as everyone says he is.  As everyone knows, the negatives with this franchise are endless right now.  What’s sad is that there are even negatives in the positives.  Adam Dunn doesn’t do anything else besides hit mammoth home runs.  And Stephen Strasburg – as great as he may be – isn’t signed and might not be signed unless the Nationals pay him more money than the Mets are paying their disabled list.

There is hope – if Strasburg signs – because Ryan Zimmerman is quietly enjoying a solid year for the 24-year old star and rookie RHP Jordan Zimmerman has shown signs that he could be a solid starting pitcher for years to come.  A rotation next year of Stephen Strasburg, John Lannan and Jordan Zimmerman certainly is possible and would give them a decent rotation.

However, that’s really all the Nationals can do right now.  Sign Strasburg and wait for next year and just hope that things are better.  Because right now they’re really crappy.  Just one year after building a brand new ballpark, Washington ranks in the bottom of the third in attendance averaging 23,310 a game.  I don’t think that investment is paying for itself at this point.

Final Thoughts:

I still think the Phillies and Mets will end up finishing at the top of the division with Philadelphia taking the divisional crown.  It should be a close race all season and I don’t see either team winning more than 90 or 95 games.  I think the Marlins and Braves can both finish with 80-85 wins which means with a couple of injuries or breakout performances anything can happen.

Name That Blog!

We’ve gone far too many days without some comments or “viewer interaction” so to speak… so I want to issue a challenge to the few readers out there.

The name of this blog is stupid.  Nobody can pronounce my name, nobody cares about my name, I don’t even care about my name and the title of the blog is about as unoriginal as the constant news about Michael Jackson’s death.

I don’t have any prizes to award, but please post name suggestions for this blog in the comment box below and whoever comes up with the best one will get some brilliant self satisfaction and bragging rights.  Trust me, I know you want to brag to all of your friends that you named this crappy blog!

I do reserve the right to nix all name suggestions on the basis of them being not very good or just plain stupid.  Get thinking!