The dog days of summer aren’t upon us just yet, but the temperatures are getting hotter, the sun is shining is brighter and what’s done is done through baseball’s first half. As expected, we were treated to a fantastic, thrilling All Star Game, from Josh Hamilton’s historic home run derby to Michael Young’s sac fly to win it for the AL in the bottom of the 15th. Let’s look at the best stories in baseball as the second half nears….
Rays of light. Baseball’s brightest first half story resides in the sunshine state, and the state of the Tampa Bay Rays. Annual AL East bottomfeeders for the better part of a decade, the Rays have gone from worst in the majors to wild card leaders. They’ve never won more than 70 games in their history, but they’re already at 55 wins with plenty of summer left, thanks to having finally having a formidable rotation. Tampa ranks fourth in the AL in team pitching, and only Chicago, Oakland and Toronto have better team ERA’s. Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza and James Shields each have seven wins, but the best guy has been Andy Sonnanstine, who leads the staff with 10 wins. The break maybe came a few games too late for the Rays, whose current seven game skid cost them the East lead. If the Rays have staying power and they’re playing meaningful games in September, we’ll look back and say the break helped Tampa regroup and rekindle their spirits. If they’re running on empty and fade once fall looms, the Rays will be considered this year’s Brewers.
Lest-er we forget. Back in August 2006, his career and life were threatened by anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Four months later, his lymphoma was in remission, and on July 23, 2007, the Red Sox called him up from Pawtucket and he made is his first big league start. On May 28, less than a year after his first career start, Lester threw his first career no-hitter against Kansas City. It was the first no-no thrown by a Boston lefty since. So far in his first full year in the bigs, Lester is 7-3 with a 3.38.
Soxin’ it to ‘em. This time last year, the ChiSox were 39-47 and floundering in the AL Central. Granted they could field, but last season they couldn’t pitch a lick nor could they swing the sticks. This season, Chicago ranks in the top three in pitching, batting and fielding ( 3rd in batting and fielding, 2nd in pitching) and they sit atop the Central Division, staring down Central counterparts Cleveland and Detroit. In preseason, many believed it would be the Tigers and Indians competing for the division and possibly the right to go to the World Series. Instead, Ozzie Guillen and company are a combined 14-7 against the Indians and Tigers. Of the White Sox 54 wins, 37 have come from starting pitching led by Gavin Floyd who’s 10-5 with a 3.63 ERA and finally starting to fulfill his potential he never reached in Philadelphia. At the plate, Jermaine Dye has reclaimed his World Series MVP-like swing with 21 homers and 56 RBIs. Joe Crede, bad back and all, found himself in the All Star Game, and his catcher, AJ Pierzynski should’ve joined him. As the summer goes on, the Sox are hoping for big second halves by the likes of Nick Swisher, Jim Thome and struggling Paul Konerko (.217, 9 HR 36 RBI). The offseason acquisition of outfielder Carlos Quentin is shaping up to be better than the Sox could have ever imagined. For a guy many in the Chicago clubhouse weren’t sure he’d even make the team out of spring training, all he’s done is hit 22 homeruns and knock in 70 runs, both career highs. In just 91 games this season, Quentin has already eclipsed career marks in nine offensive categories.
Twin killing. It was an exodus of sorts from Minnesota in the offseason. They lost their outfield centerpiece and team heartbeat, Torii Hunter, to the Angels. They traded their frontline stud Johan Santana to the Mets, and packaged starting pitcher and shortstop Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett to Tampa Bay. After losing a ton, they weren’t expected to do much, possibly supplanting Kansas City as the AL Central’s worst. But the Twins refuse to buy into a woe-is-me mentality and never cry small market. Manager Rod Gardenhire continues to a fantastic job behind the bench, while never getting the credit he truly deserves for the job he and his staff annually do. For a rotation that’s comprised of threes and fours and no stud number one starter, Livan Hernandez has turned in nine wins. Unknown Nick Blackburn has won seven games, and bigger unknowns Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey have each won six games. The Twins have found ways to get the ball to closer Joe Nathan, who continues to be one of the best closers in the game; Nathan’s 27 first half saves made him an easy all-star selection for the third time in five years. Boof Bonser has been a huge bust at 3-6 with an ERA at 6.50 and Francisco Liriano has struggled to find his way back to his 2006 12-3 all star form after missing all of last year because of Tommy John surgery. Minnesota ranks fourth in the AL in hitting, scoring more runs than the vaunted lineups of Detroit and New York. The Twins still have studs Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer in the middle of their lineup, with hopes that Delmon Young will heat up in the second half and they’ll get outfielder Michael Cuddyer healthy to help shoulder the offensive load. Minnesota stands at 53-42 and just a game and a half behind Chicago for the lead in the Central, Gardenhire and the Twins are positioning themselves to hang around and see the leaves begin to change in late September.
Milwaukee’s got something brewing. The Brewers made the biggest noise and splash, getting ace C.C. Sabathia in a trade from Cleveland. The move signifies the Brewers are going for it all this year and with Sabathia now paired with NL all star starter and 10-game winner Ben Sheets, Milwaukee has lofty hopes of making the postseason for the first time since 1982. The Brewers learned last year pennants aren’t won in the first three months of the season. At the end of June, the Brewers were 47-33 ‘07, but they played sub .500 ball (34-40) the rest of the way. Milwaukee went 11-16 in July and had a terrible August going 9-18, effectively playing their way out of the NL Central race. They’re in the thick of the race right now, sitting five games behind the Cardinals and Cubs, and they’ll be counting on Sabathia (2-0, 2.40 ERA in his two Brewers starts) and Sheets to lock-up one of the four postseason spots. They’ll need all stars Ryan Braun and Corey Hart to continue to be the meat and potatoes in the lineup and a hot second half from first baseman Prince Fielder wouldn’t hurt. What the Brewers do in the second half agains the Cubs and Cardinals will go a long way in determining their fate: they’ve got 10 more meetings with the Cubs, six with the Cardinals. So far, Milwaukee is 4-2 versus the Cubs, 5-4 against St. Louis. This division will be settled down the stretch between the lines, not in the clubhouse scoreboard watching.
Gone Fishing. Oh those pesky, irritating Florida Marlins. At least that’s what the Phillies and Mets are saying. Like a gnat at summer barbeque, the Marlins refuse to go away, and whether or not they’ll have staying power as the summer wears on remains to be seen. But right now, they’re 50-45. They sit a half game behind the Mets for second, one and a half games back of the East-leading Phillies for first place. They’re rank 14th in the NL in pitching and they’ve committed 80 errors, the most in the NL, making them a sub-par team when it comes to the globe. But boy can they ever mash. And it starts with one of the best middle infield duos in the game, shortstop Hanley Ramirez and second baseman Dan Uggla. Ramirez leads the Fish in average (.311), HR (23), hits (116), walks (45), total bases (211) and stolen bases with 23. Uggla leads the Marlins in RBIs with 59, doubles (25) and slugging (.605). Starter Ricky Nolasco has been the leader of a young rotation, going 10-4 with a 3.70 ERA and striking out 88 batters; all three pitching categories Nolasco leads the Marlins in. First year manager Fredi Gonzalez has guided his young club to the indentical record of his former predecessor, Joe Giradi’s New York Yankees. And Gonzalez has done it all with the lowest payroll in baseball, $187, 245,079 million less than New York’s.
George Sherrill and Brian Wilson. I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t think the Baltimore Orioles or the San Francisco Giants would win 28 or 25 games, let alone their closers securing that many saves. But that’s the case at the end of the first half of the season. Orioles closer George Sherrill has more saves (28) than Joe Nathan (27) and Mariano Rivera (23). With the injuries to closer J.J. Putz, think the Seattle Mariners would like to have Sherrill back after including him as a piece in the Erik Bedard deal? Giants closer Brian Wilson leads the NL in saves with 25 and had it not been for Billy Wagner coming up small under the lights in the all star game and failing to shut the door after Wilson got the first two outs, Wilson would have been one of the reasons why the National League would’ve won.
Knock on Wood. Forget he made on 14 starts from 2005 to 2006, and his three arm injuries have robbed him of what once was shaping up to be a great career, now Kerry Wood has revived his career in the Chicago Cubs bullpen. In his first full season as the Cubs closer, Wood’s 24 saves made him an all star selection for the first time since 2003.
It’s in the Cards. Gotta give it to the man. Tony La Russa has done a flat out tremendous job with this team. He’s said during this season he isn’t sure if his team is good enough to be in the postseason, but they’re certainly tough enough to be playin in October. Backtrack a second and raise your hands if, back in March, you’d believe that the Cardinals would be 10 games over .500 and have the NL’s second-best record at the all star break? Perennial MVP Albert Pujols did a stint on the DL, accompanied by No.1 starter Adam Wainwright and closer Jason Isringhausen. Former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter is still making his way back from Tommy John surgery and Mark Mulder’s career appears to be all but over. How you ask are the redbirds doing this? Well, kudos goes to pitching coach Dave Duncan, who has turned water into wine, getting 40 wins from a staff that lead’s by Kyle Loshe (yes, Kyle Loshe) who has gone 11-2 and hasn’t lost since May 8th. Troy Glaus has 59 RBIs; three more and he’ll eclipse his total from last year. His 15 homers are more than 12 total homeruns the Cardinals got at the third base position a year ago. And then there’s the breakout outfield duo of all star Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel, who have combined for 41 homeruns and 115 RBIs. Can their pitching carry over their first half success into the second half of the year, and contend with the likes of Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia, their chief rivals for the NL Central title?
Josh Hamilton. He beat his drug and alcohol addiction, and now he’s beating up American League pitching. Hamilton leads the American League with 95 rbis, ranks third in homeruns with 21 and ninth in batting average in hiting .310. His recent wow-moment came at the Home Run Derby when he set a derby record hitting 28 homers in the first round. For a guy who did pretty much everything under the sun to kill himself, Hamilton now is fulfilling his 1999 No.1 overall pick potential while becoming on his way to becoming one of the best five-tool players the game has to offer.
