Major League Baseball First Half Recap
July 6th 2009 05:08
As pro baseball takes its annual midsummer pause for the All Star festivities in St. Louis next week, its time to look back on the first half that was, and prospect a little on what the second half holds.
It's hard to recap anything in the majors these days without firstly discussing the immortal Albert Pujols. His first half brilliance looks like this: .336 avg, 31 homers, 82 RBI, 66 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, and a robust .460 on-base percentage.
In the major leagues, those totals rank 3rd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 47th (very good for a slow guy who never steals bases), and 1st. There are several more sortable statistics that Pujols easily paces, but to mention all of them is unnecessary; there is simply no one in this guy's galaxy, much less anyone better.
There were several surprises early in the year, most notably the hot starts of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers, and the slow starts of the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and New York Mets. Toronto held baseball's best record for nearly the whole first month while leading the league with its blistering offensive numbers. The Rangers were not far behind, jumping to a surprise AL West lead for most of the first half before a healthy LA Angel team took over.
The Cubs and Mets have been ravaged by key injuries to pivotal offensive stars, and look to return to form if and when they get their heavy hitters back. The Yankees, as usual, struggled out of the gate while getting used to their new lavish digs and waiting for the return of Alex Rodriguez from hip surgery. The pitching staff seems perpetually in shambles as they continually add big bats. This offseason, New York added star pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, spending extravagantly in an effort to bolster the starting rotation. Sabathia and Burnett have shown flashes, but neither has been good or lived up to the amount of zeros on the end of their contracts.
The Philadelphia Phillies have been struggled only slightly less than the rival Mets have, in spite of an absolutely smoldering first half from offseason acquisition Raul Ibanez, who went to the DL with a groin injury in late June. Before leaving the lineup, Ibanez stroked 22 homers and 59 RBI, far surpassing the organization's expectations for his numbers. Ibanez will be a mainstay in the middle of the Philly order when he returns shortly after the All-Star break.
Several of the usual suspects on the mound got off to their typical unhittable ways early: Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Johan Santana were statistical wonders coming out of the gate. But newcomer and AL Cy Young leader Zack Grienke redefined what it means to be unhittable. Grienke has 10 wins in 17 starts, going at least 5 innings in all but one start. He didn't allow a run for 25 innings to start the season and did not allow an earned run until his 32nd inning of work. He has thrown 4 complete games, 2 of which were shutout victories. His numbers don't stand far above those of Dan Haren or Lincecum at this point, but there is no better pitching performance of the first half than Grienke's.
As June heated up, hot starts faded, surprises returned to Earth, and the better rosters began to rise to the top of their divisions. The Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees pace the AL East in the most competitive division in baseball, which only can be described as riveting. The Detroit Tigers are probably the class of the AL Central, and have begun to play like it. The Angels, another squad decimated by injuries early, have turned white hot as they've gotten healthy, with strong performances by Chone Figgins and the emergence of Juan Rivera. The Angels caught the streaking Rangers in late June and should only move up and away as starting pitching becomes vital during the dog days.
No surprises in the senior circuit as the Phillies, Cardinals, and LA Dodgers lead their respective divisions. The Dodgers look to be the best team in baseball this side of Boston, with loads of young talent spread all over the field and on the mound. The Dodgers, at a major league best 52-30, withstood the estrogen-laced drug suspension of superstar Manny Ramirez by going 29-21 sans their best hitter. Pretty impressive first half for the Dodgers, who are a clear favorite to represent the National League in the World Series at the break.
More second half predictions and All-Star team reactions to come soon
It's hard to recap anything in the majors these days without firstly discussing the immortal Albert Pujols. His first half brilliance looks like this: .336 avg, 31 homers, 82 RBI, 66 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, and a robust .460 on-base percentage.
There were several surprises early in the year, most notably the hot starts of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers, and the slow starts of the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and New York Mets. Toronto held baseball's best record for nearly the whole first month while leading the league with its blistering offensive numbers. The Rangers were not far behind, jumping to a surprise AL West lead for most of the first half before a healthy LA Angel team took over.
The Cubs and Mets have been ravaged by key injuries to pivotal offensive stars, and look to return to form if and when they get their heavy hitters back. The Yankees, as usual, struggled out of the gate while getting used to their new lavish digs and waiting for the return of Alex Rodriguez from hip surgery. The pitching staff seems perpetually in shambles as they continually add big bats. This offseason, New York added star pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, spending extravagantly in an effort to bolster the starting rotation. Sabathia and Burnett have shown flashes, but neither has been good or lived up to the amount of zeros on the end of their contracts.
The Philadelphia Phillies have been struggled only slightly less than the rival Mets have, in spite of an absolutely smoldering first half from offseason acquisition Raul Ibanez, who went to the DL with a groin injury in late June. Before leaving the lineup, Ibanez stroked 22 homers and 59 RBI, far surpassing the organization's expectations for his numbers. Ibanez will be a mainstay in the middle of the Philly order when he returns shortly after the All-Star break.
Several of the usual suspects on the mound got off to their typical unhittable ways early: Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Johan Santana were statistical wonders coming out of the gate. But newcomer and AL Cy Young leader Zack Grienke redefined what it means to be unhittable. Grienke has 10 wins in 17 starts, going at least 5 innings in all but one start. He didn't allow a run for 25 innings to start the season and did not allow an earned run until his 32nd inning of work. He has thrown 4 complete games, 2 of which were shutout victories. His numbers don't stand far above those of Dan Haren or Lincecum at this point, but there is no better pitching performance of the first half than Grienke's.
As June heated up, hot starts faded, surprises returned to Earth, and the better rosters began to rise to the top of their divisions. The Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees pace the AL East in the most competitive division in baseball, which only can be described as riveting. The Detroit Tigers are probably the class of the AL Central, and have begun to play like it. The Angels, another squad decimated by injuries early, have turned white hot as they've gotten healthy, with strong performances by Chone Figgins and the emergence of Juan Rivera. The Angels caught the streaking Rangers in late June and should only move up and away as starting pitching becomes vital during the dog days.
No surprises in the senior circuit as the Phillies, Cardinals, and LA Dodgers lead their respective divisions. The Dodgers look to be the best team in baseball this side of Boston, with loads of young talent spread all over the field and on the mound. The Dodgers, at a major league best 52-30, withstood the estrogen-laced drug suspension of superstar Manny Ramirez by going 29-21 sans their best hitter. Pretty impressive first half for the Dodgers, who are a clear favorite to represent the National League in the World Series at the break.
More second half predictions and All-Star team reactions to come soon
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