Yankees
– B+ Had some key injuries early in the season (Gardner, Robertson, Mariano
Rivera), but still managed to amass a big lead in arguably the strongest
division in baseball. The starting rotation put forth an incredible June and
the hitting was better than ever with Cano leading the way. Still need to get
the hitting with RISP in order and stop relying on homeruns.
Orioles
– A Who would’ve expected the Orioles to
be leading the division early in the season? Noone. It’s July, and while they’re
not leading the AL East anymore, they’ve still managed to be 6 games over .500
and 2nd in the division. Their hitting is pretty good, but their
starting pitching is still a question with Arrieta possessing a 6.13 era and
Matusz a 5.42 era.
Rays
– B- Early on like the Orioles they were at the top of the division, but that
was expected from a playoff team like the Rays. Progression. Suffered some
important injuries to Longoria and Joyce, and in an offense like the Rays,
which is pretty anemic at times, it’s only gotten worse. Their pitching will
always help them secure close wins, but better hitting is needed if they’re
truly going to challenge for the division.
Red
Sox – C- Boy they can still hit! They’re
not a very good team though. A lot of injuries have hurt the team, and their
bullpen has been one of the worst in the league surrendering big leads. Their starting
pitching has been no better with 2 of their regular starts with era’s over 5
and the other 3 with eras over 4. Boy, they can hit doe!
Blue
Jays – C+ I’ll cut them some slack because they started well but tailed off due
to injuries to a couple of their starting pitchers(who still aren’t very good).
But hey..Romero(5.35 era)…last season you were an ace, fam..what happened??? They
can hit tho. Like…4 of the 5 teams in the AL East. Their saving grace.
AL
Central:
Chicago
White Sox – A++ - 1st in a division most expected the Tigers to be
leading. Hitting has been phenomenal (Dunn has bounced back nicely from his all
time WOAT season with 25 homeruns). Pitching has been really good, except for
Humber who has been terrible since his perfect game.. And the recent trade for
Youkilis has given them even more strength.
Cleveland
Indians – B Weird team. I don’t know
exactly what they’re doing, but they are 4 games over 500. Scoring some runs,
but I wouldn’t think of them as anything special. Decent pitching. They’re not
exactly good but the Central has been pretty subpar outside of the White Sox.
Tigers
– C More was expected from this team
with the Prince Fielder signing but unfortunately for them things have not gone
as planned. Doug Fister, one of their most important pitchers, got injured
early in the season and that hasn’t exactly helped a rotation that isn’t the
greatest outside of Justin Verlander. The good news? Fister is finally healthy
and their offense is still good. Austin Jackson has turned into the great
player people expected him to become.
Kansas
City Royals – D Terrible start but they’ve
bounced back pretty well. They can use the young team excuse for the next
couple of months, or years, like they’ve been doing for a while. They’ll
eventually have to become a good team.
Minnesota
Twins – F Terrible team. They’re behind the Royals!
AL
West:
Texas
Rangers B+ - Great team yet so up and down this season. It feels like they sometimes
don’t even care about these games, yet they still have a solid lead in the
division. Talent. Yu Darvish has had a good 1st half with them thus
far and Josh Hamilton and Beltre have had great seasons as well.
Los
Angeles Angels A – Mike Trout! His
arrival to the Angels sparked their offense after a listless start where Pujols
was severely underachieving with his gargantuan contract. The entire offense
has picked it up, led by Trout, who is leading the AL in steals, Batting
Average, and is in the top 10 in runs. Let’s not forget about Mark Trumbo whose
ops is over 1.000. CJ Wilson has had a good first half as well (9-5 2.43 era)
with his new team.
Oakland
A’s – B They’ve done a surprisingly good job even with their hitting
deficiency. It seems like the A’s throw out a young pitcher every other day and
manage to shut down some potent offense. The signing of the Cuban, Cespedes,
has helped their offense a good amount at times as well as Josh Reddick’s 19
homeruns.
Seattle
Mariners – F Still can’t hit. They haven’t been a good team in a long time. The
Universe’s Order and Disorder.
NL
East:
Washington
Nationals – A+ What a phenomenal season
for the Nationals. For a while you could see the incremental improvements from
the team and they’ve finally managed to put it all together. They have the best
pitching staff, statistically, in the league right now and they’ve managed to
win even with injuries to some important hitters. The Bryce Harper call up kind
of rivals the Trout one in terms of hype as the kid has really done a good job
in the Majors.
New
York Mets – A++ Name a hitter in the Mets lineup outside of David Wright…I’ll
give you 5 seconds….No? You know some? You googled. Let’s face it, when Jose
Reyes left during the offseason, most people expected the Mets to really
flounder this season but that hasn’t happened at all. Instead, they’re top 3
in runs in the National League. Wait…wtf?? A team with Daniel Murphy..Ike Davis…Ruben
Tejada…who? Well..Ruben Tejada, Jose Reyes’s replacement, is actually filling
in quite nicely batting almost 330. David Wright is having a career year
batting over 340. R.A. Dickey, who was already pretty good, is having a legendary
year for a knuckleballer with a 12-1
record, 2.43 era, and 123 strikeouts in 120 innings. Wait…this season is the
first time you heard of RA Dickey? Biggest issue with them is their terrible bullpen which has cost them a couple games.
Atlanta
Braves – B The Braves…remember last year when they choked to allow the
Cardinals in the playoffs…and the Cardinals ended up winning the whole thing??
Well..that’s what I think about this era of the Braves. Good but not good enough. To their credit (I
did give them a B), their hitting is really coming into its own and their young
players are playing well.
Miami
Marlins – C The additions of The Great Ozzie and Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and the new
stadium in Miami were supposed to energize this team. Things haven’t gone
exactly as planned. Understatement of the year. And don’t we all love Castro? Giancarlo
Stanton, though, has been a bright spot in the Marlins lineup showcasing his
slugging ability(though his injury may compound issues).
Philadelphia
Phillies – D It’s been a bad season for them with injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase
Utley and Roy Halladay. Their pitching remains really good with Cliff Lee and
Cole Hamels but their offense simply doesn’t cut it. Oh, how the mighty have
fallen.
NL
Central:
Pittsburgh
Pirates – A+ Last year the Pirates were in a similar situation through the 1st
half of the season. This year, though, there seems to be a different aura about
them. MCCUTCHEN. Batting just under .360 for the season. Arguably the best
player in baseball. He’s carried their offense for most of the season which has
actually been picking up as of late. Meanwhile, Aj Burnett’s resurgence
continues(9-2 , 3.74 era) after a dismal last 2 seasons with the New York Yankees(over
5 era in both).
Cincinatti
Reds – B For some reason everyone tries to convince themselves that the Reds
are this prolific offense because of all the names in their lineup. They aren’t,
but that doesn’t stop them from being a pretty good team. Joey Votto is incredible.
Their rotation led by Johnny Cueto(SNUB) has been pretty good if you look past
the regular era stats.
St.
Louis Cardinals – B They might have the most dynamic offense in the whole MLB.
Even without Pujols, the Cardinals maintain their great hitting. Their young
pitchers have stepped as well but there’s just something about them..that’s
disconcerting. Ah yes..terrible bullpen.
Milwaukee
Brewers – D After last season, winning the NL Central and getting to the NLCS,
you would’ve expected a better start from the Brewers. Nope. The loss of prince
fielder was big, but they’ve scored 379 runs. Unfortunately, they’ve also given
up 390 for a run differential of -11.
Houston
Astros – F Awful. I won’t waste your
time.
Chicago
Cubs – F Even worse yet have managed to beat the Mets 4 of 6 times in their 2
series.
NL
West:
Los
Angeles Dodgers – A They possess one of the most anemic offenses in the entire MLB
yet still manage to hold the lead in this division. Injuries to Matt Kemp and
Andre Ethier have made their already suspect lineup look even worse. Having
Kershaw always helps things. And a rejuvenated Capuano. Sometimes the Dodgers just
have that…”clutch gene”..no Bayless.
San
Francisco Giants – B- Tim Lincecum..what happened fam? Awful season for the 2x
Cy Young Winner with an era over 6. The rest of their rotation has remained
great as usual, and that is helping their mediocre hitting. Melky Cabrera,
though, possesses a batting average over 350. Incredible 1st half.
Arizona
Diamondbacks – C Similar story to the
Milwaukee Brewers. Coming off a season in which they won the NL West, more was
expected. Their rotation has underachieved a bit (except for young Wade Miley) headlined
by their Ace, Ian Kennedy. Kennedy after winning 21 games(2.88 era, only 4
losses) last season is now 6-7 with a 4.26 era. Their lineup hasn’t missed a
beat even with their leading hitter Justin Upton slumping. Last season Upton
had an ops just under .900 and a .298 average, while this season his ops is
well under that at .735 and his average is only at .267. Still. Only 4 games out of 1st
place.
San
Diego Padres – F – NL West version of the Mariners.
Colorado
Rockies – F – Behind the Padres. They deserve even lower than an F.
Now on to the 1st half Awards written by @hoodcertified
As always, the first half of the season has
been as unpredictable as ever. The Pirates are 10 games over .500. The
Nationals are possibly the best team in the National League, the Phillies are
14 games back and the Orioles are a bad team that is somehow still within
striking distance of the Yankees. Just like you predicted, right? Not so much.
The Angels and Albert Pujols have come on strong since a terrible start, the
Dodgers have sputtered since having the best record in April and May, and Cliff
Lee waited until July to tally up his first win.
I'm sure everyone saw Mike Trout and Bryce
Harper being all stars in their rookie season as well. As someone who has
followed Harper since first hearing of the prodigy when he dropped out of high
school after his sophomore year, I'm surprised how soon he made it to the
majors, and the immediate impact he has had. Mike Trout is no bum himself.
Definitely in the mix, possibly in the lead for ROY, since being called up in
late April. Mark Trumbo is having quite the year himself, but is left out of
rookie talk because of time spent in the majors late last year.
In what's certainly shaping up to be another
'Year of the Pitcher', we've already seen 5 no hitters, two of which were
perfect games (Humber, Cain), and a team effort no hitter that the Mariners put
on the Dodgers that included 6 different pitchers.
Yu Darvish has been phenomenal since making
the transfer to American baseball, seeming to have no trouble with the larger
baseball used here. Posting a 10-5 record with a 3.59 ERA. The Rangers chose to
give him a little extra rest before the All-Star Break.
Enough of the first half story lines, let's
get into the first half awards.
AL Cy Young- Jered Weaver. Pretty simple
category aside from Justin Verlander having another great season. Weaver is
10-1 with a 1.94 ERA. He pitched a no hitter while giving up only 5 HR's, 2
stolen bases, and allowing opposing hitters a .194 batting average.
NL Cy Young- R.A. Dickey. This one was a MUCH
harder call than the American League. In the mix are Matt Cain (9-3, 2.62 ERA
and a perfect game), Stephen Strasburg (9-4, 2.82 ERA, 128 strikeouts in 99
innings, coming off Tommy John Surgery). Dickey is 12-1 with a 2.40 ERA and has
been flat out astonishing. His knuckleball has left hitters looking clueless.
He posted a 44 2/3 innings scoreless streak while racking up back to back one
hit shutouts. Not bad for a guy who was fighting for a spot on the Mets
rotation in February.
AL ROY- Mike Trout. Although he has only been
in the league for just over two months this season, he's been on complete fire
the entire time. Hitting .347, 11 HR's, 39 RBI and a .401 OBP. Trout has won a
lot of fans over for his all out play.
NL ROY- Bryce Harper. Another midseason
call-up, Harper has held his own with the giant target he has on his back
according to Cole Hamels. Called up at about the same time as Trout, Harper has
put up a .283 BA, 8 HR's and 25 RBI's with a .355 OBP. His stats certainly
aren't as good as Trouts, but like I said, I think he's got a large target
between his numbers.
AL MVP- Josh Hamilton. Another crowded
category. If Trout keeps up his numbers, I think he'll win this. But Hamilton
has had quite the year. Hitting .315 with 27 HR's, 75 RBI and an OBP of .384.
He has stayed rather healthy aside from a stomach virus and recent back spasms.
His health is what's kept him from having gargantuan years in 2010 and
2011.
NL MVP- Andrew McClutchen. Someone who has
always had star potential, but until this year couldn't put it all together.
That seems to have changed with a .359 BA. 16 HR's and 56 RBI's with a .411
OBP. No player has been more crucial to their team as McClutchen. The Pirates
have done a complete turn around and sit atop the NL central, thanks a lot to
him.
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