Joseph D'Amico
Jeff Alexander
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Rob Vinciletti
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Tom Stryker
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Baseball: Second Half Surges 2011 by Jim Feist
The first half of the 2011 baseball season is in the books. There were surprising winners, such as the Indians, Marlins, Reds and Brewers, a lack of hitting league-wide, and some surprises such as the defending champion Giants playing close to .500 baseball. With the surprises out of the way, here’s a look at some teams that might be active at the trading deadline and primed to make a second half surge.
Mariners: You can make the argument that pitching is the key to a sustained second half run. If so, the Mariners could be a fun team to watch. Who wouldn’t want a rotation anchored by Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Jason Vargas and Eric Bedard? Pineda is just 22 years old and flew through their system with ace potential – and has been just as dominant at the big league level.
The offense, however, has been feeble, with little power. They are best playing National League-style ball, being aggressive on the base paths with Ichiro Suzuki. Getting Chone Figgins out of a funk would help the Mariners improve in steals. Would you deal one of their great arms for a big bat?
Tigers: Detroit was a disappointment much of the first half before making a June run, with a team ERA near the bottom of the league and an offense that scores runs but has not been able to manufacture any because of the slump of speedy centerfielder Austin Jackson. The 24-year old is only in his second year, so there are growing pains (he hit .293 with 27 steals last season).
However, there is plenty to like about this team, starting with: Austin Jackson! He could get hot in the second half, which happened a year ago when he hit .314 in July, his best month. Plus there is plenty of pop on offense with Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta. The starting staff has a rare ace in Justin Verlander. They would like some consistency out of righties Max Scherzer and veteran Brad Penny, otherwise the Tigers might be shopping for an arm before the trade deadline in what looks like a wide-open AL Central.
Giants: Speaking of wide-open races, the NL West is. The Giants were the early season pick to run away with it, but the Rockies and surprising Diamondbacks are all in the mix, plus the San Francisco offense has been worse than last season. There are four reasons to believe the Giants won’t go away, though: Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez and Bumgarner. San Francisco has an NL foursome to rival the Phillies which keeps away losing skids. While most teams will be shopping for pitching before the trade deadline, the Giants will be looking for bats and have arms to deal.
Red Sox: Boston spent much of the first month of the season trying to get out of fourth place in the AL East because of a horrible 2-10 start. However, they began to turn it around in May as the offense played up to its talent and the return of former staff ace Josh Beckett. Beckett is off consecutive lost seasons because of injuries, but has been healthy and sensational in 2011.
Teamed with young aces Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, this rotation is built for October. The offense has balance, with star power, on-base percentage and speed with Jacoby Ellsbury and newcomer Carl Crawford. The defense is outstanding, especially in the outfield, which also helps the pitching staff. They had an injury-prone June, however, and struggled on the road.
Rockies: Speaking of aces, when is Colorado going to get something out of the 27-year old arm of Ubaldo Jimenez? A year ago at this time he was the ultimate stopper, anchoring the rotation, but he’s lost command this summer. This is a fascinating starting staff with 23-year old Jhoulys Chacin and 30-year old Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Hammel.
De La Rosa is off Tommy John surgery while Hammel started off hot and cooled off. This offense should be much better with Todd Helton, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitski, the latter two who have been streaky. They could be in the market for a bat or arm before the trade deadline. This could be a wild NL West race to the finish.
Rays: Everyone lamented all the talent (Matt Garza, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena) they lost over the winter, but Tampa Bay has hung in there with speed, defense and pitching. That’s why their road record has been so impressive. This rotation of David Price, Wade Davis, James Shields and potential young ace Jeremy Hellickson is as good as any in the AL. Would you like to face that in October? If they can get there, that is.
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