The baseball off-season is a time for rebuilding, revitalizing, and reenergizing your ball club. By the end of the first half of play in baseball most clubs have an idea of where their teams’ are headed. The 2004 baseball season has been anything but anticlimactic consisting of comeback stories, rising superstars, battles through injury, and underachieving, overpaid loudmouths. Some clubs have performed much to the expectation of critics, and others have not performed as expected. I’ll examine which off-season deals were helpful and which were devastating to the clubs during the first half of play.New look Yanks:
When people talk about baseball the first team that comes to mind are the Yankees. 26 World Titles, legend ballplayers such as the Bambino or Mickey Mantle, the timeless stadium, and the Yankee legacy.
Acquisitions of all-star outfielder Gary Sheffield, and super stud shortstop Alex Rodriguez have boosted the Yankees lineup. The Yanks offense has been the main component to their success thus far.
After losses of starting pitchers Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, and David Wells, the Yankees needed to strike gold with pitching. They added Javier Vasquez and Kevin Brown to help dilute the losses to their pitching staff. We’ll see if their staff holds up come playoff time. Though their hitting has been phenomenal this year, they may not have enough arms to survive in the AL.
Bo Sox strike back:
Theo Epstein and the entire Red Sox organization couldn’t just sit back and watch their archrival Yankees swipe away all of the glory. Countering the Yankees’ transactions, Boston grabbed Cy Young winner Curt Schilling to compliment Pedro Martinez at the top of the pitching staff. 43 game save ace Keith Foulke has helped to solidify the bullpen. Nomar, Manny, Ortiz, Damon, and Varitek all return to the Sox from last season.
Defense has been the Red Sox’s problem in the first half. Lackadaisical performance from all of their players has led to the demise of the once feared Boston club. Boston is still very much alive in the Wild Card race though asking them to win the pennant may be pushing the envelope too far. Boston should have enough arms to stampede through the first round of the playoffs. After that it’s a toss up.
Angels in the outfield:
If for some reason you have either had your head stuck in a ditch or just haven’t been paying any attention to anyone or anything but Yanks and Sox news for the first half of baseball, you probably neglected to interpret the fact that the Anaheim Angels have put together a fine group of players this baseball season. They really stuck to their slogan “Angels in the outfield” by building together the best outfield in all of major league baseball. Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, and Jose Guillen serve up a tasty entrée of power, defense, and fear that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.
Injuries during the first half of the season have led the Anaheim Angels to an underachieving year. They still have a legitimate shot to win the West. Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar are having dreadful seasons. The rest of their staff hasn’t pitched particularly well either. I believe that as long as their pitching can perform better than it did in the first half, Anaheim should be able to win the AL Championship and eventually the WS.
The Angels have my vote checked off in the AL for the 04 season and maybe you should follow suit. Just as long as injuries don’t hold them back.
Bartman who?
The Chicago Cubs are preparing to make another run at the World Series in 04 and if it weren’t for the man they refer to as Bartman, the Cubs would have already reached the big game. The Cubs look very much improved this season as they currently boast the leagues best starting five, and one of the leagues best outfielders (or steroid user, you decide) in Sammy Sosa.
The Cubs to some degree have not met their expectations for the first half. They are currently a bunch of games behind the Cards in the Central and only have a shot of catching the Wild Card.
Adding Greg Maddux may be just what the Cubs need once they reach the post season. A young pitching staff needs a leader to help control emotions and Maddux should do a great job with that.
Additions of 2nd baseman Todd Walker, whom they acquired from the Red Sox, and Derek Lee, 1st base, should provide enough potency in their lineup to compliment the fiery pitching staff. Good balance, defense, depth, and pitching make this team a logical pick in the NL (just as long as there’s no Bartman).
Can Houston make a push?
Every year when the baseball season rolls around I always try and stress the fact that the club that makes the most moves in the off-season will come out on top. Next to the Yanks and Bo Sox, the most improved team, and the most off-season profitable, were the Houston Astros.
The Stros haven’t taken full advantage of their good off-season graces sitting at one game over .500 after the all-star break.
They have already dumped their manager this season, Williams, and replaced him with some slum bag that they don’t need. I don’t believe that getting rid of your manager was the best move right now for the Astros. This move will only divert their concentration even more.
The offense has always been productive for Houston and their achilles heel has ultimately been their starting pitching. Clemens and Pettite take care of that issue balancing out the club making them a favorite for fantasy fans. Clemens is having a great year so far but Pettite has been injured for some of the first half.
Roy Oswalt needs to do a better job for his team. As the staff ace you are expected to perform well and keep your club in ballgames. He just hasn’t show to us that he has what it takes to be a winner. Losing Octavio Dotel was a devastating blow to the Astros bullpen. Dotel was a great pitcher for the Astros and now that he is in Oakland, this team is inexperienced at the closer spot.
A key acquisition for Houston is the trade to pick up Carlos Beltran. Carlos is a great 5-tooled player and should help them offensively and defensively. Beltran is even more vital to this team now that Richard Hidalgo is with the New York Mets. The Astros may have lost some pop after losing Hidalgo, but Beltran makes up for the loss.
Still a dangerous team, though they have taken some serious blows in the first half. Look for a tight battle for the Wild Card in the second half. This team is still alive.
Bowa finally cools his jets:
The Philadelphia Phillies have improved their team since last year and are right in the thick of the NL East race at the break.
Pat Burrell is eager to make his comeback and prove once again that he can lead a team. Burrell is currently hitting .272 with 15 homeruns and 62 RBI’s just after the all-star break. Jim Thome is having an MVP type year leading the majors with homers. Bobby Abreu also adds juice to the Phillies lineup; they will have no problem scoring runs in the second half. The Phillies have played on and off this year but I think they will edge the Mets in the NL East.
Finally Larry Bowa can cool off and just manage the game knowing his boys have his back. Look for a playoff bound team the second half, they want it badly.
Cards deal a blackjack:
The St. Louis Cardinals have struck everyone by surprise and are currently leading the NL Central. Led by RBI machine Scott Rolen the Cardinals are soaring through the NL annihilating all opponents who dare tread their tracks.
Their offense will land them a playoff spot but their pitching and defense is what will win them a World Series. And as far as pitching is concerned, they just don’t have it. If not a first round exit, the coasting birds will be shot down in the NL Championship round.
The Seattle Slums:
Raul Ibanez from Kansas City, Randy Winn from Tampa Bay, and Rich Aurilia from San Francisco have all done nothing to help the struggling Mariners. The Seattle Mariners are way out of the playoff hunt this year.
Almost every team that has improved their clubs in the AL has picked up an all star; A-Rod moved to NY, Schilling to Boston, and Guerrero sits in Anaheim. The Mariners just haven’t acquired that extra boost of energy a club needs to find regular season success. This aging club may have seen their window of opportunity close from under their noses.
A-Rod, who needs him?
At the beginning of the season everyone thought the Texas Rangers were going to have another losing year. Losing the best player in the game today isn’t exactly the best way to build a winning team. And you think they care?
The Rangers currently hold a slight edge in the AL West and have shown no signs of giving that title up.
The Rangers have made their living on hitting, and hitting well. Texas is currently one of the league’s best hitting homerun hitting teams even without A-Rod. Blalock, Young, Nix, and Soriano have held the reigns of this team and lifted them from their prior miseries.
When searching for a weakness in the Rangers’ team we look at pitching. Half of the players on that staff I haven’t even heard of before this season. Old timer Kenny Rogers was in this year’s All-Star Game. Though known for their hitting, pitching has led this team to success this season.
The factor left undetermined is how long can their pitchers keep performing at a high level. Nobody on the staff is a big name All-Star.
During the final stretch of the season I don’t think The Rangers will be able to hold their team together. This is where their inexperience will come into play. Most of this team isn’t playoff tested and their lack of maturity will ultimately play a role in their downfall. A vastly improved year for Texas no doubt, but the playoffs may be a few years down the road.
Can Art paint a picture of playoff success with the Mets?
The New York Mets come into the all-star break only 2 games or so behind the Phillies in the NL East. Nobody picked the Mets at the beginning of the year to even be in the race but they are very much alive right now. If their pitching doesn’t die out and their offense keeps swinging, they could make a run late in the season. Playoff bound though, maybe not this year.