Written by
The Sports Network
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Gaze over the pitching staff for the
National League's All-Star roster and that will surely acknowledge the
ballclubs making a case for a potential playoff push in the second half.
Starting pitchers have set their place at the table and are not the only ones
making headlines at the All-Star break, with several other National League
storylines picking up steam such as managerial changes, bankruptcy in
Hollywood and possibly the Pittsburgh Pirates putting to rest a string of 18
consecutive losing seasons.
Strong arms have led Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta to the top of the
heap in the Senior Circuit, while the Phillies, Giants, Brewers and Cardinals
are currently leading their respective divisions. Milwaukee and St. Louis are
tied atop the NL Central. So far the Phillies have lived up to their offseason
billing as the best team in baseball courtesy of a formidable rotation led by
ace Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.
All three hurlers will represent the Phillies in the All-Star Game and are
joined by San Francisco starters Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong and
black-bearded closer Brian Wilson. This season the defending World Series
champion Giants are using exactly what led them to a title a year ago: Stingy
pitching and opportune hitting. Atlanta has taken a page out of San
Francisco's recipe book for success with All-Star pitchers Jair Jurrjens,
Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel enjoying breakout seasons.
The Braves currently lead the NL Wild Card and have been right on the
Phillies' tail in the NL East. Standing 3 1/2 games off the pace in the
division, the Braves have received big boosts from starters Tommy Hanson,
Brandon Beachy and sometimes Derek Lowe. Jurrjens, however, is the cream of
the crop in Atlanta's rotation with an NL-leading 1.87 earned run average and
12 wins (12-3). Jurrjens is one win behind New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia
for the major league lead in victories, while Angels ace Jered Weaver owns an
MLB-best 1.86 ERA. Jurrjens was beaten out by Halladay for the starting nod
Tuesday night in the Mid-Summer Classic.
"It would have been a super honor to get the start," Jurrjens said. "But, you
know, it's Halladay. You cannot go wrong with him. Like I've been telling
people, I had my mind set that there was a chance I wasn't going to get it.
When I got the news, I wasn't surprised about it."
Giants skipper Bruce Bochy made the decision to start Halladay, but also opted
to take Kimbrel, who leads the majors in saves (28) and reliever strikeouts
(70). Bochy tabbed Kimbrel over Hanson because he wanted to have more depth in
the back end of the bullpen. Bochy, of course, added his own closer in Wilson
to the NL All-Star roster since he's been able to close out games for San
Francisco's talented rotation, which is the main acumen for its three-game
lead over Arizona in the National League West. The Giants are fourth in the
majors with a 3.19 ERA, while Philadelphia and Atlanta are first and second
with earned run averages of 3.02 and 3.11, respectively.
Perhaps the biggest surprise among the ERA leaders is Pittsburgh. With a 3.44
earned run average, good enough for eighth in the majors, the Pirates are
striving to finish above .500 and reach the postseason since the 1992
campaign. The nearly 20-year drought has left fans disenchanted with a
franchise that has shipped off the likes of Aramis Ramirez, Jason Bay, Freddy
Sanchez and several others throughout the years. This year it's been All-Star
Kevin Correia (11-7), Charlie Morton (7-5) and Jeff Karstens (7-4) keeping the
Pirates within striking distance in the NL Central, as the Bucs sit just one
game behind both Milwaukee and St. Louis in the standings.
Correia, who is one of four NL Pitchers with at least 11 wins, reliever Joel
Hanrahan and center fielder Andrew McCutchen will represent the Pirates in the
All-Star Game. Pittsburgh hasn't had three representatives in the mid-season
extravaganza since 1990, when Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and pitcher Neal
Heaton were selected. The Pirates need more than just their three All-Stars to
make a significant stride in the second half because Milwaukee, St. Louis and
Cincinnati will not go down without a fight. Those three NL Central foes
possess better hitting, a challenging task in which the Pirates will find it
hard to overcome in the upcoming weeks. Pirates general manager Neal
Huntington has a plan in store to make a run.
"There's two reasons you have a deep and talented farm system," Huntington
said on the club's site. "The first is the direct impact that they're going to
have here in Pittsburgh at the major league level. The second reason you have
a deep and talented farm system is to make trades to add to your major league
club when you don't have the right piece."
Getting players off of the disabled list will help too, as reliever Joe Beimel
could be activated as soon as Friday. Beimel has been shelved since late May
with left elbow inflammation and will be a great "addition" to the bullpen
with Hanrahan already turning heads with a career-best 26 saves at the break.
McCutchen has been leading the hitters with 54 RBI, 14 homers and a .291
batting average. Neil Walker leads the Buccos with 59 runs batted in to go
along with eight homers and a .264 average. Shortstop Ronny Cedeno could be
activated off of the DL soon as well and has been out since early July with a
concussion. Young talent such as Alex Presley, Chase d'Arnaud and Mike McKenry
could see their time in western Pennsylvania dwindle in the months to come.
DOING THEIR BEST WITH WHAT THEY HAVE
Two managers have been embroiled in their team's financial crisis, a pair of
skippers may be too old to bear the rigors of bench duties and two more have
their clubs on the verge of postseason potential.
Don Mattingly and the demise of the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers sent ripples
through the baseball world for several reasons. Mattingly is one of baseball's
legends from his playing days with the New York Yankees and bolstered his
resume under the tutelage of the great Joe Torre. Primarily a sponge working
under Torre with the Dodgers, Mattingly has had to deal with the franchise's
money woes and a 41-51 record at the break.
Mattingly hasn't allowed the ownership situation affect his clubhouse either.
Dealing with lineup changes, injured players and paying more attention to
detail with pitching are only a few responsibilities under Mattingly, who has
the luxury of sending first-time All-Star Matt Kemp to the outfield on a
nightly basis. Kemp is one of the league leaders with 22 homers and 67 RBI,
and has built a strong 1-2 punch in LA's lineup with Andre Ethier. Kemp, an
MVP candidate, shared his thoughts on what Los Angeles needs to do in order to
be the hunter and not the prey.
"We have all the ability in the world. I feel my team can compete with anybody
in the National League or American League," Kemp said during All-Star
festivities. "We need to get more big hits with runners on base. We have to
score more runs. That's what we have not been doing."
Scoring runs is what New York Mets All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes is all about
this season for manager Terry Collins. Collins, whose boss is also dealing
with financial strife, has his club one game over the .500 mark at 46-45 and
11 games off the lead in the NL East. Reyes' resurgence coupled with injuries
to both David Wright (back) and Ike Davis (ankle) have been hot topics for the
Mets. Reyes is another NL MVP candidate and is first in batting average
(.354), runs (65), hits (124) and triples (15), and sits second in total bases
(185). It will be tough for Collins to get his club in position for a playoff
run regardless of how well Reyes and Company plays.
The Florida Marlins decided to bring back former World Series-winning manager
Jack McKeon when Fredi Gonzalez suddenly opted to resign. McKeon is no spring
chicken and his Marlins are dead last in the NL East standings at 14 games off
the pace. The lack of production by Hanley Ramirez is certainly killing the
offense, as the shortstop is batting only .242 with eight homers and 37 RBI.
Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison have been carrying the offensive
load, but that will not bring back ace Josh Johnson, who's currently on the
60-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.
Speaking of inflammation, Jim Riggleman was so irked with the Washington
Nationals he decided to go the resignation route, opening the door for former
New York Mets World Series champion skipper Davey Johnson. The game hasn't
passed the cerebral Johnson even though his offense may reveal otherwise.
Jayson Werth took bags of money from the Nationals in the offseason and in
return he is hitting to the tune of .215 with 10 homers and 31 RBI. The
pitching staff will always struggle until Stephen Strasburg returns and
currently Danny Espinosa leads the club with 16 homers and 52 RBI. Mike Morse
has come on as well with a team-best .306 average, 15 homers and 49 RBI.
Hurdle and Brewers manager Ron Roenicke are enjoying life right now with both
of their squads making a positive push for postseason play. Not only are the
Pirates and Brewers turning heads in a tight NL Central race and possible
suitors for big bats or arms at the trade deadline, but they have MVP-type
players on the roster. McCutchen, Correia and Walker are the big dogs in the
Steel City, while sluggers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun have been keeping
Milwaukee in contention. Fielder, a pending free agent, has cracked 22 homers
and driven in 72 runs this season to go along with a .297 average. Braun
already inked a big extension this season and is currently dealing with a
balky calf. He is hitting .320 this season with 16 homers and 62 RBI.
HERE'S WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE SECOND HALF
Can the Phillies maintain major league baseball's best record with sporadic
hitting throughout the remainder of the season? That remains to be seen for
the current NL East leaders, who have been getting by easily with Halladay,
Lee and Hamels. Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton were a part of that vaunted five-
man rotation until injuries caught up with the right-handers. Philly still has
Ryan Howard to lead a handful of big hitters, including Chase Utley, Raul
Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. The 'Flyin Hawaiian is currently on
the disabled list with a thumb injury.
Philadelphia must keep its distance from both the Braves and Mets in the
second half because both clubs have enough firepower to overthrow the Phillies
when things start to get rough. Braves All-Star catcher Brian McCann and
youngster Freddie Freeman have been taking care of business in the batter's
box, while Reyes is an MVP candidate and Carlos Beltran seems back to his old
dominant ways. The Mets are hoping healthy returns are in store for Reyes
(hamstring), Wright and Davis so they can join the All-Star Beltran.
"Right now, we're playing good baseball. I like where I am," Beltran said at
the All-Star Game. "I'm having fun, and we just hope to continue to improve."
It's kind of odd not to see Albert Pujols or Chris Carpenter on the NL All-
Star roster, but for St. Louis' sake Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and Yadier
Molina are handling the load for veteran skipper Tony La Russa. Pujols is back
after making a quick return from a wrist fracture, cementing his legacy as a
team player. Berkman has been a huge surprise for the Cards with his .290
average, 24 homers and 63 RBI -- all team highs. Kyle Lohse and Jaime Garcia
have been relegated to co-aces of the St. Louis staff in the heat of a Central
Division battle. The inconsistent Reds are four games out and are bound to
make a strong case in the next few weeks under Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, while
Pittsburgh is still dreaming of making the playoffs. Houston is arguably the
worst team in baseball and the Chicago Cubs don't appear to be heading
anywhere soon either.
Kirk Gibson is another Manager of the Year candidate with Arizona, which has
turned it on to pull within three games of San Francisco for NL West bragging
rights thanks to the help of Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy. The Giants are a
tough team in both pitching and fielding, but could use more pop at the plate.
Veteran Miguel Tejada and Aubrey Huff have been shouldering the load and Pablo
Sandoval has been consistent since returning from hand surgery.
Never count the Rockies out since they're known for late-season miracles. Even
with Carlos Gonzalez's numbers down from a year ago due to injury, the Rockies
are still dangerous with him, Troy Tulowitzki and the aging Todd Helton. The
Rox need Ubaldo Jimenez to get back to his 2010 form. The Dodgers are in all
sorts of trouble except for Kemp and young ace Clayton Kershaw. LA making a
case for the playoffs this season seems impossible, however.
The Sports Network