Posted by
ZonaCat on Monday, July 10, 2006 2:49:44 PM
Well, the All-Star break is now officially on and it is time to review the MLB season at it's halfway point. There have been the standard happenings that anyone could have predicted, as well as the unusual out of left field i.e: Detroit Tigers.
The American League has its usual league leaders in the East. But it is nice seeing some new faces in the Central.
Who could have seen the Tigers atop the AL Central, and with the best record in the majors? Certainly not me. After years of trolling the bottom of the AL, they have finally stockpiled enough young talent along with a great mix of veterans like Maglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez. Throw in a new manager and a core of great young pitchers and you have another version of the 97 Marlins.
How about Francisco Liriano, rookie pitcher on the Minnesota Twins? This guy is the best pitcher in the major leagues, bar none. He is like a Pedro Martinez in his prime, absolutely unhittable. His line in the box score looks the same every 5 days. 8 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 9 strike outs, 2 walks. Liriano, along with Johann Santana make up the best 1-2 starting punch in the majors. The Twins are on the move and by the end of the summer may end up catching the Tigers in the central.
The National League is equally impressive in the new faces department. The city of Cincinnati finally has something to cheer about. The Red's have finally turned on the switch in a surprisingly competitive central division. Everyone thought the Card's would be running away with it, but both the Red's and Brewers are right there.
How about the NL West. This is anyones division because all teams are equally below average, but my pick has to be the Dodgers. Being that they really only have two starting pitchers makes me a little nervous, but the play of their rookies has been absolutely incredible. Led by Russell Martin, Andre Etheir, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Brazelton, etc. they have filled in better than the injured veterans were playing. Nomar has had an incredible resurgence that only Ned Coletti saw coming and Brad Penny is finally the #1 starter that was promised by DePodesta.
My predictions at the halfway point:
AL WEST Angels
AL CENTRAL Tiger
AL EAST Red Sox
WILDCARD Twins
NL WEST Dodgers
NL CENTRAL Reds
NL EAST Mets
WILDCARD Cardinals
AL CHAMP Tigers
NL CHAMP Mets
WORLDSERIES CHAMP TIGERS