major league baseball: blog 
major league baseball's blog
mlb at mid-season
by DukeBlueGuruPublished Jul. 11, 2009
Views: 414
Hello baseball fans! The 2009 MLB All Star game is Tuesday night which means we are at the half way mark of the season. Let's discuss what has been a great first half.
I will begin with my first half awards. My A.L. MVP is Joe Mauer. The Twins catcher has a .388 batting average with 15 HR's and 48 RBI's. Looks like he is on the way to a third batting title. Other great performers have been Mauer's teammate Justin Morneau who is batting .311 with 21 HR's and 70 RBI's. Tori Hunter of the Angels is having a great year with a .305 batting average, 17 HR's, 65 RBI's and 13 stolen bases. My A.L. Cy Young award goes to the Royals Zack Greinke. The right hander has a 10-5 record with 129 strikeouts, 5 complete games and a 2.12 ERA. Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays has 10 wins and a 2.85 ERA. My A.L. manager of the year is Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers.
In the National League my MVP is Albert Pujols. No suprise here. The Cardinals slugger is batting .336 with 32 HR's and an incredible 85 RBI's. When it is all said and done he might be the greatest player ever. Also having MVP caliber seasons are the Marlins Hanley Ramirez with a .347 batting average and Prince Fielder of the Brewers who is batting .313 with 22 HR's and 77 RBI's. My Cy Young award goes to Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants. Lincecum has a 10-2 record, 149 strikeouts and a 2.33 ERA. Dan Haren of the Diamondbacks is having a great year with 9 wins and a 2.01 ERA. My N.L. manager of the year is the Giants Bruce Bochy.
The Pennant races are interesting. In the AL. East the Red Sox and Yankees are fighting it out as expected. The defending A.L. champion Tampa Rays got off to a slow start but are back in the race. In the A.L. Central it looks like a 3 team race between the Tigers, Twins, and White Sox. The A.L. West looks like a battle between the Rangers and Angels. The Mariners have been a surprising team in that division and are not far behind.
The N.L. East looks like the Phillies, Marlins, Braves and Mets fighting it out. The Mets have been devestated by injuries to some of there best players: Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado. If they can get healthy they could make a run. The N.L. Central looks like a 5 team race. The Cardinals are on top but Milwaukee, Cincinnatti, Houston, and the Cubs are all still in it. The Cubs have been a major disapointment. With the exception of Derick Lee all the hitters are having underacheiving seasons. In the N.L. West the Dodgers are clearly the team to beat. The Giants have been the surprise team in baseball. Not much offense but great pitching for Bruce Bochy and the Giants. In the same division the Diamondbacks have been a big disapointment. Being without pitcher Brandon Webb all season has hurt the D Backs.
The steroid issue has been an ongoing sad story in baseball. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, two of the games biggest stars have both tested positive for banned substances. Another sad story early this season was the death of the Angels promising young pitcher Nick Adenhart who was killed by a drunk driver.
My predictions for the playoffs. I pick the Red Sox to win the A.L. East in a race that could come down to the last day. I think Boston's pitching is by far the best and David Ortiz is just starting to hit. The Yankees I predict will be the wild card team in the playoffs. I think A Rod will have a huge second half. The A.L. Central winner will be the Tigers. I think they have a good combination of pitching led by Justin Verlander and good hitters although Magglio Ordonez is really struggling. The A.L. West will be interesting. The Rangers have accomplished a lot even without there slugger Josh Hamilton who has missed most of the first half with an injury. He is back now and if he has a solid finish the Rangers will win the A.L. West. The Angels are having pitching problems and also have injuries.
The N.L. East I think will be won by the Phillies. Great hitting team with a lot of power. Jimmy Rollins needs to start hitting though. If the Mets can get healthy they will make a run. The N.L. Central will be won by the Cardinals I predict. Good starting pitching led by Carpenter and Pujols will carry them to the pennant. The N.L. West will be won by the Dodgers. Good pitching and a very good hitting team especially with Manny back. The N.L. wild card team I think will be the Brewers.
So who do I pick for the World Series? How about the Red Sox and the Phillies.
Hope everyone enjoys the All Star game and it should be a great second half of the season!
Filed under: Professional Sports
close![[no avatar]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v1/images/golo/noavatar.gif){kind=avatar}
Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.
You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.
GOLO member since August 22, 2008
July 11, 2009 8:08 p.m.
GOLO member since July 2, 2007
July 11, 2009 9:48 p.m.
GOLO member since January 20, 2009
July 11, 2009 10:02 p.m.
GOLO member since July 2, 2007
July 11, 2009 10:07 p.m.
GOLO member since January 20, 2009
July 11, 2009 10:11 p.m.
me too. My hubby forgets to sleep during the world series
GOLO member since July 2, 2007
July 11, 2009 10:15 p.m.
GOLO member since February 28, 2009
July 12, 2009 7:06 a.m.
...at least, that's my prediction. :)
GOLO member since May 1, 2008
July 13, 2009 3:31 p.m.
GOLO member since January 20, 2009
July 13, 2009 5:26 p.m.
I wish we had a Theo Epstein on our team. :(
GOLO member since May 1, 2008
July 14, 2009 4:42 p.m.
Please log in to add comment.