East
Division
Philadelphia Phillies (52-44) - Pat Burrell is having a monster
power year. With a .575 slugging percentage, he's 72 points ahead of his pace
the past two seasons. And with 23 home runs, 57 RBI, and a .275 batting average
to boot. Oh yeah, Ryan Howard may have a dismal .234 batting average, but are 28 home
runs and 84 RBI not good enough to make an All-Star team? OK, he does have 129
strikeouts already.
New
York Mets (51-44) - With back-to-back shutout
performances totaling 15.0 innings, starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey is a big reason why
the Mets are back in the hunt. Pelfrey has now won six straight starts and is
8-6 on the season.
Florida Marlins (50-45) - Ricky Nolasco is 9-1 in his last 13
starts and has lowered his ERA in that timeframe from 6.10 to 3.70. He leads the
Marlins staff with 10 wins.
Atlanta Braves (45-50) - Closer by committee? The Braves
have a real debacle on their hands. Mike Gonzalez appears to be
the current closer, but he has just three saves on the season. In fact, no
one has more than three saves on the roster. All in all, though, seven pitchers
have accounted for 14 team saves.
Washington Nationals (36-60) - 16 games back at the All-Star
break and Ronnie
Belliard, of all people, is leading the team with a whopping
nine home runs. How many did Josh Hamilton hit in that home run
derby?
Central
Division
Chicago Cubs (57-38) - The Cubs managed to land eight
players on the All-Star team. Shortstop Ryan Theriot, who didn't make the
roster, ranks sixth in the NL with a .320 batting average. He already has 111
hits and could be eyeing a 200-hit season.
St. Louis Cardinals (53-43) - Kyle Lohse is 11-2 with a 3.39 ERA
this year. He hasn't lost since May 8. Enough said.
Milwaukee Brewers (52-43) - C.C. Sabathia is 2-0 as a Brewer
and has the Milwaukee faithful yelling into their gloves
along with him. And though he's nowhere near the 50-home-run pace from last
season, sitting with just 18, Prince Fielder is starting to find his swing and has two home runs and
nine RBI in his last 10 games.
Cincinnati Reds (46-50) - With six home runs in his last
10 games, Adam Dunn
has a cool 26 on the season to go along with 59 RBI, but he too didn't make the
cut for the NL roster.
Pittsburgh Pirates (44-50) - Xavier Nady is batting fifth in the
NL with a .321 average and currently has 56 RBI. He's no doubt in the middle of
his best season and continues to keep the Pirates flirting with that .500
mark.
Houston Astros (44-51) - Outfielder Carlos Lee has 76 RBI through the
break. He's historically been known to be a bit of a second-half monster at the
plate. Either way you slice it, he's on pace to shatter his personal best 119
RBI set last season in Houston.
West
Division
Arizona Diamondbacks
(47-48) - The
All-Star break has arrived, and all teams in the West are sub-.500. Third
baseman Mark Reynolds
leads the team in home runs (19), RBI (58), and runs scored
(60).
Los
Angeles Dodgers (46-49) - Starting pitcher Chad Billingsley is 5-1 in his past
six starts. He leads the team with nine wins, and though he has a seemingly
average 9-8 record, his ERA is solid at 3.25.
San
Francisco Giants (40-55) - Fifteen games under .500 at the
All-Star break means just 7.0 games back in the Wild, Wild West standings. Now
if Matt Cain could
just pitch against the Chicago Cubs all season, he'd be an All-Star. Cain went
7.0 shutout innings Friday in a no-decision. In two games against the Cubs, he's
tossed 15.0 shutout innings, given up just five hits, and struck out
19.
Colorado Rockies (39-57) - Relief pitcher Taylor Buchholz has a 1.83 ERA and
0.86 WHIP over 44.1 innings. He's also held opponents to a .173 batting average.
Still he's managed to stumble across three losses. Noteworthy, though, he hadn't
given up a single home run until July 3. He's now surrendered
three.
San
Diego Padres (37-58) - Greg Maddux is 3-8 this season
despite his 3.80 ERA. He hasn't won a game since May 10. It's clear he has some
gas left in the tank. Maybe he'll land on team that could use him down the
stretch.
Got questions or
comments? Sound off to pete@petekhazen.com.
