D-Backs Halftime Review

The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a very up and down season thus far. Looking at just the standings you would think that they were set to win their second consecutive division title. But then you are forced to look at the fact that they are in the All-Star break one game below .500

The Good

The good thing going into the second half of the season is that they are still in first place. This time last year they were third in the NL West. They also have a +4 run differential. Last year going into the break they were -28 which is my reason why they got swept by the Rockies in the NLCS. Although, the D-Backs were at a +28 on June 15.  Another thing that helps is that the rest of the NL West (excluding the LA Dodgers) really do not have a legitimate chance of winning the division. 

MVP for the diamondbacks going into the break:

Chad Tracy

With Byrnes out, Conor Jackson has made several starts at LF so that meant that Tracy has been able to be an everyday player after coming off microfracture surgery last season.  Tracy has been our source of runs as of late; he has gone 18 for 42 in the month of July so far.

He owns a .309 BA on the season with a .480 SLG.  With the way he has been producing at the plate, it makes me think that the team does not need to make a drastic change by the trade deadline. By filtering in Romero and Bonafacio, I think all the team needs is an extra arm in the bullpen, because Qualls just has not been getting the job done.

The Bad

Obviously you would think that run support has been the worst for the Diamondbacks this season. Yes it has been a huge issue, but an even bigger worry is the bullpen the past month and a half has been brutal for them.  The D-Backs starters have been outstanding in recent weeks for the most part, but when the team can't score many runs the bullpen needs to be sharp on a nightly basis.

Grade:  C-

If the D-Backs can continue to show what they have showed in recent games that they can score more than 2-3 runs a game and if Tracy can continue his tear in the second half of the season, the Division title will be theirs.

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