MLB: The First Half That Wasn't

The First Half that Wasn’t

 

  The old adage goes “and that’s why they play the games.”  After an exciting, and surprising first half of the 2008 season the standings bare little resemblance to those predicted by the experts.  Conventional wisdom pointed to a strong AL Central and NL West to replace the AL East as the new powerhouse divisions.  Out of the central the Indians seemed poised to make it back to the playoffs but they would have to get passed a reloaded and expensive Detroit Tigers squad.  Meanwhile out on the west coast, in a division where for years 86 to 88 wins all but assured a playoff birth, the young D-Backs and the upstart Rockies, the darlings of the ’07 post season, promised to return the NL West to glory.  Almost everyone agreed that the AL East would be a two horse race, with you-know-who battling you-know-who all season.  The NL central would be weak and the AL West nothing more than a cakewalk for the high priced Angels.  The NL east, the most enigmatic division in the last few years was a question mark, a wide-open field including a powerful Phillies team and a bitter Mets team anxious to make up for last year’s historic collapse. 

            But then they played the games.  As it turns out the NL West is abysmal, lacking even one .500 ball club.  The AL Central has turned out to be tough, but not because of the overrated and underachieving Indians and Tigers.  The Indians have all but surrendered to rebuilding in the second half while the Tigers, despite a late charge seem just a little too excited to sit around .500 looking up at two teams.  If it were not for the magic of a certain team from South Florida the White Sox and Twins would be the biggest surprises of the season.  And oh yeah, that two horse race in the AL East, forget about it.  The mystifyingly exciting team from Tampa Bay, after cutting ties with Satan and his 90 loss seasons, has crashed the Yankee-Red Sox party.  Out west it is business as usual with Billy Beane throwing away aces and the Rangers failing to hit their way into contention.  All this allowing the decidedly unexciting Angels to command the division. 

            The names atop the NL Central don’t surprise anyone, but the records are a bit better than expected.  The Chicago Cubs, Billy Goat and all, look poised to make back to back playoff appearances for the first time since, well, never mind.  The Brew Crew, long starved of October excitement, nip close at the heels of a Cubs team with more question marks than their less than knowledgeable fan base would have you think.  While the injury riddled Cardinals somehow keep hanging around.  I got news for you cub fans, its not gonna happen.  The NL east has continued to riddle fans and analysts everywhere.  Who would have thought that Jerry Manuel would be riding the Mets into the break the proud owners of a 9 game win streak?  The Phillies can’t pitch and the Marlins might be too young.  And Jerry just might snatch a manager of the year award, ala Jack McKeon’s miracle Marlins of 2003. 

The Second Half that Will Be

  The NL west will stay pathetic, but exciting, as the Dodgers will beat the D-Backs to 85 wins and take the division.  In the AL Central the pesky Twins will falter allowing the front running White Sox, behind the strength of their near dominating play at home, to fend off a late Tiger charge.  The Angels win the west but only after an unexpected challenge from the slugging Rangers.  The Red Sox will win the East by 5 games, as the Rays and Yankees will enter into an epic dogfight for Wild Card consideration, with the young Twins in the mix.  To the horror of baseball fans not residing in the New York area, the evil Yankees will return to the playoffs.  As for the Cubs, expect a wonderfully infuriating collapse complete with Kerry Wood blown saves in September, Rich Harden injuries, and Ryan Dempster becoming, well, Ryan Dempster.  After being caught by the talented Brewers team by August the Cubs falter in September allowing the Phillies, or Mets to catch them for the Wild Card.  Again Cub fans, its not gonna happen.  The Mets win the East behind Johan Santana, who if you’ve paid attention the last few years, becomes all but unbeatable in the second half.

Review and Post Season Predictions 

AL EAST- Red Sox

AL CENTRAL- White Sox

AL WEST- Angels

AL WILD CARD- Yankees

Round one WHITE SOX OVER RED SOX IN 3

                        YANKEES OVER ANGELS IN 5

ALCS WHITE SOX OVER YANKEES IN 7

 

NL EAST- Mets

NL CENTRAL- Brewers

NL WEST- Dodgers

NL WILDCARD- Phillies

ROUND ONE- Mets over Dodgers in 3

                        Brewer over Philies in 5

NLCS- Mets over Brewers in 6

 

            WHITE SOX OVER METS IN FIVE