NL Mid-Season Report
This has been a competitive season so far in the NL - honestly, that's more than I expected. Several teams have seen some time in first place, but the Cubs and Pirates have spent the most time in the top two spots in the standings. However, just as the month of June came to a close, the Cubs find themselves on a 7-game losing streak and the Pirates are on a 9-game losing streak. That has allowed the Cardinals to tie for first and the feared Giants to within one game of first. Those four teams have been the primary contenders so far this season, but the Reds are within 5 1/2 games thanks to an 18-7 record over the past four weeks.
The Cubs finished the month of June by being swept in four games in San Francisco. They are still ranked first in offense thanks to an outstanding first half by centerfielder
Cy Williams (.265, 39 HR, 91 RBI). The team is also 2nd in pitching with a strong performance from their starting rotation. However, their bullpen has struggled. In fact, 2-time Fireman Award winner
Zip Zabel has a 4.60 ERA over 29.1 innings.
Despite a starting rotation that ranks 5th in the league, the Cardinals have allowed the fewest runs in the NL. They have the best bullpen and best defense in the league thus far. One bright spot in the rotation has been
Pol Perritt (11-3, 2.31 ERA). Offensively, the team ranks 3rd. They are led, as always, by
Rogers Hornsby (.330, 24 HR, 61 RBI). This team should remain in the race all season.
The Giants' pitching staff has struggled so far and are ranked 5th in runs allowed. Their defense is the second worst in the NL too. Fortunately, their offense has been solid in all facets of the game, leading the NL in OBP and stolen bases while ranking 2nd in runs scored and home runs. Last year's BoY
Dave Robertson (.323, 24 HR, 73 RBI) has been the driving force and rookie
Frankie Frisch (.292 AVG, .332 OBP, 9 HR, 38 RBI, 43 R, 23 SB) has been great in the leadoff spot.
Pittsburgh had been doing well until an awful slump in late June. However, when you dig deeper, you see that they rank just 4th in offense, defense and pitching. Centerfielder
Max Carey (.304, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 37 SB) has been their top performer. Pitchers
Dazzy Vance and
Al Mamaux both have ERA's under 3.00 but have a combined record of 11-12.
It is unclear if the Reds have what it takes to make a serious run in the second half. They languished around .500 for most of the early summer but are red hot lately. They rank 2nd in defense, 3rd in pitching and 5th in offense.
Standings
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
