Well if I'd been writing this a week ago I would have been able to tell you that, by dint of a decent month and being in the middle of a 6-game win streak, we had worked our way back if not into the frame, then at least onto its periphery.
Sadly, a 1-4 run to close out July has poured cold water on any thoughts I may have had on somehow sneaking into contention. It leaves us at 16-14 for July.
The thing that immediately jumps out at you from that graphic is our stubborn streakiness, and in the end that is most likely what will keep us from being in the mix come stretch time.
The Cubs slowed down a bit but they are such a disciplined unit that the door is only ever ajar and only ever briefly, and this little late losing spell has cost us more than games. It has cost us vital momentum.
Over in the AL, the Sens have made what already looks like a winning move, putting together a 19-8 month to move 7 1/2 games clear of the A's and Naps.
Danny Murphy's late-career renaissance continues, with Murph a deserving winner of the NL Batter of the Month Award, the first he's received.
Despite the unlikelihood of any quantitative success, I still feel we've rebounded well this season. The move of Babe Adams into the rotation has been a good one, as has the recruitment of Rube Vickers, and hopefully we can get Louis Drucke back on track to fill that foursome out for '10 and beyond. Honus seems to have found his swing, Zaza Harvey is having another strong campaign, and Buck Herzog has been a revelation in the leadoff spot.
Here's how our hitting and pitching was for July.
Finally, here are the Awards and some other news, as well as the league leaders. Ty Cobb is threatening to take another AL Triple Crown, trailing just by 3 RBI. Danny Murphy actually leads in two of the categories for the NL, but I doubt he'll be able to make up the 40-odd average points needed.
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