With 81 games under our belt, it's time to take stock in the season so far. We went 19-9 in June (1-1 so far in July to get us to 81 games), and sit at 50-31, 3.5 games up on Oakland, 5.5 on Seattle. Our team stats are looking pretty good across the board: hitting, pitching, fielding. We're top five in nearly every batting category except runs scored (6th), walks (16th), and steals (10th). Pitching is at the same level, but we're 10th in home runs allowed. First in team defensive efficiency.
BATTING...Our hitting continues to impress, with five regulars topping the .300 mark, and two more at .280 or better. Adam Groff has been dynamite, 2nd in AVG, OPS, and WAR, and 3rd in HR. Dunklee is hitting for contact more than power, but did find his stroke in June with 5 HR. The only sore spots are DH Nate Hullinger, who's poor hitting has put him on the bench, and Ryan Hebert, who's slash numbers are 20 to 50 points below his career averages and is playing subpar second base.
The bench isn't putting up spectacular numbers, but has provided spark and timely hitting nonetheless. Martinez started slow, so his low numbers belie the fact that he's been hitting better lately. Moreno has hit 7 HR off the bench, and Miranda has been rock solid on defense around the infield. Josh Robertson is getting some playing time with Hebert on the DL for another week; the scouts tell me he's ready, but he's been abysmal at the plate so far.
PITCHING...It has all been money well spent so far. Well, except for that little injury to the 15M dollar man...Anyway. After a slow start, DiFranco has been money. Little has been the ace, despite getting lit up his last several starts. Wunderlich has pitched well of late. Brock has been a serviceable fifth starter. Clark, our nominal ace, has been giving up dingers by the bushelful, but otherwise his stats actually look pretty good. And our rebuilt bullpen has actually been money well spent. Of course it's not all peaches and cream, and who knows what the next 81 games will bring, but for now...I'm quite pleased. One final note: we've been spared the injury bug to our pitching staff, besides Dunne and Shewmake going down in the spring. Shewmake is now on his rehab assignment, and if things go well, he'll be back just after the all-star break, in two weeks. Dunne still has ten months to go, sigh.
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AROUND THE LEAGUE...It's international FA time! And what a dud class this is. Thirty-five players, and only a few worth looking at. We're going after two: 3B Dave Rivera and RP Efrain Solis. Rivera is a power hitter with a big arm. His contact needs to improve to have a shot to make the big leagues. Our first offer to him is 2.6M. Solis is the only pitcher with decent potential in all three ratings. Groundballer, fastball/curve, hits 92 MPH already. We start him at 950K.
Looking around at the standings...Yes, it's early, but every race is still close. No one is running away with their division. In the AL East, Boston and Toronto had great Junes and have pulled away from the competition. All the NL races look fun, especially the expected three-horse race in the NL Central. St Louis (duh), Tampa, and Austin are running in the opposite direction.
Toronto's Preston Sorensen has had a beast of a first half. In 2035 he won the AL MVP with a 10.3 WAR, 56 HR, and 134 RBI. He's on pace to pass all those numbers. In the NL, it's been the Ethan Baker and Matt Anderson show. Both are fighting for the Triple Crown.
Also...Miami has cranked out 151 home runs, rookie Sergio Torres leads the team with 24...Richmond's Ty Cobb went over 100 WAR for his career, and passed 2700 hits.
Next up: July