2011 Mid Season gut check - How is your favorite club doing and how do you feel heading into the second half?

For me over the past few years, I've become rather territorial in following baseball. I really only care what the Reds are doing and I have been following them much closer on a day to day basis than any clubs since maybe the Cubs in the mid-80s.

My question to you I Love Baseball is how do you feel about "your" club mid way through the season? Is it loathing or is it confidence that fills your rally caps heading into the seconf half.

Reds have been better than their record, but they are just not playing as good in the tight games as 2010. The starting pitching has been a bit helter skelter, as many games the Reds are down 2 to 4 runs in the first inning. They are driving in a crap load of runs but seem to do it in stretches and yet can't get the hit when it needs done, which was something they wer er really good at last year. I'm not as hard on Dusty this year either, as I haven't seen quite as many "WTF is he thinking in game decisions" on average as the past couple of seasons. Maybe I am mellowing and just like the guy, I don't know.

That said, the NL Central is pretty tight and I think if the Reds busted out a big week they are right back in the middle of things.

I'd like to see the Reds shake things up a bit and trade Ramon Hernandez for the most they could get and bring up Mesoraco to split catching with Hanigan and they definitely need to try Zack Cozart at short, as that position has been a total black hole at the plate.

So how do you feel about your home nine?

The Padres are rebuilding, and not close to being relevant. So I am not paying much attention to them, honestly. I check their box score at the end of the day and that's about it.

Even with the Phils 4 games ahead in the NL East, I'm reasonably happy with where the Braves are right now, and think they have a good shot at the division or WC. The pitching staff is just stupidly good, though I tense up a little bit every time Scott Proctor comes into a game. Venters has been overused the last couple of weeks I think, but apparently Fredi is going to try to give him a breather.

Freddie Freeman and McCann are both on crazy heaters right now, Freeman 302/.345/.528 in the last month, and I think I heard Simpson say today that McCann had half of the Braves hits (8) in the Mariners series. McLouth is bouncing back after a horrible '10, and Jordan Schafer seems to have discovered a ballplayer in himself when he came crashing to earth and found out that the world doesn't revolve around him. Fredi will have a nice problem when Prado comes back from his infected ass or whatever. Honestly, I'd like to see Prado at 2nd and Uggla on the bench, but I guess Mr. Popeye Arms' contract makes that a problem.

I think the Phils' health is a little unpredictable and their rotation is not living up to the hype, and that the Braves will play in October one way or another.

I got rid of cable, that's how I feel

My team is in last place, bankrupt and someone was nearly murdered in the parking lot on opening day. It's pretty much the worst season in team history...

Send a second baseman, a few pitchers, and a manager.

We're always around .500, plus minus a few games, with a few really exciting hitters and a better than expected pitching staff. We're one or two bats away from possibly being in contention.

Unfortunately, I could have written that about almost any Blue Jays season in the past ten years.

I think the Rockies season and situation is kind of interesting, though perhaps only to me. We're 39-41 right now I believe, and it's fair to say everyone outside Phoenix and SF considers that disappoiinting. I read every day, on the awesomely informative purplerow.com, about how strong this team is, where its true talent level is, but (mostly) within a realistic context.

And it seems we really should be doing better. I gleefully stuck £20 on the Rox over/under (84) at the start of the season, as it seemed mean (I also stuck £20 on the Dodgers to win fewer than 85 games. Easy money, it seems, he says, tempting fate), but in truth, it's probably about right.

Unlike last season, we're in a position where there's not really much that's exceptional about the club or its players right now. Tulo and Cargo are having acceptable seasons, but nothing like last year, and Ubaldo has still only won 2 games. The strongest performers are Todd Helton and Seth Smith, but that's really only relative to our expectations for them. Our biggest injury issue has been losing our best pitcher to Tommy John, although statistically at least, our scrubs have done okay when they've been needed.

I'm not crazy about our manager. I think he's prone to significant tactical errors, and his softly softly style only really works when we're winning (but then, everything works when we're winning). But I don't think he needs to go at this stage.

We don't have a great farm system - like the big league club, we have good depth but few exceptional talents. I think this half-season has seena real rationalistaion of the true ambitions of the club, and our position is not quite as encouraging and exciting as I'd have said only 2 or 3 months ago.

Also, F the Gints.

Also, F the Gints.

OTM. I used to like that team until Bee OK sprayed sports cliches all over them 24/7.

what NoTime said.

my one issue with the team is the yo-yo act we're doing with our young talent: Snider, Cecil, Stewart, Drabek & Thames... it's making be dizzy.

Lind has been making me happy not only with his bat coming back but also his play at first.
And Bautista can't be moved over to 3rd soon enough.

be=me

Mark C how do you feel about Tracy? I hated his damn guts when he was on his last season with LA.

Honestly, I don't know. He seems ineffectual at times, and downright contrary at others. The current bugbear is continuing to bat the gaping 2B black hole at 2nd even though the combination of players who man 2B for us are below replacement level. I mean, why? He also uses his bench oddly.

But then again, he won something like 104 of his first 162 games at the club. The combination of which, to be honest, makes me think that the manager has less control over or effect on the team than most people think.

I'd love to know what you thought of him!

The current bugbear is continuing to bat the gaping 2B black hole at 2nd even though the combination of players who man 2B for us are below replacement level. I mean, why? He also uses his bench oddly.

This sounds all too familiar.

Though it was fun watching EY Jr play RF the other day and have to one-hop a throw to second from shallow territory.

I've had to quit reading Capitol Avenue Club because they act like Fredi is worse than Pol Pot. I don't agree with everything I've seen him do, and I'd like to see him get out there and melt down one time for the team and get thrown out like Cox used to do -- just a little motivational hysterics, let's be cool -- but jesus, ease up on the guy a little.

i thought Fredi was supposed to be some kind of manager/guru?! surprised to hear he's being bashed already!

The CAC blog has been burning him in effigy from day one! Over bullpen managment, mainly.

The Rockies' gaping 2B black hole will be filled with Mark Ellis.

They're getting on his case about *that*? Didn't Bobby Cox blow like 10 playoff series thanks to poor bullpen management?

xpost

I know, right? "You have Scott Proctor on your team -- you are worse than HITLER!"

the chicago cubs are my "team" and they're of course horrible. bad contracts, declining stars, young players w/empty "good" stats that will probably be about as valuable long-term as jerome walton, a possibly bad manager, a gm who loves to open the checkbook during the wrong offseasons, etc.

who's good? matt garza actually looks really good despite some scuffling here and there. soto is still promising and occasionally great. i have a soft spot for fukudome and his non-trad but useful offensive skill set (while recognizing that he's disappointing.)

anyway, the future is pretty bleak in the short-term. they'll probably go for prince fielder but i can see that becoming an albatross b/c i can see him waking up one day and turning into mets-era mo vaughn.

redbirds - been above where I'd thought they'd be post-Waino going down. the big question is if they can stay in the race for nl comedy central while Alberticus is out. I give them about a 25-30% chance at the division. Return to the mean re: injuries and bullpen will help. Pretty confident in Garcia, Carp, and Lohse. McClellan you worry about innings piling up. Westbrook can't get worse. And if TLR is willing to put Theriot at 2nd, I'd give them a couple more percentage points. (If they get in they aren't going anywhere.)

"You have Scott Proctor on your team -- you are worse than HITLER!"
^ this made me seriously laugh

it's weird to see, in Toronto, all the papers/blogs trying to outdo one another in giving our young GM the sloppiest bj possible. just read a piece in the Grid that's almost embarrassing in it's man-crush on the guy.

and i'm not saying the praise is undeserved - it's just very rare to not see a city of armchair GMs falling over themselves to broadcast what they think their GM is doing wrong. (esp here /Leafs)

I used to like that team until Bee OK sprayed sports cliches all over them 24/7.

those are not suppose to be cliches. it is real passion or criticism for my team and they play everyday.

i'm going to take a break and not post on ILB.

Will, look what you did.

A's still suck but Gehren is gone.

Bee OK, I apologize -- I hope you'll keep posting.

About something other than the Giants jk lol

no need to apologize, i understand that i'm too wound up. need a break anyways, going to try and not post for the month of July.

but the game right now is so exciting!

top of the 10th: Brandon Crawford, Miguel Tejada, Eli Whiteside... all names that would send shivers down the back of any opposing pitcher.

well it was nice knowing you, Bee.

For the record I'm just as much against posts that are 100% numbers and analysis and 0% emotion as I am against the reverse.

who does that?

ok, let's say I would be against

ha ha - Morbs - how long has that been your handle? i only noticed it now!

xpost

bee ok you shouldn't leave

however if you are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBfYQOSSPqc

i'm not leaving, just taking a break from posting about the Giants. look out ILM.

when june ends, the pirates will not have a losing record. if they could somehow avoid playing the brewers, they might be leading their division. they already have more road wins this season than they did all of last year.

(in the last five seasons, the pirates are 17-51 against the brewers and have been outscored by 2.25 runs per game. this year they're merely 0-5.)

it's unclear how this is happening.

they have only one actually good position player. they're 15th in the nl in ops and hits. they're hitting .249 with runners in scoring position and .223 with RISP and two outs, so it's not even clutchitude.

the pitching staff is playing out of its mind -- 8th in the majors in era. but also 22nd in fip, 25th in war and 28th in k/9. babip is slightly better than average at .283.

pedro alvarez has sucked (though he's been hurt). they've had mild success with cheap youngsters/castoffs. the farm system is probably average, but lacks any serious impact players. tony sanchez (3rd overall in 2009) is hitting .250 in double-a. jameson taillon (2nd overall in 2010) has been okay in single-a (good kid though; i have faith). stetson allie (2nd round in 2010) has been underwhelming in two short-season starts and seems kind of a dick.

clint hurdle seems like a good players' manager, but remains behind the curve with bunting and such. can't argue with the results after three months though.

front office is better than it has been in 18 years, but that's saying very little. the pirates are spending more on draft picks, but despite having had great draft position forever, they somehow never get the prices/strasburgs/harpers/hosmers. i think the team may now be expected to play .500 ball, but unlike, say, the royals or nationals, it does not really offer hope of contention.

also the team's management is absolutely terrible at public relations -- bitching at local bar owners, saying that attendance must rise before the team will spend more, etc. a team with 18 straight losing seasons has to be better than that, especially in a city with two other teams that are very good at it.

i fully expect the pirates to reel off a seven-game losing streak at any time, but on the other hand i actually think they are better than the astros and maybe the cubs. so i guess that's progress.

I'd like to see a ranking of teams in terms of scouting, talentspotting and minor league talent development, if such a thing exists. Baseball being baseball, I'm sure it exists somewhere.

i'm sure there is, but it would be extraordinarily subjective. the more i learn about the whole process, the more i think that, apart from a few superstars and outliers, shit is disconcertingly random.

Something you said made me think of it.

the pirates are spending more on draft picks, but despite having had great draft position forever, they somehow never get the prices/strasburgs/harpers/hosmers.

Maybe (obviously?) talent scouting is where they're weakest.

that's true, although for many years i think the bucs may have known who the best player available was, but chose not to select him because of money/boras. i think alvarez was their first boras client, which *almost* went spectacularly wrong.

ppl complained in '09 because tony sanchez at #4 overall seemed awfully high (and cheap) -- particularly when the #8 pick (mike leake) went straight to the majors.

could be worse tho -- #3 donavan tate (a high schooler, to be fair) is still in single a

also -- and this is the craziest -- at this very moment the pirates have a winning record and have brandon wood in their starting lineup tonight

because fucker just went deep

the pirates front office must have a good time picking up the cast offs of other teams and giving them a chance.. the pirates had a good run of taking players the dodgers got sick of - andy laroche (technically traded for jason bay lol), delwyn young, jason mcdonald, and xavier paul most recently..

donavan tate was hitting pretty well before he got a 50 game ban for marijuana :(

i'm not sure if i'm baffled more by the Pirates or the Indians.
did not see the Indians coming.

The Giants have pitching but considering their lineup how they are winning is f-ing magic. They are like +5 at the pyathagorean right now. The Pirates are only +2 and Indians +1. The Reds are like -3, which goes to figure as if they beat you, they beat the tar out of you and are playing not that hot in close games. Indians were more crappy last season as everyone was hurt.

The club that has played like crap that was unexpected was the White Sox. I hate to see the Big Donkey Adam Dunn go that low. I thought he was a pretty good fit for that club, as they seem to like those softball type sluggers on the southside.

I really didn't mention the Reds real problem, which is that their starting pitching is pretty helter skelter. It could improve by circumstance especially if Homer Bailey can stay healthy and Bronson has his usual second half. I like what I see out of Mike Leake since he took his week in Louisville. Volquez has had 2 OK starts in the last 4 but he is a total walk machine. Johnny Cueto is looking ok though, that loss to the Rays was one of the worst this year, but one of the most electrifying pitching starts I have seen in a while, as both him and David Price had 2 hitters going into the 7th.

the pirates front office must have a good time picking up the cast offs of other teams

totally. laroche didn't work out, but X(avier) has been okay and fucken brandon wood hit a homer tonight. the minor league filter is hardly scientific. by no means do i count on the pirates to find them, but there are useful players out there.

My current favorite Minor Leaguer is Clint Robinson. dude won the double-a Texas League triple crown last year. he can fucking hit. unfortunately he is a 1b/dh guy. and he's 26. but he's hitting .340 something, and it's not all PCL homers. fucker deserves a shot.

could be worse tho -- #3 donavan tate (a high schooler, to be fair) is still in single a

I don't know if you've been following Tyler Matzek (the Rockies 1st round pick in 2010, #11 and only that low because of signiability issues). He had a decent half-season at A, got moved up to A+, and then imploded, was moved down, and is now away from the organisation and working with his amateur coach in California to try and recover *something*

His 2011 line at A/A+: 42IP, 10.71 ERA, 2.60 WHIP, 13.1 BB/9

So yeah, a bit disappointed right now.

Funny how one single game - a stupid extra-innings home loss to the lowly White Sox - can take yesterday's pragmatic realism and ram it up my slough of despond.

His 2011 line at A/A+: 42IP, 10.71 ERA, 2.60 WHIP, 13.1 BB/9

He's aiming it. Tell him that.

except for the past week or so, the mariners have surprised me. it still doesn't make me love them again. i check the standings every few days, read lookout landing sometimes. i don't know that they've irrevocably broken my bond with them, but i'm tired of the team, i guess.

i went to my first game in two seasons the other day, a loss to the braves. the grandma next to me--a 26 year season ticket holder--was so mad, mad about everything. raging at felix, "HONEST TO PETE" lol. wanting lincoln and armstrong, the president and the CEO, fired. funny old lady, probably sums up a lot of peoples' thoughts.

haha i work for an organization that covers the minors and ranks prospects. last year when matzek was doing well (still too many walks, but) at asheville we got an email from his dad complaining that we should be talking about him more because he was the best pitcher in the minors.

it is probably wrong to shit on a guy for his dad being a tool, but: looool

I know, right? "You have Scott Proctor on your team -- you are worse than HITLER!"

― the presidential candidate inside me (WmC), Thursday, June 30, 2011 2:06 PM (3 days ago)

Proctor's not doing anything to help his own cause, that's for sure.

HITLER HITLER HITLER!