The Biggest MLB Storylines To Pay Attention To In The Second Half
As we get ready for the unofficial second half of the MLB season, which is really the final 40% of the MLB season, let’s take a look at some of the major storylines throughout the league.
American League East:
No, this isn’t east coast bias. The two best records in baseball reside in the American League East. Just like old times, it’s Red Sox-Yankees duking it out for the AL East crown, which figures to be a thing right until the very end when these two teams close out their seasons against each other at Fenway Park. Both clubs figure to add some help prior to the trade deadline — perhaps a starter for New York and a reliever for Boston — as if they weren’t already scary enough to everyone else. This one figures to go down to the wire for the division, and don’t be surprised when they meet again in October for the first time since 2004. Blake Snell of the Rays will be chasing a Cy Young in the second half, we’re on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. watch up in Toronto, and now that they’ve finally traded Manny Machado with Zach Britton likely next, just how many games are the Baltimore Orioles going to lose? All of them? We’ll see!
American League Central:
This division once again belongs to the Cleveland Indians, but you already knew that. The Tribe struggled mightily at times during the first half of the season, but there was nobody who could legitimately challenge Cleveland for the division even when they were at their worst. They’ve just traded for left-handed reliever Brad Hand moments ago. Might they also try to acquire someone like Adam Jones to add some extra thump in their lineup? After making the playoffs last year, the Twins have largely been a disappointment in their followup attempt, the Tigers stink, the White Sox are in rebuild mode, and the Royals have stayed neck and neck with Baltimore for the worst team in baseball all year. I can’t imagine Kansas City will end up being worse than the O’s now that Machado is gone, but the Royals will inevitably also get worse once they trade Mike Moustakas.
American League West:
Home of the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, who also stand to make a very, very solid run at repeating. The Astros have been linked to Zach Britton for over a year now, and now would be a good time to pull the trigger on a deal like that after their dickhead closer Ken Giles was demoted to Triple-A for being bad at baseball and cussing out manager AJ Hinch. All due respect to the Red Sox and Yankees, but the Astros are still the team to beat. The Mariners figure to make some noise here, too, but after winning eight straight, they went on to lose 8 of 11 heading into the break. That skid has allowed the Oakland A’s to creep back into the playoff picture, as they’re now only three games back of Seattle. As much as I hate to say it because I know how insufferable Dallas Braden will become if this happens — I think the A’s overtake the Mariners for the second Wild Card spot. I do. The Angels are just kinda there at this point. They’re hanging with the A’s, but the loss of Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher was a blow that I don’t think they’ll be able to overcome. Still fun to watch him as a hitter, though. And I’ll watch the Rangers every fifth day for Bartolo Colon. That’s about it.
National League East:
This is the best divisional race in baseball. Yeah, you have Red Sox-Yankees in the AL East and the NL West is a tight four-team race, but you know who the best team in the NL West is. It’s the division-leading Dodgers, and now that they have Machado, there’s no reason why they should lose that division. In the NL East? It would not shock me if either the Phillies, Braves or Nationals won this division. I want the Phillies to do something bold. Go get Jacob deGrom. The Milwaukee Brewers need deGrom the most out of the playoff-hopeful teams in the NL, but Philly adding the Mets right-hander would make them legitimate nightmare fuel in a playoff series. You’d be up against Aaron Nola, Jacob deGrom, and Jake Arrieta. Yikes. They also have chips to play with after losing out on the Machado Sweepstakes. But you have to wonder if the Mets would trade their ace within the division. Seems doubtful, unless it was a can’t-refuse offer from the Phils. The Baby Braves are a year or two early, but they’ve proven that they can hang. I wonder if their youth and inexperience will hurt them a little bit towards the end of the season. I still believe in the Nats, too. I do. It’s a lot of if’s, but if you get Bryce Harper going and Daniel Murphy going, that’s a completely different lineup. Stephen Strasburg returns on Friday, as does Ryan Zimmerman. Don’t count out these Nats just yet. Shout out to the Marlins for being bad, but not nearly as bad as everyone thought they’d be, and the Mets should go full blown fire sale, but they’re probably too dumb to do that. So, hold your horses on the Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom trade fantasies for now.
National League Central:
Being the biggest Brewers fan in the world, as much as it pains me to say this, I think the Cubs have grabbed the division lead that they’re not going to give up the rest of the way. Not that signing Jake Arrieta would’ve been the ultimate deciding factor in the division, but I just hate that Milwaukee doesn’t have a bonafide stud at the top of their rotation. The Cubs are gonna roll to the finish line, unless the Brewers do something drastic at the deadline (like a deGrom deal). Even still, that might not be enough, as the injuries continue to mount for the Brew Crew. The Cardinals have fired their manager Mike Matheny and are two games above .500 at the break. They are somewhat in danger of having their first losing season since 2007. Shout out to Pirates fans. Your ownership group has failed you, yet this Pirates team is relatively competitive despite that. The Reds stink, but they’ve honestly been fun to watch over the last month or so. They’ve been playing like a team that has three of the best positional players in the league (because they do). Also, it’ll be interesting to see who ends up trading for Matt Harvey and how he performs once he gets back into a pennant race.
National League West:
This is the tightest race in baseball. Three teams separated by two games, and four teams separated by four games. I called the NL East the best race in baseball, because I think the Phillies, Braves and Nationals could all do damage in the postseason if and when they get there. Despite being separated by two games, I can’t see the Rockies scaring anybody in October (might start hearing Nolan Arenado trade rumors) and the Dbacks aren’t very threatening with a middle of the pack offense and a middle of the pack rotation. The Dodgers were better last year — much better — but you might’ve heard that they just added an MVP-caliber player, so now it’s go time for them. To their credit, the Giants have hung in there and at least remained in the conversation, but they’ve literally never been fully healthy at any point this season. When they get one guy back, another guy goes on the shelf. Still, they’ve never fallen out of it. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t expect them to challenge for a postseason spot, though. And finally, the Padres suck. At least their farm system is loaded, so there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that some sucky teams simply do not have at the moment. I’m looking at you, Derek Jeter and Kevin Clancy.
