Rise of The Mound or Fall of The Needle?

Monday Night Matt Garza threw the first no hitter in Rays history and the fifth of 2010, joining Edwin Jackson, Roy Halladay, Dallas Braden and Ubaldo Jimenez as baseball's newest heroes. However, as the number of no-no's climbs to new heights this season, the performance of the pitchers is hardly the headline story. With every out, scoreless inning, and gem that is recorded with much more ease this season, the decline of the steroid era is unfolding before our eyes.

In 1998, at the peak of the steroid era, Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris's single season home run record of 61 when he belted 70 home runs. In that year there was one no hitter thrown, a perfect game by the Yankees' David Wells against the Minnesota Twins. In twelve years has the pitching in the Major Leagues improved so much to up the number of no hitters, a usual rarity, from one to five? Impossible. Ever since Jose Canseco and George Mitchell exposed steroid users and raised awareness among MLB officials, power numbers have deflated and pitching numbers have strengthened once again. As baseball continues to regularly test and suspend those who are found using performance enhancing drugs, offensive number will continue to dwindle until the game reaches its purest form again. Until then, it is all under speculation.

JD

Shake Your Groove Thang

The hometown Phils have fallen into a slump far worse than anticipated when it all began more than a month ago. While the run support and "clutch" pitching has been missing since Daisuke blanked us on May 22nd, this slump seems to be far more mental than physical, which as the great Yogi Berra would add, makes up just about the whole game. In an attempt to "shake it up a little bit," Charlie Manuel has optioned starter Kyle Kendrick to Triple-A Lehigh following an awful start against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday night, and brought up right-handed pitcher Andrew Carpenter to take his place. Like the rest of Philadelphia, Manuel yearns for some togetherness, for some urgency, and for some pride. If the 7-6 Andrew Carpenter is an attempt

to scare guys, and make them pitch for their jobs, I will take this time to offer some advice. Want to make guys squirm? Lose some sleep over their spot in the lineup, and make them feel that they could see the bench in the near future? Ladies and gentleman, meet Dominic Brown.

As of Saturday Night, there are 118 hitters in the National League who are eligible to lead the league in average with runners in scoring position. Jayson Werth, who hits fifth for the Phillies, is lucky number 117. Werth, who protected Howard with MVP numbers in the first month and a half of the season, has been in a funk only thought possible in the worst of baseball nightmares. Need some insight? On May 7th, a 2 for 4 game put Jayson's average at .359. By May 30th he was below .300, and now his average is hovering around .280 depending on the day. With runners in scoring position Jayson is hitting .163, and with runners in scoring position with two outs he is hitting a dismal .114. With none on and none out Jayson hits .358, leading off an inning or following a Ryan Howard home run, far less than the ideal pressure situation. With a runner on third base less than two outs his average dips to .143, a three digit number that tells us he is less than a competent protector for one of the league's most dangerous hitters. Jayson, who was called the league's best Right Fielder by Peter Gammons earlier this year, is in a contract year, and has had his name thrusted in and out of trade talks as Philadelphia searches for answers. What Jayson could really use? A warm up jacket and some splinters in his butt.

Werth's fellow outfielder, Raul Ibanez,has been unable to dig out of a statistical hole he dug in the beginning of the year, and has likewise been unable to consistently produce. Since Chase Utley has gone on the long term DL, Raul has been able to see more fast-balls and hit better in the three whole, but ultimately is not exceeding the expectations that the city and organization have for him. Unlike Werth, Ibanez has hit moderately well in special situations, but has failed to come to the park and perform on a day to day basis, with his .252 average and 7 home runs.

Enter Dominic Brown. Since Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez were both negatively presented with statistics, Brown will be the exception. To start 2010 Brown hit .318 with 15 home runs in 65 games with AA Reading, and now has hit .360 with 4 home runs in 20 games with AAA Lehigh Valley. As Brown continues to strengthen his Minor League resume, his only down side is that he bats from the left side, just like Raul Ibanez, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Ross Gload, and Greg Dobbs; five players who are not only left handed, but left handed with power. Whether or not Brown fully accommodates the Phils' exact needs in the lineup, or on the bench, his numbers and evident readiness is something that cannot be passed up.

The lead for the Atlanta Braves in the division is up to 6.0 games, and that means the Phillies are only getting farther away from a fourth straight division title. Charlie Manuel is coaching a lifeless team and the number of answers is dwindling. Now he has to simply, shake it up. Charlie, I'm calling Dominic Brown your groove thang, your tool to get these cocky vets to play with some heart again. Shake away.

JD

Changing Face

Tuesday night the National League won its first MLB All-Star game in 13 years, and Brian McCann became the first catcher to win the MVP in just as many; neither of which are the real oddities of the first half. As of Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres are all the leaders in their divisions in a league where there seems to be less parody than a college football conference. Not anymore. Teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and LA Dodgers have two options; end the cinderella runs, or accept the fact that the the National League could be changing face.

Second Half Predictions

NL East- Despite an abundance of detrimental injuries the Philadelphia Phillies (two-time defending NL champs) have put themselves in a good place to operate for another World Series run. At 4.5 games back in the division, trailing the Braves is not their only problem, the Mets are in between. With the Phils pitching continuing to establish itself as a reliable pillar of an offense driven ball club, and the hitting beginning to mesh despite being without Chase Utley and Placido Polanco, there is no way that they don't come out on top of the NL East come September. However, the Mets and Braves have both played with more consistency and tenacity in the first half, and if the Phillies don't catch up in that department, their big name players and sparkling past won't do a thing for them.

NL Central- The Reds stand alone on top of the NL Central, and oddly, seems like something that will last. The Cards are the only team that has a shot of dethroning them at 1.0 game behind, but an inconsistent offense and pitching staff has them flat footed against a Reds team playing with fire. If Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips can continue to support a Reds pitching staff that is running against the tide, their bullpen will keep on closing games like a contending staff and propel them into October.

NL West- The NL West is the trickiest Division because the four teams that are contending are all separated by 4.0 games. The Rockies, Dodgers, Giants, and Padres all have upsides and downsides that could make or break their playoff runs, where there is so little room for error. Even though the Padres have led the division for just about the whole season, a team that hasn't won "when it counts" always have a hard time in close races, and that is where I see them folding, in deep August and September. From there, I am going to stick with my pre-season pick in the San Fran Giants. Their pitching will only get better in the second half, and Buster Posey is not only putting together a serious ROY campaign but providing a bat that is imperative for a Giant playoff run. If other bats in their lineup can also pick it up, they will be able to pass the LA Dodgers, who play with less explosiveness but much more overall consistency at the plate.

JD

The Making Of An Artificial Champion

Right now, I would prefer to rant about another Cliff Lee trade, another Jake Peavy injury, or another Phillies slump, but that would just be uncharacteristic of this summer in sports. If you happened to missed the hour special, don't get ESPN on your cable plan, or are crawling out from under your rock as I write this, Lebron James will be playing alongside Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat next season. Just about as lame and predictable as the Lebron sweepstakes could get after the three met personally to talk about next season. A pact to "share" the spotlight and a D-Wade pay cut made it official that the three would become the league's newest trio thus being dubbed the "Miami Thrice." The Heat when on the biggest shopping spree in basketball history this off season, and aside from creating a beast unlike any the NBA has ever seen, it put a mark on one man's NBA report card that will be illuminated forever.

For phase one of Lebron's career he gets an A for personal achievement and an F for team achievement. Harsh? This is not an F like Carter got with the Raptors or McGrady with the Magic, but an F that says that Lebron lead his team to the NBA's best record in his final season in Cleveland, than couldn't get them out of the second round. The next step would normally be redemption; Lebron's next step was out the door, high tailing it from failure rather than going back for revenge.

For a superstar like Lebron I see two ways to win a championship. One, with a running mate; Kobe and Shaq, Magic and Kareem. Two, with a solid (almost star-studded) supporting cast; Jordan with Rodman and Pippen or Duncan with Robinson, Parker, and Ginobili. In conclusion there were two feasible options for Lebron this off season. Stick with Cleveland, a place where he had that good supporting cast, or pair up with another star like Dirk, Amare Stoudemire, or even Bosh by himself. Option three, in the making, but certainly not to join an All-Star team.

In baseball, we throw asterisks in and out of conversations as a way to indicate a record that was wrongfully set. For Lebron, he just put one next to any title he may win with the Miami Heat. If his off-season was all about winning, so be it, but image for Lebron, is now a major concern. Cleveland gave Lebron all they could, Shaq, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Antwain Jamison, and still, he failed. Going to Miami with Bosh and Wade was not a "personal sacrifice" by any means, but a mere career cop out that many, may never forget.

JD