10.) It will be really interesting to see how the Astros handle the curios case of their infield. Here's the deal with them. They have a future superstar in Carlos Correa entrenched at shortstop. They have a current superstar in Jose Altuve locked at 2nd base. They have Luis Valbuena who is having a really nice season. They have prospect AJ Reed just called up, an all-power, no defense 1st baseman. They have, by Keith Law's estimation, the best prospect in baseball in Alex Bregman in AAA ready to be called up, and he's either a shortstop or 3rd baseman. Finally, to add to this mix, they signed Yulieski Gurriel, a 32-year old Cuban superstar, to a 5-year deal and his natural position is 3rd base. This is a lot of juggling to do. What helps is in reality the Astros are still building for the future, and with Luis Valbuena leaving at the end of the year, the math becomes easier. Still, the easiest way out may be to either convert Bregman into an outfielder (where they are developmentally weaker), or maybe even trade him when his value is super high for a pitcher. Either way, it is a good problem to have too few at bats to give to seemingly good player.
9.) The Brewers are in a strange position. They have such an easy plan to execute now. Just trade away Lucroy and Braun and start the rebuild in full. Will they actually do it, though? The Brewers are not good, whether they have Braun and Lucroy or not, but they are more of a draw with those guys. There is value in having those types of players on the field. But they should take a lesson from a former NL Central rival, in Houston, who kept their 'fan draw' players like Berkman and Oswalt too long to the point their value in a trade return dropped. They have a clear window when both players are decent values in both production and contract. In a way, it is a fun position to be in when the roadmap is so darn obvious.
8.) The sad end of the Cardinals and Pirates is going to be interesting to watch as well. The Cardinals and Pirates, by regular season record, have been the best teams in the NL since 2013. They have had a really nice stretch, with nothing but a World Series loss to show for it, and now they are trading winning and losing streaks to just stay in the periphery of the Wild Card race. The Cardinals never have to truly rebuild, given the organizational strength and allure of the team, but they core is aging and the farm is more barren now than it normally is. The Pirates are in a really interesting situation. They waited 20 years for that three year run of success and it seems to have already crested. It will be interesting to see what Neal Huntington does with the Pirates. They have some good trade chips, especially McCutchen, but I can't believe they would pull the trigger on that one.
7.) I want to see some team experiment with something weird in the second half, just to drum up some interest in the 10 or so teams that are already basically out of it. Last year, it was the Reds going with an all-rookie starting rotation. It didn't translate into wins, but it was a fascinating experiment in, well, experimenting. If any team should try something weird, it probably should be the Rays. After a long string of amazing success, the Rays are firmly reaching the end of their run. The lack of production from the draft in recent years is coming back to haunt the Rays. I don't know what they can do, but that is why those people, like Andrew Silverman, are paid a ton of many, to think outside the box. They should do something other than just stand pat and see their awful team play poorly without testing a few things out.
6.) The Indians are testing one of the time tested theories that MLB proponents have. For years, the idea was that teams that are bad that have poor attendance will have their attendance turn around when the team succeeds. Well, the Indians, after a 14-game win streak in June, are way up in their division and have a great chance of making the playoffs. They still aren't really drawing fans. There has been a slight uptick since the Cavs won their title, but who knows if it will last? The Indians poor attendance has to be one small black mark in a bright beautiful canvas that is the MLB's financial health right now, but it does matter. Places like Cleveland should draw well when the team does well. They'll end up selling out the home games in the playoffs when we get there, but the idea was that attendance would rise in July-September as well.
5.) The young shortstops in baseball is just amazing, pumping in a new generation that should lead this game for years. Ask 10 people and there will be no real consensus into which amazing young player will end up the best. Will it be Xander Boegarts, who is finally hitting the way everyone thought he would? Or maybe it will be Francisco Lindor, who has hit better than anyone could have imagined, supplementing his brilliant defense? Maybe it will be Corey Seager, the uber-rookie who already locked up the NL Rookie of the Year. The hidden star is Carlos Correa, who has 'disappointed' to a 130 OPS+ and on the way to a 5.5-6.0 WAR season as a 21-year old and projects to be an A-Rod type. There is no wrong answer. The rightest one is just to sit back and watch these four superstars grow up.
4.) Of course, the next generation of players goes beyond just the shortstop position. Manny Machado just gets better every year and is now a bonafide superstar. Bryce Harper is still just 23-24 and his dissappointing seasons are still incredible. The Cubs have like 10 guys under 27 who are all brilliant, with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo headlining that group. Then there are the sad amazing players stuck on bad teams. We already talked about Mike Trout, but to me even worse is Nolan Arenado. At least at this point enough people know about Trout's exploits, but Arenado sits in Coors Field being amazing at 3rd base and showing offensive power even away from Coors Field. The game is really in a good position.
3.) Remove the AL East, which has three teams separated by two games, and the NL Central, where the Cubs, even after a 6-15 stretch, have a 7-game lead, and you get 4 divisions where one team is between 4.5-6.5 games up on the rest. I feel like some of these will turn into interesting races. The likeliest candidate is probably the AL West becoming competitive, especially with all the underlying metrics (Base Runs, 2nd and 3rd order Win %) thinking the Rangers have far, far exceeded their actual level of play so far. The Astros are an MLB best 30-13 since a 17-28 start, finally righting themselves to a competitive position. If I had to guess any other division, I think it would be the NL East, as I can see the Mets getting on a roll with their pitching at some point and running off a 20-6 type stretch. We had very few good pennant races the lsat couple years, and while the AL East already seems to be a good one in the making, it would be good for some of the other divisions to join them.
2.) I cannot wait for Ichiro to get 10 more hits and reach 3,000. Yes, he's 43 years old, but let's remember his first season in MLB he was 27. In that first season, he had 240 hits and batted .350. Had he been in MLB since 21-22, you could state he would have had a shot at Pete Rose's record. The fact that someone could debut at 27 and reach 3,000 hits is absolutely ridiculous. What is more ridiculous is Ichiro himself is actually having a great season. I just marvel at Ichiro batting .337, walking more than he's striking out, and on pace for a 3 WAR season as a semi-regular. This is not supposed to happen. Ichiro is a modern marvel, and let's treasure him while we can. Sure, I wish he was getting #3,000 in Seattle and not in Miami, but the fact that he is there is just insane.
1.) And of course, let's never forget that 2016 divided by 2 has no remainder. The Giants this time aren't even waiting until October to express their dominance. They've finished the 1st half with the best record in baseball by changing their stripes again. In 2010, they won with a great rotation and an average, veteran offense. In 2012, they won with a very good, young offense and like 2.5 good pitchers. In 2014, they won because of who knows why? Madison Bumgarner happened, I guess. Now? Well, now they are winning just because they are really good. The offense is still incredibly balanced, even showing a little more power than normal. They've turned into the best defensive team in the NL. And of course, Madison Bumgarner is, Kershaw excluded, the best pitcher in baseball and Johnny Cueto himself has a 170 ERA+. Every other year, it just is the Giants world after all.
9.) The Brewers are in a strange position. They have such an easy plan to execute now. Just trade away Lucroy and Braun and start the rebuild in full. Will they actually do it, though? The Brewers are not good, whether they have Braun and Lucroy or not, but they are more of a draw with those guys. There is value in having those types of players on the field. But they should take a lesson from a former NL Central rival, in Houston, who kept their 'fan draw' players like Berkman and Oswalt too long to the point their value in a trade return dropped. They have a clear window when both players are decent values in both production and contract. In a way, it is a fun position to be in when the roadmap is so darn obvious.
8.) The sad end of the Cardinals and Pirates is going to be interesting to watch as well. The Cardinals and Pirates, by regular season record, have been the best teams in the NL since 2013. They have had a really nice stretch, with nothing but a World Series loss to show for it, and now they are trading winning and losing streaks to just stay in the periphery of the Wild Card race. The Cardinals never have to truly rebuild, given the organizational strength and allure of the team, but they core is aging and the farm is more barren now than it normally is. The Pirates are in a really interesting situation. They waited 20 years for that three year run of success and it seems to have already crested. It will be interesting to see what Neal Huntington does with the Pirates. They have some good trade chips, especially McCutchen, but I can't believe they would pull the trigger on that one.
7.) I want to see some team experiment with something weird in the second half, just to drum up some interest in the 10 or so teams that are already basically out of it. Last year, it was the Reds going with an all-rookie starting rotation. It didn't translate into wins, but it was a fascinating experiment in, well, experimenting. If any team should try something weird, it probably should be the Rays. After a long string of amazing success, the Rays are firmly reaching the end of their run. The lack of production from the draft in recent years is coming back to haunt the Rays. I don't know what they can do, but that is why those people, like Andrew Silverman, are paid a ton of many, to think outside the box. They should do something other than just stand pat and see their awful team play poorly without testing a few things out.
6.) The Indians are testing one of the time tested theories that MLB proponents have. For years, the idea was that teams that are bad that have poor attendance will have their attendance turn around when the team succeeds. Well, the Indians, after a 14-game win streak in June, are way up in their division and have a great chance of making the playoffs. They still aren't really drawing fans. There has been a slight uptick since the Cavs won their title, but who knows if it will last? The Indians poor attendance has to be one small black mark in a bright beautiful canvas that is the MLB's financial health right now, but it does matter. Places like Cleveland should draw well when the team does well. They'll end up selling out the home games in the playoffs when we get there, but the idea was that attendance would rise in July-September as well.
5.) The young shortstops in baseball is just amazing, pumping in a new generation that should lead this game for years. Ask 10 people and there will be no real consensus into which amazing young player will end up the best. Will it be Xander Boegarts, who is finally hitting the way everyone thought he would? Or maybe it will be Francisco Lindor, who has hit better than anyone could have imagined, supplementing his brilliant defense? Maybe it will be Corey Seager, the uber-rookie who already locked up the NL Rookie of the Year. The hidden star is Carlos Correa, who has 'disappointed' to a 130 OPS+ and on the way to a 5.5-6.0 WAR season as a 21-year old and projects to be an A-Rod type. There is no wrong answer. The rightest one is just to sit back and watch these four superstars grow up.
4.) Of course, the next generation of players goes beyond just the shortstop position. Manny Machado just gets better every year and is now a bonafide superstar. Bryce Harper is still just 23-24 and his dissappointing seasons are still incredible. The Cubs have like 10 guys under 27 who are all brilliant, with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo headlining that group. Then there are the sad amazing players stuck on bad teams. We already talked about Mike Trout, but to me even worse is Nolan Arenado. At least at this point enough people know about Trout's exploits, but Arenado sits in Coors Field being amazing at 3rd base and showing offensive power even away from Coors Field. The game is really in a good position.
3.) Remove the AL East, which has three teams separated by two games, and the NL Central, where the Cubs, even after a 6-15 stretch, have a 7-game lead, and you get 4 divisions where one team is between 4.5-6.5 games up on the rest. I feel like some of these will turn into interesting races. The likeliest candidate is probably the AL West becoming competitive, especially with all the underlying metrics (Base Runs, 2nd and 3rd order Win %) thinking the Rangers have far, far exceeded their actual level of play so far. The Astros are an MLB best 30-13 since a 17-28 start, finally righting themselves to a competitive position. If I had to guess any other division, I think it would be the NL East, as I can see the Mets getting on a roll with their pitching at some point and running off a 20-6 type stretch. We had very few good pennant races the lsat couple years, and while the AL East already seems to be a good one in the making, it would be good for some of the other divisions to join them.
2.) I cannot wait for Ichiro to get 10 more hits and reach 3,000. Yes, he's 43 years old, but let's remember his first season in MLB he was 27. In that first season, he had 240 hits and batted .350. Had he been in MLB since 21-22, you could state he would have had a shot at Pete Rose's record. The fact that someone could debut at 27 and reach 3,000 hits is absolutely ridiculous. What is more ridiculous is Ichiro himself is actually having a great season. I just marvel at Ichiro batting .337, walking more than he's striking out, and on pace for a 3 WAR season as a semi-regular. This is not supposed to happen. Ichiro is a modern marvel, and let's treasure him while we can. Sure, I wish he was getting #3,000 in Seattle and not in Miami, but the fact that he is there is just insane.
1.) And of course, let's never forget that 2016 divided by 2 has no remainder. The Giants this time aren't even waiting until October to express their dominance. They've finished the 1st half with the best record in baseball by changing their stripes again. In 2010, they won with a great rotation and an average, veteran offense. In 2012, they won with a very good, young offense and like 2.5 good pitchers. In 2014, they won because of who knows why? Madison Bumgarner happened, I guess. Now? Well, now they are winning just because they are really good. The offense is still incredibly balanced, even showing a little more power than normal. They've turned into the best defensive team in the NL. And of course, Madison Bumgarner is, Kershaw excluded, the best pitcher in baseball and Johnny Cueto himself has a 170 ERA+. Every other year, it just is the Giants world after all.
