2003 CFOD MID-SEASON REVIEW If the playoffs were held today: Angry Candy (60-25) (Mantle division leader) vs Oregon Wet Sox (43-39) (#2 league wildcard leader) Boston Brewins (48-37) (Koufax division leader) vs Cincinnati Rock (44-37) (MK conf wildcard leader) Park City Climbers (52-34) (Young division leader) vs California Coneheads (55-29) (RY conf wildcard leader) Paxtang Pitbulls (57-26) (Ruth division leader) vs Topeka MooseDogs (48-37) (#1 league wildcard leader) Teams behind the Oregon Wet Sox: Mechan Syndicate - 44-40 (no games behind) Somerville Sluggers - 45-41 (no games behind) Carolina Lightning - 41-42 (2.5 games behind) Brookfield Brouhaha - 41-42 (2.5 games behind) Seattle Moshers - 39-44 (4.5 games behind) Arizona Thunder - 39-44 (4.5 games behind) ********************************************************************************* Mantle Division: 1st - Angry Candy - 60-25 (Predicted finish: 1st) - The Candy are going strong with the league's best record and host of this year's all-star game. Their lead is so dominant that it would be hard to think of them losing the pennant this year. The usual suspects are having their typically good years. Todd Helton has 18 home runs, 85 runs scored, 70 RBI and is hitting .391. Chipper Jones is slugging .517 with 64 runs scored and 61 RBI. Catcher AJ Pierzynski is slugging .487 with 57 runs scored. Starter Josh Beckett is 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA. Kevin Brown, Byung-Hyun Kim, Michael Tejera and Carl Pavano all have at least 7 wins. OUTLOOK: The Mantle division race is all but over. Question is, will this cause the Candy to get soft by the time the playoffs roll around? 2nd - Mechan Syndicate - 44-40 (15.5 games back) (Predicted finish: 2nd) - Barry Bonds is having his typically good year, hitting .354 with a .502 on base average, 32 home runs, 68 runs scored, and 73 RBI. CF Raul Mondesi (22 homers, 58 runs scored, 54 RBI) and 2B D'Angelo Jimenez (.392 on base average, 50 runs scored) both made the all-star game. Other than Jack Wilson (who is hitting .195) the hitters are solid. The pitching has been a little suspect. Their 4.71 team ERA is highest among any team with a winning record. You can't blame that on closer Eric Gagne, who has 20 saves and a 1.63 ERA at the break. Tim Wakefield has been the lone effective starter, going 8-4 with a 3.53 ERA. OUTLOOK: It's going to be very difficult to catch the Angry Candy for the pennant, but the wildcard races are still wide open. An extra starter or two would go a long ways. 3rd - Arlington Arthropods - 38-46 (21.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 4th) - The fearsome twosome of Gary Sheffield (.597 slugging, 20 homers, 70 RBI) and Manny Ramirez (.355 average, 25 homers, 75 RBI) have given the lineup a lot of punch. 2B Luis Castillo (.409 on base average, 64 runs scored) has been the primary beneficiary. 3B Aramis Ramirez is having one of his better seasons, slugging .512 with 47 RBI's. Starter Jason Schmidt (7-6, 2.91 ERA) and closer Julio Mateo (17 saves) made the all-star game. Starter David Wells isn't having a very good year, being 3-11 with a 6.06 ERA at the break. OUTLOOK: They've got a fair amount of talent, but it doesn't seem to be translating into wins. The next few weeks after the all-star break will be critical for Arlington. 4th - Bakersfield RamJets - 37-47 (22.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 6th) - The RamJets have suffered a power outage this year. Their .386 team slugging average is near the bottom of the league. Catcher Ivan Rodriguez has tried to raise the average, slugging .468 with a .372 on base average and 54 RBI. Ryan Klesko has a .408 on base average, .586 slugging average with 15 home runs. SS Miguel Tejada has been in a funk, slugging only .402 with 37 RBI's. Some of the pitching has been effective. Eddie Guardado made the all-star team with a miniscule 0.36 ERA. Danny Kolb has 8 saves with a 2.08 ERA, and Darrell May is 8-4 with a 3.19 ERA. OUTLOOK: Some decent pitching performances, but the lack of run production has hurt the RamJets this year. 5th - San Francisco Shriners - 37-49 (23.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 3rd): How's this? Could the Shriners' 5th place performance this year be due to Sammy Sosa? Sosa has 21 homers, 45 runs scored and 53 RBI, but is hitting .223 with a .437 slugging average. His surrounding cast is doing pretty good. Bill Mueller has a .385 on base average with 13 homers, 48 runs scored, 44 RBI and an all-star appearance. Cliff Floyd has a .389 on base average with 51 runs scored. Sosa is getting all of these opportunities to drive in runs but is not making the most of it. That's probably half the problem. The other half is the pitching. Closer Johan Santana made the all-star team, saving 13 games with a 1.85 ERA by the break. But your chances of winning are hurt when guys like Ted Lilly are on the mound (2-10, 5.89 ERA). OUTLOOK: If Sammy was Javy Lopez-esque in driving in runs, and some of the pitchers kept it in the ballpark, the Shriners might be above .500 right now. Otherwise, wait until next year ... when the league finds out what happens when you have a full strength Sammy Sosa *and* Randy Johnson on the same team. 6th - Springfield 'Topes - 36-50 (24.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 5th) - Newcomer Jody Gerut has been hitting the stuffing out of the ball, slugging .597 with a .320 average and 14 home runs. The rest of the group hasn't done much to write home about. Their pitching has also been fairly mediocre. Brendan Donnelly has been good in relief, going 5-0 with 4 saves and a 2.34 ERA OUTLOOK: This just isn't Springfield's year. ********************************************************************************* Koufax Division 1st - Boston Brewins - 48-37 - (Predicted Finish - 2nd) - It isn't a big surprise that Boston is at the top of the division. But they've had to fight their way up, and only took the lead in the last couple of weeks. Their hitting has been near the top of the league, including league RBI leader Javy Lopez (.710 slugging, 32 homers, 104 RBI). Vernon Wells has 62 RBI, Albert Pujols has 60+ runs and RBI, Shannon Stewart has 65 runs scored. The only "disappointment" may be 2B Alfonzo Soriano, who is "only" slugging .443 with 14 homers and 48 runs scored. The rookie hurler, Brandon Webb, made an all-star appearance, going 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA. Ryan Franklin is 7-2 with a 3.86 ERA. Closer Jorge Julio has struggled, saving only 11 games, with a 4.79 ERA and 5 blown saves to his credit. OUTLOOK: They've got lots of talent and are good candidates for the playoffs. Whether they enter as the pennant winner or as a wildcard may depend on how good they win close games down the stretch. 2nd - Cincinnati Rock - 44-37 (2 games back) (Predicted finish - 1st) - The Rock have held the division lead for most of the season before giving it up to the Brewins in the last few weeks. Last year's champs have only scored 2 more runs than they've given up, but still find ways to win. Catcher Jorge Posada is having another good year, slugging .503 with 66 RBI and an all-star appearance. OF Geoff Jenkins is only hitting .222, but with 14 home runs and 46 RBI. 2BN Mark Loretta has a .359 on base average with 57 runs scored, while Sean Burroughs has a .374 on base average with 39 runs scored. Starter Curt Schilling made the all-star team with an 8-3 record and a 3.01 ERA. Closer Shigetoshi Hasegawa has 17 saves. Wade Miller is 8-5. OUTLOOK: Cincinnati definitely knows how to win. What they have to figure out is how to defeat the overall superior talent of the Brewins to capture their 5th straight pennant. 3rd - Oregon Wet Sox - 43-39 (3.5 games back) ( Predicted finish - 3rd) - Oregon is a tough team to figure out. Their team ERA, 3.47, is best in the league. Their run production, 3.9 runs, is worst in the league. Esteban Loaiza is having a Cy Young quality year, with a league leading 1.58 ERA and a 7-3 record. Franchise 1B Jeff Bagwell is not having a good year, hitting .231 with a .381 slugging average. Closer Ugueth Urbina is 4-1 with 15 saves and a 1.82 ERA. Nomar Garciaparra is hitting .244 with only 8 home runs. OUTLOOK: If the Wet Sox can find out what is wrong with their offense, they could zoom ahead to the pennant lead. Even if they don't, they are still in the hunt for a wildcard. 4th - Somerville Sluggers - 45-41 (3.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 6th) - The Sluggers are not a team of all-stars. They are definitely an example of the whole exceeding the sum of its parts. SS Carlos Guillen has a .396 on base average and 49 runs scored. OF Trot Nixon is slugging .571 with 15 home runs and 42 RBI. 3B Vinny Castilla is slugging .451 with 47 RBI. There are no Barry Bonds on the team, but there's no real stinkers either. One player who isn't a stinker is ace Roy Halladay, who is 9-4 with a 2.79 ERA. Closer Aquilino Lopez was the highest rated reliever in the MK conference, saving 17 games with a 1.57 ERA. OUTLOOK: They're doing pretty good so far. Their +41 runs scored/runs allowed differential is 2nd best in the division. They are in the hunt. 5th - Hillsborough Regulators - 36-46 (10.5 games back) (Predicted finish - 4th) - It's all about the pitching, or lack of. Tomokazu Ohka is doing good (6-5, 3.42 ERA), but the rest of the starters are in batting practice territory. Randy Wolf is 5-9 with a 6.06 ERA, and closer Danys Baez has 11 saves with a 5.4 ERA. Their 4.78 team ERA ranks near the bottom of the league. But it isn't all gloom and doom. 1B Frank Thomas made the all-star team, slugging .636 with 24 homers, 55 runs scored and 66 RBI. CF Marlon Byrd has 57 runs scored, and OF Garrett Anderson is hitting .345 with 50 runs scored and 47 RBI. OUTLOOK: Some fine hitting performances, but the pitching is holding the Regulators back this year. 6th - LA Zippys - 33-52 (15 games behind) (Predicted Finish - 5th) - You can't blame all-star Derek Jeter (.424 OBA, 63 runs scored) for the Zippy's performance this year. Nor Carlos Lee (.523 slugging, 16 home runs, 50 RBI). Not even rookie Rocco Baldelli, who has eeked out 50 RBI at the break. You can't even blame Barry Zito, who has a 3.09 ERA (but only a 4-6 record). But wins are difficult when you have performances like Jose Silva (3-10, 7.02 ERA in 17 starts), Odalis Perez (3-9, 5.06 ERA in 17 starts) and Jake Westbrook (1-8, 5.75 ERA in 17 starts) in your rotation. Dave Roberts has been doing his best Brian Hunter impression in the outfield, hitting .222 with a .271 slugging average. OUTLOOK: The Zippys have some good players, but the bad ones seem to be winning the battle this year. ********************************************************************************* Ruth Division - 1st - Paxtang Pitbulls - 57-26 (Predicted Finish - 1st) - Lots of pressure on Paxtang to make the most of their window of opportunity, and they are not disappointing people so far. Alex Rodriguez is having a sub-par year at shortstop, (.225 average, but with 17 home runs, 55 runs scored and 59 RBI) but still started the all-star game. Carlo Delgado has been super-hot, slugging .679 with 31 home runs, 70 runs scored and 77 RBI. OF Brian Giles has a .399 on base average and 56 runs scored. Ace Javier Vazquez started the all-star game, posting a 12-1 record with a 2.89 ERA. Closer David Riske is a likely FOTY winner, saving a league high 27 games with a 1.99 ERA. OUTLOOK: They've got California close behind, but the playoffs are a lock. One of the elite teams of the league. 2nd - California Coneheads - 55-29 (2.5 games behind) (Predicted Finish - 2nd) - It's been a duct-tape and chewing gum year for California, but all of the injuries have not seemed to phase their performance. Scott Rolen has been the franchise, hitting .305 with 18 home runs, 66 runs scored and 69 RBI. OF Juan Gonzalez has 26 home runs with 66 RBI, but his burnout clock is ticking. OF Milton Bradley has a .452 on base average, 46 runs scored and an all-star nod. 1B Jason Giambi also made the all-star team, with a .449 on base average, .551 slugging and 53 runs scored. Jose Valverde has turned into a top closer, saving 20 games with a miniscule 1.53 ERA. Matt Clement has a 10-4 record with a 3.29 ERA, while Tim Hudson is 9-6. Re-acquired hurler Tom Glavine is still looking for his first win since re-joining the team, but has a 4.23 ERA so far for his efforts. OUTLOOK: It will be interesting to see how they juggle players in the 2nd half, but the Coneheads are still a team to be reckoned with. 3rd - Topeka MooseDogs - 48-37 (10 games behind) (Predicted finish - 3rd) - This is the breakout season for perennial doormat Topeka. They've assembled a critical mass of talent and are on pace for their best season ever. OF Aubrey Huff started in the all-star game, hitting .328 with 19 home runs, 65 runs scored and 79 RBI. OF Dmitri Young has 19 home runs, 60 runs scored and 69 RBI. Catcher Jason Kendall has a .373 on base average with 56 runs scored. Closer Paul Quantrill made the all-star game, saving 13 games with a 1.54 ERA. Derek Lowe and Joel Pineiro have won 8 games each. OUTLOOK: They've got the talent to make their first ever playoff appearance this year. And with guys like Mark Teixiera on the roster, this could be the sign of a franchise on the rise. 4th - Carolina Lightning - 41-42 (16 games behind) (Predicted finish - 5th) - They are only 1 game under .500, but in the tough Ruth division, that may mean their playoff hopes are done for. Tom Glavine and Tom "Flash" Gordon have already been dealt, and more may be on the way. 3B Mike Lowell is having an all-star year, hitting 26 home runs with 67 RBI. Jim Edmonds is slugging .515 with 17 home runs and 51 runs scored. Starter Elmer Dessens has a 3.61 and a 7-3 record in 17 starts. OUTLOOK: Some decent performances, but it likely not enough this year, particularly with players being traded off. 5th - San Diego Termites - 38-45 (19 games behind) (Predicted finish - 6th) - Not going to happen for San Diego this year. Their 4.74 team ERA is on the higher end of the scale. Kip Wells is 4-8 with a 5.63 ERA. OF Jose Guillen made the all-star team, hitting 21 home runs with 73 RBI. Jeff Kent has 49 RBI. That's about it. OUTLOOK: Wait until next year. 6th - Miami Mangos - 37-50 (22 games behind) (Predicted finish - 4th) - The Mangos have some punch in their lineup. Jay Payton is hitting .297 with 49 runs scored and 49 RBI. 1B Rafael Palmerio is slugging .528 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI. OF Reggie Sanders has 45 runs scored. But OF Reed Johnson has been an out machine, hitting .231 with only 24 RBI in 255 at bats. Geoff Blum has a .278 slugging average with 7 runs scored in 162 at bats. Their 5.14 team ERA is among the league's highest. Hideo Nomo bucks the trend, going 7-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 18 starts. Kyle Farnsworth is doing a good job in the closer role, saving 14 games with a 3.21 ERA. But rookie Dontrelle Willis is 4-9 with a 5.77 ERA, and Ben Sheets is 1-7 with a 6.84 ERA. OUTLOOK: They're still getting their young hurlers together. Watch out for them next year. ********************************************************************************* Young Division 1st - Park City Climbers - 52-34 (Predicted finish - 2nd) - The Climbers scratched and clawed their way into the playoffs last year. This year looks to be a lot easier. They are well on their way to their first ever pennant. The marquee starting rotation has not been disappointing. Pedro Martinez, Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior have combined to win 26 games so far. The hitting has been spectacular and a team affair. Both catchers, Craig Wilson (.378 average, 51 runs scored, 57 RBI) and Jason Varitek (17 home runs, 53 RBI) made the all-star team. 3B Morgan Ensberg has 20 home runs, and Preston Wilson has 19 home runs and 61 RBI. And remember, they've still got Jim Thome at 1B (who is slugging .560 with 19 home runs and 49 runs scored). OUTLOOK: All signs point to the Climbers winning the penannt. 2nd - Brookfield Brouhaha - 41-42 (9.5 games behind) (Predicted finish - 4th) - They may be under .500, but 2nd place is still 2nd place. Richard Hidalgo is having an all-star year, hitting 18 home runs with 63 runs scored and 55 RBI. Mainstay 1B Edgar Martinez has a .379 on base average with 16 home runs and 48 runs scored. OF Jacque Jones has 44 runs scored with a .491 slugging average. The team ERA of 3.56 is well above average. Miguel Batista made the all-star team, going 6-4 with a 2.73 ERA. Joe Borowski is 7-5 with 11 saves and an 3.35 ERA in the closer role. OUTLOOK: It's probably not likely they'll win a pennant, but with a key slugger acquisition and their pitching holding up, who knows what may happen? 3rd - Seattle Moshers - 39-44 (11.5 games behind) (Predicted finish - 1st) - It's just not happening for Seattle this year. Their pitching has collapsed. Longtime ace Greg Maddux has a 6.15 ERA. Young ace CC Sabathia is 8-4, but with a 5.94 ERA. One bright spot in pitching is closer Keith Foulke, who made the all-star team again and has 19 saves with a 1.66 ERA. The hitting is a lot better. Magglio Ordonez is hitting .321 with 55 runs scored and 52 RBI. SS Edgar Renteria made the all-star game, scoring 50 runs. Tim Salmon is slugging .487 with 56 RBI. OUTLOOK: If their pitching settles down, they could move upwards and contend for a wildcard spot. T/3rd - Arizona Thunder - 39-44 (11.5 games behind) (Predicted finish - 3rd) - Take whatever was said for Seattle and amplify it. Their 5.24 team ERA is 2nd worst in the league. Billy Wagner has 12 saves with a 3.51 ERA, and Livan Hernandez is 6-7 with a 3.92 ERA. But they've also got a really strong hitting lineup. 2B Bret Boone made the all-star team, hitting 33 home runs with 83 RBI. CF Carlos Beltran was also an all-star, hitting .286 with 66 runs scored and 66 RBI. Luis Gonzlaez has 49 runs scored, while 1B Richie Sexson has 24 home runs and 59 RBI. OUTLOOK: Lots of runs scored, lots of runs given up. Some pitching would go a long ways towards moving back into playoff wildcard territory. 5th - San Francisco Piazza's - 37-49 (15 games behind) (Predicted finish - 5th) - The outfield are the big contributers for SF this year. Marquis Grissom has 15 home runs and 54 RBI. Ichiro Suzuki has a .453 slugging average and 50 runs scored. Hideki Matsui has 46 runs scored. On the other end, they've got catcher Charles Johnson hitting .193 and 3B Eric Hinske in a sophomore slump, hitting only .211. Warren Morris is an automatic out machine. Wilson Alvarez had a great 1st half of the season, going 9-6 and an all-star break .. only he's now out for the season. The rest are OK, performing with the league average. OUTLOOK: OK pitching, but the automatic outs in the order have hurt the Piazza's this year. 6th - Sacramento Fish - 25-59 (26 games behind) (Predicted finish - 6th) - If you are not going to contend, you might as well *really* not contend. They started out the season 2-19, thanks in large part to a team ERA of 5.6, easily the worst in the league. Despite the woeful pitching, CF Lance Berkman made the all-star team, slugging .541 with 59 runs scored and 62 RBI. Brad Wilkerson has a .401 on base average with 58 runs scored, and Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .285 with 19 home runs, 50 runs scored and 57 RBI. OUTLOOK: With the kind of pitching they have, the #1 pick in next year's draft is a lock.