Mid-Season Wrap-Up

As we near the half-way point of the 2011 ADBL season, teams are taking a hard look at their prospects for the playoffs and their prospects for a championship. With each team in a different situation, let's go team by team as we check the pulse of each team in the ADBL.

AL West

Los Angeles Angels (8-4-0):

How have they climbed up to first? By being competent to good in each category. They're middle of the pack in virtually every offensive category, and, while their starting pitching hasn't been great, their relief pitching has been fantastic, as they lead the league in saves with 85 (20 more than the second place team, the Reds). With the Detroit Tigers only a game out of first after their win over the Angels, I suspect some deals to be done especially for their starting pitching. A guy like Gavin Floyd, who's been made available by Arizona, could be a cheap target for them.

Detroit Tigers (7-5-0):

The Tigers started out fast, racing out to a 3-0-0 start, but have gone about .500 since. Their offense has been a key part in their resurgence, but what looks to be their strength going forward is their starting pitching. Perhaps no team in the league has had a more consistent starting rotation so far this season being near the top in every category with the exception of wins, a category that their pitchers have often little say in. The staff got even stronger when the Tigers traded for star pitcher Dan Haren from Arizona for prospects Christian Freidrich and Cory Luebke, as well as relief pitcher Jonny Venters. The Tigers look to be dominating the pitching side of the ball as they throw out Haren, Felix Hernandez, Chris Carpenter, Colby Lewis, Shaun Marcum, and Jason Vargas. They should be strong contenders.

Texas Rangers (5-7-0):

The Rangers are stuck in the awkward spot in the standings. While they aren't out of it (they're only 3 games back of the Angels), no one would blame them for selling some of their parts. The outlook isn't bright for them, however. Texas is in the bottom of third in nearly every category, *the one exception being Holds, where they're middle of the pack) and their roster doesn't seem to be made for contention. It might be time to start getting ready for 2012, Rangers.

Kansas City Royals (1-11-0):

The Royals have been downright awful. Their owner seems content to not set their lineup, and it's reflecting in the standings. The Royals will be sellers, looking to start a rebuilding process that could be long and painful.

AL East

Boston Red Sox (11-0-1):

The only undefeated team left in the ADBL, the Red Sox have been a pleasant surprise. Their offense, more specifically, their slugging has been a revelation and they lead the league in homers and OPS. Their offense has been complemented by a fantastic starting rotation which leads the ADBL in K's, Quality Starts, and Wins. If the Red Sox do have any holes, it's their lack of depth on the relief front. They currently have 3 relievers on the DL, and that may be a focus of trades as transactions begin to heat up.

Tampa Bay Rays (6-6-0):

The Rays have done surprisingly well considering the way their team was built last year. The Rays, one of the best regular season teams last year, had a slew of 1-year contracts, which resulted in them losing some key players. And with the Red Sox doing as well as they have, it's been tough for the Rays to make any headway in the AL East. Depending on how their owner feels about the team, they could decide to be either buyers or sellers, but I think this team has a chance for the wild card with their good pitching. What they could use is some help in their bullpen. Another closer like a Kevin Gregg type could really help this team win a valuable saves category.

New York Yankees (5-6-1):

This team has strong talent all over their roster, which makes a sub-.500 first half very perplexing. I don't think this team needs any tinkering asides from some relief help, because there are enough playmakers on both the offensive and pitching side of the ball to win games at a higher clip.

Chicago White Sox (4-8-0):

The White Sox have struggled this season, and it looks like they have already begun trying to unload some valuable players. Both of their strong first basemen (Ryan Howard and Paul Konerko) are being shopped, and could be dealt for some strong value. They could use some starting pitching help, and that could certainly be a focus as returns for the slugging first basemen.

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies (10-2-0):

The leader of what many call the best division in the ADBL, the Phillies have been great so far this season. With a strong offensive game led by Jose Bautista that's second in total bases and homers, they have been able to be the leaders of the National League so far. They look to be one of the main contenders for a championship, but aren't without a flaw. Their starting pitching is very weak, and not indicative of a team that has what it needs to win some key pitching categories. They could be players for cheap starting pitching.

Cincinnati Reds (9-3-0):

While the Phillies have been dominating, the Reds have quietly put themselves in position to take the NL East. We know they have strong hitting, but their starting pitching has been even better at times, and their bullpen is nothing to scoff at either. What the Reds could use, however, is some help figuring out a way to get relievers not on the Oakland A's.

Atlanta Braves (7-5-0):

Unfortunately, being the NL East makes life tough for a team like the Braves who could be winning the NL West, and be in position to win the AL West. With their fantastic pitching, the Braves should be in a better place right now (instead of hovering above .500) but poor

contributions from guys like Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, and injuries to key players such as Rafael Furcal, Derek Jeter, and Martin Prado have derailed them from what seemed to be a breakout year. There's still time to get healthy and start hitting, but they will have to beat out teams like the Reds and Phillies if they want to improve their playoff seeding.

New York Mets (1-11-0):

The outlook is bleak for the "other" team in New York. This team has pieces to move, such as B.J. Upton and Todd Helton, but many of their moveable pieces have either lost value, or lose value every day. The Mets do have some good things on the way, however, with Bryce Harper mashing in the minors, and Gerrit Cole just selected in this year's First Year Player Draft.

NL West

San Francisco Giants (6-5-1):

The Giants, surprise leaders of the very weak NL West, have done this basically without hitting home runs, and with one of the worst OPS ratings in the league. What the have done to counteract this lack of extra-base hits is gotten on base a lot, stolen a lot of bases, and won some key pitching categories. The Giants could be players in the trade market if they want to be, but this could be a roster that makes few changes.

Los Angeles Dodgers (6-6-0):

At an even .500 the Dodgers somehow find themselves half a game back of the NL West lead. While the Giants have done their damage with pitching and singles, the Dodgers have done their's with homers, and lots of them. The Dodgers are currently tied for second for the league lead in homers with 101, and their roster seems clearly tailored for power, so look for that trend to continue. While their pitching hasn't been great, the Dodgers pitchers have gone deep enough into games to give themselves chances to get wins and rack of strikeouts, a couple of categories the Dodgers have relied on to win matchups.

Arizona Diamondbacks (4-7-1):

So far the big movers and shakers, the Diamondbacks saw their surprising early NL West lead disintegrate as their pitchers stopped getting wins and their hitters stopped hitting. The Diamondbacks, however, could have the youngest roster in the league with virtually every player on the team called up either last year or this year, meaning they could be a team on the rise. They're only 2 games out, so don't completely rule them out as buyers, even though their recent activity suggests otherwise.

Colorado Rockies (3-7-2):

How the mighty have fallen, right? The defending ADBL champs have never gotten in a groove and have stumbled all season long, never really recapturing the playoff form and taking the next step we all expected them to take. They haven't gotten enough from guys like Dan Uggla and Rick Porcello, but even bad performances from those guys alone isn't enough to take a whole team down. The Rockies just doesn't seem to have it this year.