With another Subway Series in the books and the baseball season at its midpoint, this seemed as good a time as any to take a look back at the first half of the 2008 campaign. Although the Mets won the interleague battle with the cross-town Yanks by taking four of six this year, the Yankees had the better first half, on and off the field. As of this writing, the boys in pinstripes are 44-39, while the Mets are hovering around .500 at 40-42. The Mets have also endured a messy breakup with former manager Willie Randolph, and while things haven’t exactly been smooth for new Yankee skipper Joe Girardi, the Yankees have historically been a second-half team.
The problem, though, is that the competition in the American League is starting to heat up. Even though the Mets don’t look like a wild card team right now, they probably have an easier path to the playoffs than the Yankees do. Despite being six games over .500, the Yankees have only the seventh-best winning percentage in the AL. They’ll need to pick up the pace, and hope some overachieving teams (like Tampa Bay and Oakland) begin to tail off. Without staff ace Chien-Ming Wang, it could be a stiff challenge, but if Joba Chamberlain, Andy Pettitte and seemingly ageless Mike Mussina can come out of the All-Star break on a roll, they can make up ground fast.
With that being said, here’s a look at the wider world of baseball with some first half awards.
AL MVP: Carlos Quentin, White Sox. With some of the league’s biggest names scuffling, Quentin has been the main reason for Chicago’s first-place start. He’s among the league leaders in home runs (19), RBIs (61) and runs scored (54), quite a feat considering the Sox gambled and acquired him for a minor leaguer during the offseason. Considered something of a bust coming into the year, he’s been anything but so far for the front-running Sox, and he’ll need to keep it up for Chicago to stay in the playoff hunt.
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, Cardinals. With apologies to Lance Berkman, it has to be Albert Pujols, who’s tearing the cover off the ball to the tune of a .356 average, 17 homers and 45 RBIs, this despite spending two weeks on the disabled list with a strained calf. He’s the main reason the Cardinals have been able to stay afloat in a tougher-than-expected NL Central, and even if they can’t unseat the Cubs for a division title in the second half, Pujols is having an MVP-caliber season.
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Indians. In an another surprise for the AL, there’s no denying that Lee has been the most effective pitcher thus far in 2008. He’s tied for the league lead in wins, ranked second in ERA and has a miniscule 1.04 WHIP. He doesn’t have the complete game totals of Roy Halladay (a remarkable six so far) or the strikeout numbers of C.C. Sabathia, but his blend of control and smart game management has made him the half-season’s best hurler.
NL Cy Young: Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati. There’s no shortage of candidates in a stacked NL race (Tim Lincecum, Ben Sheets and Brandon Webb also merit consideration), but Volquez takes it based on his .202 batting average against, 2.08 ERA and 10 wins. Even though the Reds are nowhere near contending in the NL Central (it’s tough this year, remember?), he’s been the best pitcher in the National League, and given his age (25) he could be on top for a long time.
AL LVP: Travis Hafner, Indians. That’s Least Valuable Player, in case you’ve forgotten, and this one’s going to Hafner, who looked poised for a long run as one of MLB’s top sluggers just two years ago. But he slumped to just 24 home runs and a .266 average last season, and he was barely making contact this season – a .217 average, just four homers and 44 strikeouts – before going on the disabled list last month. He (and the Indians) have fallen short of expectations, and now there are questions about whether he’ll ever become the player he once was.
NL LVP: Andruw Jones, Dodgers. Expected to make an immediate impact when the Dodgers signed him this past winter, Jones has instead been a shadow of his former self, and like Hafner, he’s now spending time on the disabled list. Once one of the top centerfielders in the game, he has slumped to a .165 average this season with only two home runs – this after hitting 41 just two seasons ago. His two-year, $36 million contract will probably be the only thing keeping him in the lineup when he recovers from his injured knee, at least until he starts hitting again.
Biggest Surprise: Tampa Bay Rays. If I had told you before the season that the Rays would be in the first place in the AL East at the All-Star break, the powers that be would have taken away my column privileges. But with the best record in baseball as of print time, the Rays have far surpassed expectations so far. Led by a dynamic young offense (including Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford) and a strong rotation and bullpen, the Rays are not going away anytime soon. They may not hold off Boston or the Yankees for the division title, but they’re a serious wild card contender and playoff threat.
Biggest Disappointment: Although this dubious honor could probably go to the defending NL champion Colorado Rockies (with the second-worst record in the majors), I’m picking on the Seattle Mariners, the owners of the worst record. They were expected to compete with the Angels in the NL West after a flurry of offseason moves (including “ace” Erik Bedard, who has not lived up to expectations), but instead they’ve been inept on offense, poor on defense and unable to generate any momentum. Nearly 20 games out of first place already, they’re not going anywhere in 2008.