Offensive Play of the First Half: Denard Span (Twins), Three Triples in One Game, June 30

Denard Span of the Minnesota Twins hit three triples in one game. This feat tied a Major League record that hadn’t been accomplished since 2002 by Rafael Furcal, then of the Atlanta Braves. A triple is the hardest hit in baseball. Besides needing to have speed and great base running skills, a player needs to hit the ball in the right spot, and/or have it take a bad hop or two. Even though there have been many 3 home run games this year, to accomplish three triples in a single game is just incredible.

Defensive Play of the First Half: Mark Buehrle (White Sox), Between the Legs Flip, April 5

Mark Buehrle, the 2009 American League Gold Glove pitcher, made what could possibly go down as the play of the year on opening day. To try to explain the play in words would not do it justice. A ground ball was deflected off of Buehrle’s foot and went into foul territory on the first base side. Buehrle, sticking with the ball the whole time, ran over to it and in one motion flipped the ball between his legs to first baseman Paul Konerko, who caught the ball barehanded to get Indians catcher Lou Marson. If you have not seen this play yet, look it up. You will not be disappointed.

Pitching Performance of the First Half: Armando Galarraga (Tigers), Near Perfect Game, June 2

There have been four no hitters this season; two of which were perfect games. Tigers starting pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of Major League Baseball’s third perfect game of the season by umpire Jim Joyce. Joyce, a respected umpire for many years by the MLB Players Association, blew a call at first base with two outs in the ninth inning. Galarraga would retire the next batter, completing the shutout. A sign held by fans at the Tiger’s next game described the game by simply stating “28 UP, 28 DOWN.” Even though it wasn’t a true perfect game, in reality, it can be viewed as one out better. Joyce would later admit to blowing the call and the events that would follow with Joyce and Galarraga were truly touching, proving that we are all human, and how we handle our mistakes can be more important than the mistakes themselves.

Emotional Story of the Year: John McDonald (Blue Jays), Home Run in First AB After Father’s Passing, June 20 (Father’s Day)

I’m sure most people expect to see a follow up to the Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga story here, but I give the nod to John McDonald. McDonald, a utility player for the Toronto Blue Jays, came to bat in the ninth inning on Father’s Day with a heavy heart. In his first at bat back from bereavement leave after his father passed away due to liver cancer, McDonald smacked a pinch hit two run home run over the left field wall. The home run did not win the game for the Blue Jays, but the feeling that you get watching this event is truly special. Anyone that has ever played catch or watched a ball game with their father had to feel goose bumps as they watched McDonald round the bases and point to the sky as he crossed home plate. I still get chills watching the replay of the home run as I think back to playing catch with my Dad when I was younger or calling each other during games as recently as Roy Halladay’s perfect game this season. 

So that wraps up my four top moments from the first half of the 2010 season. Will these remain my top picks at the end of the season? Only time will tell. When Mark Buehrle made that sensational play on opening day, I said that was going to be the top play of the year. In my opinion, that still stands true. But with more than two months still to play, anything can happen, and it probably will.  

Let’s start this midseason review by looking at the division standings:

American League East

1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays (Wild Card)
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Baltimore Orioles

The top three teams are just as I predicted with the Rays leading the Wild Card right now. The Blue Jays are doing better than expected and the Orioles continue to falter in arguably the toughest division in the Majors.

American League Central

1. Chicago White Sox
2. Detroit Tigers
3. Minnesota Twins
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Cleveland Indians

The Central Division looks exactly as I had predicted it at the beginning of the season. The White Sox have been on a tear as of late, winning 25 of their last 30 games played. This could be the division race to watch at the end of the season as it has been in recent years.

American League West

1. Texas Rangers
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

I predicted at the beginning of the year that this would be the year the Angels get bumped out of first. What I didn’t predict, however, was the Rangers being the team on top. The Mariners are the biggest surprise at the bottom of the division. Ken Griffey Jr. did not produce up to his ability off the bench, leading to his retirement. Cliff Lee started the season on the disabled list and was traded to Texas for rookie standout Justin Smoak and other prospects, as the Mariners all but gave up on this season and look to the future.

National League East

1. Atlanta Braves
2. New York Mets
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

The Braves are on top in the East during Bobby Cox’s last year managing the team. The Mets have been healthy and playing like it, whereas the Phillies have been hurt and playing like it. This race should heat up as the Phillies get healthy and start putting more wins on the board like they did by sweeping the Central leading Reds in a four game series to end their first half. The Nationals brought Stephen Strasburg up and he has pitched pretty well. Unfortunately, he is playing for the last place Nationals who are not giving him much run support.

National League Central

1. Cincinnati Reds
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Houston Astros
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Reds came out of nowhere this year and hold the top spot in the Central. Can Dusty Baker’s club hang on to the top spot as the Cardinals breathe down their neck? The rest of the division does not seem to be too big of a threat for the two teams on the top. The Cubs have internal problems with their players. Pitcher Carlos Zambrano went from being a starter to a reliever and back to a starter before blowing up on his teammates during one of his starts, leading to his indefinite suspension from the team. The Astros and Pirates still sit at the bottom of the division. Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt will be a big trade target as the deadline approaches.

National League West

1. San Diego Padres
2. Colorado Rockies (Wild Card*)
3. Los Angeles Dodgers (Wild Card*)
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Arizona Diamondbacks

The NL West may have the biggest surprise of the season with the San Diego Padres leading the division. The biggest question will be whether or not the Padres can hold on to their lead. The Rockies and Dodgers are tied for the Wild Card lead and the Giants are still very much in the race. The Diamondbacks aren’t doing much at the bottom of the division. Look for pitcher Dan Haren to be on the move by the trade deadline.

Now for the midseason awards:

AL MVP:

JC’s preseason pick: Evan Longoria (Rays)

JC’s midseason pick: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers) – Cabrera has been on a tear belting 22 home runs and 77 RBI’s while batting .346. If he keeps this pace up, he will take home the honor at the end of the season.

AL Cy Young:

JC’s preseason pick: Justin Verlander (Tigers)

JC’s midseason pick: David Price (Rays) – Price has a record of 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 100 strikeouts at the half. The hard throwing lefty is sure to pick up plenty of more wins in the second half with the Rays playing as well as they have been this year.

AL Rookie of the Year:

JC’s preseason pick: Brian Matusz (Orioles)

JC’s midseason pick: Brennan Boesch (Tigers) – Boesch was the American League Rookie of the Month in May and June. He is hitting .342 with 12 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

AL Manager of Year:

JC’s preseason pick: Don Wakamatsu (Mariners)

JC’s midseason pick: Ron Washington (Rangers) – Washington has his Texas Rangers on top of the American League West by 4.5 games at the break. Add newly acquired Cliff Lee to the team, and a trip to the postseason for the first time since 1999 is very possible.

AL Come Back Player of the Year:

JC’s preseason pick: Dontrelle Willis (Tigers)

JC’s midseason pick: Vladimir Guerrero (Rangers) – Vlad only played in 100 games last year with the Angels due to knee and hamstring injuries. He hit .295 but only belted out 15 home runs and 50 RBI’s. This year, he signed with the Rangers and has come back with a vengeance; hitting .319 with 20 homers and 75 RBI’s at the half.  

NL MVP:

JC’s preseason pick: Ryan Braun (Brewers)

JC’s midseason pick: Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies) – First off, I hate to give the MVP Award to a pitcher as they have the Cy Young Award. But Ubaldo Jimenez has been more valuable to his team than any other player so far this year with 15 wins before the All-Star break. If the Rockies make the post season and Jimenez stays on this pace, than he will deserve to be the first NL pitcher to win the MVP since Bob Gibson in 1968.

NL Cy Young:

JC’s preseason pick: Roy Halladay (Phillies)

JC’s midseason pick: Ubaldo Jimenez (Rockies) – In what is going to be the toughest award to hand out this year, Jimenez has arguably been the most dominant so far. With a record of 15-1 and an ERA that just recently went over 2 (2.20) and 113 strikeouts, Jimenez has the Rockies within striking distance of the NL West and tied atop the Wild Card standings. Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, and Roy Halladay are all going to get consideration for this award at the end of the year, but it will come down to which pitcher’s team helps him finish the season out on top.

NL Rookie of the Year:

JC’s preseason pick: Jayson Heyward (Braves)

JC’s midseason pick: Jayson Heyward (Braves) – Heyward has spent some time on the disabled list because he injured his thumb, but looks to be back soon. He has 11 home runs and 45 RBI’s and looks to contribute more to the first place Braves.

NL Manager of the Year:

JC’s preseason pick: Bobby Cox (Braves)

JC’s midseason pick: Bud Black (Padres) – Bud Black gets my vote here because the Padres were picked by nearly everyone to be in last place and start trading away all of their remaining talent to rebuild for the future. Instead, the Padres sit on top of the NL West with one of the best bullpens in the league.

NL Come Back Player of the Year:

JC’s preseason pick: David Wright (Mets)

JC’s midseason pick: David Wright (Mets) – Wright spent time on the disabled list last year after getting nailed in the head by a pitch and never really came back the same. This year, David has come back to hit 14 homers, 65 runs batted in and a .314 average at the break.

So there you have JC’s 2010 Midseason Awards. The first half of the year was great and the second half promises to be even better. Be on the lookout for some great trades near the deadline and watch as the pennant races heat up. Which teams will end up on top? Will any of the players mentioned above still be in the running for these awards at the end of the season? Sit back, relax and enjoy Major League Baseball’s second half. It can only get better from here.

Bailey made his Major League debut on April 6, 2009 for the Athletics after struggling during the 2008 season with Double-A Midland of the Double-A Texas League. He went 5-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 37 games. But Bailey made the A’s roster out of Spring Training in 2009 and caught on quickly with the big club. He posted a 6-3 record with a measly 1.84 ERA in the Majors in 2009 in 68 games with 26 saves.

Coghlan debuted with the Florida Marlins on May 8, 2009 and never looked back, tearing through National League pitching staffs. Coghlan recorded a .321 batting average with nine homeruns and 47 RBIs in 128 games for the NL East club. Coghlan primarily was the club’s left fielder for the 2009 season but did play one game (seven innings worth) at second base for the Marlins.

On Tuesday, the American League Cy Young winner will be announced. Wednesday, the American and National League managers of the year will be announced. Thursday, the National League Cy Young winner will be announced. Monday, November 23, the American League MVP will be announced and Tuesday, November 24, the National League MVP will be announced.

The League Championship series was added to baseball’s post-season play in 1969. That meant that the top two teams in each league had to play a best of five series before advancing to the World Series. Since the addition of the Wild Card team in each league the Championship Series has been changed to a best of seven format and the Division Series was added to the playoff roster. This new round (in 1995) is a best of five series.

What does all of this mean for the sport of professional baseball? Well, for one, it gives more teams the opportunity to continue playing baseball once October rolls around and it creates more revenue for the sport in general. Since the addition of the Wild Card team and the Division Series to post-season play there have been more than enough sweeps in the first round of play. Has the Wild Card Era lessened baseball with all of these first round sweeps? Or, has the Wild Card Era provided enough thrill and excitement towards the end of the regular season to keep baseball fans happy?

Since the advent of the Wild Card team in postseason play and the onset of the Division Series in each league, first round sweeps have become all too common and many baseball experts and former players claim that the first round should also be a best of seven format, not a best of five format. I tend to agree. As much as I like to see certain teams swept out of the postseason in the first round, if you play a 162 game season you should have more of an opportunity in the first round with a best of seven series. A best of five series is not the greatest measure of a ballclub. A best of seven series is the best measure of a ballclub.

Since 1995 there have been 60 Division Series to take place, two in each league. A handful of those series ended in a sweep, more often then not, for the same team. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been swept from the first round of the MLB playoffs twice, both times by the Boston Red Sox.

Other sweeps, but not all of them, in the first round have come at the expense of the Red Sox, the Padres, the Dodgers (1995 and 1996), the Giants and the Astros. The Chicago Cubs, including 2008, have been swept in the first round of the postseason a total of three times. This season they were knocked out by the Dodgers, last season by the Diamondbacks, and in 1998 by the Braves. The first round of the playoffs needs to be expanded for the sole purpose that there have been too many sweeps in the best of five format.

The Major League Baseball playoffs have lacked excitement for at least the last few seasons because of the sweep. Seeing a team sweep another team during the regular season is nice, especially when the sweeping team needs every win they can get during a pennant race. But all of these sweeps during the postseason are becoming a little old.

Take for instance the 2007 playoffs. The first round saw three sweeps and only one series went four games when the Yankees lost to the Indians 3 games to 1. Then, in the League Championship round, one of the two series ended in a sweep. To make matters worse, the World Series ended in a sweep for the third time in four years. A total of five sweeps occurred during the 2007 playoffs out of the seven series played.

The 2009 playoffs were not much better, especially in the first round, with three of the four series ending in sweeps once again. The only series that did not end in a sweep was the Phillies and Rockies, which went four games, with the Phillies winning the series 3 games to 1. The other three series saw the Dodgers sweep the Cardinals, the Yankees sweep the Twins, and the Angels sweep the Red Sox. The League Championship Series were a little bit better this time around, most notably in the American League, as the Yankees knocked off the Angels 4 games to 2. The NLCS was exactly the same for the second consecutive year as the Phillies eliminated the Dodgers 4 games to 1, this time in Philadelphia instead of Los Angeles.

With the debacle of the 2008 World Series looming large over the heads of Major League Baseball, changes need to be made to the playoff format. World Series game five was suspended because of inclement weather and resumed two days later. The Phillies eventually won the game, 4-3, and took the World Series 4 games to 1 over the Rays. But other than the late-inning dramatics of a continued game five, there wasn’t much excitement outside of Tampa Bay and Philadelphia during the playoffs. Bud Selig and the rest of baseball’s administration need to figure out how to bring the excitement back into the game. Now, with the World Baseball Classic causing the 2009 season to begin a couple of weeks later than normal, the World Series was played into the month of November for the first time since 2001 (9/11 attacks suspended the sport).

We haven’t seen a thrilling (all seven games played) World Series since 2002, when the Angels beat Barry Bonds’ Giants 4 games to 3. The 2009 World Series, between the Yankees and Phillies, went six games, with the Yankees winning their 27th title 4 games to 2. This was the first World Series to go past five games since the 2003 World Series, which saw the Florida Marlins knock off the Yankees 4 games to 2 for their second title in team history.

Baseball is in need of another change, this time to make the playoffs a little bit more exciting, by expanding the first round series to best of seven. If we have to suffer through another first round of sweeps in 2010 the game might lose more fans. Possibly the most exciting game of the season was game number 163 for the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. It was a one game playoff to determine the winner of the American League Central, which went to the Twins by a score of 6-5 in 12 heart racing innings.

Mills has been working with the Red Sox as bench coach for manager Terry Francona for the previous six seasons, winning two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. Mills previously worked with Francona as a member of his coaching staff (first base coach) from 1997-2000. After being fired by then Phillies GM Ed Wade with Francona and three other coaches in 2000, Mills joined the Cubs as an advanced scout in 2001 and then worked as the bench coach for the Montreal Expos in 2003 prior to joining the Red Sox in 2004.

This is Mills’ first Major League managerial position after serving as a Minor League manager for parts of 11 seasons. He managed for affiliates in the Chicago Cubs (1987-92), Colorado Rockies (1993-96), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2002) organizations. Mills replaces interim manager Dave Clark, who replaced the fired Cecil Cooper on September 21 of the 2009 season. Clark was the Astros’ third base coach prior to being named interim manager. Clark was a finalist for the job and was promised a spot on the team’s Major League field staff for the 2010 season if not hired as manager.

The Astros have not reached the playoffs since playing in and losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox in 2005. Two of the previous four seasons have been losing seasons for the Astros, finishing fifth in the Central with a 74-88 record in 2009. Mills is the fourth manager hired by the Astros since the middle of the 2004 season. Houston was only one game out of first place on July 22 but went on to lose 42 of their final 67 games of the 2009 season. Roy Oswalt spent the remainder of the season on the DL with teammate Mike Hampton while Russ Ortiz was released in July.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is mobbed at third base after hitting a two-run walk-off double against the Dodgers in Game Four of the NLCS on Monday night.

The Braves performed the same feat in 1991-1992 when they lost in the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in 1991 and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in 1992. Prior to the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers performed this rare feat in 1977-1978 when they lost back to back World Series to the New York Yankees in six games both times. The last National League team to win two straight World Series titles was the 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Red Sox in seven games in 1975 and the Yankees in a four game sweep in 1976.

Unless you live under a rock, you know how the Phillies have put themselves in the position they are in right now. With one out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty, Pedro Feliz was scheduled to hit for the Phillies Monday night. Feliz, who is hitting .148 in the postseason (.077 in the NLCS), was lifted for pinch hitter Matt Stairs. Stairs has 19 regular season pinch hit homeruns in his career and hit the biggest homerun in Phillies playoff history in game four of the NLCS in 2008 against Jonathan Broxton. Broxton has said often during the 2009 season that he would like to face Stairs again. This time the Phillies were trailing 4-3 in Philly, not tied at 5 in LA. Stairs dug in against Broxton, who did not throw one strike even remotely close to the strike zone. Obviously, the image of the Stairs homerun was still fresh in the mind of Broxton.

The Phillies mob Carlos Ruiz at homeplate after he scores the winning run Monday night in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers.

After Stairs took first, Manuel sent out Eric Bruntlett to pinch run for the power hitter as Carlos Ruiz stepped to the plate. On the first pitch of the at-bat Broxton threw a 96 MPH fastball inside to Ruiz, who took it off his elbow, putting the tying run at second and the winning run at first. The next batter to the plate, Jimmy Rollins, worked a 1-1 count against the overpowering right handed pitcher when lightning struck again in Philadelphia. Rollins laced a two out double into the right centerfield gap scoring Bruntlett as the tying run and Ruiz as the winning run. As Ruiz crossed the plate, the city of Philadelphia celebrated as the clock closed in on midnight.

The Phillies won the game 5-4 and took a 3-1 series lead with Game five slated to be played at 8pm on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The reigning League and World Champions will send 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels to the bump against former Phillie Vicente Padilla. Padilla threw 7.1 innings of one run ball in game two in LA for the Dodgers but did not factor in the decision as the Dodgers took the game 2-1. There is still a slight chance that the Dodgers might make a risky decision and throw Clayton Kershaw in game five, who was roughed up by the Phillies in game one, but they need to win this game. You never know what type of pitching decisions will be made with Joe Torre at the helm. As one of my close friends (a lifelong Yankee fan) said in reference to Torre on Sunday night: “It’s not hard to manage when you are up by 7 every night but when you are in a tie ballgame or trailing he is an idiot.”

Rollins Walk Off Double

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

The company plans to sell the Cubs to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade. Tribune Co. also plans to sell Wrigley Field and related properties of the club to the Ricketts family. The Cubs filed for Chapter 11 to protect the club’s new owner from any creditors of the Tribune Co. Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in December of 2008 but did not include the Cubs at the time.

The Tribune Co. will sell 95 percent of the Cubs to the Ricketts family while keeping the remaining five percent of the franchise, which was purchased from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. in 1981 for $20.5 million. The Wrigley Co. is a candy maker. The first plans announced for the sale of the Cubs came in 2007 but the recession and the crumbling credit markets put the sale on the back burner. The deal with the Ricketts family will top the record deal of $660 million for the sale of the Boston Red Sox in 2002.

• Matt Purke did not sign with the Rangers and will attend TCU
• The Mariners have signed Dustin Ackley but terms have yet to be disclosed
• Alex White signs with the Cleveland Indians for $2.25 million
• Tyler Matzek signs with the Colorado Rockies for $3.9 million bonus
• Kyle Gibson signs with Twins for $1.8 million
• Grant Green and the Athletics came to an agreement
• LeVon Washington was one of only three first round picks not to sign
• Aaron Crow did not sign with Royals but has until May of 2010 since he has no college eligibility remaining.

It has been reported that the deal for Strasburg is for $15.67 million over four years.

“We have identified a need for athleticism, particularly in the outfield, when playing at PETCO Park,” said executive vice president/general manager Kevin Towers. “In signing Donavan Tate, we have acquired an excellent ballplayer and one of the premier athletes available in this year’s draft.”