Baseball Trends for the Second Half

The unofficial second half of the Major League Baseball season starts this weekend. With that in mind, here are some things to look for in this half.

1. The Tampa Bay Rays will fade. This has been an incredible first half story. But, it may be too good to be true. The Rays limped into the All-Star break on a seven game losing streak. They’ve struggled all year on the road. Their schedule is top heavy with road games in September.

2. The Yankees will continue to be a disappointment. In most seasons no matter what the odds, the Yankees battle back and make the playoffs. I’m not confident the Yankees have what it takes to battle back this season.

3. Boston will win another pennant. The Red Sox are on a tremendous run. They’re getting healthy and David Ortiz will be back soon. Manny Ramirez is ready for a big second half. They have an outstanding young pitching depth and are still the best team in baseball.

4. Milwaukee will be disappointing. The Brewers made a major deal to trade for Indians pitcher C. C. Sabathia and now the pressure is on. This move has to pay off. Sabathia is a free agent after the season and the Brewers have little chance of re-signing him. They have to win, at least a pennant, to make this deal worthwhile. I don’t see that happening.

5. Lou Piniella will get his just due. It’s time for fans to realize that Lou Piniella is an incredible manager. He may be the manager to push Chicago into a World Series. He won a World Series with the Reds and did an overachieving job in Seattle. He struggled in Tampa, but the odds were just too great to overcome. He’s one of the game’s great managers. The Yankees should have hired him two years ago.

Frank Giardina