Unless you are a fan of a rival of these teams, you have got to love what the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants.
I know that is a list of 12 teams which is almost half of all of baseball but that is how baseball is set-up. There are only a handful of IT teams that are supposed to win and the public views this as the cream is always the ones to rise to the top.
You have to ask yourself what causes a team to all of the sudden get better or out perform what the so called experts think that a team should or can do?
With the Arizona Diamond backs have done in such a short time is amazing. They added a closer but not a lot of veteran leadership but for one huge addition. Kirk Gibson is a winner! He always has been and always will be a winner. A guy who played with injuries and a leader when he played the game and now young men are trusting him to manage them to a Division title. With no added superstars or a huge ace on the mound. Kirk Gibson is worth all they are paying him and more.
New York Mets.... Before the season as happens in New York, you are supposed to win and nothing but winning matters. They got off to a slow start and the owner jumped down their throats, the media cried foul and the team was a pile of manure. On this team with Veteran leadership on the field it started to come around. No huge winning streaks or any major trades{almost the opposite shopping their all-star shortstop} in this case the players did not sit on their paychecks and let the season go down the drain. The players did something that does not happen enough, they showed pride in their team, their city and themselves.
Tampa Bay Rays.... This rising team in the off season let almost all of their team as a whole sign all over the country. I think when that happens history shows us that when teams get torn apart losing is the only thing that can happen. Hold the phone, the Rays have played great baseball with the 4th best record in Baseball. 3rd in their own division but tied for the 4th best record in Baseball. they are behind the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies and tied with the San Francisco Giants. What has set this team up to be this good is that the Rays are road warriors. When the Rays play out of that dungeon that they play in which has only allowed them to go 19-19, on the road a great record of 26-16! It also helps that the starting pitching is strong and their defense is solid. Fun to watch when they are on the road.
Pittsburgh Pirates....A young starting pitching staff, a solid young bullpen, a closer that is a work in progress. The Pirates also have a young hitting line-up with a bunch of speed and what this team is short on talent they make up for with pure determination. The manager has done a great job of making sure this young team stays focused and let's them play. Not to many rules but just enough to keep them in line. The Pirates are 4 games out of first but they cannot rely on any big trade for a big bat or a super ace, so they will have to rely on what they have right now. It might be to soon to say division but give them a couple seasons and they will be playing for a division title soon. Pittsburgh is a very fun team to watch and a team that will stay around .500 all year which makes for a profitable bet on most days. What also has given the Pirates this surge is the 20-18 road record. What seems to be a common thread with these up start teams is the fact that they play well on the road.
Cleveland Indians....With that road statement being made, we come to the Indians. Even with a 3 game losing streak this team is only one game out of first. The Indians were not supposed to be a game out of first this late in the season. The Indians in fact were counted all but out as spring training broke. The Indians are a fun team that can bash it when they are on but some of that is catching up to them right now. They only have a couple of good starters and a so/so bullpen but they also play loose and have a good time out there. The thing that will hurt them as the season wears on is a 16-22 road record. Although fun, gritty and gutsy the lack of pitching will be their undoing. Trades will happen to break these guys up if they fall to far back and some of this talent will help someone win a division.
Kansas City Royals....I have had so much fun watching this team this year so I included them on this list. This team just needs to find some mid level starting pitching to help the Royals young talented line-up. The Royals play good defense and when down in a game they have a ton of fight. It is to bad that they cannot find a way to hold the other teams down early in ballgames. In the next 3 years the Royals will be fighting for a little more then respect. As the road goes 10-21 so goes a good team.
Toronto Blue Jays....Cito Gaston left again and lt looked like the Blue Jays were an afterthought again but a guy named Bautista starts hitting homeruns at under 1 per every 7 an bats and they are important again. With the Blue Jays it is so much more then one guy hitting homeruns though, they have a decent trio of starters and a really good top of the line-up. Betting wise a decent road record of 22-21 which is a bunch of road games at this time of the year. If they can get hot at home you never know what this team is capable of. Of course the one true down fall is the division they play in with 3 top 3 records in the American league ahead of them in the division. A fun team to watch with a young rotation and a superstar in the making. Keep betting them and even if you don't bet them the Blue Jays are worth watching.
Baltimore Orioles....Bucky's team has a lot of talent and a no nonsense manager. Baltimore started off very hot, cooled down to ice age status, now on the way back up the ladder. Sign of a good team, but alas it will not last as happens with young teams the Orioles cannot win on the road with a dismal 13-21 record away from Camden yards. I am sure in the next couple of years all of the talent the Orioles have will mature and their manager being the star he is will have them in a division race sooner then later. Management is behind the team and when the time comes the organization will do whatever has to be done to get this proud franchise to the top again.
Seattle Mariners....Not packing the house yet but Seattle is begging for a winner. The Mariners tried to sign the high priced free agents and that did not work, but now they are building around a solid rotation and good defense up the middle. Ichiro Suzuki is still the main attraction and will get to 3000 hits in a Mariners uniform in very fast fashion. Felix Hernendez is a true ace and Fister has great numbers despite his won/loss record. Management will do whatever it takes if the Mariners stay in the race and there is no reason to think in the west that they will not be right there at the end. It is a weak division where a simple 4 or 5 game winning streak will give any of three teams a huge edge coming down the stretch. The Rangers have suspect starting pitching and the Angels lack in the offensive department.
Los Angeles Angels....They go as their manager goes, with a decent starting rotation and a gutty line-up the Angels never stay down long. They show this with an outstanding record of 24-20 on the road and will very often steal a victory in a losing situation. Another team that takes it's lead from their manager. Mike is a winner, a winner as a player and a manager. He demands respect and the players are happy to give it their all for their skipper.
Washington Nationals....This team is a little different, management went out and bought some talent here. If you cannot win in the nations capitol then where can you win? A fine young pitching staff lead by a true inning eater in veteran Livan Hernandez. The Nationals are built on great defense, pitching and timely hitting. Werth was supposed to be the big stick but while making a ton of money, he is having a tough time....So far. He will come around. This team is going from a players manager to Davey Johnson, who has a bunch of rules and can be strict. While playing loose and free this team has done a great job, it will be very interesting to see how the Nationals do under a totally different sort of manager. If they can improver their road record to .500 they could make things very close by years end in the East. No doubting that the Phillies are the best team in the National league though.
San Francisco Giants....I know adding the World Champions here is odd, but no one seems to know they are the CHAMPS. The Giants are tied with the 4th best record in all of baseball while only being 26 in scoring in baseball. The Giants have the right formula to win, lot's of pitching and just enough offense. Buster Posey the rookie of the year went down 6 weeks ago while the Giants were 8 games over .500, now they are 10 games over. 500. Freddy Sanchez went down a month ago, a former batting champion and at the time the hottest hitter on the team. Somehow the Giants keep winning. The media doesn't take notice of them and Arizona is talking like they have won the division already. Their G.M will make any move that he must to keep the Giants in the playoff hunt and their manager, manages his players. Mixing a matching his minor league line-up every game. The Giants have had the most Disabled list moves of any team in baseball but somehow this under rated team with very little power keeps winning. And no one in or out of baseball even knows they are the World Champions.
That is my dirty dozen of fun teams to watch in the second half of the season.
Have a great day.
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