First Half Review

[Kevin]

With the All-Star break approaching, now is as good a time as any to review the first half of the DTBL season. 2003 has been very good to a couple of teams, while some of the pre-season favorites are stuck well behind the leaders. One thing is for sure, this season is a long ways from being over. The Kings were almost ready to give up at this point a year ago. It was a huge charge in August that led them to their third consecutive championship. A large number of teams could easily repeat that performance this year. The Kings and Moonshiners have certainly been at the head of the class for most of 2003. Both were expected to be major contenders, so their success is not surprising. The Moonshiners got off to a very fast start and led most of the first month and a half. However, the Kings warmed up in May and have held first place for most of the past two months. The Kings have an excellent chance to become the first DTBL franchise to win four championships. They figure to get a boost in the second half with the return of Randy Johnson and Bernie Williams. However, the offense has cooled off a bit lately, making them quite vulnerable. The Moonshiners probably have their best team ever this year. This is the first time that they have had one of the best offenses and pitching staffs in the same season. Don't expect them to fall off in the second half either. If they can get more consistent efforts out of their starting rotation, they have an excellent chance to de-thrown the Kings. The surprise team of 2003 has been the Naturals. They have become a major force in just their second season. The Naturals have been in the top half of the standings most of the season and even held first place for a few days in May. They may not have the offense to win the title this year, but the pitching staff is loaded (and very young). No matter what happens in the second half, this year will be a success for the Naturals. They are well equiped for the future. The first half was rather disappointing for a large number of teams. In particular, the Jackalope have been difficult to figure out. They easily had the best starting rotation in the league a year ago. This year, their pitching staff has been awful. A second half comeback is possible though since the talent is definitely there. The Cougars and Choppers have also had surprisingly tough years from their pitching staffs. Meanwhile, the Gators and Mavericks have been let down by their offenses thus far. The Demigods appear to have the best chance to break into the hunt with the Kings and Moonshiners. They have been crawling their way towards the top in recent weeks. Finally, 2003 has been a disaster for the Darkhorses. They have been plagued with injuries and general ineffectiveness. Unfortunately, they have a good chance to set a record for fewest points since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1999. The current low water mark is 20 points. Jackalope outfielder Albert Pujols and Darkhorses first baseman Carlos Delgado are my choices for first half co-MVPs. Both have been huge bright spots on otherwise disappointing teams. Pujols is in the top five in batting average, home runs, runs batted in and runs scored, leading the league in batting average. He has a chance to become the first DTBL triple crown winner, though he will have to catch Delgado (and others) in home runs and RBIs. There is not really a great choice for first half Cy Young award winner, so I will go with a reliever: Naturals closer John Smoltz. Smoltz already has 34 saves and could easily break the league save record he set last year with 55. He needs one win and 11 saves in the second half to become the first DTBL player with 100 career wins and saves. The Rookie of the Year so far has been another reliever, the Demigods' Eric Gagne. He is right on Smoltz's tail with 31 saves. Gagne has posted an incredible 0.767 WHIP with 76 strike outs in just 44.1 innings. The second half should be a lot of fun. Most teams still have a shot at the championship, although all but one or two will need the Kings to suffer a big second half letdown to get the job done.