1. Rays of light
Their swoon in the final days of the first half - Cleveland apparently is their kryptonite, sweeping a four-game set - the Rays were the best team in baseball in the first half despite having perhaps two players that a casual baseball player has heard of (Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir). They could be this year's Diamondbacks - a young team that surprises everybody. Or they could begin to show their (very young) age. One problem: They have to beat either the Red Sox or Yankees to make the playoffs. And they're not a great road team (19-25, compared to a sizzling 36-14 at home). But it should be an interesting second half for the first time in team history.
2. Great changes of scenery
On this list last year was Josh Hamilton, who had 14 home runs while coming out of nowhere. A year later, he's still a surprise. I thought the below-the-radar Reds-Rangers trade of Edinson Volquez and Hamilton was one-sided in favor of the Rangers. Turns out it's a push, and great for both sides. Who would have guessed that Hamilton (95 RBI as of July 12) would emerge as the leading candidate for MVP in the American League, and Volquez, 3-11 entering this season in his big-league career, would be the mideseason Cy Young winner in the National League? Volquez was 12-3 with a 2.29 ERA in the first half for Cincinnati.
3. Cleveland doesn't rock; Seattle slew
CThe early headlines in the AL Central focused on the underperforming Tigers, but the swoon moved down Lake Erie to Cleveland after injuries to several key players quickly put last year's division champs, the Indians, in the cellar. After trading CC Sabathia to Milwaukee, the Indians are giving youngsters auditions for spots on the 2009 team.
And in Seattle, they added Erik Bedard to a team that contended for much of 2007, and ended up being so bad that the team's general manager and manager were fired by mid-June.
4. Starting problems in New York
This was supposed to be the year that the youngsters took over in the New York Yankees' rotation. Instead, Phil Hughes got hurt, Ian Kennedy was awful and Joba Chamberlain is having bad luck with run support in the team's rotation. Then ace Chien-Ming Wang got hurt running the bases in Houston. The Yankees are lucky that Mike Mussina (11 wins) and Andy Pettitte (10) have turned back the clock on their careers in the first half. It will be interesting to see if GM Brian Cashman finds an arm at the trade deadline.
5. Willie goes
The situation involving Willie Randolph with the Mets was mishandled all the way around. On the first day of a West Coast trip, the manager was canned in the middle of the night after a win over the Los Angeles Angels. The Mets won 16 of 25 under Jerry Manuel, and are in second place at the break, just a half-game behind the Phillies.
6. Fabulous Fish
Are the Rays the most improved team? Maybe, but they might not even be the most improved team in their state. The Marlins have the lowest payroll in baseball, but thanks to solid play up the middle from shortstop Hanley Ramirez and second baseman Dan Uggla, a bounce-back year for third baseman Jorge Cantu and 10 wins by youngster Ricky Nolasco, the Florida Marlins are under the radar. They probably don't have enough to keep up with the Phillies and Mets in the second half, however. And if they do, will South Florida even notice?
