10 biggest story lines of baseball's second half | MLB | July 16, 2010

By ’Duk
July 16, 2010

There were seven games on Thursday night, but the first full day the second half action begins Friday night.

Here, in no particular order, are 10 of the best story lines to follow from now until the first week of October.

1. Can the Cincinnati Reds oust the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central?

There are a number of good races shaping up, but this close battle between two great baseball towns — one wide awake with recent success and one just waiting to explode with the excitement of a pennant chase — holds a lot of entertaining matchups. Young vs. old. Walt Jocketty vs. his old pals in St. Louis. Dusty Baker vs. Tony LaRussa in the dugout. Joey Votto vs. Albert Pujols in the NL MVP race.

Throw in Cincinnati's quest for a memorable run during the 20th anniversary of the 1990 team and there's reason for most of the country to pay attention to this chase. The only drawback is that only six games remain between the two teams, with the last contest currently scheduled for Sept. 5.

2. Will the Atlanta Braves send Bobby Cox out in style?

The final year of the great manager was a big storyline at the beginning of the season and it continues to be, especially with the Braves now holding the biggest division lead — five games over the New York Mets — in baseball. Maintaining that pace would leave Cox with an even 15 division titles with Atlanta, as well as finally give Capitol Hill a better idea of how to spell his name.

3. Will the Philadelphia Phillies miss their first postseason since 2006?

Fightins' fans are trying their best to stay away from the panic button, but it's been tough. Chase Utley is out for two months. The rotation and lineup have struggled. Ruben Amaro is being reminded on a daily basis of his decision to trade Cliff Lee for prospects. Still, it's hard to count out a champion with players like Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, which is why it'll be interesting to see if the Phils can put themselves into a position to become the first NL squad to win three straight pennants since the World War II-era Cardinals.

4. Who will win the NL Rookie of the Year award?

Jason Heyward seemed like a shoo-in at the beginning of the year, but injuries have brought him back to the rest of a great pack of contenders. Can J-Hey do enough the rest of the way to keep the award away from the likes of Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Jaime Garcia and Mike Leake?

5. Despite their ownership issues, can the Texas Rangers win their first AL West title since 1998?

It looks like the Rangers' on-field performance should be impervious to their battle in bankruptcy court, thanks to the ability of general manager Jon Daniels to acquire a top ace like Cliff Lee without taking on all of his contract. And with a high-powered offense that's up to the franchise's usual standard, Texas will be gearing up to win their first playoff series ever, not just the title in an otherwise limp division.

6. Who comes out of the AL East?

Yankees and Rays? Rays and Yankees? One of those teams with a Red Sox team that still hasn't cried uncle? We may not know the exact permutation of the top-three contenders, but it seems certain that the division will get two of the AL's four playoff berths. The only drama comes in figuring out which team will be the odd-squad out.

7. Will the San Diego Padres be able to hold everyone off in the NL West?

Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell & Co. were the biggest surprise of the first half, working their way to a stunning 51 victories after being picked by many for last place. Unfortunately, that victory total didn't buy them any second-half leeway as the Rockies, Dodgers and Giants are all within 3.5 games in the race for the NL West.

8. Will we need a tiebreaker for the AL Central or the NL wild card?

Why those two spots? Well, because the AL Central needed classic 163rd games to resolve each of the past two seasons. Also, there are currently six NL squads within two games of the wild-card spot. The AL Central might not need an extra game if the Chicago White Sox's pitching staff can absorb the loss of Jake Peavy, but I'm willing to bet the wild-card race won't end on the final Sunday of the season.

9. Can Miguel Cabrera make a run at the AL's Triple Crown?

With no American Leaguer doing the deed since Yaz in '67, this might be a long shot. Even if the Detroit Tigers slugger currently ranks second in average (.346), first in RBI (77) and second in HR (22).

Here's an even more fantastical thing to pull for: With Josh Hamilton also posting Triple Crown-type numbers — .351 AVG (1st), 22 HR (second) and 65 RBI (fourth), it'd be wild to see one player finish second to the other in every category for a "second-place Triple Crown" of sorts. (Yeah, that has pretty much no chance of happening, but still...)

10. When will Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th?

Here's a riddle: Can the lack of a story line make something a story line? A-Rod is at 597 career homers and yet his recent PED-related controversies have made his approach to 600 as shrugworthy as Sammy Sosa's a few years back. A-Rod will definitely make headlines when he finally does it in a week or two, but it won't be as widely celebrated — or noted — as Barry Bonds' or Ken Griffey's milestones.

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