The West is by far the weakest division in SLB, with the division leaders tied with just a .500 record. Last year's World Series runner up (OKC) is struggling badly, and Kansas' pitching can't keep it's league-leading offense in games. Sioux Falls is struggling again, and one wonders how soon the youth will start paying off.
La Brea Dire Wolves
La Brea clinched the first half with a 41-36 record, but has gone 3-8 since. A .500 record sounds about right for a team that is firmly middle-of-the-pack both offensively and defensively. They don't hit well (just one regular squeaking above .300), but the power is pretty decent. This is the slowest team in SLB, stealing just 55 bases in 88 games.
The really good pitching performances (Beckett, Towers) are being overshadowed by the really bad (Duchscherer, Wang). Improvements must be made to the rotation if there is any hope of advancing in the playoffs. Josh Towers has been excellent (7-3, 2.74), but he can't do it all alone.
It's more good and bad in the bullpen. Jon Link has been very solid late, allowing just 2 HR in 34 IP while allowing just a .344 OpSLG. Ryan Madson has managed a solid ERA despite giving up a lot of hits. On the down side, Strop and Rodriguez's control has been horrible, allowing a ton of baserunners late.
Springfield Isotopes
The Isotopes are also .500, but have been playing better in July (6-5). The team is more talented on paper than La Brea, and if they stay healthy, have a good chance to win either the second half or the division outright.
Springfield has scored the second fewest runs in SLB, and have been outscored by 26 runs total. The power is partly to blame (Blanks is the only hitter with over 20 HR), while the catching position has been a black hole. The speed isn't great either, but if the team is looking to upgrade, another power bat (or two) would surely go far.
Even though the team ERA is very good, the starters have really struggled. Burnett and Lincecum have been good (3.36 and 3.75 ERA respectively), but neither is above .500. A long injury to Zach Greinke (who recently returned) forced Vazquez and Buchholz into more starts than the front office would have liked.
On the flip side, the Isotope bullpen has been lights out. Aside from Mitch Talbot, the entire relief staff have ERA's south of 4.40. Fuentes and Hernandez have been particularly dominating, each holding opponents to under .200 batting averages.
Oklahoma City Bison
The defending West champs have had a terrible run this year, thanks to an insane number of injuries. Right now, six players are out long term, while others have been off and on the DL all season. No team can be expected to succeed with this amount of playing time going to replacement level players.
Only four players have played every day, and one of them sucks (Pena). Longoria has had decent run production numbers, but has hit very poorly. The other two are Japanese, so I'm not sure they're even real. The star of the team is Carlos Gonzalez, but he's more or less out for the year after posting a .322/.365/.675 line. Tough break. First base has been a disaster (Ludwick and Hoffpauir are both hurt and bad). Uncle, I give.
Josh Johnson and Ted Lilly have continued their 2010 successes in 2011 and anchor this rotation. After that, it's ugly. Max Scherzer, who couldn't win to save his life last year, is now the third best starter thanks to disastrous seasons by McGowan and Kazmir. Many GM's will come calling about Lilly and Johnson, but will OKC move them?
Good think Broxton is decent as the closer, because otherwise it's been horrible. Donnie Veal was demoted after inexcusably bad stats, but is already back up due to injuries. Why does Heath Bell suck so much? Guess Brett Anderson isn't the answer, huh?
Kansas Twisters
Kansas dug themselves a deep hole that they're now trying desperately to dig themselves out of. They finished June 12 games back, but have made up 5 games in July by going 8-3. If La Brea and Springfield continue to struggle in mediocrity, it's not unrealistic to think that the Twisters could storm back and take the division.
This offense is best in the division and second best in the league (behind Caracas). Four players have 20+ HR, and all four are nearly at 30. Ryan Braun is out for 4-6 weeks, which hurts, though Mark DeRosa has (coughroidedcough) vastly improved over last season. Brett Gardner is out for the year, leaving Ichiro as the lone stolen base threat.
Second best offense, second worst pitching. Tommy Hanson's 4.21 ERA makes him the ace, and it goes downhill from there. Jered Weaver would be a decent 4th starter on most teams, but slots in at #2 here. Number one overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg was the opening day starter, but struggled through his 13 starts before being shut down for the year with tricep problems. Jonathan Sanchez finally gets the starts he has deserved for the past year and a half.
Total disaster. Jose Valverde has been great, but otherwise it's a train wreck. The less said the better.
Sioux Falls Tomahawks
Fans probably hoped that this team's youth strategy would start paying off in year two, but SF is still struggling. The offense is uneven, while the pitching is worst in the league. GM Mike McAvoy is smart to not make any rash moves, though, as the only way to get the kids better is to keep running them out there.
Marlon Byrd is the star here. Marlon Byrd. Okay, I shouldn't make fun of the guy, as he's hitting .314 with 30 HR, but it points to the lack of star power in this lineup. One bright side of things, rookie catcher Tony Sanchez has been a nice addition to the lineup, giving the team something to build on. I have no idea what's wrong with Adrian Gonzalez.
Everything isn't bleak for the Tomahawk pitching staff. Carmona and Price have improved steadily and are solid options in the rotation. Yu Darvish has struggled as much as fellow draftee Strasburg, but at least he's stayed healthy. The team ERA has been skewed by some unbelievably bad bullpen numbers (four players with ERA's north of 7.00). Chris Perez and Leo Nunez, however, have been nails.
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