Biggest surprises of the season's first half
By CHRIS BERNUCCA
It would have been fitting for Nelson Cruz to win the Home Run Derby.
A 29-year-old journeyman who had never been a full-time player, Cruz came into the All-Star break with 22 homers in less than 300 at-bats, which tied his previous career total in 557 at-bats over parts of four seasons.
While fans oohed and aahed at local favorite Albert Pujols and native son Ryan Howard, Cruz crushed his way into the final, where he was finally outdone by Prince Fielder.
The All-Star outfielder of the Texas Rangers has been one of the biggest surprises in the first half of the baseball season, which has seen some totally unexpected performances - good and bad - from players, teams and even ballparks.
Let's take a look at the most pronounced:
The new Yankee Stadium
One of baseball's true cathedrals was reconstructed across East 161st in the Bronx and is a magnificent meeting of tradition and technology. It also is a billion-dollar wind tunnel.
The location and design of the new facility has created a natural current pushing out toward right field that has made Yankee Stadium even more of a launching pad for left-handed hitters.
The already robust Yankee lineup leads the majors in runs and homers. The park ranks first in homer rate (after ranking 15th last year) and the over is a solid 23-17 in the first half.
With warmer weather coming, the power boost should continue.
Cliff Lee
A year ago, Lee was the most surprising and best pitcher in the American League, going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA and winning the Cy Young Award. It was a great season for a good pitcher and created unrealistic expectations.
This year, Lee has had a high price tag whenever he’s taken the mound and is costing bettors plenty of coin. His nine losses matches the most in the AL and he is dead last in starter money at minus $1,269.
How bad is that? A bettor could have backed Washington Nationals starters John Lannan, Scott Olsen and Jordan Zimmerman every time out and lost less money than betting Lee in all of his starts.
World Series hangovers
Jimmy Rollins was the leadoff man and sparkplug for the 2008 World Series champion Phillies but at times this season as been neither. He was temporarily moved out of the leadoff slot in May and recently endured an 0-for-28 slide that saw him stop talking to reporters and dropped his season average to .205.
B.J. Upton was on the verge of stardom in the 2008 postseason, collecting seven homers and 16 RBI in just 66 at-bats while powering the Tampa Bay Rays to their first World Series. This season, he has seven homers and 33 RBI in 331 at-bats and is batting just .239 with 99 strikeouts.
The Phils have been solid without much from Rollins, who has shown signs of snapping out of it. But the Rays need Upton to get hot if they want to keep pace in the AL East.
Expensive malfunctioning imports
In their never-ending battle for AL East supremacy, both the Yankees and Red Sox have spent millions on highly touted right-handers from the Far East. Both have seen their costly purchases run nicely before breaking down this season.
Taiwan's Chien-Ming Wang was 54-20 in his first four years but is just 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA this season while battling through a sore shoulder. The Yankees are 3-6 and minus $484 in his nine starts.
Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka was 33-15 in his first two years but is just 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA, also battling shoulder woes. The Red Sox are 2-6 and minus $571 in his eight starts.
Both are on the DL, where they can't do bettors any damage.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants have five guys 30 or older in their starting lineup. Their No. 3 hitter has under 600 career at-bats. They are enduring a third straight poor season from their high-priced left-hander. Their 45-year-old starter is on the disabled list. Their closer has an ERA pushing 4.00.
And the Giants are 49-39 and hold the NL wild card spot.
With Pablo Sandoval providing some unlikely pop and Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain forming the best starter combo, the Giants have been a phenomenal wager overall ($1,068), at home ($1,367) and with the runline ($2,167).
If rookie Ryan Sadowski continues to provide innings and Jonathan Sanchez is jump-started by his no-hitter, the Giants could be postseason-bound.