At the MLB All-Star break, the San Francisco Giants look forward to a better second half. And why not? They got through the first half with a big chunk of their starting pitching staff injured for significant amounts of time. Now Blake Snell is back, with two stellar outings so far--including eight innings one bad call from being perfect. With Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison, and some interesting young pitchers, there's progress to be made.
The Giants front office seems to be going with youth, which has the potential of streaks of excitement. But with the team's leading hitter (Matt Chapman) at a dismal .235, there needs to be a lot of improvement with the bat.
Meanwhile the other team I follow, the Pittsburgh Pirates, ended their first half on a high note--with a four game win streak that sent them on the break with a 48-48 record. Considering how little was expected of them, this is notably good. Of course the highlight of their first half was the incredible debut of pitcher Paul Skenes, who has been in the league for a couple of months, and may well start the All-Star game. Super-fastball pitchers don't tend to last all that long, but in addition to his fastball he has a crafty set of pitches that can keep him going for a nice career. But for sure, now is the time to enjoy watching him.
Skenes now heads a pretty good young starting rotation. Bryan Reynolds leads the team in batting, homers and RBIs, Oneil Cruz hits the ball hard and throws even harder across the infield, and Rowdy Tellez is always a threat at the plate. Plus the Cutch has found a comfort zone with these young players. The bullpen looked better as the season went on, and they will be a key to the second half.
As basketball eyes turn to the Olympics and the WNBA, the Golden State Warriors are talking up the team as currently constituted, while quietly working on at least one major trade. But Steph at the Olympics is the upcoming excitement. Reports are that he's eager to excel and lead.
In the WNBA, Caitlin Clark continues to draw big crowds on the road as well as at home, and she's set some personal records already, but it's the Indiana Fever team that is the most impressive. Their come from behind win over the MN Lynx is just the latest indication that they're learning to play together better on offense, and their defense is relentless. Clark as point guard and assist leader is of course the key, but everything is jelling around her.
I'd thought before that this would be a learning year for Clark, and it would take some off-season rest (which she has not had since the start of last year's college season) and work on getting stronger before she could take this team places. But now it looks like the Fever could make some noise in this year's playoffs.
Meanwhile Angel Reese is having a high-impact season, setting the record for consecutive triple doubles. She's right to say that she's lucky she wasn't drafted until the 8 spot--she got on a better team and hit the ground running. Both Clark and Reese will play in their All-Star game.
