Mallard Batting
Offensively no real complaints with the Mallards offensive output mid season. My only observation that not shown in the statistics is the teams streaky nature. Nishikawa's home run is off the pace of his 50+ home runs last year. G. Martinez is having another superstar season.
Mallard Pitching
L. Bishop and A. Garcia who are new additions to the team have really provided a solid anchor at the back of the bullpen. Starts 1-3, Polledo, Campbell and Johnson are pitching well with ERA's around 3.00. The weakness lays at the starters 4 and 5 and the long relief. The M. Howell signing was clearly a mistake, one that I seem to continue to make.
Team Summary
The stat that stands out the most is the bullpen with an ERA of 4.65 and a ranking of 15th in NL. This continues to be a an area that does not live up to my expectations. I need to get out of that rut. For anyone out there what do you look for in a good middle reliever?
Mid Season Standings
At this point there look to be only a couple division races heating up. The AL Eastern between Philadelphia and Indianaplois and the NL Central where 4 of the 6 teams over .500 at the midway point.