Approaching the halfway point of what is turning out to be another fascinating season, although I'm sad to report, not one in which we seem destined to feature at the pointy end.
We are currently sitting mid-standings, with our 34-33 record putting us 8 1/2 back from the Cubs, who have a handy but far from uncatchable break atop the NL. The Junior Circuit is super competitive again this year, with the top five teams bunched within 5 1/2 games.
It's not like we are playing poorly. We are just incredibly streaky and inconsistent in both pitching and hitting. We'll go on nice little runs and look to be bubbling along only to completely drop our bundle and lose a heap in no time flat.
We sit where you'd expect us to in most team metrics - roughly halfway - reflective of the inconsistency I mentioned, along with a fairly wide disparity between those who are playing well and those who are not.
That said, if we can just get that streakiness sorted out and guys like Bresnahan above all, but also Murphy and Steinfeldt, can turn their underwhelming seasons around, all is perhaps not lost. But the Cubs would have to cool off pretty remarkably and we'd have to heat up a similar amount for that to happen. Still, lots can happen in 80-odd games of baseball.
Finally, here are the league awards for June, league leaders, and some other recent news from around the traps. You'll notice the recently-traded Bill Foxen picked up the Rookie of the Month Award. Nobody can call my genius inconsistent...

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