Ain't gonna lie, I'm a little nervous going into the second half. I'm not predicting a collapse or anything like that, but the team did come into the break playing merely .500 ball over the past month. Our bullpen was baseball's worst during that period, and even our starters were bottom half on some measures. Our hitting has been great during that period, which is why we weren't way underwater for the month, although that has also tailed off the last two weeks as well. Plus, all of a sudden, catcher and center field are black holes at the plate, and how do you solve a problem like Trey Sweeney?
I still like our chances to win the division, of course, but I would not be shocked if we end up limping into the playoffs with a .500-ish second half. That would still give us 90+ wins, which is good, better than last year, but that would not exactly qualify as an all-time great season anymore. What would make me feel good about our chances in October would be to see us go 36-29, which is a .554 and 90-win pace, for the rest of the season. That would put us at 95-67 on the year. That's my "goal". I would be very happy with that.