Surprise! We're in the Hunt too

As teams creep closer and closer to their hundredth game I take a look at some teams that were written off before the season began but are in the hunt as we come down the stretch.

Cleveland Indians: Ever since CC left town the Indians have consistently been at the bottom of the MLB. After a disappointing season by the Browns and an embarrassingly bad season for the Cav's many didn't expect much out of the lowly Indians. Despite these low expectations the Tribe jumped out to a fast start and have stay atop or in contention of the AL Central ever since. Asdrubal Cabrera has been the leader both offensively and defensively for the Indians, batting .291 with 17 homers and 59 RBI's and having a golden glove season at short. Josh Tomlin has carried the Indians to 11 wins while Justin Masterson has been wheeling and dealing to a 2.80 ERA.

McCutchen hits walkoff 

The Indians should pick up another pitcher and a steady bat before the trade deadline if they want this to keep on top in the Central. They will have Detroit, Chicago, and Minnesota all breathing down their neck the rest of the season, just waiting for this young team to snap under the pressure.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Buc's had no expectations going into the season besides to beat out Houston and not be last in the NL Central. Instead they taken the lead in the Central and they aren't gonna give it away without a fight. After 18 consecutive losing seasons in Pittsburgh they are on their way to snap that with ease and with over 60 games left in the season they are only a handful away from the total wins they had last season. The Buc's are led by young center fielder Andrew McCutchen, second baseman Neil Walker and pitcher Jeff Karstens. McCutchen has been an up incoming star for the last few seasons but now that the Pirates are in contention he as finally gotten the respect he should have gotten all a long. McCutchen is batting .277 while blasting 14 homers and driving in 58 runs in route to his first All Star game. Walker, just 25, has been lights out as well, also batting .277 and driving in 62 runs. Karstens' has been beyond oustanding on the mound has been the the fuel for this team. The righty is currently 3rd in the NL in ERA with 2.34 ERA and has an astonishing .56 ERA in July.

Dbacks' Justin Upton

The Cardinals have been banged up this season, Albert Pujols, while the Pirates key players have stayed relatively healthy. If they continue to stay healthy they will defiantly have a shot at winning the division but the loss of one key players could be tragic. They should defiantly look into getting some more hitters on the roster before the trade deadline as we come to the final third of the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks: This young Diamondbacks squad was just developing last season but many didn't think they'd come around and be this good so quickly. A team that almost racked up a hundred losses last season could wind up winning 90+ games in 2011. Arizona is lead offensively by young outfielders Justin Upton (23), Chris Young (27) and Gerardo Parra (24). The Dbacks rotation has been carried by the likes of Ian Kennedy and Dan Hudson all season. Young has hit 16 home runs and has 50 RBI's while Upton and Parra are batting .281 and .285 respectively. Kennedy and Hudson both have won 10 games and hold an ERA that is under 3.60.

The Diamondbacks will have a tough trail ahead of them because the Giants are starting to find their form from last season and the Braves control the Wild Card by a wide margin. By all means both feats are doable but will be difficult with this young ball club. They may need some veteran experience if they want to keep rolling and to have a shot at the post season. Playoffs or no playoffs I like where this team is headed, and so do their fans.

bottom line:
These three teams don't have many players on there roster that have playoff experience needed to succeed and that could defiantly come back to haunt them as we hit September and crunch time. They still have till July 31st to pick up some of their needs so they can make a push or stay on top. We still have a lot of baseball left but these teams have already proven that they wont go away.

National League players that need to step it up a notch

As the All Star break is upon us we take a look at some players that need to step up big time for their teams in the second half of the season in order for them to make the playoffs and make a run deep into October and November.

Braves second baseman Dan Uggla

Dan Uggla, Braves: Uggla was the most disappointing player in the NL through the first half of the season. The former Marlin is supposed to make almost 10 million this year but is playing like a minimum salary player at the plate. Uggla is coming off of a season where he was hitting .287 with 33 homers and drove in 105 runs but this year the second baseman has batted an atrocious .184, over .100 worse than last season, .258 OBP and has drove in only 33 runs on 14 homers. The Braves are 3.5 games back on the Phillies in the East but lead the Wild Card race. I expect the Braves to make the postseason but if they want to make a deep run they need their 2B to step it up a notch, or two.

Francisco Cordero, Reds: The Reds closer blew another save against the Brewers and has started to struggle lately. The reliever is scheduled to make 12 million, highest on the Reds payroll, but may be headed to the minors with the way he is playing. The Reds need every game possible to climb back in the NL Central race and if Cordero is giving them away in the the ninth then they can't afford to have him on the roster.

Edison Volquez, Reds: The former All Star pitcher has been struggling all season and even spent some time down in the minors. His ERA is sky high at 5.93 and is 2nd in the league in walks with 55. Volquez seems to have really lost his control of the ball and is pitching all over, as shown by his 55 walks. If the Reds want to succeed the rest of the season and become back to back NL Central Champs they will need Volquez to gain control back on his throws while keeping his velocity.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Zack Greinke, Brewers: The former Cy Young award winner is struggling in his first season with the Brewers. Greinke has an extremely high ERA, 5.45, and hasn't had the quality starts like the Brewers wanted to see. Greinke seems to behaving nice control with only 16 walks to 99 strikeouts but something is defiantly off this season for the ace. In previous years he had been getting players handcuffed and in trouble more than he is this year. The Brewers need to have him get that "it factor" back over the break if they want a playoff appearance in the hotly contested NL Central.

Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies: The Rockies seem to always make a late season run but it seems to never be enough as they fall short of the playoffs or get knocked out in the NLDS year after year. The Rockies have the offensive firepower with Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, and the aging Todd Helton at the plate to get it done but the pitching is questionable in Denver. The Rockies ace has fallen off the map after an outstanding season last year with 19 wins a 2.88 ERA and even started in the All Star game for the NL. This season Jimenez's stats have been non ace like with a 4-8 record and a 4.14 era, his worst in 4 years.The Rockies as is are 8.5 games back in the NL West but if they want to make that run and advance in the post season they need Ubaldo Jimenez to become the Ubaldo Jimenez from last season and step up his game on the mound.

Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff, Giants: Some of the offensive fire power from last years World Series Championship team have fallen down a deep hole and are trying to swing their way out. Huff has been more productive with driving in 44 runs and hitting 8 homers but still has a pathetic .236 average and a less than mediocre .290 OBP. On the other hand Burrell has just been more than useless at the plate while batting .234 hitting 7 homers and only bringing in 21 runs. The Giants are still one of the best pitching teams in the MLB but these two, and others, need to step up at the plate so that the Giants can try and defend their title as World Series Champs.