Saturday, September 4, 2010

Stockton Ports Are North Division's Second Half Champions

With their thrilling 9-8 win over Bakersfield, Stockton clinched the second half championship in the Cal League's North division. It's the franchise's 11th second half title and the first since 2005, the first year the Ports were affiliated with Oakland. Stockton returns to the playoffs after missing in 2009, looking to win their 2nd league championship in three years. Clinching this playoff berth was proving to be difficult in September. This was the 3rd chance they had to clinch, but the Ports lost their first two games this month. Against Modesto, they failed to prevent a late inning rally, but against Bakersfield, they were able to finally get the 27th out.

The key to the second half was obviously the 14 game winning streak. Of course they had to win more than 14 games to clinch the division championship, but winning 20% of the half's schedule consecutively gave Stockton a leg up on the competition. To put that in perspective, 20% of the Major League's 162 game schedule is over 32 games, which no team has ever come close to doing. Before the streak, Stockton was sitting at 20-20, which isn't bad, but .500 baseball doesn't win a division. They were coming off a sweep against struggling San Jose, now six games behind first place Bakersfield, and only three games ahead of the last place Giants.

When the streak ended, Stockton owned the league's best record at 34-21, four games ahead of second place Bakersfield, and never looked back. In the second half, Stockton is almost averaging one more run per game, and they already had a pretty good offense. They don't do it by hitting singles and stealing bases; Stockton walks and hits for power. They're averaging more than one home run per game in the second half, led by prospect Grant Green finding his power stroke. After struggling at AA, catcher Yusuf Carter was assigned back to Stockton and picked up where he left off in 2009. More than half of Carter's hits are for extra bases, and he's slugging .566. Jermaine Mitchell was scorching hot in July, and All-Star Stephen Parker has been steady in the middle of the lineup all season.

Stockton's pitching really struggled in the first half with some pitchers constantly being shuffled between levels and in and out of the rotation. In the second half, things have settled in a little bit, and some pitchers have found some success. The team ERA and WHIP are both down, and they still lead the league in strikeouts. Staff ace and All-Star Shawn Haviland's second half performance has led this effort, posting a 3.21 second half ERA and leading the league in strikeouts. Ben Hornbeck, returning for a second stint with Stockton, struggled for most of the season, but his four starts in August before going on the DL were great. Call ups such as Justin Marks and Ian Krol have shown promise in a handful of starts each. Despite a couple recent ugly outings, closer Paul Smyth is one of the league's best relievers and closes down most games with ease.

Stockton's work isn't done. Right now, they're one game behind first half champion San Jose for the best overall record. This might not end up mattering at all for a couple reasons though. Stockton could be eliminated by the wild card winner, or the series against San Jose might not go all five games. However, if the Division Final round goes a full five games, the division winner with the best overall record would host the decisive 5th game. Stockton is over .500 at home and has the best second half home record in the league, so they want as many games at Banner Island Ballpark as possible.

Stockton's winning streak was the story of the second half, but no one should forget the improvements Bakersfield made. They won't make the playoffs, but after a tough first half, the Blaze rebounded very well. At one point, they were playing .650 ball, and as of right now, still have the second best second half record in the league. This year, it just wasn't good enough, but it's still impressive that they didn't pack it in after finishing last at the All-Star break. Visalia and Modesto are still engaged in a wild card battle to complete the playoff field.

Congratulations to the Stockton players, coaching staff, front office and fans for winning the second half title. They put a below average first half in the rear view mirror quickly and could be the only team to win 40 games in the second half. They're one of the hottest teams in the league, and that's good news heading into the playoffs where anything can happen.

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