ACT II beckons

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The Dodgers have been winning even though Matt Kemp is hurt. (MARK J. TERRILL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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Andrew McCutchen, who leads the majors with a .367 average, figures the Pirates can finish a season over .500. for the first time in 20 years. (CP)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Behold, the vast possibilities of baseball's Act II.

The second half of the season beckons with the sweet lure of revival.

The National League's three division leaders coming out of the All-Star break include a team back from bankruptcy (the Los Angeles Dodgers), a team with no winning seasons in two decades (the Pittsburgh Pirates) and a team from a city that hasn't hosted a post-season game since 1933 (the Washington Nationals). They are the Bermuda Triangle of recent history.

"We've lost for so many years, you can only get better," Pirates centre fielder Andrew McCutchen said. "You have to get better. That's the law of gravity."

In other words, what goes down must come up, eventually. And vice versa. But not everywhere. The New York Yankees own the best record in baseball.

The second half of the season beckons with the open door of opportunity.

Consider the gaggle of teams fighting for wild-card berths. And this October, each league has two. Five NL teams leave the break within a half-game of the wild-card lead. Eight American League teams are within 2 1/2 games, and only three of the 14 AL teams have losing records.

Who can be hasty to say "uncle"-- and start a fire sale before the July 31 trade deadline -- when they remember the parable of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals: from 10 1/2 games behind to world champions in two months?

"I think 2011 definitely gives hope to any team," World Series MVP David Freese said. "Not only the Cardinals."

The second half beckons with pitching.

The no-hit downpour seems to have subsided for the moment, but there is no doubting the value of sound arms the rest of the way.

The Pirates have the fourth-best record in the game, even though they are tied for 28th in on-base percentage and are 21st in runs scored.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in the wild-card chase while hitting .232 as a team.

The San Francisco Giants and Dodgers have combined for 102 home runs -- 32 fewer than the Yankees -- but appear headed for a California pennant race.

The Cincinnati Reds have rolled into contention in the NL Central using the same five starting pitchers all season. The last time they went this long doing that was 1898.

The Los Angeles Angels have closed on the Texas Rangers not only with a booster shot from Mike Trout but a pitching staff that has 13 shutouts. Nine teams had that many last season.

The second half beckons with its own lineup card of issues. Here are nine questions that need answering.

Is Pittsburgh's long national nightmare finally over?

Things look promising -- going into the break the Pirates were 11 games over .500 for the first time in 20 years. But last season they were 51-44 on July 19 before going 21-46 the rest of the way. The longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in history went to 19.

"I think we're past that," said McCutchen, whose .367 average leads the major leagues entering Saturday play. "That was just a stepping stone. We've learned from our mistakes."

We'll know more soon. The Pirates have been nasty at home but are 19-23 on the road, which is where they'll be for 16 of their next 22 games.

What do the Philadelphia Phillies do?

They took their 50th loss Sunday. In 2011, their 50th loss came Sept. 12. The five-year grip on the NL East has given way to injuries, malfunctions and a 14-game deficit while sporting the second-worst bullpen ERA in the majors.

What now? A miracle rally or a "For Sale" sign affixed to Cole Hamels, who will be a free agent after the season?

"Living in the past and living in the future is not going to help what I'm trying to do in the present," Hamels said at the All-Star Game. "You keep playing and trying to win ball games. That's all I can do.

"We do know it's a long marathon-type march, but the frustration builds. You come in day in and day out and try to wipe your slate clean and try to start over, but it's like we're still stuck in the mud."

Shane Victorino might be another familiar Phillie to be gone soon, but Hamels is the real catch. The line of contenders would be long to grab a pitcher who has been through nearly every conceivable pressure situation.

"If you can pitch in Philly," he said, "you can pitch in all 30 ballparks."

What day is the last for Stephen Strasburg?

The Nationals have become contenders with something new and something old. Their All-Stars -- Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper-- are 23, 26, 26 and 19. Their manager -- Davey Johnson -- is 69.

It's all been working fine, especially the pitching staff with the lowest ERA in the game. But the clock is ticking on Strasburg, who in the first full season back after Tommy John elbow surgery is supposedly on a 160-inning limit, though no one from the Nationals has said that for sure.

He is at 99 innings and is projected to hit 160 soon after Labor Day. Does he really sit down in the middle of a pennant race?

Strasburg said he would keep answering the call every fifth day with his best effort, "and I'm going to do that until they take the ball out of my hand."

What happens when the phenoms bump into the dog days?

The Buzz Brothers have been Trout of the Angels of Anaheim and Harper of the Nationals -- both setting the game on fire and neither able to legally order a cocktail. But dead ahead is their first pennant race.

"It's going to be a lot of pressure on myself," Trout said. "A bigger stage, more crowds. ... You have to stay with the approach that got you there."

Will anything, or anyone, get in the way of the Yankees?

Mariano Rivera out. CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte down. Alex Rodriguez having, for him, a pedestrian season. But they thunder on, swinging freely. The 35-game streak of three or more runs scored is their longest since 1951. Seven players have at least 10 homers.

What you wonder is if the banged-up pitching staff will ever make them look vulnerable for the fall. So far, no.

Who's at the head of the linefor Ryan Dempster?

He has thrown 27 consecutive scoreless innings; because he pitches for the Chicago Cubs, that gives him a 50-50 chance of winning. In a game with small margins between contenders, he could swing a division.

How will the NL West be won?

April was so uplifting for the Dodgers, between Matt Kemp's bat in the lineup and Magic Johnson's smile from the ownership consortium. But then Kemp got hurt -- he has one hit since May 8 -- and so did Andre Ethier. The offence stalled worse than traffic on the Pasadena Freeway; the Dodgers were shut out five times in the last six days of June.

Still, they cling to first place. The Giants' chances might hinge on whether anything -- mechanical adjustments, film work, a visit to a witch doctor -- can cure what is ailing Tim Lincecum and his 3-10 record. The pitcher who gave up 66 earned runs last season has allowed 69.

Meanwhile, Kemp is due back in Los Angeles. "I'm tired of being a cheerleader," he said.

Do the Cardinals have a title defense in them?

Albert Pujols gone. Tony La Russa gone. Chris Carpenter and Lance Berkman out. Still, they lurk in third place, 2 1/2 games behind. The Reds might be hard to catch, if only because of their schedule.

Cincinnati has 24 games left against teams currently with winning records.

But the Cardinals don't have to think back too far to remember what they are capable of in crunchtime.

"Look at our lineup, look at our staff," Freese said. "We're a team that's going to be there at the end."

What will the second wild card mean in September?

It'll be hard to match the final night of the 2011 regular season, when the wild-card races became a minute-by-minute drama in three cities. Doubling the wild cards won't double the theater, but it'll keep hope alive in more places.

That could be vital for the New York Mets, even with the worst bullpen ERA in the majors.

Or the Baltimore Orioles, touched by magic early but slumping of late.

Or the Boston Red Sox, for whom 2012 has been an unnerving roller coaster.

Or the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have received virtually no notice but are suddenly within four games of first place.

Or Tampa Bay, with 14 players sent to the disabled list.

The schedule is a clear prayer for another midnight hour classic. Among the last series of the season: Yankees vs. Red Sox, Dodgers vs. Giants, Reds vs. Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox vs. the Cleveland Indians, the top two first-half teams in the AL Central.

The second half beckons with chances for the multitudes.

In a sport in which the last 11 championships have been won by nine different teams, parity is a given. Good news everywhere, except maybe Yankee Stadium, site of the last dynasty.

"I hope we win every year," Derek Jeter said. "I could care less about parity."

-- USA Today

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 15, 2012 A1