Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
July 4, 2003, Washington Post

Baseball's Mid-Season Roundup

The Fourth of July is not just fireworks in the night sky. The holiday marks the halfway point in the Major League Baseball (MLB) season, which makes it a good time to check in with who's hot and who's not in the national pastime.

Biggest Surprises

The Kansas City Royals: The Royals started red hot by winning their first nine games. Then the Royals cooled off and everyone thought they were done for the season. So what happens? The Royals start winning again. Maybe this team is too young to know that they are not supposed to battle the Twins all year for the American League (AL) Central Division crown.

Melvin Mora: The Orioles' super utility player is among the AL leaders in batting average and on-base percentage. Mora and young players like pitcher Sidney Ponson and outfielders Jay Gibbons and Luis Matos give Baltimore some hope.
David Wells: I thought the aging Yankees lefty was all washed up at the beginning of the season. He looked out of shape and out of sorts. Boy, was I wrong. Wells is one of baseball's best pitchers again. His secret? Great control. Wells has walked fewer than a handful of batters in more than 110 innings.

Biggest Disappointments

The Anaheim Angels: Looks like the Angels used up all their magic winning the World Series last year. Anaheim is just so-so this season and they are falling further behind the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics in the oh-so-tough American League West.

The Detroit Tigers: Okay, I knew the Tigers were not going to be very good, but did anyone expect them to be this bad? If Detroit keeps playing this way, they have a real chance to have the worst record of any MLB team since the New York Mets (40-120) in 1962. But that was the Mets' first season. The Tigers have been around since 1901.

Sammy Sosa: All baseball fans, young and old, were disappointed when the Cubs slugger was caught using a corked bat. The incident was only one part of a tough year for the popular star. This season, Sosa was hit in the head so hard with a fastball that his batting helmet cracked. Sammy has also suffered through too many strikeouts and too few home runs.

New Stars

Mark Prior: The Chicago Cubs right-hander looks like the perfect pitcher. He's 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds and throws a 95-mile-per-hour fastball and a knee-buckling curve ball. Maybe that's why he struck out 16 Milwaukee Brewers in one game this season. Forget Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and even Pedro Martinez. Prior is now the man on the mound to watch.

Albert Pujols: The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder is in his third season so I guess he isn't really "new." But baseball fans are just beginning to realize how good the Cards' slugger is. Pujols is flirting with a .400 batting average and is among the NL leaders in home runs and runs batted in (RBI).

Teams to Watch

The Arizona Diamondbacks: The 2001 World Series champs have had a million different injuries, but they are still in the fight for the National League West division with the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. When super pitchers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling come back, beware the Snakes.

The Boston Red Sox: I know, I know, my Sox haven't won the World Series for 85 years. But this year may be different. Boston has a power-packed lineup led by Nomar Garciaparra. If ace Pedro Martinez can stay healthy and pitching, the Sox may catch the Yankees and who knows? Win it all.

It's the Fourth of July, but the fireworks in baseball are just starting.