I'm thankful for...

Well it's finally the all-star break and we're more than halfway through the MLB season. At the start of the season, I had little expectations for either of my favorite teams. Both the A's and the Padres lack any significant superstars (yes, they have some minor stars, but no major super stars... if they did, they would have been traded by now). Instead, they rely on their youth and their pitching. So after thinking about it for a few minutes, I've come to realize that I have several things I need to be thankful for.

#1: The Padres are in 1st place and have the 2nd best record in the National League with a 51-37 record.

#2: The A's aren't in last place. Okay, so there not playoff bound and they're nowhere near being great. But, they aren't bad either. In fact, they were in 1st place for a few weeks at the start of the season.

#3: The Padres have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. They lead the league in ERA & WHIP, are 2nd in shutouts, and are ranked 3rd in strikeouts.

#4: The A's actually have decent teams stats. They're 8th in ERA, 9th in WHIP, and 10th in batting average. By the way, those statistics aren't just for the American League... it's based on all 30 MLB teams.

#5: Adrian Gonzalez is still with the Padres and has earned himself a spot as a reserve on the National League all-star roster. He's leads the Padres in runs, rbi's, and homeruns. Hopefully the Padres continue their hot streak, so they'll hold onto him.

#6: Trevor Cahill is having a sensational sophomore season. He has 9 wins and only 3 losses with a 2.93 ERA. These stats have earned him a spot on this year's all-star roster. Unfortunately he pitched today, which means he's unable to pitch in Tuesday's game. However this actually helped one of his teammates out (see #8).

#7: Both of my team's relief pitchers have been announced as replacements on this year's all-star teams. Heath Bell replaces injured Yovani Gallardo for the National League. Don't fret, he's no charity case. He currently has an 1.88 ERA with 24 saves.

#8: Since Cahill is unable to pitch (see #6), Andrew Bailey will step in for him. Like Cahill, Bailey is having a great sophomore season too. This is his 2nd all-star appearance in his short 2 year career. He has 18 saves and a 1.70 ERA.

So there you have it... halfway through the year and neither of my teams are in last place and both have at representatives on their respective all-star rosters. What about you... how's your team doing?