2nd half monsters, but why?

[WaCougMBS]

Soriano is gonna be a monster in the second half. He started rolling then he got hurt so hes gonna be huge next half. With the Cubs getting close to the playoffs Soriano is gonna step up and have MVP stats

It's ok little cubbie, shhh, it's ok. Just go sit in the corner over there, with your goats and what not. It's ok.

Lol, well said! I tend to agree with his point, but jeeze

[ab]

I was thinking about this with Teixeira the other day and I think it may largely have to do with his complex swing. Watch his swing in slow motion compared to someone like Pujols or Manny, and there are a LOT of moving parts. My guess is that it just takes him a long time to get everything in synch.

[stumpak]

The most logical explanation is that second half players 1) do not physically break down to the same extent as the average player and/or 2) maintain focus from finsh to start better than the average player. In other words, the "second half" player is doing little more than maintaining a steady rate of performance while the bulk of this peers (including the batters and pitchers that he faces) have degraded performanances due to mental or physical fatigue. The second half player maybe does not get better in absoluate terms; it might be that the typical player gets worse as the season wears on, leading to a relative improvement.

if what you said were true than the splits would be identical from pre to post AS break, but that isnt the case. just look at laroche's splits from last year. unless you mean that they do better because many of the pitchers they are facing are wearing down?

I was probably not being clear, but that is what I meant: someone who does not wear down will perform better because the average does wear down (and a certainmumber of players on the DL and replaced by inferior players - look at some of the scrubs pitching in August and Sept.

[RobRob27]

Alot of us think of the dramatic difference between first and second half players; guys like Teix. They are the most noticable. I would be interested in seeing how many players make significant improvement that doesn't always pop up on the radar. My guess is that there are more than we think. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that most players improve as the season progresses?

[markj11]

Alot of us think of the dramatic difference between first and second half players; guys like Teix. They are the most noticable. I would be interested in seeing how many players make significant improvement that doesn't always pop up on the radar. My guess is that there are more than we think. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that most players improve as the season progresses?

It would also be logical to assume that many tire as the season progresses.

[Kingctb27]

Soriano is gonna be a monster in the second half. He started rolling then he got hurt so hes gonna be huge next half. With the Cubs getting close to the playoffs Soriano is gonna step up and have MVP stats

Wow that's just funny. You gotta love the game and your team!

[Wade Boggs' Mustache]

Alot of us think of the dramatic difference between first and second half players; guys like Teix. They are the most noticable. I would be interested in seeing how many players make significant improvement that doesn't always pop up on the radar. My guess is that there are more than we think. Wouldn't it be logical to assume that most players improve as the season progresses?

It would also be logical to assume that many tire as the season progresses.

This is the school of thought I'm coming from, too. I know I take for granted what these athletes do on a daily basis. Granted, they're playing a sport and doing what they love and getting paid for it, but even if you just consider all the traveling they're doing, it has to take a toll on them.

Thus far, the most logical conclusion I've seen is that others tend to slow down more so than our "big" 2nd half guys.

[AcidRock23]

Someone (GTWMA?) has posted a link/links to research disproving that there is any such thing. While some players do end up with half splits, you would have to filter out for matchups and I think that the second half does see some attrition in quality, particularly SP, as pitchers get worn down and teams are more likely to bring up a AAA guy for a cup of coffee. While this can be most pronounced in September, I think that you do see it happen more broadly post ASB. This is a total guess. I think that you might be better off to identify weak opponents and steer towards players with idealized matchups.