Mark Teixeira is a typical "slow starter" or "second half player"

Hey guys, just wanted to do a quick rundown of some things I’ve been noticing in the second half of the MLB season.  Many players throughout the league are known as “second half players”; these guys typically have sub-par first halves and really turn it up in the second half.  Off the top of my head Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche and Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira are two examples.  However, there are guys who use the second half to fix a first half slump.  There isn’t anything to indicate that these players are like LaRoche or Teixeira, who have career trends of first half terribleness.  Most players in slumps just need time to work things out.  Now they don’t always fix what’ ailing them; sometimes they stay in the funk they’re in whether it’s just age catching up to them, being extremely unlucky, or failing to make adjustments.  There are also guys who have had historically strong first halves and terrible second halves.  Angels pitcher Dan Haren comes to mind.  And there are guys without historical trends who have great first halves and then plummet in the second half.  In this piece I’ll cover some guys who are currently trending up and some who are currently trending down.  Now I realize there are still roughly two months of baseball to be played, but I just thought it would be interesting to point out some players. Continue reading »