Power, Pirates and pitching lead top 10 storylines of second half

Among the six big money teams without a winning record, the Dodgers have the best chance of salvaging a playoff spot. Philadelphia, a .500 team for two years

Tom Verducci | Jul 17, 2013

Power, Pirates and pitching lead top 10 storylines of second half /

Chris Davis is chasing what he said he considers to be the single-season home run record: the 61 hit by Roger Maris in 1961 / AP

Among the six big money teams without a winning record, the Dodgers have the best chance of salvaging a playoff spot. Philadelphia, a .500 team for two years and now beset by injuries, is spinning its wheels. The Giants, Angels and White Sox need to get to .500 before they can even think about October. The White Sox are just plain awful.

Published Jul 17, 2013

TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.