Meet Me Halfway, Wes Helms

Around this time of year, a lot of people like to fete baseball's best and brightest with fake half-season awards. And while there seems to be a consensus about the Phils' respective MVP (Utley) and Cy Young (Hamels) whom, I wonder, is the real "First Half Phillie"?

I don't mean the player who has contributed the most to the team in the first half; rather, it's the player most symbolic of the 2007 Phillies up to this point. That is, which player best embodies the whole experience of the team's first 88 games?

Pat Burrell, with his all-or-nothing approach to batting and penchant for disappointment, is an obvious contender for this and any year. Brett Myers' schizoid season--from starter to closer to the DL--and massive stroke of bad luck also seem like a good fit.

I humbly nominate an overlooked component of this years Fightins: occasional third baseman Wes Helms.

He's a name you know but don't necessarily trust. He had a terrible start to the year despite batting .284 in April, then .218 in May and .200 in June, and didn't hit a home run until June 13. He seemed to turn it on again right before the All-Star Break, though no matter how high he ultimately flies, everyone is waiting for him to crash right back down to earth. And he's getting paid over $2 million to be mediocre.

In other words, Wes Helms is the personification of the frustration, streakiness, and inconsistency of your Philadelphia Phillies. Just when you're ready to give up on him, he gives you a reason to believe in him. It's a maddening a trait players seem to acquire only when they get to Philly (Helms hit .329 in 140 games with the Teal Bastards last year).

Projecting a Helmsian mediocrity for the rest of this season, I'd say the Phillies will achieve somewhere between 83-86 wins, and put us out of our misery by early September. No more stringing us along until the last weekend of the season, ok guys?

One problem: that pitiable sum might be enough to win the division (according to PECOTA).

You gotta believe?