Midsummer classic

The All-Star game starts in a bit less than 18 hours, and what a season this one has been! It's been full of suprises, snowouts, and records being made every time you turn on Baseball Tonight. I'd like to take a look back at what I thought might be, and what so far is.

 

Leaders:

 

A.L. East: Boston Red Sox. Okay, Gryph, you win this round. The emergency room in New York was overflowing with injured pitchers this season, while Boston's been one of the best pitching staffs so far. Josh Beckett started phenominal, showing that he's finally made the transition from the NL to the AL. Dice-K has been preforming to standards, but the second half is usually when rookies start to lose their edge. We'll see if he can keep it up. It'll take a miracle, for once, for the Yanks to win this division.

 

A.L. Central: Detroit Tigers. Jim Leyland has proven to any doubters once and for all that he is a managerial genius. His decision to keep Justin Verlander in the starting rotation even after a sub-par spring seems to have been a good one, especially after adding a no-hitter to his already Cy Young-calibur season. I picked the Twins for this one, and if they can get that second wind going that they usually have they're not out of it yet. But the Tigers so far look to be favorites to be the AL champs once more.

 

A.L. West: Anaheim Angels. Well, at least I have one of them right so far. The Angels are looking like they have all the pieces in place this year. The pitching is preforming to the standards it failed to meet last season, and Vlad is impaling any and every ball that he hits. However, that Seattle suprise is in the rear view mirror, even after Mike Hargrove called it quits in the midst of an 8-game winning streak. Provided that doesn't cause the M's to have a second half collapse, the Angels can't think they're resting on cloud 9 yet.

 

N.L. East: New York Mets: Yeah, this one really wasn't hard. What was hard though was predicting that the ragtag group of youngsters in Atlanta have been able to stay this close. I don't see them being able to pull it out in the end, the experience is lacking. But it's good to know they're headed in the right direction.

 

N.L. Central: Milwaukee Brewers. WOW! Did I not say to watch out for this team? Thank you Milwaukee for making me look smart. The banged up start to the Cards seemed to have crippled them drastically, and though Chicago has gone white hot coming into the break, Milwaukee has yet to relinquish that lead they have though having a few stumbles in interleague play. Unbelievable implosions withstanding, the Brewers should see the playoffs for the first time since Robin Yount was the heart of this team.

 

N.L. West: San Diego Padres. The division where offense goes to die is pretty tight so far. LA is only a game out, and suprise Arizona is 3 1/2 back of the division leader Pads. Jake Peavy has been electric, and Chris Young has been the right-handed Randy Johnson on a pitching staff that has the best ERA in the bigs. But let's face it...the lack of a productive O could be the downfall of this team. You can't expect every game to end 1-0 in your favor come September and October.

 

This has been the year for records. Biggio got 3,000 hits, Sosa got 600 homers, Griffey might see that number before the end of the year, The Big Hurt has 500, and so does Trevor Hoffman (long balls for Thomas, saves for Trev), Bonds is only 5 away from passing Hammerin' Hank, and A-Rod will be the youngest person ever with 500 home runs by August at this rate. Curtis Granderson has the most triples (15) hit by the All-Star game in a long time, and is on pace for 28 by season's end.

 

So now comes the next big step...the trading deadline. July 31st. Will there be any blockbuster deals? Likely not. Teams nowadays are reluctant to give up young talent for rent-a-players. Gange may move from Texas, but Teixeira will stay put. Dunn and Junior aren't going anywhere. Beurhle got his new deal in Chicago with a no-trade clause, so we know he's going nowhere. Don't expect any fire sales from Kansas City or Florida or Tampa Bay. Teams are pretty much as is this year, so whoever had the most talent in May is gonna end up on top odds are.

 

Mid-season prediction: It's hard, a few teams look really good so far. I'm going to go on a limb and go with the Tigers over the Mets in 6

 

Here's hoping the way to October is just as great as the way to July has been!

Did you copy and paste this?

haha i sure hope so.

I think he actually typed it. I read it, I enjoyed your summary of the season since I have barely watched any baseball this year. I think I saw more of the home run derby last night than I have the rest of the season combined and that makes me sad.

Bump