It is now that time of the baseball year when the best of the best meet up and play in a game, or as it has been more recently, where half of all players in the pros meet and play. The All-Star system is getting to be as meaningful as getting a bowl invite in college football. Let's vote this guy in, oh he's hurt? Well how about we replace him with this guy, oh he pitched on Sunday, well how about this guy?
This is going to be a ranting blog, because I don't want to spend time talking about how to fix the system or even anything close to offering an idea. Here's another gem, how about we give the American League the DH even though we are playing in an NL ballpark, because that's a fair way to determine the home-field advantage of the World Series by automatically giving the AL teams an advantage. Oh, they're good at hitting, well how about we give them a spot. Because that's how interleague games work...oh wait.
Alrighty, the real reason I am updating my blog. I am going to update my season preview with how the first half of the season finished.
AL East: (I will put the actual placement and then discuss what I had)
1. Red Sox (55-35)
2. Yankees (53-35)
3. Rays (49-41)
4. Blue Jays (45-47)
5. Orioles (36-52)
The Red Sox have obliterated any memory of that horrific start to the season and are currently clicking on what seems to be all cylinders. The scary part is that they have 3 of their starters on the DL. Helped along by Adrian Gonzalez, who I will talk about later, the Red Sox offense is the best in the league. And all of that is without Carl Crawford reaching his preseason hype.
The Yankees are no slouch either, only a game behind their rivals they have dominated just as much. With Derek Jeter finally getting to 3,000 hits, perhaps his season should get better now that all the pressure has evaporated. That being said, he needs to with A-Rod going on the DL after surgery. He'll be back in a month or so, but they can afford little room for error with the Red Sox only winning. Also, look for the Yankees to possibly make a deal before the break.
The Rays will need an amazing run and help from the top two teams to make the playoffs. The Jays and the O's are done-zo. While I liked the Orioles spunk, they didn't hold out as long up top and have settled back near their usual AL East cellar seat.
My guess: Red Sox, correct so far, only had the O's and Jays flipped.
AL Central:
1. Detroit Tigers (49-43)
2. Cleveland Indians (47-42)
3. Chicago White Sox (44-48)
4. Minnesota Twins (41-48)
5. Kansas City Royals (37-54)
I was wrong about the Indians. They had probably the most magical run of the first half, however, the Tigers caught them. Detroit looks good, but only Cleveland boasts a positive run differential in the division. And it is down almost 100 runs from where it was earlier in their season. This looks to be a run between Detroit and Cleveland, but if the White Sox can figure out how to hit (what happened to Adam Dunn?), they could sneak up and win a division that has not impressed.
My guess: Tigers, correct again, but I had the Indians 4th. I still think the Tigers pitching will prevail.
AL West:
1. Texas Rangers (51-41)
2. Los Angeles Angels (50-42)
3. Seattle Mariners (43-48)
4. Oakland A's (39-53)
The Rangers didn't need Cliff Lee, ha, please. Their offense isn't lacking and their pitching has been enough to win games, that is even when they had Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz on the DL at the same time. Solid team. The Angels have been unimpressive, but remain only a game behind the Rangers. They seem to not want to hit, but Jered Weaver and Dan Haren have been phenomenal this year. The A's are terrible, and the Mariners are going to be here for a while, assuming they keep their players in Seattle. They can hit and pitch, and have shown signs of brilliance.
My guess: Angels, close but not quite. I didn't think the Rangers' staff would be as good as it was. But their offense has been impressive. I also had the A's and Mariners flipped.
AL Wild Card: Yankees
my guess: Yankees
NL East:
1. Philidelphia Phillies (57-34)
2. Atlanta Braves (54-38)
3. NY Mets (46-45)
4. Washington Nationals (46-46)
5. Florida Marlins (43-48)
Ok, I guess I can finally say the Phillies are good. I tried as hard as I could to convince myself that they weren't good, but they are. Even as a Braves fan, I must admit that their staff is amazing. And the scary part is their offense isn't that good right now. However, the Braves staff is right behind them. I see them as 1-2 the rest of the way, hopefully with the Braves taking over the top. Props to the Mets for overcoming adversity and scandal to be over .500. And look at the Nats for being decent. The Marlins...oh wow, implosion.
My guess: Braves, they are second but still wrong. Flip the Mets and Marlins and I was right on otherwise.
NL Central:
1. Milwaukee Brewers (49-43)
1. St. Louis Cardinals (49-43)
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (47-43)
4. Cincinnati Reds (45-47)
5. Chicago Cubs (37-55)
6. Houston Astros (30-62)
How about the Pirates! They could finally have a winning season. I'm all about that. Eighteen years is a loooong time. Consider me on the bandwagon. The Brewers and Cards are at a tie up top. But if the Reds can get their rotation healthy and pitching (and stop blowing games, cough, Mr. Cordero) in order look for a close run into September. I can see it being a 4 team race going into the last weeks. Whereas the Cubs and Astros are bad, haha.
My guess: Cardinals, half right. The only thing I had right was the Cardinals, this division has been topsy turvy compared to my picks.
NL West:
1. San Francisco Giants (52-40)
2. Arizona Diamondbacks (49-43)
3. Colorado Rockies (43-48)
4. LA Dodgers (41-51)
5. San Diego Padres (40-52)
How about those Diamondbacks? Looking to strike the heel of the Giants. Unfortunately the Giants still have their solid starting rotation, with the inclusion of newcomer and first time All-Star Vogelsong (crap pick. Bruce Bochy, manager of the Giants, took him over Tommy Hanson who had better stats in every catergory.) the Diamondbacks need a San Fran offensive collapse to come back.
My guess: Giants, but props to Arizona for not being 4th like my guess.
NL Wild Card: Braves
my guess: Rockies, again, I was in denial of the Phillies, but the Rockies are a historic second half team, so who knows. But I hope not, unless the Braves get into first place
I will update the player awards and predictions soon, but for now I want to watch the All-Star game in which the NL leads 3-1 now. Go National League!
