Called the mid season classic, the precise half way point in this marathon called a baseball season was reached this weekend.  The identity, failings, and strengths of every team are clear at this point in time. 

A look at the division races and wild card possibilities –

NL West. - A free for all, with mediocrity being the theme continued from last year when the Padres won the division crown with an 82-80 record.  Who will win this year?  Probably the Dodgers, with an accomplished corps of veterans who are accustomed to the grind of a pennant race.  With Garciaparra (.361, and obvious comeback player of the year in the NL), Jeff Kent and the rest of this team, they will probably persevere and win it.  Or rather not lose it would be a more accurate description as the other teams are seemingly incapable of pulling it out.   .

The Rockies are the most intriguing competitors in this division, with a slew of young players and good pitching.  The Padres, while good, have not improved themselves dramatically over last year (significant additions being Mike Piazza and right handed pitcher Woody Williams).  Piazza is such a liability on this team, they are forced to carry three catchers, a luxury few other teams would dream of but which they find to be a necessity, given his defensive lapses which are supposed to be balanced out by his hitting, which has been nothing spectacular but actually very average.  The Diamondbacks seem to have been irreparably damaged by the Jason Grimsley affair and the Giants, well they are the Giants, a flawed team built around a fading superstar

NL Central-Some weeks ago, everyone was ready to anoint the Cardinals as the winner, but with a recent spate of injuries to their pitchers, they seem suddenly very vulnerable.  The Reds could do it, though seem short on pitching themselves though their starters are doing better this year than was predicted.  The have a prolific offense, ranking third in runs scored in the NL.  The Astros, sitting a mere five games off the lead are positioned, as they were last year, to make a second half run, but their offense needs to be bolstered.  If they do not score every time Clemens takes the mound, that signing will be negated.  But if they can score, with a pitching trio of Oswalt, Clemens and Pettite leading the staff and

closer Brad Lidge starting to regain lost confidence and effictiveness, they could very well make that final push and overtake both the Reds and Cardinals.   The Brewers, with all their young talent in position players, seem to be falling short yet again, with their woes due to pitching, with the worst era in the NL.  The Cubs season was finished in May, and they are merely playing out the schedule, though would be loathe to admit it.  Pittsburgh?  Why bother even mentioning their problems?  They are deficient in every aspect of the game, but still have two of the better but unknown players in the league, 3b Freddie Sanchez and Jason Bey.

NL East-The Mets are literally running away with it all, the Braves are terrible (worst bull pen in the league and all around terrible pitching, undoubtedly with the absence of Leo Mazzone playing a factor in this development).   The Phillies are in second, a mere 11 games back followed by the upstart Marlins, a talented group of first and second year players, but young and inexperienced.  Count on them to make an impact in a year or two when they realize how good they actually are and believe they can win, under the tutelege of Joe Girardi.

NL Wildcard-Difficult to predict, but if things keep up the way they are going, the NL wild card entry should come from the Central division, with the 2^nd place team there gaining entry into the postseason.  So with that said, am guessing it will be either the Reds or Astros.  If the Cardinals do not win their division outright, they will collapse out of the playoff picture.  I just do not see a NL West team contending for the postseason aside from the eventual division winner, and even then, that entry will probably be eliminated in the first round.

AL East-The pitching problems of the Yankees to which I alluded in early April persist.  Mussina has been a revelation, Randy Johnson, in spite of nine wins, has been erratic and after that, there has been nothing memorable.   Their middle relief is suspect and only Rivera in the closers role has been reliable.  Their injuries in the outfield (Matsui, Sheffield) are monumental but they continue to score runs, and with a possible resurgence by A-Rod (3 home runs, nine rbis in July so far), picking up a bat is not a priority though probably something Steinbrenner will feel compelled to do.  The Red Sox rank only 9^th in era in the league but are second runs scored and lead the league in on base

percentage (.371 to .366 for both the Yankees and Blue Jays).  With the premier piching duo of Beckett and Schilling, backed by a reliable bull pen and a premier closer (Popelbon. 0.43 era with 25 saves), they will be tough down the stretch, especially if they pick up another starter somewhere, either from their own farm system or though a trade.   The Blue Jays need a starting pitcher, and nothing else.   Their hitting is superb and their pitching is thin, especially the starters.  They do have a premier closer in BJ Ryan, who is proving every bit as daunting as Popelbon with an equally low era.   AJ Burnett is not the answer to their starting pitching woes, something they should have realized in December when they signed him.

AL Central-The best division in baseball!  A different world now with the Tigers playing like they are the best team in the division, even if many pundits still declare the White Sox to be the best team in that division.  Check the scoreboard, they lead the division by 2 ½ games over the Sox, with Minnesota (10-0 in their last ten games!!) still languishing at 10 games off the pace, picking up only 1 ½ games during a streak which has seen them win 20 of 22 games.  Their pitching is daunting as well, with Liriano and Santana leading the staff.  Both the Tigers and White Sox will make the postseason, with the division loser going into the playoffs as the AL Wildcard entry.

AL West-The A’s occupy a familiar position in the standings, sitting atop the rest of the AL West at this time but the race is far from over.   The Mariners are only a game off the pace, fueled by decent pitching (6^th in era) but it is their offense, picked up by

Ichiro along with Raul Ibanez, all star  2b Jose Lopez (.282, 9hr, 57 rbi), and rookie ss Yuniesky Betancourt along with the steady play of rookie catcher Kenji Johima (.298, 10 hr, 41 rbi).  The Rangers are playing well also, with a real ace anchoring the staff (Kevin Millwood), and the usual offensive lineup they throw out on the field every day.  The Angels do not believe they are done yet either, only five games off the pace but languishing seven games under .500.  They have to reach the .500 mark to even begin to think about challenging for the division, something that is very attainable if the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place.  This is a good team, with a solid core, which has underperformed as a ‘team’.  Mike Scioscia should be able to get them back on track and this division is still a toss up, not unlike the NL West.

AL Wildcard-The White Sox or Tigers.  Nothing else to say here.

The All Star Game

The American League dominated interleague play and will undoubtedly win the mid season classic as well.   Why?  It is simple, they have the best players.  The National League used to dominate this affair but those days are long over.  The American League plays an exciting brand of baseball, while the NL plays a traditional style.  The World Baseball Classic should have enlightened us all to the fact that the ‘traditional’ style could succeed, but it needs to be built on a strong foundation of fundamentals, which players throughout MLB sorely lack.

The rosters are complete now, save for the one extra player voted in by the fans.  Garciaparra should win in the NL in that vote and either Francsco Liriano or Travis Hafner of the Indians should win on the AL side.   The rules deeming that a player from every team should be represented is ridiculous, more evident this year than in the past.  For example, the Kansas City Royas are sending a pitcher to the classic (Mark Redman, 5-4, 5.59 era) who does not deserve to be anywhere near Pittsburgh next week.  NO ONE from their roster deserves spot on the roster, while other players who do deserve to play have been snubbed, as happens every year (ie. Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Justin Verlander, Tadahito Iguchi, Jason Giambi, and more).

The NL squad does not have such a glaring mistake but still, if one casts aside sentimentality, etc, there is no way Pedro Martinez deserves a spot on the roster (the Mets already have four starting players on the roster) while a healthy Roy Oswalt sits home.  Martinez has been ineffective for more than one month, apparently due to a hip injury. 

Generally speaking, fan voting did a good job in naming the starters for each league, though I would have voted for Joe

Mauer over Ivan Rodriguez at catcher for the AL, and possibly Matt Holliday as a starter of over Jason Bey, maybe but not sure.  I like the fact Paul LoDuca is the starting catcher; he is obviously the best catcher in the league and the Mets made an astute acquistion picking him up in the off season.  He is a winner, a fiery, hustling presence on the field -  qualities that every team needs.  If Piazza had stayed in NY, they would not be leading their division by 11 games at this time.