AL East

Yankees -

Orioles 5

Rays 6.5

Red Sox 6.5

 Blue Jays 7.5

The Yankees hold a 5 game lead as the All-Star break nears closer. They have been   

facing injury issues as Sabathia recently hit the DL. Does that mean the Yankees need

to worry? I don't think so, the Orioles had an early jump but have only been slipping 

recently. I think it is safe to say their start to the season was a fluke. With Longoria still  down the Rays are having a hard time keeping up, and the Jays pitching is just beat

up so it is hard to consider them contenders at the time being. I said the Rays would 

win this division at the beginning of the year, injuries are getting in the way of that as of now, then seeing how good Jeter has been on the year, I have to give it to the Yankees with the Red Sox as the only true threat as they have gotten hot. I saw them take on the Marlins at Fenway in the middle of June and David Ortiz was a beast. People were counting the Red Sox out with their slow start but look out for them now as they are not showing any sign of slowing down even with the departure of Youkilis.

                                       NL East

                                       Nationals -
Mets 2.5

Braves 3.5

Marlins 7.5

Phillies 10

The Washington Nationals have sown that their youth and
skills are a great combination, from Strasburg to Harper they either shut their opponent down or simply blow they away. The question is if they can keep it up. I chose the  Marlins to win this division, if I was to make my decision now, it would be hard but I would still stick with my gut and go with the Marlins. The Nationals definitely have proven they are no push over and boy did the Mets prove me wrong. The Phillies will be fighting back now that Utley has rejoined the team and of course the Braves offense is not a piece of cake, but I believe the Marlins have the skills to be the best team in this division. They need to put together the right chemistry first and make a transaction or two to bring in more talent, especially in their bullpen. I see this as the closest and most intense division though, it will be a great show come September.

AL Central

White Sox -

Indians 2.5

Tigers 4

Royals 6

Twins 9.5

I said the White Sox would be one of the bottom teams in the league this year, they
have surprised me and many others with their performance on the season. Sale and
Konerko have been the back bone for the team leading them up to the All-Star game.
In my early season predictions, I said the Tigers would have this in bag no problem,
well that is not the case at the time being. Half way through the season and they 
are not where they wanted to be. Now four games is not bad, they are still in the

picture to become a contender. The Indians have been another surprise team as they only trail by 2 1/2 games. Hopefully they can keep this up and stay in the picture for the rest of the season. I think the Royals will have a big come back over the last couple months. They had a slow start but recently have been doing well. With Butler, Hosmer, and their rotation coming through now the Royals have a good shot to get involved with the other contenders. I said the Twins would either kick butt or get destroyed, no doubt they have taken the down side of that and they are only one of the five teams I consider out of contention. Though the Tigers have struggled I think they will make a solid comeback along with the Royals, watch this division come down to three or four teams fighting for the lead in September. 

NL Central

Reds -

Pirates 1

Cardinals 3.5

Brewers 8

Astros 11.5

Cubs 15

The Reds have put together a good combination of pitching and hitting with Cueto and

Votto stepping it up this year. They have only a one game lead, but don't expect them

to be slowing down any time soon as they are only getting healthier and Baker is

under pressure on his fourth season. The Pirates have been good again on the first

half of the year. Last year they could not keep it up after the All-Star break, and I do

not think they will do so yet again this year. McCutchen has been amazing, but it is up 

to McDonald and the rest of their pitching staff to stay hot if they want to stay 
successful. The Cardinals have the bats and the arms, to many of them are chillin on the DL at the time being though. That's why they have lost the lead they held through a big portion of the season. Beltran has been big and Lohse and Lynn have been a good surprise. I said the Reds would take this division and I think that still could happen, but if those Cardinals can keep their numbers up, Berkman and others on the DL could bring them back into the lead. You definitely can't count out the Brewers, Braun has had another amazing year, it all depends if they decide to be buyers or sellers. Don't be surprised if they buy someone like Carlos Lee perhaps in an effort to replace Fielder. The Astros are stuck in a tough position. They starter the season well, but have only been declining for a good while now. They can make an attempt to buy a few players and try to get one of the two wildcard seats, but don't be shocked if they end up selling looking more towards the future. Finally the Cubs, well they recently brought up their prospect but I have counted them out already.

AL West

Rangers -

Angels 6.5

A's 13

Mariners 16.5

The only team I count into the postseason for sure is the Rangers. There is simply no
slowing down their bats, plus Darvish to Oswalt and plenty more in between, they got
plenty of depth in their rotation. Hamilton has had an amazing season and he has got
more than enough offensive support behind him. I said the Angels would take this, but
if I could make a call now, no doubt it would go to the Rangers. I do think the Angels a
are strong contender though and will have one of those two wildcard spots easily now that they have been heating up. It is really difficult to make a call on the A's. They have been performing well, but down by 13 games it is hard to say they have a chance to catch up. The Mariners on the other hand will have to wait til next year to take a stab at the running's, as I see no hope for them this season with injuries and young ages getting in the way.

NL West

Giants -

Dodgers 1

Diamondbacks 4

Rockies 13

Padres 15

The Dodgers held the lead in the west all season, but with the absence of Kemp the
Giants and Diamondbacks have caught up as the Dodgers watched the Giants pass
them up shortly after their big shutout three game series. The Dodgers offense has
no doubt been struggling without their super star. A similar situation to whats going
on with the Rays. It took the Giants two weeks to catch up and pass them up in the
standings. With the arms of Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, and I will toss 
Lincecum in there after his last start against LA, the Giants have been doing really well limiting their opponents enough to let their week offense get the amount of runs necessary to get the wins. Posey and Cabrera have been the only impressive bats supporting their pitchers. The Giants will need more of a support from Sandoval and Pagan, though they have good numbers to be the top team all the way through the rest of the season. Do not count out the Diamondbacks though. They may be going through rough times right now, but they have found some talent in Miley and possibly their new pitcher Bauer. They made a late comeback last season and I wouldn't be surprised if that happened again.  The Rockies and Padres you can simply forget about, they are no longer in the race. But the Dodgers, D-Backs, and Giants will be fighting for the rest of the year. From Cain's perfect game, to Kemp clutch hitting, to the D-Backs depth prepare to see a good race to the finish.