The Oakland Athletics will take the trip north to the Anaheim, where they will battle the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a three game series, starting Monday.  Oakland currently has a one half game lead over the Angels in the AL West, a race which is becoming more and more important everyday as it becomes clear the AL Wildcard will not be coming from the AL West.  This series could really make a big difference within the standings as Seattle and Texas both stand only three games back in the division.  The series also has potential to change dramatically in games two and three, should a trade be made right before the July 31 trading deadline.  It has been rumored that A’s GM Billy Beane has been shopping Barry Zito around to several teams, including the New York Mets.  The Angels have also been rumored in trade talks, supposedly looking to acquire a third baseman.  The A’s are coming off a seven game homestead in which they faced both the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays.  The Angels on the other hand, are coming off a ten game road trip, where they visited Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and Boston.

In game one, Dan Haren of the A’s, will be countered by Ervin Santana of the Angels.  Haren has been shaky of late, lowering his record to 7-9, with a 3.89 ERA.  Santana has been brilliant for the Angels this year, going 11-4, and posting a 4.25 ERA.  The matchup for game two, on Tuesday, will be Joe Blanton (11-8, 4.78 ERA) versus Bartolo Colon (1-5, 5.11 ERA).  Blanton will be looking for his first career win against the Angels, as he currently is 0-4 with a 3.59 ERA, though in two of his losses, he did go all nine innings.  Colon has had an injury filled 2006 season, and is questionable as to whether or not he will even start on Tuesday.  Should Colon be unable to pitch, the Angels would most likely send the lefty Joe Saunders to the mound.  Saunders is 1-0 on the year, with a 1.29 ERA, though he has only pitched seven innings.  The series will be wrapped up on Wednesday, with Esteban Loaiza (4-7, 6.72 ERA) facing off against Kelvim Escobar (7-9, 3.84 ERA).  Loaiza has been a major disappointment for the A’s this year, after being signed to a three year contract in the offseason.  Escobar has also been far from spectacular, though he has been improving lately, winning his last five starts.  Game three definitely has the potential to be a high scoring game, in which the bullpens will be called upon early.

Analysis:  Both teams desperately need the victories to try to get a leg up in the division race, though the Angels seem to have a slight edge on the mound.  That being said, the A’s may be uneasy around the trading deadline, as their GM has made it clear in the past that anyone on the roster is tradable.  Should Zito or another big name player on the A’s roster be traded, the team certainly could show up demoralized and flat for the games.  The Angels will win two of three, and overtake the A’s for first place in the AL West.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have outperformed what most people expected of them at the beginning of the season, now finding themselves only three games back in the NL West, and two in the NL Wildcard race.  The Houston Astros on the other hand are well below where they expect to be within the NL Central, in third place and 10.5 games back, but yet they still find themselves only five games back in the NL Wildcard.  Given the fact that they have historically been a second half team, it is definitely a possibility that when the season ends they could find themselves as the Wildcard team.  The two teams will begin their weekend series on Friday night in Houston.  The weather should not play a factor in this series, as a rain storm is supposed to come in on Friday, lowering the scorching summer temperatures in Houston.

In game one, the Diamondbacks will send Enrique Gonzalez to the hill, with a 3-2 record, and a 4.85 ERA.  The rookie right-hander has shown some improvement as of late, but still has some rookie woes.  Brandon Backe will be returning from the disabled list in his second start since April for the Astros, after a three month recovery from a sprained right elbow.  In his first game back, Backe let up four runs in four innings against the Mets, lowering his record to 1-1 on the year, with a 4.50 ERA.  Juan Cruz (3-5, 4.95 ERA) versus Roy Oswalt (7-7, 3.35 ERA) will be the matchup in game two.  Cruz has had a sub par year for the Diamondbacks so far, only averaging 4.25 innings pitched per game in the month of July.  Oswalt has also underperformed, starting out strong, but only winning one of his last eight games pitched.  The Diamondbacks have yet to announce their starter for the series finale, yet whoever it is will have to face the Astros’ Roger Clemens.  Clemens is 2-4 since coming out of retirement, posting a 2.45 ERA.  Clemens has pitched well this season, as his record does not do him justice.  In his seven starts in 2006, the Astros have only scored 20 runs (2.9 runs/game), and twice have been shutout.  The aging right hander does put some pressure on his bullpen, as his stamina only allows him to pitch five or six innings typically.

Verdict: The two teams are very evenly matched, and should make each of the three games competitive.  The pitching for both teams is not the greatest, though the matchups will be crucial if the two teams wish to remain in their respective races.  Look for the Astros to win two of the three games, with the home field advantage as the deciding factor.

At the beginning of the year, you probably would have expected a July series between the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins would be significant when it came to the race in the National league East.  You would not be entirely wrong with this assumption, that is if you were thinking of the race for second place.  With the New York Mets running away with the division, the Braves find themselves 12.5 games back in second place, and the Marlins 13.5 games back in third place.  The year has been a massive disappointment for both teams, though remarkably they both remain in the hunt for the NL Wildcard, despite their sub-500 record.  The two teams will begin a three game series in Florida on Tuesday.

Game one of the series will feature two young pitchers who have enjoyed some success this season.  Chuck James will go to the mound for the Braves, boasting a 4-0 record, with a 3.72 ERA.  He will be opposed by Anibal Sanchez who has gone 3-0 on the season, with a 3.41 ERA.  Sanchez is coming off back to back shutout performances in two seven inning outings.  James on the other hand has been lit up as of late, but his team has managed to support him enough to earn him two wins.  Game two will include an aging star on the mound, in John Smoltz (7-5, 3.43 ERA) versus a rookie with a bright upside, of Josh Johnson (8-5, 2.49 ERA).  Johnson has been solid this year, going at least five innings in all of his 14 starts, and only allowing three runs or less in 13 of those 14 starts.  The final game of the series will be started by two rookies, in Jason Shiell, of the Braves, and lefty, Scott Olsen of the Marlins.  Shiell was picked up by the Braves in the end of June, after the young 29 year old was shelled by the Cardinals.  Olsen is coming of a game against the Pirates in which he struck out a career high eleven batters.

Verdict:  Both teams are underperforming this year, but the Marlins look to have the advantage on the pitching rubber.  That being said, both teams are very young, and virtually anything could happen in these games.  A blowout is certainly possible for at least one of these games, especially if one of the young pitchers is unable to locate his pitches.  Look for the Marlins to win two of the three games, though in the long run I can’t see either team making a serious run towards the playoffs.

The Boston Red Sox will finish out their West Coast trip by beginning a three game series with the Oakland Athletics on Monday evening.  The Red Sox have split their first two games of the road trip against the Seattle Mariners, with one more game yet to be played.  The Oakland A’s on the other hand will be returning home from a ten game road trip, in which they won three of four against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, including a 15-3 victory and a 8-1 victory.  Both teams currently lead their respective divisions by a slim margin: the A’s are up one game from the Texas Rangers, and the Red Sox are only 2.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees.  Clearly, this series really has the potential to shake up the standings in both divisions.

In game one, Josh Beckett (12-5, 4.78 ERA) will face up against the lefty Barry Zito (10-6, 3.20 ERA).  In Beckett’s last outing against the A’s, he only survived 4 and 1/3 innings, as he let up seven earned runs and eight hits.  Beckett will have to step up his game if the Red Sox wish to stay in the game.  Barry Zito is coming off a great outing where he allowed one run and five hits in seven brilliant innings against the Orioles.  The Red Sox ace, Curt Schilling, will take the mound in game two, opposed by A’s rookie, Jason Windsor.  Schilling has posted a 12-3 record up to this point in the season, and has a 3.50 ERA.  For Windsor, this will be his second career start in the Major Leagues, still looking for his first career victory, after a no decision in his debut.  Game three will feature two pitchers who desperately are looking for a victory as Kyle Snyder of the Red Sox and Dan Haren of the A’s take the mound for their respective teams.  Snyder is looking to prove that he is ready for the big leagues, as he looks to earn his fifth career victory, and third this year.  Haren has been in a bit of a slide lately, not winning since June 14, and posting a 6-9 record on the season.

Verdict: Both teams lead their divisions, though the Red Sox look to be the better team.  The AL East features much tougher competition then the AL West, and the Red Sox look to have the advantage on the mound in this series.  That being said, the A’s are a young and feisty team and will definitely not go down easy when it comes to playing the Red Sox.  The Red Sox will win two of three in this series, though all three games will be good competitive baseball games.

The Yankees have started off the second half of their season on fire, going 5-1 against a good White Sox team, and a solid Mariners team.  The Blue Jays on the other hand have had somewhat of a slower start, squeaking out two wins against the Mariners, and losing two of three against the Rangers, contributing to their 3-3 post-All Star Game record.  This series is meaningful for both teams, as the Blue Jays try to stay in the AL East race, and the Yankees just try to keep up with Boston.  At the moment, the Blue Jays are 5.5 games back of the Red Sox, who are 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees.  With the grand success that the AL Central is currently experiencing, and the fact that the wildcard will almost certainly not come from the East, the division race is becoming more and more heated.  If the Blue Jays were to sweep the series, they would not only take over second place, but they would only be a few games back from the Red Sox.  At the same time, if they were the ones to be swept, they could end up as far as 9.5 games back, which would not be a desirable situation in the middle of July in such a tough division.

The first game of the series may very well be the most important, as both teams send out their aces to the mound.  Roy Halladay has gone 12-2 for the Blue Jays this year, with only a 3.06 ERA.  The Yankees will send Mike Mussina to the hill, with a 11-3 record, and a 3.30 ERA.  Halladay has struggled a bit of late, however a pitcher of his caliber is always someone to be feared in the batters box.  In game two of the series, Jaret Wright (6-5, 4.29 ERA) will face AJ Burnett (1-3, 4.25 ERA) on the mound.  Both pitchers have been inconsistent, and it would be no surprise if this game turned into a high scoring game.  For game three, Chien-Ming Wang (10-4, 3.92 ERA) will battle Ted Lilly (9-8, 3.86 ERA), in a game that very well may follow the pattern of game one, and be a good pitching duel.  Wang is arguably the Yankees most consistent pitcher in 2006, and Lilly has also started to heat up, after a slow start.  For the finale, Sidney Ponson (4-4, 5.26 ERA) and Shaun Marcum (0-0, 4.91 ERA) will pitch for their respective teams.  This will only be Ponson’s second start as a Yankee, after being acquired from the Cardinals.  Marcum will be looking for his first victory this year in only his second career start in the major leagues.

Verdict: The Blue Jays have vastly improved from 2005, but they are not yet in the Red Sox or Yankees category.  This series will officially mark the end of the Blue Jays season, as they will lose 3 of the 4 games, dropping to 8.5 games back, and virtually eliminated from the playoffs right there and then.  The Yankees have been playing solid baseball since the break, and will continue to win these games which they are expected to win.

The heated battle within the A.L. Central continues on Tuesday, as the Chicago White Sox take on the Detroit Tigers, in the first game of a three game series.  The Tigers currently hold a 4.5 game lead in the division, though the White Sox are still leading the wildcard race.  Coming into the game, you definitely have to say the Tigers have the momentum.  The White Sox come off a weekend series with the Yankees, in which they were swept, whereas the Tigers have started off the second half of the season by going 3-1 in a series versus the Royals.  Ozzie Guillen will send Jon Garland to the mound for the White Sox, who is 8-3 on the season, with a 5.37 ERA.  He will be opposed by the lefty Nate Robertson, who is 8-5 with a 3.36 ERA.  The White Sox have had the Tiger’s number this year, posting a 5-1 record against their divisional rival.

This series is crucial for both teams, especially the White Sox who cannot go 7.5 games down in their division, and rely on winning the wildcard, which would mean holding off the Yankees, Red Sox, and any other team which decides to make a run for the playoffs.  However, the Tigers can not take these games easy either, that is unless they feel comfortable with a 1.5 game lead over the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox.  When Garland goes to the mound he will have to make sure of two things if the White Sox want a chance to win.  First, he will have to keep the baseball in the ballpark.  Garland has allowed 19 homeruns this season, averaging one long ball for every 5.7 innings pitched.  Garland will also have to lookout for Chris Shelton, who has gone 3-5 this year against Garland, with a double, a homerun, and 2 RBI.  For the Tigers, the key to winning is to jump on the White Sox early and often.  The White Sox are approaching this series with a playoff mentality, wishing to bounce back from the sweep by the Yankees, but at the same time not overestimating the Tigers.

Verdict: This game will be very close, and competitive to the end, but the Tigers will come out victorious.  The White Sox have been playing awful baseball, and may be able to get by mediocre teams, but when it comes to playing quality teams such as the Yankees and Tigers they have been less than spectacular as of recent.  Look for Nate Robertson to have a good solid outing, and Garland to pitch a decent six or seven innings, but let up a few runs.