Wow. That’s all I can say about the All-Star Game.

15 innings? Are you kidding me?

Bud Selig (the MLB Commissioner) must have done something to anger the baseball gods. Back in 2002 the game ended in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. The fans were upset and the shock waves causes Selig to proclaim that there would never be another tie. To ensure that, Selig declared that the winning side will have homefield advantage in the World Series. Well, it almost all blew-up on Tuesday night.

The game went 15 innings and was finally won by the AL on a sac fly. But as the game wore on, the pitchers for each side were pushed to the limit. Brad Lidge, the ace closer for the Philadelphia Phillies threw a ton or pitches and he won’t be available now until the weekend for the Phillies (probably). So what does Philadelphia do now if they’re in a close game befroe Lidge is ready to go.

Then starting pitchers, Scott Kazmir and Brandon Webb, had just recently pitched and they were about to be called on to pitch. That would have caused undo stress on their arms and would’ve made it difficult for both men to make their next start.

In the end, it could’ve been a lot worse, but it was bad enough. And what happened last night has to have Selig wondering if he needs to make further changes. Perhaps putting another 3 pitchers and 2 position players on each team will solve those problems.

Before we get into Tuesday’s night game and which team I think will win. First I want to spend a couple minutes talking about the Homerun Derby from last night. Justin Morneau won it but Josh Hamilton was clearly the star.

As all the other participants in the Derby were struggling to hit 6 or 8 homers, Hamilton stepped to the plate and ripped 28 homers in the opening round. It was one bomb after another after another after another. It was unbelievable.

Somewhere in the middle of watching it all, it seemed unreal. I mean he was hitting bombs out so easily that I began to question if the fences had been moved in a couple hundred feet or if the ball had been replaced by an oversized golf ball. It looked that easy. But with that bat speed and the sweet swing, how could it not look easy?

Hamilton has overcome a lot in his life and he is a success story just be making it back to the Majors. But all baseball fans can’t help but wonder what might be today if Hamilton never got mixed up with the wrong crowd. We’d probably being talking that Hamilton just might be the best ball player ever. Seriously.

Now, as for tonight’s game, the American league is clearly better than the National league. Anyone who wants to debate that point can see my post from a few weeks ago. But does that mean the AL will win? No, it doesn’t. But I still think the AL will win comfortably. And it isn’t because the AL has better teams than the AL. Overall, the AL has better pitching and hitting too.

Plus this game is being played in an AL park where more AL players are familiar. And, although this is just the All Star Game, you can expect the New York fans to be pretty rowdy. To me, it all adds up to an 8-2 win for the AL. We shall see…

Well, we’ve reached the unofficial midway mark of the baseball season. Actually all the teams have played more than half their games - most teams are somewhere around the 95 game mark. Looking at the standings, there are some surprises.

Looking at the AL East, if we would’ve said that the Rays would be just a half game out of first place then I think Rays fans (if there is such a creature) would’ve taken it. Yet, they have to be disappointed that the Rays went on a 7 game losing slide going into the Break and let a 4 game lead slip away. Now the Red Sox are where they believe they belong. We’ll see if the Rays use this Break to get back on track or if sitting on a 7 game losing streak just makes everything worse.

The AL Central is heating up. The Twins had a great series in Detroit and took three of four from the Tigers. So the Twins now trail the Chicago White Sox by just a game and a half. And don’t forget about the Tigers who sit 7 games back. The Tigers have been bitten by the injury bug. Inge, Cabrera, Ordonez, Zumaya, Bonderman, Willis, Rodney, Renteria, Sheffield, and Granderson have all missed significant time this season. Bonderman is gone for th season and Willis is trying ot throw strikes down in Florida at the Tigers’ Single A affiliate, but the rest of the players look like they might be opn the field together for the first time in a very long time. And the Tigers have managed to play .500 ball. If they can stay healthy…

In the AL West the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles in California within the US look like sure bets to win the division. But the Oakland As may threaten and the Texas Rangers are a solid team too. In the NL West - all the teams are horrible. They’re all below .500 at the Break.

The NL Central is highlighted by the Chicago Cubs. They might be the best team in baseball. The Cubbies are being chased by two other really good teams - the Milwaukee Brewers and the St Louis Cardinals. This is a great division within a league that is poor at best.

In the NL East there are a few mediocre teams that promise to make this a greta race. The Phillies lead the division followed by the Mets (half a game back), the Marlins (a game a half back), and the Braves (six and a half back). The Mets have to be lovin how they’re playing baseball right now. And despite a bad start, they are right where they want to be.

So that’s how the races shake out right now. Enjoy the All-Star Game on Tuesday night and the Homerun Derby on Monday night. Next post I’ll give you a winner for the All-Star Game.

As we close in on the All-Star Break there are a couple teams that wish the Break wouldn’t come. The Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox are winning games in bunches while the teams in front of them (the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays) are losing games in bunches. If there were justa little more time before the Break then both the Twins and the Red Sox may very well sit in first place anyway.

After the Rays started out on fire and stayed on fire for the first 80+ games of the season they’ve suddenly cooled off. Not only have they cooled off but they are sub zero. They can’t even win one game - not even against lowly Cleveland. The Rays have lost six straight games and they are clinging to a half game lead in the American league East.

In the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox won on Saturday but they’re still only a game and a half ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Three Twins have won three time in Detroit (More bad times in Tiger land.) by a single run each time. The Twins are just a game and a half behind the White Sox. So the Twins will be in second place heading into the Break but they have to feel good about their chances, especially since they’ve put a lot of space between themselves and third place Detroit.

Finally, over in the National league, the Chicago Cubs are clearly the best team in the league and possibly in all of baseball. Lou Pinella has this team playing great baseball. They are playing over .600 ball - the only team to be above that mark. This has all baseball fans asking: Could this be the year the Cubs break the curse? It just might be.

The Tampa Bay Rays have seemingly passed every test that’s been thrown their way so far this season, but they are in the middle of one of their biggest tests right now, and so far they aren’t doing so well.

The Rays have been the best team in baseball in the first half of the season. Their play has earned them first place in the American league East. It earned them the best record in all of baseball. But as we approach the All-Star Break, suddenly the Rays are having trouble just winning a game.

What once looked like a sure thing for the Rays to be in first place the the Break suddenly isn’t quite so certain. In fact, the Boston Red Sox have closed the gap to a measly game and a half. The Red Sox have won three straight games while the Rays have lost four straight.

Could this be the collapse that so many cynics have been predicting all year? It might just be.

But the Rays do have the All-Star Break coming and that might be a good thing… but then again it might be a bad thing too.

The Break could give the Rays a chance to regroup and to get their legs back under them. It could allow them to refocus and to gather themselves for the rest of the July and then August and then September. Or it might have the opposite effect.

The Break may give the Rays time to think about how well they’ve played all season up until just before the break. And it will allow the standings to stare them in the face - despite all their greatness, and despite the Red Sox’s injuries - the division is still very close.

So will the Rays pass this their biggest test yet? Only time will tell. But this weekend against the Cleveland Indians (the lowly Indians) will help or hurt them a lot.

As the baseball season keeps chugging along, races in every division (except one) are getting tighter and tighter. The only division that I’m ready to declare a winner in is the American league West. While there is still a lot of baseball left to be played, it seems that the Oakland A’s have pretty much conceded the division to the Anaheim Angels. I know the A’s wanted to get something of value from one of their best pitchers and that’s why they traded Haren to the Cubs, but still, they let one of their best pitcher’s go. Now they find themselves 5 games back and with a much less talented team.

In all the other divisions I’m not ready to give any one team an edge. In the AL East it looks like either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Boston Red Sox will win the division. However, let’s not count out the New York Yankees just yet.

In the AL Central the Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins are sitting one and two in the division. But the Detroit Tigers can’t be counted out yet. The Tigers have been playing good ball and they’ll have a chance to make up major ground on the Twins when they host them for 4 games this weekend.

In the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies or the Florida Marlins or the New York Mets could all win the division. Luckily for the bottom teams in the division the Phillies aren’t playing great ball either. So even the Atlanta Braves (at 5 games under .500) have a shot to win the division.

In the NL Central there is a great race going on. The Chicago Cubs are the strongest team in the NL. The Cubbies are followed by the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. All three of these teams are very solid.

Then in the NL West, it’s anyone’s division. This entire division is pathetic. So any team could win it and I’m not sure any baseball fan cares unless they live in a NL West city.

So the races are looking very good as we move along in the season. We’re about to start the final series before the All-Star Break and things are looking exciting.