THE SECOND HALF

SPORTS NEWS AND COMMENTARY

As reported in our last article, the second half of the 2009 Major League Baseball season begins in earnest today, so here is a quick look at the standings and a few projects to the weeks ahead.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
The Boston Red Sox lead three games ahead of the New York Yankees, closely followed by the Tampa Bay Rays (who cannot be counted out, especially during home games), with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles not mathematically out of the running.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
The Detroit Tigers have a 3.5 game lead over the Chicago White Sox, with the Minnesota Twins just a half game behind them. But the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians are not out of the picture yet.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
The Angels (by whatever name you care to call them) have a 1.5 game over the Texas Rangers, who only have a 2.5 game lead over the Seattle Mariners. But the Oakland Athletics are still in the competition.

My personal predictions...
The Boston Red Sox represent the East in the playoffs. The Central division is too close to call right now, and the Texas Rangers will come from behind to win the West, with either the Angels or the Yankees becoming the wild card.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
The Philadelphia Phillies have a four game lead over the Florida Marlins with the Atalanta Braves two games behind them. Meanwhile the New York Mets are only a half game behind Atlanta and while not yet officially mathematically eliminated, I would not make any plans on buying play off tickets for the Washington Nationals.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
The Saint Louis Cardinals have a 2.5 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers, who have a one game lead over the third place tied Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs; with the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates close behind.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a seven game lead over the San Francisco Giants, who have a two game lead over the Colorado Rockies. While not mathematically eliminated yet, I would not make any post season plans for the Arizona Diamondbacks or the San Diego Padres either.

My personal predictions...
The Phillies and Marlins duke it out for the East, but the Braves could play spoilers and go to the playoffs instead. Meanwhile the Central is definitely too close to call right now and barring anything unforeseen, the Dodgers will win the West. And because of the uncertainty in the East and Central divisions, the wild card is unknown at this time.

But remember, anything can happen between now and the end of the regular season, yet isn't that part of the fun that is baseball?