Signor Baseball's Mid-Season Update

Well, as Al Pacino was heard to shout, repeatedly, in Heat, "whadda ya got?"

Out in the NL West, your Arizona Diamondbacks, where it should be noted that Randy Kendrick, the wife of principal owner Ken Kendrick, just loves her some Koch Bros to death*, are better than I thought they'd be. Especially with that starting pitching. They also have a couple of legitimate young stars. The San Diego Padres are not nearly as good as I thought they'd be. Pitching problems here, too. And they brought in a bunch of talent that just doesn't fit together. Colorado is in last, where they belong, and so once again it's Dodgers vs Giants. Ho hum. The only question is which round of the playoffs will Clayton Kershaw fail in this time?

In the Central, the Cardinals are starting to come back to the pack a little. The Pirates look like they have enough pitching to stay with St. Louis the rest of the way, and at the very least grab a Wild Card. In Cutch we Trust. The Cubs are still a year away. And both Cincinnati and Milwaukee are major disappointments. Look for fire sales soon from the Reds and Brewers...

In the East, Washington is by far the strongest team. But since they haven't really won anything yet, it's hard to pick them to go all the way to the Series. The Mets have great pitching and very little offense, the Braves always find a way to hang around, and the Marlins still have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of young talent and probably the worst owner in MLB. And that's saying something. Overall, however, it looks like this is the Nationals' division to win or lose. Finally, in the City of Brotherly Love, the poor Phillies will have a "going out of business sale" very soon. Pray that your team gets Cole Hamels.

In the AL West, Seattle and Oakland have underperformed so far. That Robinson Cano contract is starting to look like a disaster for the Mariners, even sooner than predicted. But since Houston (!) is starting to fade, (sorry end-timers, but I think you'll have to "wait until next year" for that Astros vs Cubs World Series that was prophesied in the Book of Revelations), Texas is mediocre at best, and despite Trout and Pujols putting up huge numbers, Los Angeles isn't that good, should either team play just a little bit better, they'll be right back in the race.

In the Central, Cleveland and Chicago are the Cincinnati and Milwaukee of the American League. Fortunately, they haven't dug quite as deep holes. So, win a series here and there and there's still hope. Unless, of course, the Royals play .600 ball the rest of the way. The surprising Twins are short of pitching and should fade over the next few weeks. And Detroit has way too much talent to not be in the race until the bitter end. Unless, of course, the Royals play .600 ball the rest of the way.

Finally in the East, the Yankees may be in first place, but every team still has a shot at winning this division. There are no superior pitching staffs, each team is flawed in some serious way, and even the Red Sox, who sucked for the first two and a half months, aren't out of it. It's beginning to look like a "decided the last weekend" kind of year. There might even be a Wild Card team from the East, based on how the other divisions are muddling along.

*Where would we be without really stupid rich people to keep us entertained? Nowhere, mon frere!