MLB Baseball - All-Star Break and Beyond

The Major Leagues are at the All-Star Break as the mid summer classic takes place in Kansas City tonight.

The All-Stars from both the National and American Leagues will go at it and then it is on to the second half of the baseball season.
The surprises have not been lacking this season as the Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox lead their respective divisions in the pennant races.
Disappointing teams include the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, which are at or near the bottom of the standings in their division races. The Tigers have shown some life lately and trail the ChiSox by just 3 1/2 games at the break.
The New York Yankees continue to roll along in the American League East division, even though they have pitching issues due to injuries to Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and C.C. Sabathia.
The Yankees have the largest division lead of any of the six leaders (seven games ahead of the surprising Baltimore Orioles) while the Texas Rangers lead the AL West, four games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels.
The National League East leading Nationals have the best record in the senior circuit and the Pirates hold a slim one game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central. In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have rebounded from their struggles to retake first place at the break, one-half game ahead of the surging San Francisco Giants.
Looking ahead, the Phillies have to be counted out in the National League as they have had numerous struggles and injuries in the 2012 season. Looks like their five year run of NL East titles is over.

The Nationals have been solid all season and their young pitching staff, led by Stephen Strasburg, continues to hum along atop the standings.
In fact, the Nationals may have what it takes to get to the World Series this fall. 
The Pirates are a good mix of veterans and youth and manager Clint Hurdle has them believing in themselves to this point, though the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are formidable foes who will be there until the end of the season.
The Giants should hold off the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks in the West.
 Back in the American League, it should come down to Texas and the New York Yankees this post-season.
However, the Chicago White Sox, under first year manager Robin Ventura, have been right at the top of the standings from the beginning.
The White Sox are a gritty group with solid pitching and a powerful middle of the lineup, especially with the addition of Kevin Youkilis to go with Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Alex Rios.
The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians won't go away in the second half, so the Sox will have to continue to grind it out and get the pitching if they want to return to the post-season for the first time in four years.
The Rangers should emerge from the West, as they will battle the Angels throughout the second half.
The picks here at the beginning of the season were Detroit and Philadelphia in the Fall Classic... well, it's time for an adjustment and the pick is the Washington Nationals and the Texas Rangers in the World Series with the Rangers finally getting the championship trophy in their third attempt.
We will see, but for now let's enjoy tonight's All Star Game and then it is on to the second half of the season.
Play Ball!