We're Halfway There...

Baseball has reached the midway point of the grueling 162-game season, and with that, I figure this is my blog, I'm going to make a few predictions. Kind of like a "if the season were to end today..." sorta' thing. Off we go.

Postseason baseball is one of the most amazing things on this planet, other than postseason hockey and Reese's Klondike bars. From the American League, I would give the division titles to the Red Sox, Tigers and Rangers, with the Yankees falling just short of the AL East and snagging the Wild Card spot. I think when the Red Sox return to full health again, they will roll just as good as they have under those circumstances. The Tigers, led by Verlander and Cabrera will keep it close, but squeak by in the Central, and the AL West winner is like the idiot kid brother that is there because Mom made the other three bring him along, even though the Rangers did make it to the Fall Classic last year, no big deal.

For the National League: The Phillies will run away with the East, the Brewers' bats will stay hot enough in the Central, and the Posey-less Giants will take the West, with the Braves securing another playoff berth, their first without Bobby Cox at the helm.

For the awards, I think the MVP honors should belong to Adrian Gonzalez of the Red Sox, and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers. Gonzalez is leading the majors in home runs and RBI while sitting in the driver's seat of Boston's offense, and shows no signs of slowing down. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun may have a better case given the team he plays for, but over the past few years Matt Kemp has been stomping doors down making himself a household name on a subpar ball club. Kemp is in the NL's top 6 in batting average, runs, RBI, stolen bases and leads the league in home runs with 22, all despite playing in a 10-games under .500 bankrupt organization.

As far as the Cy Young awards go, there's no need to even argue. Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Roy Halladay with the Phillies. Both have 10 wins, 120+ strikeouts, ERAs under 2.40, and WHIPs under 1.05. Game, set, match.

Disagree if you want, but stick around til October and let's see what happens.

YOU WON A MILLION BUCKS! YOU WON A MILLION BUCKS! YOU WON A MILLION BUCKS!

For a second there, Drew seems way more excited that she is. Just the pure astonishment when she gets it on the first guess, then the clock check before he loses his mind and starts pointing at her yelling. Amazing. And if that Million Dollar Spectacular isn't enough for you, here's two more classic moments.

Wait til 0:48...and don't let the confetti scare you like it does him.


Lastly, it all goes down at 0:40. Next time I do anything worth celebrating, my moves are going to be eerily similar to his.

Sox Pull the E-Brake -- Stop Skid vs Phillies

Terry Francona earned his 700th victory with the Boston Red Sox this afternoon in Citizen's Bank Park, as the Sox beat down the Phillies, 5-2.

Boston finished the month of June with a 16-9 record, after starting out 12-2 but now stumbling into July. Mike Cameron was designated for assignment before the game, with Yamaico Navarro getting the call to the Show. The infielder was called up to give the Sox some breathing room while Kevin Youkilis heals up from a foul ball off the foot the other night.

Jon Lester was lights out, going 7 innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, no runs allowed and 5 K's. His battery mate Jason Varitek led the offense with 2 solo home runs, batting 5th today in an always-confusing interleague lineup.

Sox are traveling to Houston to take on the Astros, last place in the NL Central with a 28-53 record. Given the way they've played against the Pirates and Padres, the Sox could be in for another struggle, but hopefully they can start out July like they did June and stay hot this summer.