By Christopher Reina AL East 1. Boston: The Red Sox are second in the AL in ERA, which has been the cornerstone of their 10 game lead in the East. 2. New York: While the Red Sox are 19-9 against the East, the Yankees have gone 8-17. Their Pythagorean Win-Loss record is 49-36, which only puts them behind Boston and Detroit, but losing close games is a trademark of underachieving teams. They are 18-12 over their past 30 games and despite being a long shot in the Wild Card, the playoffs are within reach. 3. Toronto: Alex Rios has had the kind of season they were hoping to receive from Vernon Wells. The injury to Reed Johnson, who has now returned, set them back. But the pitching that looked so good on paper has been disappointing. Halladay and Burnett each have ERAs over 4.00. 4. Baltimore: Erik Bedard has been a success story for the Orioles, but Daniel Cabrera has been awful. Miguel Tejada is now hurt and wasn?t putting up a Tejada-like year. We have come accustomed to the Orioles at least scoring a lot of runs, but they haven?t in 2007, as they rank 12th in the AL. 5. Tampa Bay: The Devil Rays have heaps of talent on offense, but their pitching ranks dead last in all of major league baseball. Scott Kazmir has struggled, while James Shields has become their young ace. Carlos Pena is delivering on his early promise, while Delmon Young and B.J. Upton have been terrific, while Carl Crawford is his usual All-Star self, but few other bright spots exist. AL Central 1. Detroit: The Tigers and Indians will battle it out all summer long, but I expect the boys from Motown to win the AL Central. Both teams allow 4.7 runs per game, but Detroit?s offense is a juggernaut, scoring 6 runs per contest. They are 20-10 leading into the break. 2. Cleveland: No team in baseball is better against teams over .500 than the Indians, as they have posted a 23-16 record against such foes. C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona have been amazing for the Tribe, while Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez have been carrying their offense. Barring a historical charge from the Yankees, the Indians will be returning to the postseason. 3. Minnesota: Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter have kept the Twins within striking distance while Joe Mauer has been on the shelf. Despite having a rough start here and there, Johan Santana has a 2.75 ERA. Where would they be if Francisco Liriano was healthy? 4. Chicago: No team in the AL has struggled to score runs like the White Sox. What is surprising about this team that looks fairly talented on paper is that they are even worse than what their record indicates. 5. Kansas City: The first half of the Royals? season has to be considered a success by their standards. They are 17-13 heading into the break, thanks in large part to the pitching of Gil Meche and Brian Bannister. Alex Gordon struggled mightily in April and May, but had an .883 OPS in June. AL West 1. Los Angeles: The Angels are just 2.5 games up on the Mariners, but there is little doubt that they are the superior club. The Angels have gotten out to 53 wins before the All-Star break, despite receiving only 6 from Bartolo Colon, who has a staggering 6.44 ERA. John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar have been brilliant, while Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera are carrying the offense. They are rock solid in every category and even though they could use another bat, they will be on top of the AL West in late September. 2. Oakland: The A?s have struggled to score runs and limp into the break, but the quality of their starting rotation should carry them into one of their typical second half surges. 3. Seattle: The Mariners have been a huge surprise, but I expect them to fade as the summer wears on. Their Pythagorean Win-Loss record is 44-41, which is worse than many of the other Wild Card contenders. They have been just good enough offensively and defensively and have done well in one-run games. 4. Texas: The Rangers? starting rotation has been downright dreadful. They all have ERAs over 5.00, while Millwood and Padilla are both over 6.00. There have been very few bright spots in Arlington this year outside of their solid bullpen. NL East 1. New York: The Mets have a tight two-game lead despite a host of injuries in their outfield and no sighting of Pedro Martinez. Pedro is due back soon and they will separate themselves from the Phillies and Braves by early August. Their 13-17 record over the past 30 games, however, is undoubtedly a cause for concern. 2. Philadelphia: The Phillies have a monster lineup, as they lead the NL in runs scored. As is always the case with the Citizens Bank Ballpark Phillies, their downfall is on the mound. Their team ERA is 4.95, worst in the entire NL. If they can string together a few starts from someone not named Cole Hamels, then the Phllies can make a serious charge at the Mets and at the Wild Card. It's a sucker's bet, but I believe this will be the season the Phillies reach October. 3. Atlanta: The Braves will stick around like only they know how. Andruw Jones has picked it up so far in July and if he can get hot through the summer, the Braves will stay afloat. More importantly, how long will John Smoltz be shelved? 4. Florida: It seems like the second half of every season is when the Marlins make a charge, no matter who is on the team or what their payroll amounts to. Dontrelle Willis could be shopped, which won?t be too devastating to their bottom line, since he has a 4.72 ERA this season. Sergio Mitre has been their best pitcher, posting a 2.85 ERA. Their lineup is truly one of the most exciting in the game, highlighted by Hanley Ramirez (.331, 14 HRs, 70 runs, 27 stolen bases) and Miguel Cabrera (.324, 61 RBIs). 5. Washington: The Nationals are the least talented team in the National League. Ryan Zimmerman has been disappointing this season, while Dmitri Young is their lone All-Star representative. NL Central 1. Chicago: Over the past 30 games, the Cubs have the best record in the NL. Despite a poor start, they are clicking on all cylinders. Their ace, Carlos Zambrano, is the only starter with an ERA outside the 3?s. Zambrano had a 2.53 ERA in June. 2. Milwaukee: The Brewers are one of the great stories of the first half, but which version of the Brew Crew is really them? Is it the one that went 16-9 and and 17-9 in April and June or is it the 14-15 team of May and the 2-6 team of July? It seems to depend on who they are playing, as they are 16-24 against teams with records of .500 or better. Milwaukee?s starters, outside of the oft-injured Ben Sheets, all have ERA?s over 4.50. 3. St. Louis: The Anthony Reyes we saw last October is far different than the 6.40 ERA one we are seeing this season. The monster season Albert Pujols put up last season is nowhere to be found, which is why they are 13th in the NL in runs scored. 4. Houston: Hunter Pence has been a great story and Carlos Lee has been worth every penny, but it hasn?t resulted in a whole lot of wins for the Astros. They are 10.5 games back and do not appear capable of a second half charge. 5. Pittsburgh: Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell have both had All-Star seasons, but Jason Bay has been very mediocre and they are 14th in runs scored. 6. Cincinnati: The Reds are better than their 36-52 record, but are far too buried to make a run at becoming contenders. They are excellent at scoring runs, but they are equally adept at giving them up. Their team ERA is 4.78, 15th in the NL. They also appear eager to ship out Adam Dunn, which won?t help their run output. NL West 1. San Diego: The Padres are just two games up in the loss column over the Dodgers, but have a significantly better Pythagorean Win-Loss record (53-34 vs. 48-41). Jake Peavy and Chris Young are the best 1-2 punch in the game right now, with ERAs of 2.19 and 2.00 respectively. Their lineup has been adequate, but could use a big bat to do damage in the postseason. 2. Los Angeles: Russell Martin has been their most productive hitter this season, which says more about the lackluster seasons from Nomar Garciappara and Jeff Kent than it does the great young catcher. James Loney is now their everyday first baseman and has been producing far better than Wilson Betemit. The Jason Schmidt injury has hurt them and they will need performances like the July 1st outing against the Padres from Chad Billingsley. 3. Colorado: The Rockies are 17-13 over their past 30 games, as they remain one of the steadier teams in baseball. 4. San Francisco: The Giants have been one of the streakiest teams in the MLB this season, with winning and losing streaks of 8 games. They are 3rd in the NL in team ERA, but 15th in runs scored. Their starting rotation will continue to keep them in games, but will their offense begin to manufacture more runs? 5. Arizona: If there is one team who has overachieved and also is projecting downwards, it is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Their Pythagorean Win-Loss record is 41-49, worse than the Giants 43-43 and Colorado?s 43-45. They are 11-19 over the past 30 games and injuries to an old pitching staff should result in this team finishing up in the NL West cellar.