The All-Star Break has come and gone and first half of the season has expired. And for many teams, that means it?s time for the fun to begin ? for others, it?s time to pack up the bags and look forward to next season. Trade rumors are heating almost as much as the division races ? this is what Major League Baseball is all about. And in a year when home-field advantage could prove meaningless due to the sheer AL-dominance in inter-league play, the question on everybody?s mind is what this year?s playoff-picture will look like. So, in the spirit of that picture, let me give you an artist?s rendition. Let?s start with the losers ? close-but-no-cigar ? the middle of the food-chain. First-and-foremost, the New York Yankees. It?s quite simple. They are too old. Injuries and a poor pitching staff make them the easy pick for falling-out-of-contention. Matsui?s starting his rehabilitation, but how effective will he be? He wasn?t playing well before the injury (.261 AVG), how can he be expected to play well while nursing a broken wrist? Gary Sheffield is on-the-shelf, his season a disaster, injured off-and-on ? we can count him out of a playoff-race. The Yankees are still wondering what they paid for in Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright ? not to mention a fading Randy Johnson. And now, they?re All-Star second baseman, Robinson Cano, the only star-quality-youth left on their roster joins the ever-expanding club on the DL. But this finish was foreseen years ago with the Yankee management and ownership of recent. This just isn?t the year for the Yankees. The run was great ? quite frankly, I?m surprised it lasted this long ? but, alas, the second-half of the season will show the real Detroit Tigers. Kenny Rogers, this year?s AL All-Star starting pitcher, has never been a second-half performer. We?re talking about a guy who was 10-4 with a 2.54 ERA pre-All-Star break last year. After a heavily-publicized incident with a camera operator and the ordeal that followed, Rogers finished the season 4-4 with a 4.72 ERA; and his team, which came out of the All-Star break above .500 (46-40 on July 11th), followed Rogers, finishing the season 4-games under .500 at 79-83. Now some will be quick to point out that the Rangers weren?t as good of a team as the Tigers are now ? but, truth-be-told, the AL West wasn?t as competitive as the AL Central is now. And post-All-Star breakdowns aren?t a new development for Rogers; in 2004, he was 12-3 with a 4.21 ERA pre-All-Star break, and 6-6 with a 5.46 ERA post. In 2002, he was 9-5 with a 3.57 ERA pre, and 4-3 with a 4.16 ERA post. Oh, and that?s not even considering that Rogers is now 41 ? he will undoubtedly be feeling the wear-and-tear of the season in the second-half. Next is the often-injured, always-unreliable Magglio Ordonez ? who hasn?t played in more than 83 games in an entire season since 2003, and if 2004 is anything of a sign of what?s-to-come, a season in which he had 54 hits pre-All-Star break and 5 post, things aren?t looking to good for Tiger?s hitters either. Let?s face it: Pudge just isn?t the Pudge of old, he can now be categorized in the large-class of aging catchers past-his-prime ? yet another second-half underachiever, batting .292 in the first-half, .252 in the second-half of 2005 and .369, .284 in the first and second halves of 2004, respectively. Even the 25-year-old Chris Shelton is fitting in with his teammates as a one-month-wonder and second-half failure (.345 pre, .279 post in ?05). Better luck next year, Tigers. The slouch of the West? That?s a tough one, considering how poorly the teams have been playing, but I?m going to have to go with the Seattle Mariners. They?ve had a good first-half under their-own standards; however, I expect them to fall back to mediocrity now that they are back playing in the AL. I point at their lack of starting, middle-relief, and now, closing pitching as the root of their dismay. Felix Hernandez isn?t what everyone hopes he will be, yet. So, if not the Tigers or Yankees ? who?s my Wild Card pick? The Minnesota Twins. Two words: Francisco Liriano. He?s finally received the All-Star-spot that he deserved, and now the top of the Twins? pitching rotation are the two most intimidating pitchers in the MLB. With some new-found offense, Joe Mauer hitting in the .380?s, and Justin Morneau on pace for 50+ home runs, which will make him the first Twin to hit more than 30 homers since 1984 (coincidentally, their last World Series win) ? Minnesota has the total package. And consider that their owner 3-billion-dollar owner, Carl Pohlad, was born three years after the Titanic sunk, making him 90-going-on 91; if Pohlad wants to see a World Series for his team before his time is up, I wouldn?t be surprised to see him make a few moves before the trade-deadline. Finally, the division winners: The Boston Red Sox, with three viable MVP candidates in David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Jonathan Papelbon. The Chicago White Sox, with one of the most powerful offenses in the game to compliment the most complete 5-man rotation. And the Texas Rangers, who, with the addition of Adam Eaton into their rotation when he comes back from injury ? and a potentially devastating offense, will find themselves on top of a leaden AL West. In the NL, the New York Mets have just run-away with the East, and with a lackluster Atlanta Braves pitching staff, the reign of the Braves may soon be over. In the central, I expect the St. Louis Cardinals to hold onto first. And everyone?s pick in the NL seems to be the Los Angeles Dodgers, with a rejuvenated Nomar Garciaparra and a healthy Brad Penny (also an All-Star starting pitcher), expect the Dodgers to take-hold of the NL West. In the Wild Card, the Cincinnati Reds will be in a tight-race, but will ultimately pull-out on top with the acquisition of Eddie Guardado, who, at the very-least, improves their bull-pen. My NL Snubs? The San Diego Padres will be left in the dust. Brian Giles has been less-than-extraordinary this year (.269, 6 HR, 46 RBI) and Jake Peavy (4-8, 4.46 ERA, 116 K?s) simply can?t hold this pitching staff together by himself. Even in a weak NL West, the Padres won?t be able to hold on. In the Central, I look to the Houston Astros ? who, this time last year, found themselves a massive 11.5 games-back in the NL Central, before making an amazing run and finding themselves in the World Series. Ladies-and-gentlemen, Roger Clemens (1-2, 2.82 ERA) isn?t enough to jolt this team into the playoffs. Even if he matched last year?s second-half totals of 6-5, 2.42 ERA, the pitiful 6 wins which he would provide will not be enough to earn the Astros another Wild Card spot. Looking towards the League Championship Series for the AL and NL, I expect to see the Boston Red Sox pull out a 6-game series-victory over the Chicago White Sox due to a more powerful offense which could include Bobby Abreu in the near future and a dominating top-of-the-rotation in Curt Schilling (10-3, 3.60 ERA), Josh Beckett (11-4, 4.75 ERA), and rookie Jon Lester (4-0, 3.06 ERA). And in the NL, a 5-game series-victory for the New York Mets over the St. Louis Cardinals for the simple fact that the Cardinals have a major lack of pitching strength, especially after Mark Mulder?s self-destruction. The World Series, ironically, is the easiest pick of them all ? given the AL dominance, and Boston?s sweep of the Mets in inter-league play, the Boston Red Sox will enjoy another World Series sweep, their second in three years. Clutch-hitting, power-pitching, and the lack of the New York Yankees will allow the Red Sox to crush what is left of the curse. Simply put, the Mets will be over-matched. But, like any other picture, this is simply a compilation of the artist?s deepest emotion, logic and expression ? a perfect environment for the artist. To the viewer, as the proverb goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. [email protected]