With six weeks left in the regular season, I thought it was time to play odds maker and break down the teams remaining in the playoffs races. First off, I'm declaring the races in the American and National League Central to be over and awarding the titles to the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. In the American League East, it is once again a two horse race between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Both teams can hit with anybody in baseball, so this race will go deep into September and be decided by pitching. While neither team is deep in this regard, I give the nod to Boston because of the possibility of Curt Schilling returning to the rotation and more quality arms at the back end of the rotation. The American League West has the best race in baseball with the Oakland A's and the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim taking part in an old fashion Wild, Wild West Showdown. Both teams are balanced with hitting and pitching, which is why I think these are the two best teams in the league. This race will come down to the last week in September when the Angels come to Oakland for a four game series. Starting pitching usually comes to the forefront in these kinds of series, and Oakland has the advantage in this department, which means a division title for the Moneyballers. Based on previous statements above, the Angels hold the best odds of winning the AL Wild Card. So while the Angels and A's battle for the division, the loser can take some solace in the fact that the Wild Card is theirs for the taking. Challengers are the Yankees and the Indians, but both teams have too many holes to make the late season charge necessary to overtake the Angels. Switching over to the National League, the first race that has to be discussed is the National League East. The Braves have owned this division since its inception and this year will be no different. While the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins will provide stiff competition, the Braves should wrap this division up in time to set their playoff rotation. In the National League West, it is the survival of the fittest. However, in the end, I think the Arizona Diamondbacks will pull through and win the division. This is the shakiest pick because all of the teams in the division are very inconsistent, which leads to no team pulling away from the pack. Arizona has a good line-up on their side with Tony Clark and Troy Glaus, as well as an underrated bullpen, which should push them past San Diego in the coming weeks. The Wild Card this year in the National League is what its name implies, wild. With five teams within four games of each other, it is still probably too close to call, but I think the Astros will pull it out in the end. Houston has the pitching to win, but the question is their bats. The other contenders, which happen to be the rest of the National League East, all have significant holes in their resumes, so the Astros will gain the Wild Card berth. They will either clinch it late if their bats don't wake up or they will seal the spot in mid-September if their offense heats up during that time.