At the All-Star Break.....

If the old aphorism holds true, you know, the one about the teams in first place at the All-Star Break * will win the pennants, then it looks like a playoff season featuring the Reds, Braves, Padres, and Rockies in the NL and the Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, and Rays in the AL.

Interesting. I don't think a lot of people had the Reds and Padres as contenders going into the season.

Questions/observations:

Can the Reds hold on or will the St. Looie LaRussas overtake them?
Will the Phillies make a run at the Braves...and the Mets?
Only 4 games separate four teams in the NL West.
Do the Red Sox have what it takes to overtake the Yanks and/or the Rays?
The third place Red Sox' record would have them in first place in four of the other five divisions.
Are there enough cigarettes in Detroit for Jim Leyland to overtake the Pale Hose?

As for the Pirates, wow, what a road trip to lead into the All-Star Break. They now sit at 30-58, and only one game ahead of the Orioles for the worst record in baseball and the chance for the #1 pick in next year's entry draft. They are on pace to finish at 55-107. No one expected this crew to be a .500 team, but, be honest now, did you ever think that they would be THIS bad?

For the remaining 78 games, they need to go....

-- 51-23 to finish at .500 (OK, stop laughing now!)
-- 33-41 to avoid 100 losses
-- 21-53 to avoid the 112 loss season of the awful 1952 team

As for the "second season" of 84 games that began on July 1 (see my earlier post on this), the team now stands at 3-7, thanks to that abomination of a road trip to Houston and Milwaukee.

But take heart - Brian Bixler is now back in the Pirates organ-eye-zation. Let us hope to God that he was obtained solely for the purpose of playing at Indianapolis. Seriously, if GM Opie ever brings Bixler back to play as a Pirate, that would be the ultimate slap in the face to the Pirates fan base. I think I'd rather see Jeromy Burnitz back in uniform before Brian Bixler.

* Perhaps the old aphorism holds that the teams in "first place on the 4th of July" will win the pennants, but since I didn't think to do this on July 4, then the All-Star Break it is!