Division by division midseason looks

Okay, so I'm revising my first half National League MVP pick from Mets third baseman David Wright to Reds first baseman Joey Votto. Votto is hitting .316 with 21 home runs and 59 RBI. His OBP is .419 and his SLG is .595. Wright is still a good candidate and if he keeps ups his pace he could still win the MVP, but Votto's numbers are just slightly better. Also key is that Votto has meant a lot to the Reds, I don't think there is any way they would be first or maybe even second right now without him.

And now I'm set to give a division by division review of roughly the first half of the season and I'll even include the Wild Cards. I would like to take the opportunity now to say that I could still reasonably have gotten all of the postseason teams correct in my preseason picks. They aren't all in position right now, but they're all reasonably close.

AL East:
My preseason pick: Tampa Bay Rays
Current leader: New York Yankees
My thoughts: The Rays (50-33) hit a rough spot but are now just two games back of the Yankees (52-31) and figure to be in the race all year. The Red Sox (49-35) are still in the race also and should make things interesting. I think it'll be a three team race all the way down to the last week or so, just as I thought before the season. These three could very well end up with the three best records in the American League but only two get in. I think the Rays and Yankees will make it and the Red Sox will be on the outside. The Rays seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulders and the Yankees are just really, really tough and don't figure to have any sort of prolonged slumps (though I would like very much to see that happen). I think the Yanks take the division and the Rays the Wild Card.

AL Central:
My preseason pick: Chicago White Sox
Current leader: Detroit Tigers
My thoughts: I said just a few weeks ago that the only one of my preseason picks I wished I'd had back was picking the White Sox (44-38) to win the Central. They were really struggling, particularly on offense, and were well back of the Twins (45-38) and Tigers (45-37). An eleven game win streak and sustained strong play later it turns out I may have been on to something. The Sox are merely one game back of Detroit and have been playing like the team I expected them to be. Starting pitcher Jake Peavy went down tonight with an injury (uncertain of how serious it is), but even so the team really seems to have gelled and I'm going to take them to win the Central. This too will be a tight race into September though, and I suspect all three of these teams will have something to say.

AL West:
My preseason pick: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Current leader: Texas Rangers
My thoughts: The Rangers (49-34) led the division for much of the season last year, but faded down the stretch. They have a 4.5 game lead over the Angels (46-40) right now and I'm going to say the Rangers are going to hold on and win the division this year behind improved pitching and of course the acquisition of former Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero in the offseason. Guerrero has been outstanding for the Rangers and coupled with Josh Hamilton and others in the lineup, the Rangers offense has been dynamic. They too recently had an 11 game win streak. The Angels just seem to have been scuffling along and not playing great baseball. I think they'll stay within striking distance, but I don't think they have enough for a fourth straight division title. I picked the Seattle Mariners (34-49) to finish second in the division after a promising 2009 season and it turns out they have been one of the biggest disappointments in all of baseball, trailing Texas by 15 games.

AL Wild Card:
My preseason pick: New York Yankees
Current leader: Tampa Bay Rays (Yankees lead East)
My thoughts: You can refer to above in the AL East section. The Wild Card is definitely coming out of the AL East. No team not in first in another division is within five of the Rays.

NL East:
My preseason pick: Philadelphia Phillies
Current leader: Atlanta Braves
My thoughts: I had the Braves (49-35) pegged to make the playoffs and still think they will, I'm just surprised that they have been on top of the division for so long. I think the Phillies' (43-39) experience will help them to ultimately win the division, but it will be closer than I originally thought. A lot depends on if the Phillies can get fully healthy and how much they can stay in the race in the mean time. The Mets (47-37) have been surprisingly solid and they look like they will be making the race interesting in their own right down the stretch. The Marlins (39-43) have been a bit of a disappointment so far and the Nationals (37-47) are still bad, but not as bad, and have Stephen Strasburg.

NL Central:
My preseason pick: St. Louis Cardinals
Current leader: Cincinnati Reds
My thoughts: The Reds (48-37) have to be the biggest surprise in baseball. They've had some great hitters all along, but now their pitching is coming along to match and their consistency has been very unexpected. The Cardinals (45-38) are right there and I don't see them going anywhere. However, I'm going to pick the Reds to win it now, although I picked them fourth in my preseason picks. I didn't expect the Milwaukee Brewers (37-47) to have great pitching, but I expected it to be average enough to keep them relatively close with their great lineup. They've been a disappointment and I honestly only expected a little bit more than this from the Cubs (37-47).

NL West:
My preseason pick: Colorado Rockies
Current leader: San Diego Padres
My thoughts: I picked the Padres (49-34) to finish dead last in the West, but their pitching has been nothing short of outstanding all season long and they have had decent if not great offense with timely hitting. The Padres seem like a tight knit bunch and I think they will win the division now in stark contrast to what I had picked before the season. The Dodgers (45-37) are in second, but I think the Rockies (45-38) will take second and even put some heat on the Padres. The Rockies are notoriously a second-half team and I think this year will be the same. They are already showing signs of heating up. Tonight they came back from six runs down in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Cardinals tonight. I think the Giants (43-40) will be in the mix too, but it's sadly looking like they will take fourth. However, I think all four of these teams will stay in the race and anything can happen, so there is reason to hope for the Orange and Black.

NL Wild Card:
My preseason pick: Atlanta Braves
Current leader: New York Mets (Braves lead East)
My thoughts: The Mets have been good, but I think they will fade just enough down the stretch to not actually win the Wild Card. Since I now have the Padres winning the West, I'm going to take the Rockies with the Wild Card behind a solid second half.