Second Half Surprises

The second half of the season is really bringing a lot of surprises.

The Pirates have probably been the most surprising. They are in second place in the NL East, and they have their pitchers to thank for that, especially AJ Burnett. Do you think the Yankees are kicking themselves? I think it all has to do with the environment. Burnett wasn't doing well with the Yanks last year and it was a gamble to keep him. They did what they thought was best and gave him up and the Pirates are benefiting. Oh well, thats part of the game, you have to take chances. Pittsburgh is 54-40 having won five games in a row. Burnett has remained undefeated at home, most recently with his 5-1 win against the Marlins.

The Nationals are still dominating the NL East with a record of 55-39, the third best in the MLB. It's been a pretty tight race in the NL East with the Braves and the Mets taking turns in the second and third spots. The Phillies finally broke their losing streak, but are still in last place. This is quite a surprise, considering their record in years past.

No surprises in the AL West. Texas has been dominating all season. They have a record of 56-37, right behind the Yankees. Even though Oakland is in third place they have been very good as of late, winning three of their four game set with the Yankees.

Right now the Yankees have the best record. That could change very quickly. Texas is one game behind them and the Nationals are two games behind Texas. It's a very close race at this point in the second half. The Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, Pirates, and the Braves have really shown what they're capable of and it takes one team losing a couple of games to drop down in the rankings. The Yankees must hold on and keep the A's from the sweep or else they could start to dwindle. They're pretty well set in the AL East considering Baltimore is seven games behind and the Red Sox are ten full games behind, at the bottom of the division.

There are lots of promising teams arising in the second half. It'll be an interesting one! What team do you think is the most dominant right now in baseball?