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By Sean Connolly

So we’ve hit the mid-season point and a lot has changed since the beginning, but the question is will this be how it ends. Both Chicago teams, Cubs and White Sox, stand alone in first place in their respective divisions. The Mets’ season has started just as disastrous as it ended last year and the Yankees, well they’re just hanging around waiting for a trade like always. But the big surprise of this season has to be the Twins and the Rays.

Big Surprises

For a team to lose the best pitcher in baseball and get nothing good in return to be 1.5 games back in their division is astounding. The Twins have played it very quietly this season and have made themselves into contenders in the American League. Their ten game win streak came to a close this past Saturday but they easily bounced back with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. They have a solid, young team with one of the best closers in the game in Joe Nathan. Don’t be surprised if you see this Twin team in the running for the A.L. Wild Card or even the Central Division.

The biggest surprise of the season has the be the Tampa Bay Rays though. They have shocked the American League, putting up a 49-32 record at the mid-way point and have established themselves as a legitimate threat in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, the American League East. Throughout this season people have been calling it a fluke and that it’s just luck, but with half the season gone they are atop the A.L. East and have the players to catapult them into the franchise’s first post-season. They are also beginning to bring in bigger crowds and have been rumored to possibly bring in one of the game’s biggest stars in Ken Griffey. If the Rays can complete a trade for Griffey this team will have to be considered one of the best teams in baseball.

The Second City in First

Is this their year? The Chicago Cubs have finally fielded a team that may be able to get past the curse. But that’s what they think every year. This year is different though. The Cubs have one of baseball’s most potent all-around threat in Alfonso Soriano, and are led by a fiery coach who simply knows how to win in Lou Pinella. The Cubs have the best baseball team with a record of 49-33 and are playoff bound and possibly World Series bound. As for the other side of town, the White Sox have surprised some critics and stand atop a very difficult A.L. Central with a record of 46-35. Ozzie Guillen and his team have played great baseball in a division that was etched in stone by many writers that the Detroit Tigers would win. The White Sox have a powerful team that can score at any moment, and are possibly one trade away from having a team capable of making a significant impact down the stretch.

800 miles east of Chicago sits millions of disappointed New Yorkers. The Mets are crumbling again behind poor management, poor upper management, and poor play on the field. They’ve lost their manager in Willie Randolph in an absolute fiasco that ate up thousands of headlines, and the players such as Jose Reyes, and David Wright, have yet to prove they are as good as their paycheck. Speaking of overpaid, in the Bronx the Yankees are having yet again another unpredictable, chaotic season. New skipper, Joe Girardi hasn’t shown New York much with a 44-38 record sitting 5.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. Injuries of Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, and M.V.P Alex Rodriguez have hampered the Bombers’ season and have yet to prove that they the best in the bigs as they should be. A trade is looming in New York that could make or break these Yanks but with the tumultuous season they’ve had so far, Bomber fans should consider themselves lucky to only be 5.5 games out.

So with that said I’ll give you the second half predictions with who I think will end up in the playoffs come the end of the regular season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST- Boston Red Sox

CENTRAL- Detroit Tigers

WEST- Anaheim Angels

WILD CARD- Tampa Bay Rays

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST- Philadelphia Phillies

CENTRAL- Chicago Cubs

WEST- Los Angeles Dodgers

WILD CARD- St. Louis Cardinals

By Sean Connolly

Could the Mets handle this situation any worse? Throughout the last month or two, there has been heightened speculation about Willie Randolph’s coaching future. They have left Willie out to dry with dumb meetings and threats leaked to the media to make the job of coaching the Mets worse than it already is. So it only makes since that at 3:30 in the morning yesterday, they end this tabocle the worst way possible.

A report stated this weekend that if Willie doesn’t turn things around he is out as manager. The Mets were in the midst of a road trip in Texas playing against the Rangers when these rumors began. I never understand these threats in sports. Upper management threatens a coach to get the team together in a matter of days. If the thought of firing Willie was in the mind of Omar Minaya, what is winning a couple games against the Rangers, who don’t even play in your league, going to change things. And why would you do it in the middle of a road trip? Why not before or after a road trip? And why at 3:30 IN THE MORNING!?!?

I’ve heard a lot(maybe too much) about why Willie was fired at 3:30 in the morning. Maybe they were up talking about the job or maybe Omar had a bad dream about Willie and decided then, I don’t know. But, I do know this, do it when people are awake, do it when everyone else does it, sometime during the next day. The worst thing I heard was that maybe Omar gave Willie the choice of firing his coaches or its him. Why would Omar want Willie Randolph to fire his bench coaches and if he didn’t hire one? That would be the worst comeback ever to Randolph refusing to fire his coaches. I could hear it now, ‘you’re not gonna fire your coaches…well, I’ll uh, make one of them the manager, uh yeah, how do you like that Willie?’ Ridiculous.

Now, Jerry Manuel is the new coach of the New York Mets. This is the same Jerry Manuel who was not experienced enough a month ago when Willie firing rumors began. It was said that if there was a coach on the team that could do any better than Willie that coach would be upped to manager. But, at the time it was said there was no one there. Did Manuel prove himself over the past month or something? This was handled as poorly as possible and the Mets should be ashamed.

Willie Randolph should have been fired. But, fire him after his team makes the biggest collapse in regular season history. Fire him when you first bring it up. Don’t distract the team for an entire month, making them wonder who will be their manager each day. Show some respect and let Met fans wake up before they hear their season is over with Jerry Manuel at manager. Because it’s going to be a long season for them, and they’re going to need their sleep.

By Sean Connolly

After joining the elite 600 home run club last week, it looks as if Ken Griffey Jr. may be headed to the Tampa Bay Rays. A report says that Griffey Jr. will consider waiving his no trade clause to join the surprising Rays. The Reds are 12.5 games back in the central division in last place and Griffey is still searching for a ring. Whether he’ll find it with the Rays is another question.

Why would Griffey join the Rays? I’m not too sure. If he’s looking for a ring I don’t understand why he would go to a franchise who hasn’t even made it to the playoffs yet. The only thing I can take from this is that he either see something more in the Rays or that he’s just looking to end his career in beautiful Tampa Bay.

Hearing this news both confused me and excited me. Watching Ken Griffey Jr. on the Seattle Mariners was so exciting and this could mean that he could actually end up on a team who actually have some sort of up side. Since his arrival in 2000 to Cincinnati, he has found nothing but injuries and no playoff appearances. Seeing him play on a team with something to play for will definetely ignite his play and garner more interest in one of the best home run hitters of all time. But again, why Tampa Bay? Maybe, just maybe, the Rays are actually going to take advantage of a solid core of players, hold on to them, and continue to build around them to establish a winning franchise. We may finally see a playoff team in Tampa Bay.

So, will the Rays trade for Griffey? I don’t see it happening. Knowing that Griffey is now on the market you will now start seeing the bigger teams begin to get into the Griffey sweepstakes. You know Steinbrenner and the Yankees are salivating at the thought of Ken Griffey Jr. on the open market, and don’t be surprised to see a team like the Chicago Cubs try and snag Griffey. The Cubs acquisition of Jim Edmonds has not been going as planned and Griffey could easily step into his role. Overall I just fear the weaker Rays will be eaten up by the bigger sharks in the water and buy out Griffey. But who knows maybe Griffey will end up a Tampa Bay Ray for the rest of his career.

Written By Sean Connolly

It’s scary to think that with the way the Tampa Bay Rays are playing this year that they have yet another first pick. This season they are playing like a playoff team and are beating up on teams in the powerful American League East. The Rays’ first pick of the draft was Beckham. Not the pretty boy soccer player but Tim Beckham from Griffin High in Georgia. The shortstop may complete an already impressive team in a few years and give American League teams more to worry about. Beckham wasn’t the only solid pick in the draft as I’ll break down the first ten picks of the MLB draft for you.

1.Tampa Bay Rays-Tim Beckham SS: Griffin High School, Georgia-Exactly what the Rays needed to complete their team. If they can hold on to him and not trade him the Rays will be set for the next ten years as they build around Rocco Baldelli, Evan Longoria, and Crawford.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates-Pedro Alvarez 3B: Vanderbilt University- Arguably the most talented player in the draft Alvarez could become a perennial all star in the MLB. The question is who will he be an all star for? Alvarez’s contract demands may be too much for the Pirates to handle and could end up somewhere else.

3. Kansas City Royals- Eric Hosmer 1B: American Heritage High School, Florida- An all-around player who is a solid player in the field, and the lefty has one of the strongest bats High School. If the Royals can keep him he can be a great power hitter with solid defense. I would compare him to a Tino Martinez, a great player who can make a tremendous impact.

4. Baltimore Orioles- Brian Matusz LHP: San Diego University- The Orioles desperately need starting pitching and nothing like a 6′4, 200lb lefty to do the job. Matusz has four pitches and can be very dominating with his size. One worry is the slow start he had to last season and that could impede his road to the Majors.

5. San Francisco Giants- Gerald Posey C: Florida State University- With the Giants losing their only hitter in Bonds(probably to prison), they need to find an answer. Posey might just be that answer. He has all the tools as a catcher except for power. I don’t think this was the right choice for the lowly Giants as they should be rebuilding with pitching.

6. Florida Marlins- Kyle Skipworth C- Patriot High School, California- Just like the Rays, the Marlins look awfully good this year and have both a young team and a small payroll. The Marlins got a steal with Skipworth because he is better than Giants’ 5th Pick, Posey, who is also a catcher. The Marlins have to be happy with the luck they’re getting and all they need is some luck in holding on to their players.

7. Cincinnati Reds- Yonder Alonso 1B- University of Miami- Not the best defensive player but sports a great bat that may get him into the majors. I don’t see him staying in the National League, but I can see him as a DH in the American. The Reds should trade him to get some good value for their team.

8. Chicago White Sox- Gordon Beckham SS- University of Georgia- Another Beckham!?! Again not the soccer player, but a middle infielder that the White Sox wanted and needed. They lack middle infield depth and Beckham could be a great utility guy who can start every night for the White Sox.

9. Washington Nationals- Aaron Crow RHP- University of Missouri Columbia- With only the second pitcher chosen in the first ten, Crow is a very smart choice for the Nationals. Crow has the best arm in the draft and will be a great piece to build around.

10. Houston Astros- Jason Castro C- Stanford University- The Astros would have been better off choosing Fidel Castro. Not really but Castro is not top ten talent to say the least and is not the right choice for the Astros. The future of Castro staying at catcher is bleak and may move to second base. I think Castro reminds the Astros of Craig Biggio who also went from catcher to second base for the Astros.

So in a Beckham filled draft, who are the winners? The two Florida teams stole the show, with the Rays picking up Tim Beckham first, and the Florida Marlins stealing Kyle Skipworth with the sixth pick. The Astros, Royals, and Giants are sadly the losers making all dumb moves. After this draft I think the Rays have a tremendous future ahead of them.