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The American League has had plenty of intrigue, but not a lot of surprises by the break. Early on, there have been some good stories (Texas hanging tough & Torontos fast start), some disappointments (Cleveland Rocksthe cellar!) and plenty of predictions for the AL East, AL Central, and AL West that are very much alive.

AL East

So I caught some homer flack for picking the Red Sox to win this division. Its only the halfway point, so I wont cue my personal Shaq chorus to quiz anyone on the state of their taste buds. (Yet.) But how about having the most competitive division in baseball pegged! They are currently in the exact order I had them. And I dont see it changing. The Red Sox have the best team. Top to bottom, offense, pitching, bullpen, and prospects they have it all. And thats while missing their 3rd baseman for a month, essentially their DH for 2 months, and their 3rd starter the whole season. Even after all that, they dont need to make a move, especially since no one else in the AL has. There will be talk about Roy Halladay, but only because they have the prospects and the money, but its highly unlikely. (But a postseason rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, AND Halladay?!?! For. Get. It.) Probably, the same goes for the Yankees, but they dont shy away from a big move. The two top teams are actually well matched in line up and starting pitching. The difference is the bullpen. The Red Sox have the best bullpen in MLB and the Yankees haveMariano Rivera. Phil Hughes has helped out lately in the 8th, but a call to Phil Coke or Alfredo Aceves in a tie game in the 7th has to make Yankees fans feel like theyre at a TMZ pitch meeting and Sean Penn walks in. Its going to go bad, its just a matter of how. Look for Brian Cashman to try and pry a pseudo-closer away from a non-contender and put him in the set up role. The same is true for the Rays. Tampa Bay continues to have a talented squad thats even deeper than last years team, with players like Ben Zobrist and Jason Bartlett. If the Rays were able to pull off a really big move, a Halliday, well call it, they become a very, very scary team. But a bullpen move is much more likely and would really stabilize that situation, since that is the main difference between last years breakthrough season and this one. To the Blue Jay Fan who wrote that Im an idiot in the original previews comments? Toronto hung in there for a while and you have to be happy with the emergence of Adam Lind and Aaron Hill. Losing so many pitchers to injury had to really hurt though. Oh, and one more thingI was RIGHT! Suck on it! (So ugly. I apologize.) Lets see if they get enough for Halliday, especially since they wont let other teams negotiate a contract extension. And the Orioles might not be as bad as I thought. For 2 straight years, I thought they would challenge the all time loss record. The good thing is that they are using this season to get their young guys some experience. (So Melvin Mora and Greg Zaun? You have a phone call in the managers office.) This division is currently the best in baseball and its only going to get better.

Sticking with the pick?: You betcha! As long as New York or Tampa Bay doesnt get Halladay. And even then

Prediction that might sound like I know what Im talking about: Yankees I dont know how you can make a case that this team is significantly better than not only last years team, but also the 2 teams that finished higher then they did last year.

Prediction that makes me look like an idiot: Blue Jays The team says theyll never trade [Halladay], but if theyre 20 games out at the All-Star break and ol Roy goes to management and says, I gotta see what its like to win before its too late, then Halliday becomes the most sought after trade deadline gem of 2009. You got me. Theyre 10 games out

AL Central

Another wide open division with no clear power team. I went with the White Sox and they are still less than 3 games back, and dying to make a move. They had the trigger pulled on Jake Peavy, but Peavy jammed that shot by vetoing the trade. Nevertheless, I think GM Kenny Williams finds a big deal out there. Hes the Michael Bay of Trades. They dont always make sense, but boy, are they big. Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen know this division is there for the taking, so I still say they take advantage of opportunity. While I did not think the Tigers would win or even be close, I didnt think theyd be as bad as most people did. Pitching heals all wounds, right? The one-two punch of Justin Verlander and now Edwin Jackson are the reason for the Tiger turnaround. And Brandon Inge covering himself in Less Suck lotion. (Good stuff there. Its Aveeno. Good for your skin, too.) The Tigers are blending in the remaining stock of their farm system as well, but they have to figure out something to do with Magglio Ordonez. Just dont have him talk to Dontrelle Willis and his anxiety disorder But Detroit is out of money, so there is no way they can make an impact move, unless it involves packing Ordonez and/or Williss bags. The Twins continue to fan the smoke and line up the mirrors by playing some of the most boring fundamental baseball around. Joe Mauer has continued to increase his price tag as he nears free agency in the next 2 years, adding a power stroke to his high average. But we know they wont make any moves, so they have to hope Scott Baker evens out, Nick Blackburn keeps it up, and Glen Perkins rises up to have a real chance. Kansas City was lining up to be that sweetheart team. The darling of the league. Thenum, yeah. Zack Grienke has been a great story. Carried the team for the 1st 2 months and gave them hope with a microscopic ERA. But the dust has settled and they are faced with the reality that no move in the off-season has worked out, as Coco Crisp is now out for the year and Mike Jacobss average and HR totals are less than desired. They would love to get something anything for Jose Guillen, but the phone only rings with inquiries on closer Joakim Soria. Soria stays put, but Juan Cruz, Ron Mahay, Kyle Farnsworth (again), and Miguel Olivo could all have new addresses by the end of the month. And speaking of moving sales, its astounding that Cleveland hasnt put price tags on batting helmets by now. Mark DeRosa was moved to St Louis, but he wont be the only one. Its time to completely blow up a team that was one win away from the World Series just 21 months ago. Grady Sizemore might be the only one who stays. Oh, and Eric Wedge, dont buy any green bananas. (I wouldnt be surprised if he was fired tomorrow. But hes a good manager. Hell get another chance.)

Sticking with the Pick?: Umyes. The White Sox are only 3 out and I know theyll make a personnel move, then a move up the standings. Detroit has no choice but to stand pat and dip in the second half.

Prediction that might sound like I know what Im talking about: Royals Young teams like this need someone, player or manager, to look to for leadership. And without it, they become a floundering team that never fulfills promise and trades off its good pieces to the highest bidder.

Prediction that makes me look like an idiot: Indians The 2009 Indians are going to be a tough team to face and will be in Wild Card contention if everything breaks right.

AL West

There they are again on top. The Angels have found a way to weather the injury storm early. However, they may not clinch in August like last year, since the Rangers have come on faster than expected. The Angels proved last year that they will take a chance on a big time rental possibility, in Mark Teixeira. They won the division, but they could have done that without him. So since he took the money and ran to NY, that gamble didnt work out. Will that make the Angels gun shy this year? Roy Halliday is available The Angels strength has always been their pitching particularly the bullpen. However, the rotation is still waiting for the successful return of Ervin Santana (I said successful) and Kelvim Escobar, and John Lackey is just not the same pitcher he was even 3 years ago. Brian Fuentes has worked out so much better than I thought; leading the AL with 26 saves. (Hows this for stats? Fuentes has 26 saves and the Washington Nationals have 26 WINS! Jeez) They could use a shot in the pitching staff. So could the Texas Rangers. But Rangers President Nolan Ryan has a plan to lengthen each pitcher in the rotation and they are at least a year ahead of schedule. They are neck-and-neck with the Halos and thats with Josh Hamilton missing almost the entire first half and Chris Davis swinging-and-missing through the 1st half. Halliday would be incredible leading this staff and they have the prospects to pull off a deal, but they simply dont have the money. The Mariners have made things interesting, but ultimately they cant compete with the talent of the two teams above them in the standings. And the Athletics are always a 2nd half team, so their typical surge could carry themto 3rd place. Their kids are getting plenty of time on the mound, since the average age of their rotation is 22. And just trade Matt Holliday already

Sticking with the Pick?: Oh yeah. Its hard to see the Rangers keeping it up all year, coupled with the Angels fading. And LA can make a move, Texas cant.

Prediction that might sound like I know what Im talking about: Angels Bobby Abreu the best bargain bin pick up of the winter.

Prediction that makes me look like an idiot: Rangers Young masher Chris Davis will be an everyday player. Which is trueonly currently its in Triple-A