Preview/Prediction

After taking a look at the American League All-Stars for this year's game, I will now take the time to discuss who should be suiting up for the National League.

Once again, a few of the current voting leaders do not deserve to be in the starting lineup. Here is who should be taking the field first:

Catcher: Miguel Olivo

The Rockies catcher is off to a great start. He is hitting about .300 and has some nice power every time he steps to the plate.

As Major League Baseball steams toward the All-Star break, the Atlanta Braves find themselves in first place in the NL East, and holding the best record in the National League.

That's no misprint. For a group that was picked to finish fourth in their division, the resurgent Braves have found success from some unlikely sources, and a familiar process.

First, the unlikely.

NEW YORK-- Unless these two teams meet each other in the World Series, this will be the final time they face one another until 2011. The Yankees and the Mets are playing their sixth and final game against each other today, with the season series hanging in the balance. The Mets can win the season series from the Yankees for the first time since 2008, or the Yankees can earn a split.

Now, it seems as if the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting rotation is on the verge of total collapse.

Carlos Monasterios, the rookie right-hander who was battling to find himself a spot as the team's fifth starter, has joined fellow starters Chad Billingsley and Charlie Haeger on the disabled list, the Dodgers announced on Friday afternoon.

Monasterios (3-2, 3.88 ERA) was sent to the DL with what was described as "a pre-existing blood blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand and a split nail on the index finger that occurred Friday night."

NEW YORK-- For the first time since August 29-September 30, 2001, the Mets have put together a 24-game run of at least 19-5. No, it didn't even happen in 2006, when the Mets ran through the National League. That just shows you how hard it is to pull off this kind of feat.

The Mets will try to improve to 20 out of 25 today.

After yet another near-sweep of a relatively weak team, the Seattle Mariners this time, the St. Louis Cardinals continue their quest for dominance in interleague play. 

St. Louis looks to recapture first place in the NL Central this weekend against the Oakland Athletics. 

The Cardinals haven't enjoyed much success on their California trips this year. They went 1-2 against the San Francisco Giants, 1-2 against the San Diego Padres, and 0-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The first two games of the 2010 College World Series will be played this Saturday.

For Cubs fans, however, the first game of importance might come Sunday night when the Clemson Tigers face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

That game, which will be aired on ESPN at 7pm Eastern Time, will feature the Cubs' 29th round draft pick Casey Harman. The left-handed ace of the Clemson pitching staff this year, he put together a 7-2 record with an ERA of 3.95, a .239 opponent batting average, 7.71 K/9, and 2.78 BB/9.

The 2010 MLB All Star weekend voting deadline is on the horizon. So this morning, I logged onto the Internet and compiled a ballot of my own.

When it comes to fan voting, I have to admit that I am a believer in the system. I obviously hate when a popular player makes the starting lineup who is either having an off year or who has been injured. With that said, it's nice to have the fans make their case heard and have their players begin the game.

Fans across the New York area absolutely love the twice annual, “Subway Series,” pitting the Mets against their crosstown rivals the Yankees.

With the Subway Series rolling back around this weekend, the Yankees will look to avenge a lost series to their crosstown rivals from May.

While the starting pitching matchups might be the same, the venue has changed.