Preview/Prediction

The (32-29) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come into town to start a three-game series against the (34-28) San Francisco Giants today. 

These two teams are quite different from each other as the Giants depend on their pitching and the Angels depend on their hitting. Giants' pitching has only given up 233 runs where the Angels hitting have scored 296 runs. 

Who'll be the biggest star in Washington not named Barack Obama for the next eight years?

Of course Stephen Strasburg right? Not so fast, Nats fans. Remember the name Bryce Harper, for he and Strasburg are your only hopes in turning this thing around.

Bryce Harper is a 16 year old catcher out of Las Vegas high school. That's right, he's 16, and he very well would have gone ahead of Strasburg in this year's draft if he was eligible. Search his name on Google for highlight reels.

Last week (Sunday to Sunday), the Chicago White Sox went 4-5. They missed opportunities, failed to execute and threw away a chance to gain meaningful ground on the division-leading Tigers.

Then they went into Milwaukee and took two of three from the division-leading (albeit slumping) Brewers.

This week, that doesn't matter. The slate's clean, and the division race can take a backseat.

It's Crosstown Classic time.

32-29. That would be the Mets record through 61 games so far this season, sub par to many expectations. But fear not! There are still 101 games left in the season. 101 times we can scream out of immense joy, or out of even more immense pain. Because of this, I've decided to share my 6 bold predictions for the remainder of the season. Enjoy!

The New York Mets are always slow out of the gates. This explains the reason for them being four games back in the NL East. 

If the Mets can out last late season injuries they will undoubtedly be my favorite to win the NL and most likely the World Series in 2009. 

There are many reasons why I believe the Mets will be holding the trophy at the end of the season.

When you take a look at this Mets team it has one big difference that it hasn't had in the past. That difference is pitching. 

Yesterday I took a look at five players the Twins could logically target in trade talks. Today it is time to look at some of the remaining free agent options still on the market that could help the Twins reach the postseason.

With the amateur draft now in the rearview mirror, all free agents who were offered arbitration can be signed without resulting in a forfeited draft pick by the signing team.

Last night was about as grueling a game as you can play, and considering the offensive show that the Phillies put on, the Mets were fortunate to pull the game out. Johan Santana was not at his best, but he kept the team in the game, and a Ryan Church homer in the seventh made the difference.

Tonight is a new story. The Mets will go to battle with the Phillies’ cream of the crop, Cole Hamels. Hamels is coming off his best start of the season, when he five-hit the Manny-less Dodgers in a complete game shutout.

Here we go. We're more than one-third of the way through the season and it's time to look into the future.

You may be asking: why so early with the predictions? Well, this year is shaping up to be filled with middle-of-the-pack teams. Seeing as how the largest lead in any division (with the exception of the NL West) is three and a half games, I wanted to shed some light on what we might be able to expect down the stretch run.

I have broken down the final standings for each division and then I forecasted what things are going to look like in October.

The month of June has just started, but by the time it ends the Minnesota Twins could know whether or not they’ll be in the mix for the postseason.

Following last night’s win against the Seattle Mariners, the Twins are only 7-16 on the road, a far cry from the 21-12 record they hold in the cozy, teflon confines of the Metrodome.

Another injured Tiger is close to getting his wings back. Marcus Thames has been heating up on a rehab assignment with class AAA Toledo and could be back in Detroit soon.

Thames has been on the disabled list since April 19th, after straining his ribcage in batting practice.

The Tigers could use his power in a lineup that has struggled to score runs.

Small ball may be virtuous for many reasons. the Tigers have not played very good small ball lately, and therefore could greatly benefit from the smashing potential that Thames brings to the plate.