Fan News

Some of us baseball aficionados definitely need to get a life.

When we're not sitting around endlessly speculating on whether or not the Blue Jays are going to trade superstar pitcher Roy Halladay, we're sitting around figuring out ever more creative ways to waste time on the Great American Pastime.

What follows may be a winner—in terms of wasting time.

The 2009 MLB season has reached its annual All Star Break and it is time for me to take a turn at naming the MVP, ROY, Cy Young, and Manager of the Year Awards.

As always it has been an interesting year.

You have Albert Pujols in the hunt for a Triple Crown, Joe Mauer's quest for .400, the very mediocre Jonathan O. Sanchez throwing a no-no, Manny being Manny, the NL's inferiority, and the Dodgers and Red Sox lining each other up for a potential World Series match up.

Ex-Nats Skipper Could Help Mets Get Back On Track

The Washington Nationals fired their manager, Manny Acta, today, opening the door for the NY Mets to bring their former third-base coach back into the fold.

Why would the Mets - who are struggling mightily to stay afloat - want to bring in a manager who had won only 26 games in the first half this season?

Reports on Monday indicated that the Tribune Company is considering an option where the Chicago Cubs would declare bankruptcy.

This news likely confuses many onlookers, who have been taken on a strange journey by the off-the-field news surrounding the Cubs in the last few months.

First the team was sold, then it wasn't, then it was sold to two different groups...and now bankruptcy?

Really?

A lot has been said about the six degrees of separation between a person and Kevin Bacon.

Does anyone know if he's a Marlins fan because every six years we've seen the Marlins do what they are doing this year.

The All-Star break is before us, which means the first half of the season has come to a close, and while most will sit back and analyze their team’s progress—or lack thereof—I can’t help but wonder what that will get me aside from headaches and the occasional fit more true to a diabetic or schizophrenic.

No offense to either, but you get the point.

After witnessing one of the oddest sights in all of sports in 2002—a baseball game ending in a tie—MLB Commissioner Bud Selig elected to make a change to the "Mid-Summer Classic."

From 2003 onward, the winning league in the MLB All-Star Game would get home-field advantage for their World Series representative come October.

However, the decision to award home-field advantage to the victor of the ASG has been met mostly with criticism.

The MLB All-Star Game is one of the greatest games in sports. It is a time when both leagues put forth their best players and play to see who's better.

But most of all, it is a time to reflect on the first half of the season as well as look ahead to the second half.

In this "Great Debate", the top teams of the NL East have put forth their top writers to discuss what will happen in the second half of the season.

Mets top writer Richard Marsh and I have selected the participants.

For the Philadephia Phillies, we have Scott Eisenlohr and Cody Swartz.

The Houston Astros enter the All-Star break 44-44 and are fourth in the NL Central, three and a half games back from the division leading Cardinals. The Astros are in the best place in the division at the All Star Break since 2003, when they were leading the

division.

Here is a recap of the Astros' season before the All-Star Break.

The Rays closed the second half with a good week, going 4-2 against the Jays and the A's.

Despite the 4-2 record, the Rays let one slip away Sunday, as they took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning and the stellar bullpen showed a second straight rocky outing.

Perhaps the break was needed.

Another disappointing facet of the Rays' losses was that they only gained one game against the Yankees after they were swept by the Angels. Now the Rays sit 3.5 behind the Yankees and 6.5 behind the Red Sox.

Here are some thing to look forward too: