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The Philadelphia Phillies are in first place in National League East and are five games over .500, but the season has been more disappointing than thrilling. 

They are currently riding a six-game losing streak and now head into Tampa for a World Series rematch with the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. With a few weeks to go before the mid-summer classic, let's look at a mid-season report on the reigning World Series Champions.

What's Looking Good

The Cubs won four in a row! Now they're back to being the greatest team in the National League!

Oh wait, did I say that? The North Siders won four in a row against the less-talented White Sox and arguably the worst team in baseball, the Cleveland Indians.

Those wins were meaningless.

The Cubs then proceeded to play the Atlanta Braves, one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. Ryan Demspter went 6 2/3 innings, yielding two earned runs.

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After being swept out of the 2007 playoffs by the Colorado Rockies, the Philadelphia Phillies were determined to not repeat their failures in 2008. After clinching their second straight division title, the Phillies dispatched the hot Milwaukee Brewers and took out Manny Ramirez and the rejuvenated Los Angeles Dodgers.

The MLBPA is now the strongest union in sports. Headed by Don Fehr, the union came, saw, and conquered the collective bargaining world. The players couldn't have asked for a better negotiator.

Don Fehr decided to step down as head of the MLBPA on Monday.

Under Fehr's leadership the contracts of baseball players have become more and more beneficial to the players, at a cost to everyone else.

If you read my stories very often you know my history. I've been a diehard Atlanta Braves fan for 20-plus years. But I am first and foremost a baseball fan. I love the game of baseball.

I've watched many of the greats play this wonderful game.

That said, I decided to compile a starting lineup of my favorite non-Braves of all time. The players included are guys that stand out in my mind as guys who played the game the right way, were professional, and guys that I just enjoyed watching play.

We keep hearing that many teams simply will not have the budget to take on the salary of some of the players that non-contending teams will want to move at MLB's trade deadline.

Yet, I'm sure that there will be some opportunistic ball clubs that take advantage of this year's lack of competition.

There may be some bargains to be had, especially if many teams stick to filling gaps from within.

Look, it's the law of supply and demand at work. If I have a player and there are multiple teams interested, it will surely drive up the price.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella may have forgotten the one universal rule that exists in professional sports. 

For a reminder of that one rule, let's ask our friend Herm Edwards his opinion of why professional sports are played. 

Edwards, the former Head Coach of the New York Jets, gained fame for his legendary comment during a post-game interview.

"You play to win the game."

Thanks for the obvious, Herm.