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The Boston Red Sox seem to be the team worth watching this trade season, with their persistent chase after a shortstop, and an outfielder.

Jeff Francouer, Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn, JJ Hardy, Miguel Tejada, Matt LaPorta and Hanley Ramirez have all been tossed around, not to mention some catchers like Victor Martinez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. You can now add the Texas Rangers' Omar Vizquel and the Colorado Rockies' Ryan Spilborghs to that list.

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.

Team of the Week: Tampa Bay Rays (pictured above)

Bust of the Week: Kansas City Royals

Well, by now, we've started to fall into the routine of summer baseball. A loss, a couple wins, then another loss...

Anyhow, mid-season baseball has begun to settle in, and the back-and-forth patterns have started to show themselves. For example, 24 out of the 30 total teams have a record between 4-6 and 6-4 in their last ten games, and currently the longest win/loss streak is just five.

For the better part of thirteen years, Mariano Rivera has been coming out of the bullpen for the Yankees and doing God-like things. 

Mo has come through time after time in the clutch, using his signature cut-fastball to strike fear in the heart of major league hitters every where. 

Yesterday against Tampa Bay, with the game tied at five in the ninth, Girardi went to his reliable closer, and instead of holding the tie, Mo blew the lead...big time. He actually had to be taken out of the game, something that is rarely seen when it comes to Rivera. 

Moral victory—is there really such a thing and, if so, does it really matter?

Maybe I'm just old school, but when two teams play a game against each other, one wins and one loses. Yet, somehow in sports today, it is possible for both teams to win.

Reminds me of little league when everyone gets a trophy no matter what place the team finishes.

Except this isn't little league baseball. This is professional baseball, and there are no moral victories for any team that plans on playing in October.

You can please all of the people none of the time, some of the people none of the time, and none of the people none of the time.

Wait, I think I screwed that up. Let me check my email again.

Nope, that’s right.

ST. LOUIS: When St. Louis Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa walked into the room for his postgame press conference Monday night, he had a look of frustration, exhaustion, and disgust.

After a poor homestand against the Cincinnati Reds, in which the Cardinals split the four-game set, they have started off a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies by getting blasted 11-4 and 10-1, respectively.

Look, it's not as if luck has gone the Cubs way over the years. In fact, it might be fair to say that lady luck has conspired against the North Siders in the form of black cats, Gatorade-soaked gloves and Steve Bartman.

So it should be no surprise to see a couple of close, but critical umpire calls go against the Cubs in the early part of a 4-3 loss to the Reds at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

GAME SUMMARY:

• Final Score:  Detroit 2  Los Angeles 1
• WP: Edwin Jackson (6-3): 9 innings, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 5 K, 109 pitches
• LP: Kelvim Escobar (0-1): 5 innings, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 ER, 5 K
• HR: None

For the second night in a row, the Tigers and Angels played a 2-1 game at Comerica Park.  Tonight, the Tigers came out on top.

What was the strength of last year's World Championship team is now the weakest link on the team.

Brad Lidge.

He was perfect in 2008.