MLB Weekend Edition...

As interleague play kicked off this weekend, we reached around the 1/4 point of the baseball season. Some teams have been surprises (hello Cincinnati and San Diego) while others have disappointed (Seattle and the perennially-underachieving New York Mets come to mind). However, for the most part, the divisions have begun to sort themselves out. Here's the current situation, as well as what we can expect going forward:

AL East:
This was always going to be one of the toughest (if not the toughest) divisions in baseball with three stud teams in the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox. The Rays and Yankees have the best two records in the AL right now, but the Red Sox dug themselves into a little hole to start the season and are only now slowly inching their way into contention. Not much room for error though boys. Even Toronto, while fading, is not an easy out. With the way the Rays are playing right now, I'd worry a little bit if I was a fan of the Yankees or Red Sox. Of course, if you're a Yankees fan, I'd worry about you anyways.

AL Central: The Central divisions always seem to be two of the worst divisions in baseball, and I think this year is really no different. The Royals and Indians have stunk it up for the past two years, and this year should be no different. When one of the other three teams isn't playing well, as is the current case for the White Sox, this division becomes a two team race. Like last year, the Twins and Tigers are duking it out. They are both well-rounded ball clubs, but the Twins always seem to play better down the stretch. There's usually not enough firepower out of this division though to make a deep October run.

AL West: For the past three years, the AL West might as well have been called the AL Los Angeles Angels. But slowly, teams such as the Texas Rangers and once-mighty Oakland Athletics have been able to develop the young talent needed to knock the Angels off their perk. This division might not have the top-level talent of the AL East, but all four teams can't be counted out on any given night (except the Mariners for some reason are making that statement false right now despite having the second best pitching staff in the AL). Right now, the Angels are sputtering a little bit with inconsistent play, but you know they will be right near the top come September. Their pitching staff is just too talented for them to continue struggling.

Now, to the National League...

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