In Looking Back...This MLB Season Has Been One Of The Best

No matter if the Boston Red Sox end up winning the AL East, or the Detroit Tigers win the AL Central, this season will still have more than lived up to the hype.

I was looking back at this year, as we are now past the midway point, and decided to start a segment. I'm going to take a look at the AL first, then I'll toss in my thoughts about the NL thus far.

AL East

I think it's pretty clear that the top story in this division, if not surely all of baseball, is the Tampa Bay Rays. I mean, just look at their awesome logo.

Kidding aside, the Rays have come from the very bottom of the cellar to compete with the true titans in the bigs, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Led by the likes of B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, and rookie sensation Evan Longoria, the Rays just keep winning ballgames, running their most current streak to five in a row.

The pitching has been the real glue for this team, however, with the likes of Scott Kazmir throwing gas, and Andy Sonnanstine looking for his tenth win today against just three losses. Are you serious? Sonnanstine won six games all of last year!

Like I said in the introduction, whether the Rays can hold on to the division lead shouldn't matter to fans right now; we are finally seeing some parity in this division. Be happy.

AL Central

Most people, including me, picked the Chicago White Sox to finish near the bottom of the Central division this year. They are 12 games over .500, and playing some really nice ball, going 7-3 in their last 10.

As great as their story has been, however, the Minnesota Twins are planning to play spoiler. The Twins have won a miraculous 17 out of their last 19 games, and are just one game back in the division.

This division may be one of the best races down the stretch as the preseason favorite Tigers look to be creeping up slowly on the competition after a horrendous 0-7 start.

The best story though in this division, teams aside, is the play of White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin. He is tied for the AL lead in home runs, and didn't even start at the beginning of the year! He should be getting serious All-Star consideration, people!

AL West

I'm torn whether the bigger story is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's success or the collapse of the huge-salary Seattle Mariners. The Angels have really put on a show out west this year, running their record to 52-34 with a win last night.

On the other hand, the Mariners are 18 games below .500, and have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. Erik Bedard has turned out to be a dud, and they have already run their last manager John McLaren out the door.

The thing I am most focused on now for the future, is the chances of "Michael" Iona becoming a really nice player for the Oakland Athletics. I think he will be a great addition to the organization, and he should be able to get to the bigs before he turns 20.

That said, watch out for this LAA ballclub to be a surprise World Series contender out of the AL.

Not to be forgotten, the play of outfielder Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton. If not for a good season from Alex Rodriguez, Hamilton might just run away with the AL MVP crown. We all know his story by now, and it is truly inspirational and amazing to see this kid back on the track to success.

NL East

The story coming into this year was how well Johan Santana could do in the NL.

He's proved that he is still one of the best pitchers around, but the New York Mets aren't having nearly the type of season that they had hoped for. They tossed manager Willie Randolph in hopes of bringing a new attitude of winning to the team.

Another big story developing this season in the NL East is whether or not Chase Utley can make it three straight Phillies NL MVP wins.

The upstart Florida Marlins are hanging in the NL East chase behind some strong bats, but it's pretty sure that without quality pitching, Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez won't be suiting up in October.

NL Central

I know, we're all wondering, could this be the year? Yeah, I'm talking about for the Chicago Cubs to win a World Series title. After all, you'd think that one of the most historic franchises in sports would have won a title at some point, right?

I guess that shows the real truth behind the Northsiders. In all seriousness, the Cubs definitely have the makings of a World Series caliber team, good starting pitching, good hitting, and a wonderful bullpen.

Not to be left out of the fray, however, are their arch rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. They have been the most resilient team in baseball, suffering through times when almost as many players were active as were on the DL, or so it seemed.

Manager Tony La Russa keeps finding the right lineup to stay afloat when the games count, and if last night's game was any indication, the Cardinals are sniffing down the back of the Cubbies neck.

Slugger Albert Pujols isn't getting much consideration for the NL MVP, but he truly should, especially if the Cardinals make a nice run in the second half of the season.

Also, for media's sake, I can't leave out the season Lance Berkman is having. He has been stellar, although his Houston Astros ball club has been dormant. It should be very interesting, as a Cardinals fan, how the rest of the season shakes out.

NL West

Could this division please lose a little more? After the Arizona Diamondbacks lost yesterday, there is officially no one over the .500 mark in the NL West.

That's awfully sad, especially considering the torrid start that the D'Backs had to the season. Also, oh, how the mighty have fallen. The NL champions from last year, the Colorado Rockies, are sitting 15 games under .500 halfway through the season.

The sad part is, they are only seven games out, and if they can pull another miracle in the second half, they have a chance at winning this division.

As far as individuals are concerned, the main stories are probably D'Backs Brandon Webb winning game after game, and the likes of Dodgers' Andruw Jones struggling mightily, in a true representation of his division.

Hope you liked the breakdown! Interested in some Cardinals talk? Visit my blog at http://www.cardinaltwist.com