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The diagnosis of my 3 teams go as such...

The Yankees. Oh god, what a heart-wrenching first half. They just didn't decide if they wanted to be good or not. They had to play as one of the streakiest teams in baseball. Win 5, Lose 7, Win 3, Lose 4, Win 10, Lose 6, Win 6, Lose 5, etc. I can only hope that their recent 6 game winning streak is a sign that the Yankees are returning to Goliath form. Unfortunately, that's what I thought whenever they were on a winning streak. The problem for them is when they lose, it rolls downhill from there. They need a stopper who doesn't let a losing streak go past 2.
As a team, the offense looks awesome. Sheffield, Matsui, A-Rod are the catalysts of this team, smacking the ball out of the park left and right. Despite his defensive problems, Bernie Williams can still come up with a clutch hit when he needs to (see: first game of previous Orioles' series). Even Jason Giambi is coming around of late. He finally found himself again and is driving the ball all over the place. 5 homers in the last 5 days, and a handful of RBIs. He's still not back to his MVP form, but he may never get back to that. But he's really helping out the ballclub now. And to get younger, the Yanks now have 3 rookies on the team right now, and they're all fitting in with the team brilliantly. Robinson Cano is playing great second base. Melky Cabrera was just recently called up to shore up the defensive woes in centerfield, and he seems to fitting in nicely already. But the best of the bunch has to be Chien-Ming Wang. When he was called up to replace Jaret Wright, I was thinking "Is this the Yankees version of Byung-Hyung Kim?". Boy, was I not expecting him to be the most consistent pitcher on the team. 6-3, 3.89 ERA. His ERA is the best on the team among starters, and that includes a starter like Randy Johnson. This kid is dynamite, and I'd hate Brian Cashman a long time if he trades him.
The current record is 45-39, 2nd in the AL East, 3.5 behind Boston. If someone had told me that they'd be only 6 games over .500 at the All Star Break before the start of the season, I would've been shocked. But if someone had told me they would be standing behind Boston, I would've believed it. Here's hoping this 6 game win streak is a sign of what's to come in the second half.

The Mets. Dead even at .500 right now, 43-43. I can't say I'm surprised at it, honestly. The Mets are playing great, but are horribly inconsistent. They kept it close during one stretch where all teams were within 1.5 games of 1st place. Right now they're standing outside of 1st by 9 games. You can pretty much sew up that the NL East is out of reach, but the Wild Card is wide open. The last time I checked, they were only out of the Wild Card by 2.
Pedro Martinez is really looking like he wants Boston to regret not signing him. He's pitching on a Cy Young level. 9-3, 2.80 ERA. To say he was worth the Mets' money is an understatement. The other big haul, Carlos Beltran, started out hot, but isn't living up to his $114 million contract yet. .266 BAV, 9 HRs, 42 RBIs. That's a far cry from the numbers he plastered up last year. But stepping up is Cliff Floyd. He's on a tear. And it's an absolute travesty he was snubbed from the All Star Game. .284 BAV, 21 HRs, 56 RBIs. And yet Beltran is in the All Star Game when Floyd's beating him in all major statistical categories. Murrrr... Not right.
The bullpen isn't as bad as it once was earlier in the year, and you can thank Aaron Heilman. He's been a spot-starter, but has been near unhittable out of the pen. Also a pleasant surprise to the bullpen is one-time dominant closer Roberto Hernandez. 4-2, 36.3 IP, 1.73 ERA. Braden Looper, while still inconsistent, has closed 20 saves in 24 tries. His 3.51 ERA is still a bit high for a closer.
Here's hoping the Metropolitans keep it close in the Wild Card.

The Pirates. Perrenial door mats . There was a glorious time in the season where the Pirates not only were more than a couple games above .500, they sat in 3rd place . That was a good time. Unfortunately, that time has passed. 38-47 as of now, a WP of .447. 16.5 back of St Louis, 11 behind in the Wild Card race. It's safe to say the Bucs are out of it.
But watching all those young guys go at it is fun. Jason Bay is awesome. He's proving this year there is no sophomore slump. .307, 16 HRs, 44 RBIs, and .559 SLG%. Not bad for a Canuck. He's also going to be representing the boys up North, and the Pirates, in the Home Run Derby coming up.
My dream of them finishing at .500 or in 3rd place will probably be for naught... this year. But if the Reds still crap it up, it'd be nice to see them not finish in the basement of the NL Central.

Phew. Ok, I'm done. Here's hoping the 3 teams have better 2nd halves than their respective firsts. Go YanksMetsPirates!

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"When I turn the page
The corner bends into the perfect dog ear
As if the words knew I'd need them again
But at the time, I didn't see it."

~"This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" - Minus the Bear

Well the Braves are doing what they do, and are now 2.5 games behind the Nationals. It's nice to be able to count on their dependability. But what is up with the former Expos this year? F'ers came outta nowhere to give me worry about the Braves clinching their division.
It's been a rough year for Atlanta with a lack of a solid bullpen and less than stellar hitting, even with Andruj Jones leading the league in Home Runs with a measly 27. Gee I wonder if that's related at all to the pressure the league is FINALLY putting on players to end steroid abuse.

But that's another issue: Go Braves!

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"