Thoughts on the Baseball Season halfway through

-Joe Mauer is a complete and total stud. The guy missed an entire month and still managed to hit .373 with 15 HR, 49 RBI, a .622 Slugging Percentage and 1.069 OPS. The guy is so good it's ridiculous and he's only 26 years old so he has room to improve. It will be interesting to watch his progress in the second half of the season. You can make the argument that he is the most valuable commodity in baseball, and that he is the game's best player. All I know is, when it comes time for free agency Mauer will get paid hansomely. He is a machine.

-Albert Pujols' first half would be a breakout season for 75% of the players in Major League Baseball. He is hitting .332 with 32 HRs, 87 RBis, twice as many walks as Ks (71 to 35), .456 OBP, .723 slugging, 1.179 OPS, and just to add the cherry on top he also has 10 stolen bases. The NL MVP race is over.

-Justin Verlander is absolutely nasty. It is good to see him performing at a high level once again, as he is exciting to watch. He possesses a high octane fastball, and nasty breaking stuff. He has a 3.38 ERA and has struck out 149 batters in 122 innings and has a WHIP of 1.19. He's shown glimpses of why he was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball just two years ago.

- Yankee Stadium needs to be altered in the offseason. And as a type this I just hit one out to right field from the seat of my desk chair.

-It will be interesting to see what happens with the Halladay situation in Toronto. Unless you live in a cave, you know that Halladay has been made available by Blue Jay management. I've heard that Toronto is essentially using Vernon Wells as a poison pill in the deal. In other words, if a team wants Halladay they have to take on the remainder of Wells' 100 million contract. That narrows down the potential suitors to a select few. Toronto, given their position, probably will not get market value for him if they decide to move him. I'm curious to see who antes up for Halladay. The guy is a top 3 pitcher in baseball right now, and an asset to any team.

-Citi Field might as well be called Yellowstone. When you hit one out there, that is a REAL accomplishment. I feel bad for the Mets though, as it seems like every significant piece of their lineup but David Wright has been hurt all year. The Mets have fielded the near equivalent of a Triple-A lineup for far too long. I hope Reyes, Beltran, and Delgado get healthy soon. Hang in there, Mets fans.

- I hope the Washington Nationals set the record for most losses in a season (121). Why? I don't know. I'm an evil person, apparently.

-The Dodgers have made the jump to MLB's elite. A big reason for that is the high level of performance from three young stars in the making in Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, and Chad Billingsley. Those guys have all taken major strides this season, and it has helped the Dodgers establish themselves as arguably the best team in baseball. Andre Ethier has also made major contributions, and Jonathan Broxton has been steady. In the offseason, the Dodgers also got the steal of the offseason, signing Orlando Hudson who has been his usual steady self. The Dodgers are obviously the favorite in a very weak NL, and it'll be interesting to see if they are able to win it all.

-The Phillies signing of Pedro Martinez will end up being a good one. Martinez isn't going to turn back the clock to 1999, but he can definitely be solid enough to help Philadelphia maintain their division lead. He'll probably pitch to a 4 ERA, with around a 1.3 WHIP, go at or around 6 innings per start.

-If the Giants can acquire a power bat from somewhere, they will be a tough out come postseason time. Lincecum and Cain form arguably the best 1-2 punch in baseball, and we have all seen how a great 1-2 pitching combination can elevate a team to heights they otherwise wouldn't see (see: 2001 Diamondbacks).