I'm glad to see that Ichiro and Jose Lopez are members of the AL All-Star team.  Ichiro is one of the best hitters in the game, and it's great to see him get voted into the starting line up.  It's even better to see Jose Lopez go from a prospect to an all-star after a couple of seasons of him really struggling offensively.  Boonie was correct in saying Lopez would one day be an all-star caliber player.  Too bad King Felix doesn't have a great win/loss record, because he would be there too.  That would be the icing on the cake but I'm not going to get greedy. 

Other AL All-Stars:  I think it's total bs that Pudge is the A.L's starting catcher.  Joe Mauer and Ramon Hernandez are more deserving, even Victor Martinez.  It's really too bad that fans get to decide who starts, but it's fun to be able to vote for players you like. 

Prediction:  The Mariners will win the AL West but it will come down to the wire, because Oakland has a great team too.  The Sox will win the AL East, and the Evil Empire will fade away into obscurity.  Is that a bad thing?  Would anyone really miss them in October?  The Other Sox will win the AL Central.  It will be a dead heat between the A's and TIgers for the Wildcard, with my money being on the A's.

The Mets will win the NL East (I really can't stand the big market clubs).  The Cards will win the NL Central, as well as the World Series.  It's too hard to predict who will win the NL West, but I'll give it a shot.  The NL West will be won by the Padres.  The NL Wildcard will be the Phillies, but I'm sure no one will agree with me on that one. 

The Mariners are a couple of minor adjustments away from being a really solid baseball team.  If Joel Pineiro and Eddie Guardado can be moved, the sky is the limit for this team.