Baseball And More!

I am still at home in Boise and I am loving it! The constant travel for my wacky job has gotten to be a bit much. I should, however, be shipping out sometime next week. I am reminded of how easy it was to deliver a weather forecast around here in the summer, which I did as a radio guy for many years. " Sunny and hot with highs in the 90's and lows in the 60's." That's it!
The lawn guy I have has been doing a great job mowing, but there have been many lawn and yard related chores that I have been catching up on. I have also been riding my bicycle regularly on the greenbelt along the river.
Being the baseball fan that I am, I have a few observations on the first half of the season. My favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals seem to be a lock to win their division. Houston is getting hot, but I don't think they will catch the Cards. In the NL East, I know it is close and the Washington Nats are a huge surprise, but I'm going with the Braves who have taken that division for the last 13 years! In the NL West I like the Padres. Look for the Wild-Card to come out of the East, probably Washington.
In the AL the White Sox seem to be the team to beat. I love the Twins, but they have fallen too far behind. They should get the Wild Card. In the West, I like both the Rangers and the Angels. However, the turmoil caused by the Kenny Rogers absurdity and a suspect bullpen will probably doom Texas. In the East, the Birds are finally coming back to the pack, something I thought the White Sox would have done by now in the Central. Don't count out the Yankees, but I like either the Red Sox or Baltimore to win that division.
We get the Mariner games on cable here and I have seen a lot of them since I got home. As much as I like Brett Boone who damn near won the MVP in 2001, the decision to release him was probably a good one. He just isn't getting it done at the plate even though his fielding is still terrific. Perhaps a change of scenery will help him out. I'm thinking too, that perhaps he and Mike Hargrove didn't hit it off. In fact, I'm thinking Hargrove will be out as manager after this season. Last season's manager, Bob Melvin was superb, letting him go was a major Mariner mistake. I predict that he will excel in a new environment and I am shocked that he wasn't hired by Arizona in the off-season.