Firstly, this writer would like to apologize for this column’s non-appearance last week. Unfortunately, I found myself to be yet another victim of this tough economy and got laid-off from my full-time job, so writing this was hardly a priority last weekend. Hopefully, I’ll try and get back to a regular weekly schedule from now on, and with so much baseball action to discuss, let’s roll on…

In the AL East. The Yankees were building a bit of a lead over the Red Sox, but they’ve just come unstuck, losing three straight to the Chicago White Sox. Up until this weekend, New York had been playing very well, including series sweeps of Detroit and Baltimore. Boston hadn’t been faring as well. They’d only won four out of 12 games until they met Baltimore this weekend where they’ve won three straight and are now firmly back in contention. The Red Sox split a four game series with Oakland this past week and were swept by the Rangers last week. Still, they’ve been active in the trade market, adding the Indians’ Victor Martinez to their line-up, but also learning that both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on the list of 103 players tested positive for PEDs in 2003. Tampa Bay are only five games back so still in contention, and though all the chatter over the past month was about Ray Halladay of the Blue Jays being traded, no such trade emerged, and Toronto still remains 12 games out of first place, with the Orioles 17.5 games behind.

In the NL East, it’s been all about the Phillies. With a ten-game winning streak under their belts, Philadelphia has now opened up a six game lead over the Marlins, who haven’t been playing too badly themselves. The Atlanta Braves are just a game behind, but the New York Mets have continued to struggle. Still, the Mets managed a run of five straight wins this week, so they’re by no means out of it just yet, but their lack of offensive punch is really beginning to hurt their chances of making a run. The Phillies boosted their hopes by obtaining Cy Young winner Cliff Lee from the Indians, while the Washington Nationals continue to struggle with their league-worst 32-72 record. However, the Nationals were at least buoyed by Josh Willingham becoming the first player since 2003 to hit two grand slams in a single game.

Over in the AL Central, the three horse race continues. Cleveland have pretty much given up the ghost, trading away most of their talent, and the Kansas City Royals, despite their bright start this year, are faring even worse, now with the weakest record in the entire American League. Detroit added veteran Mariners’ hurler Jarrod Washburn to their already excellent pitching staff as they make a run for the divisional title, while the Twins boosted their batting line up with Orlando Cabrera from the A’s. The White Sox picked up Jake Peavy from the Padres, who’s expected to return from the DL in August. Over the coming months, it looks likely that this division will go right down to the wire, and the inter-divisional match-ups are going to be the key decider. However, it’s the White Sox who are currently the in-form team, already having taken three out of four from the mighty Yankees, despite being swept by the Twins last weekend. The Tigers continue to play consistent, if unspectacular baseball but have pretty much led the league from day one, while the Twins are probably too inconsistent to remain in contention and struggle to lift themselves up over the .500 mark.

In the NL Central, it’s still anybody’s race too. The Chicago Cubs have continued to improve, and acquired a couple of good lefties from the Pirates. They swept the Reds last weekend and took two out of three from the Astros midweek. The Cardinals added Matt Holliday to their ranks and he’s already settled in nicely, with a nine-game hitting streak and an absurd 20-for-33 in a Cardinals uniform. St. Louis were the first team all year to take three straight games from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and even though Albert Pujols hasn’t hit a big one in 12 games, the team’s playing well enough to remain very much in contention. The Astros have probably surprised everyone by still remaining well in touch with the leaders, Milwaukee remains doggedly around the .500 mark, and the Pirates just seem to trade every talented player on their books including Freddy Sanchez (Giants), Ian Snell & Jack Wilson (Mariners), and John Grabow & Tom Gorzelanny (Cubs). Still, they got Ronnie Cedeno, right?

Out in the AL West, the Angels continue to top the division, and despite injuries to two of their best players (Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero) continue to play exceptional baseball. This writer thinks there’s not many managers who’ve done a better job this season so far than Mike Scioscia, even against very difficult odds, and witnessing the way they’ve played in the month of July alone (19-7), it’d be hard to bet against them. But the Texas Rangers are by no means out of the running, and continue to play well only four games back. With a series sweep of Boston, and winning a series over both Kansas City and Detroit, the Rangers are still very much in touch. Seattle is now nine games back while Oakland, who certainly had some memorable games against the Twins last week, will be disappointed to see many of their best bats traded away and will have to hope their rookie pitching continues doing the fine job it’s done so far this year.

Finally, turning to the NL West, and it’s still the Dodgers with their seven game lead, while the Giants and Rockies duke it out in second place and at the top of the wild card stakes. The Dodgers may have lost three games on the trot for the first time all season, but it’s most likely a mere glitch, not a disaster. But things can change quickly in this game as we all know. The Giants have taken steps to improve their batting strength, and still possess probably the best pitching rotation in the Major Leagues, so forthcoming inter-divisional match-ups will be crucial. The Rockies may also benefit from any stumbles the Dodgers and Giants might make, their 57-47 record is good enough to top most other divisions. Arizona and San Diego continue to drift somewhat, 19 and 21.5 games back respectively, but they can now focus on rebuilding their teams for future seasons.

Well, that wraps up another eventful week in the MLB. Back next week with more news from the Majors.