HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

We are at the halfway point in the season and while some teams are enjoying it, others can't wait till next year.
Half full
The Cubs are riding high and tho' they've hit a bit of a glitch lately, they'll be there at the end.
The Giant fans are counting on history to get them to the World Series, since this is an even year and they've won in 2010, 2012 and 2014. With a five game lead they have a good shot.
Texas has the best record in the AL and they're riding high.
Cleveland is the big surprise in the AL. Are they counting on Lebron James magic to take them all the way?
The Orioles are leading the AL East but I don't think they've got the stuff to hold off Toronto.
Half Empty
I think Minnesota, Atlanta and Cincinnati are ready to pour out the glass and go home.
The Yankees, Pirates and Mariners can't decide which side of the fence they're on. I think they're done.

Cleaning house 
The baseball pundits have traded most of the Yankee's roster away in their columns because they believe it's time for a change. I think NY will be sellers but not to the extent that some writers say. The most popular players they think will be traded are Beltran, Miller, Chapman, Gardner, McCann, Nova, Pineda and Eovaldi. Those aren't trades, that's a fire sale. The only one that I think is a mistake is Andrew Miller.

They dump managers, why not a coach?
There are five pitchers on that NY trade list. Has the Yankee brass ever considered that it might be Rothschild, the pitching coach? The pitchers start out okay but once they go bad, he never seems to be of any help. Maybe he's the one that talks Girardi into pulling the starters so quickly. If you want to trade somebody, trade him. Surely the Yankees can used a box of batting practice baseballs.
Foiled again
 Rangers pitcher Matt Bush was a first round draft pick as a shortstop in 2004. He was involved in a hit and run accident in 2012 when he hit a 72-year old motorcyclist. After spending 34 months in prison, the Rangers signed him as a pitcher. The Yankees, of course, tried to sign the 72-year old motorcyclist but couldn't come to terms.
Didn't they read the menu? 
Michael Kay keeps talking about the Yankee "table-setters," Ellsbury and Gardner. Earlier this week, twice they led off an inning by getting on base and nothing happened. They set the table but nobody's eating.
Aha, payday again!
It's July and on the first, the Mets sent another $1,190,000 check to Bobby Bonilla. Bobby's been retired since 2001, but his paycheck goes on...and will for 19 more years.
It's been done...and then some
The Cubs have their entire infield as the starters in this years All Star game, only the second time in history. The 1963 St. Louis Cardinals did it first. If that impresses you, how about this:
In 1957, the Cincinnati Reds fans elected seven of their players to the National League starting lineup, graciously allowing Stan Musial to win the first base job. Commissioner Ford Frick investigated the voting and found that a Cincinnati newspaper printed up pre-marked ballots and distributed them with their newspaper. He then disqualified Wally Post and Gus Bell and replaced them with two fairly decent players, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Didn't matter, the American League won 6-5.

***THEY SAID IT***

"Indians third baseman Juan Uribe — sidelined for five days after a bad-hop ground ball left him with a testicular contusion — hit home runs in each of his first four games back. Hey, don’t laugh: It’s certainly cheaper than steroids."  -- Dwight Perry

"Joey Chestnut won the Nathan’s contest with a record of 70 hot dogs today. Who says we need to “Make America Great” again? We still rule in our national sport – eating."  -- Janice Hough
"Congrats to Las Vegas on getting a NHL Franchise. Single game tickets start at $75 each and a 2 drink minimum."  -- TC Chong 
"In a game against Kansas City, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright almost hit a bird with a pitch. This was the first baseball bench-clearing brawl led by PETA."  -- Brad Dickson

"ESPN the Mag Body Issue: spoiler alert!  If I want to see 6-foot-2, 325-pound Vince Wilfork sprinting naked, I’ll go into the Houston Texans’ locker room after a game next season and pull the fire alarm.”  -- Scott Osler

"Suspended tennis star Maria Sharapova is taking part in a two-week program at Harvard Business School. Though classmates say hearing a loud grunt in the middle of a pop quiz certainly takes some getting used to."  -- Dwight Perry

"Speaking on the death of Tennessee coaching icon Pat Summitt: “If they didn’t have a women’s basketball team in heaven, they do now. And practice starts tomorrow at 9 a.m., sharp.”  -- Janice Hough

"The College World Series lasted two full weeks. Or, as that’s called in the NBA playoffs, “the fourth quarter.”  -- Brad Dickson

"Jockey Chris Meehan, racing in Merano, Italy, got kicked in the face — breaking his nose and gashing his jaw — after he fell from his mount, then the ambulance that came to treat his injuries somehow backed over him, breaking his leg.  Lucky thing he didn’t ask what the trifecta was."  -- Dwight Perry 
"I don’t think all Nebraskans fully understand the swimming competition taking place at the pool. One family from out-state arrived with fishing gear."  -- Brad Dickson
 "Quarterback Andrew Luck of the Indy Colts signed a $140M six-year contract. It’s an NFL record, as Luck would have it."  -- RJ Currie

CP-