MLB Mid-Season Report

After Sunday's Major League Baseball games, the boys of summer will enter their mid-season All-Star week break. Teams will have approximately 60 percent of their scheduled games completed by the end of Sunday. Now it is time to start paying attention.

Admittedly, I don't watch hockey until the playoffs. For baseball, I don't start paying attention until July. So let's see where we are.

When you come in late, power rankings can help get you up to speed quickly. I took a look at the power rankings compiled by ESPN, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, and Yahoo Sports. The Hoosier on the Potomac statistics staff took those four rankings and calculated a composite power rankings.

Hoosier on the Potomac composite MLB power rankings:

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Houston Astros
2. New York Yankees
4. Seattle Mariners
5. Chicago Cubs
6. Milwaukee Brewers
7. Cleveland Indians
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Oakland Athletics
10. Philadelphia Phillies

Here is what you need to know.

American League is not competitive, National League is super-competitive

There will not be much drama in the AL this year. The Red Sox, Indians, and Astros lead the East, Central, and Western Divisions, respectively. If the season ended today, the Yankees and Mariners would secure the two Wild Card invitations. It's possible the surging Athletics or surprising Tampa Bay Rays could catch one of the top five teams and sneak into the playoffs, but it is unlikely.

None of the NL division leaders is as strong as the AL behemoths, and therefore, more susceptible to a September swoon. They also have many more predators amongst them. There are seven NL teams playing above 0.500 baseball and within 6.5 games of their division leader.

Only five of 15 teams have a shot at the AL pennant, but 10 of 15 have a chance to win the NL crown. Take a look at the NL Wild Card race -- so many teams are still in it. Most fans of NL teams have something to watch this summer. However, fans in Baltimore, Kansas City, Detroit, Dallas, Minneapolis, Miami, San Diego, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh don't need to worry about saving money for playoff tickets and can start focusing on their favorite NFL team now.

Boston Red Sox Are Red Hot

The American League has the four best teams in baseball. Over the last two weeks, the Red Sox have proven to be just a notch better than the other three. They have won 12 of 13.

Boston came back from a 2-1 deficit Saturday to win on a 10th inning walk-off grand slam by Xander Bogaerts. The Red Sox even lost starter Eduardo Rodriguez (11-3, 3.44 ERA) to injury in the sixth inning. Everything is going right for this team.

But will it last? Championships are not won in July. Gio Rivera of ChowderAndChampions.com thinks the Red Sox lack of pitching depth could still prove to be a problem down the road.

Bryce Harper Is Playing His Last Season in D.C.

Harper is in his seventh season as a Washington National. He has been the NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, NL home run leader, and a six-time All-Star. And next year, he won't be a Nat.

Without a doubt, Harper has been stellar for Washington, and he will potentially command the highest salary in baseball this offseason when he hits free agency. I have been to a few Nationals games since getting back to the Potomac a few years ago, and it seems like Harper has hit a home run in at least half the games I have attended. He is Washington's most exciting hitter, yet it would be logical for the Nats to let him walk this offseason -- if not trade him for something before July 31 this year.

Harper is batting an anemic 0.214 and Washington is lucky to have won half of their games. While he can generate excitement with his perfect and powerful left-handed swing, he is only the 17th best player over the past five years with respect to Wins Above Replacement (WAR), according to Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. Washington could most likely populate their entire outfield next year for $11 million dollars less per year than what it would cost for Harper alone.

Scott Davis of BusinessInsider.com estimated last year it would cost about $40 million a year to sign Harper after this season. At that many dollars, it makes no sense for the Nats to keep their generational star.

Cincinnati Baseball Fans Might Actually Have Something to Watch

When my son and I went to Cincinnati to watch the Reds in mid-May, we saw them lose two games by a combined score of 18-1, and they finished the weekend 16-32. Every single one of their starting pitchers was awful, and they couldn't hit. They were possibly the worst team in baseball.

Since we attended those two lifeless Reds performances, Cincinnati traded for New York Met starting pitcher Matt Harvey, got starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani back from the disabled list, and got their bats going. From May 30 to July 2, the Reds have gone 18-11.

The Reds are mashing the ball now with second basemen Scooter Gennett leading the NL in batting average (BA), third basement Eugenio Suarez leading in runs batted in (RBI), and first basemen Joey Votto leading in on-base percentage (OBP), and all are legitimate All-Stars. I jumped the shark this week and purchased the Reds MLB.TV package and got to watch them take a series from the St. Louis Cardinals with my older brother who came to visit us this weekend. I, for one, am excited that Cincinnati may finally be building a winner for 2019 after viewing such a steaming pile of garbage less than two months ago.

Hanging with my older brother in the Hoosier on the Potomac office space -- older bro to my right, Reds on MLB.TV to my left. Free beer to the first person who identifies the guidon above the laptop.

Musical Interlude

This has no connection to baseball or sports, but I have to tell you about seeing Dan Baird and Homemade Sin live in concert. Baird used to be the front man for the Georgia Satellites who flashed into the nation's consciousness when their song, Keep Your Hands to Yourself, hit #2 in 1986. I didn't love that song immediately, but they drew me in, and I was totally in love with the band after their 1989 album In the Land of Salvation and Sin.

I love checking out live music in the smaller 2,000-person or less venues like the 9:30 Club in D.C. or Rams Head Live in Baltimore. I have seen Son Volt, The Record Company, and Highly Suspect in the last year or so. The opportunity to see Baird and his current band in a similar venue, Hill Country DC, in the District had me pretty jazzed up.

So I worked it. I got one of my best buddies (with similar musical tastes) to bring his wife and join my wife and I for some barbeque at Hill Country DC (which is primarily a restaurant) followed by watching Baird and Homemade Sin. I was expecting a 1,000-person venue, but we were pointed to the basement of the restaurant where there was a room with a step-up stage on one end, a bar on the other, and space for maybe 200 people.

At Hill Country D.C. for Dan Baird and Homemade Sin...we were THAT close. That's Baird in the top hat over my right shoulder. Free beer to the first person that identifies the meaning of my shirt.

It was incredible. I love great live music so much in some instances that I can barely stay inside my own skin. It just makes me so happy.

Fast forward to this week, and we had a great night Saturday with family from Indiana and New York who had come to the banks of the Potomac this weekend. We got in the swagger wagon Sunday morning to get the family together again and a deliciously sappy pop-country song came on the radio that I like. It gave me the same feel as when I think about that Baird concert.

I put on my sun glasses, because I didn't want anyone to see me if I teared up. I hoped no one would ask me a question, because I didn't want anyone to hear my voice if it cracked with emotion. Sometimes I have these Sunday mornings where I can't believe how lucky I am to listen to some tunes and watch some sports with my family and friends, and that really is about all I need...pretty damn incredible.