Five Burning Questions for MLB's Second Half

With the National League's win in the 2010 All-Star game, the first half of baseball is now officially in the books.

It is fairly easy to say that the first half of the season belonged to the pitchers, with no-hitters, perfect games, and many near misses of both. As a matter of fact, twelve teams enter the second half with team ERA's below 4.00 and eighteen individual pitchers had ERA's below 3.00 on the season.

Certainly, the hitters will look to make a difference in the second half of the season, as we enter the dog days of summer, but they won't be the only story of the second half. Here are the other burning questions that will need to be answered as baseball swings from July to October:

1.) Despite not landing Cliff Lee, are the Yankees still the team to beat?

- Yes. Even without Lee, the Yankees have a formidable pitching staff. Yes, they have the innings limit that has been placed on Phil Hughes to contend with and will likely chase after a short-term solution to plug into that spot, but given Javier Vazquez's resurrection in June and July, it is less of a worry to plug a hole with a proven commodity. The line-up is intact, with Mark Texeira and Alex Rodriguez only having room to grow in the second half. Then there is the added incentive to win one in honor of "The Boss."

2.) Who will separate from the packs?

- Currently, the largest division lead in baseball is only 4.5 games, which belongs to the Texas Rangers. That said every division is knotted in what hopes to be an exciting summer at the races. All it takes it one team to get hot to flip a division on its ear or to blow it wide open. Will the upstart Padres and Reds be able to hold on? Will the Red Sox survive all these injuries and stay in the hunt? Can the White Sox keep up their hot streak or will the Twins or Tigers get their own turns? Can the Braves send Bobby Cox off into the sunset a winner? There are still three months left in the season, so nothing is guaranteed.

3.) What will the trade deadline bring?

- The big fish has already been pulled from the pond now that the Rangers have landed Cliff Lee, but there are still plenty more in the sea. Someone is going to come up with a package to sway Drayton McClane to trade both Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. The Brewers may be enticed to move Prince Fielder in addition to Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Adam Dunn could land with a contender if he can't work out an extension with the Nationals. The Cubs are looking to sell and may try to talk Derrek Lee into waiving his no trade clause. And none of that even considers if the Phillies opt to package Jayson Werth either to sell or to better their pitching staff.

4.) Will the American League MVP race stay a two horse race?

- Right now, Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton are parlaying Triple Crown runs into a runaway competition for the MVP award. There is only one player currently on the outside looking in, and Justin Morneau may miss extended time due to a recent concussion. Still, a guy like Adrian Beltre may sneak into the race if the Red Sox manage to push themselves into the post-season.

5.) Can Ubaldo Jimenez be the first pitcher in 42 years to win 30 games in a season?

- The Rockies starter dominated the National League in the first half, going 15-1 for a Rockies team that is two games out of first place, throwing a no-hitter in the process. Still, with pitch limits and five-man rotations, it is nearly impossible for a pitcher to achieve the feat in this current climate. Bob Welch was the closest within the last 20 years, when he won 27 with Oakland in 1990, on a team that also had a 22-game winner in Dave Stewart. Jimenez has a chance, but he'd have to be just as untouchable in the second half as he was in the first.

Sources:

Sortable Team Stats, MLB.com

Sortable Pitching Stats, MLB.com

Regular Season Standings, MLB.com

Bob Welch Stats, Baseball-Reference.com