Boomer's Diamond Notes: Arizona Wildcats win the CWS

LETS PARTY, TUCSON!

My apologizes to all of our college baseball fans out there, I failed to mention anything about the 2012 College World Series, till now. Well, as many of you may have seen late last night, the Arizona Wildcats swept the best-of-three series dethroning the two-time champion South Carolina Gamecocks, 4-1. Now, what makes this tournament unique then any other college tournament/playoff, is the fact colleges/universities across the nation have wrapped up final exams at least a couple weeks ago, if not months ago. A season that stretches from the middle of February to the end of June its a mini-MLB schedule with teams playing up to 60-70 games. Well, congrats to both the Arizona Wildcats for winning the national title, and the South Carolina Gamecocks for having a three-year stretch making it to the Championship Series. If, you haven't got a chance check out the 2012 MLB Draft that took place back at the beginning of the month. Again, my apologizes for neglecting the college baseball coverage the past month or so. Now, lets check in on the MLB coverage and see how the standings look at this point of the season as we inch closer to the Fourth of July.

AL EAST
1. NY Yankees 44-28, current 3-game win streak, the Yanks have won 7-3, and looking tough to beat.
2. Baltimore Orioles 41-31, 50 W's by the All-Star break? Been awhile, since that has occurred.
3. Tampa Bay Rays 40-33, 5-5 (last 10), Rays need some momentum heading into the All-Star break.
4. Toronto Blue Jays 38-35, 6.5 games back, 7-3 (last 10) is this the year for the Jay's 2nd half run?
5. Boston Red Sox 38-35, well w/ Kevin Youkilis gone, David Ortiz is the last player left on the roster from the 2004 World Series Champion squad.

AL CENTRAL
1. Chicago White Sox 38-35, still only team in the division with a positive run diff. (+32), 4-6 last 10.
2. Cleveland Indians 37-35, the floors about to drop out on the Tribe if they don't start scoring runs (305, 10th in the AL), currently on a 10-game road trip (1-3, so far).
3. Detroit Tigers 36-37, the pre-season favorites have struggled mightily so far this season, is a 2nd half run in store, just 2 games behind the White Sox at this point.
4. Kansas City Royals 32-39, seven games below .500, yet just 5 games back in the division, thus this division is terrible.
5. Minnesota Twins 30-42, 12-games below .500, (See KC Royals).

AL WEST
1. Texas Rangers 45-29, 8-2 (last 10), the REAL season for the Rangers begins in October.
2. LA Angels 40-33, seem to be recovering well from their slow start, winning 9 of their past 10 series.
3. Oakland A's 36-38, Moneyball, great film, current squad 7-3 (last 10) two straight W's.
4. Seattle Mariners 31-44, last year at this point, the M's were 39-39, thats a 8-game drop off, not good.

American League Standings

NL EAST
1. Washington Nationals 41-30, 232 RA,1st in NL, Nats have related on pitching/defense so far.
2. Atlanta Braves 38-34, Chipper Jones (.275 5 HR's 26 RBI's) let him play in the All-Star Game.
3. NY Mets 39-35, RA Dickey has pitched extremely well this season, huge fantasy baseball pick up.
4. Philadelphia Phillies 35-40, the nightmare season continues, C. Lee (0-4) in 12 starts this season.
5. Miami Marlins 34-39, looks like a new stadium, name change, and look, haven't resulted in better results for the South Beach boys, bright side for the residents down there, the Heat are NBA Champions.

NL CENTRAL
1. Cincinnati Reds 40-32, imagine how good this team will be once they get everything rolling.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates 38-34, this team will be one to watch in the 2nd half of the season.
3. St. Louis Cardinals 39-35, 4-game winning streak, the defending champs, are hanging around.
4. Miwaukee Brewers 33-40, 3-game losing streak, Brew Crew will be looking to trade some of their big names before the trade deadline.
5. Houston Astros 30-43, 9-25 on the road this season, makes you wonder where the players focus is on road trips?
6. Chicago Cubs 25-48, the Cubbies are probably headed for 100 L's this season.

NL WEST
1. LA Dodgers 43-31, this team is great at home (24-12), not so on the road (19-19), that sound you hear Dodger fans, the Giants AND Diamondbacks creeping up the standings behind you.
2. SF Giants 41-33, if not winning the division, this team should be in the NL playoffs this season.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks 37-35, don't look now, once wrote off weeks ago, the D-Backs have won 4 in a row and are now just 5 games behind the Dodgers for 1st in the NL West, don't give up on those back-to-back NL West Champs tee's just yet.
4. Colorado Rockies 28-44, would baseball be better off without the Rockies?
5. San Diego Padres 27-47, (See Colorado Rockies).

National League Standings