The All Star Break -- they call it the halfway mark in the MLB season

The powers-to-be in Major League baseball and the most die-hard fans consider the all star break as the halfway point of the season. Fans can get out their calculator, punch in their favorite players' current stats and then double them, which will then give them a pretty good idea, a rough idea, anyway, at what their favorite players' stats will look like at the end of the season.

In most instances, the second-half numbers aren't anywhere close to the first-half numbers. And, why is that? Well, it's not really the halfway point! Most teams in the Majors have played in the neighborhood of 95 to 96 games, already! The teams passed the halfway point at 82 games. After all, 81 and 81 adds up to 162.

But, one thing is for sure, by mid-July, most fans have a pretty good idea if their favorite team has a shot at the playoffs, or not. This year you can pencil in Boston, Detroit, Oakland, Texas, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and maybe -- Cleveland, Baltimore and Arizona.

Those last three will need a big second half!

When the all star game ends and the teams return to regular-season action on Friday, most of the teams  will have 67 games left to shine -- 67 games left to put it all together in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.

Some teams are already looking toward next year. Let's be honest Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax and Herb Score would have to reappear on the rosters of teams like Toronto,  Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, San Diego and the Chicago Cubs in order to get those teams into this year's playoffs

The two toughest races are in the AL East and the NL Central.

Boston (58-38) sits atop the AL East, but three teams -- Tampa Bay, Baltimore and the New York Yankees are all eight games above the .500 mark and will have a lot to say down the stretch as to which team is playoff bound or not.

In the NL Central, Pittsburgh (56-36) and St. Louis (56-36) are in a dead heat, going into today's final game before the break. Cincinnati is right there as well, 10 games over the .500 mark.

Of course, the NL West, like always, is up for grabs. The question is not only which team will win the division, but can any of the five teams distance themselves from the .500 mark? So far, Arizona has held on as they remain six games above the .500 mark at 50-44, going into today's final game before the break. The Dodgers are making a push and have climbed into second place, but are just one game above the .500 mark.

Keep in mind, the NL West teams are always in a battle, but the World Series' winners two of the last three years has come from the division as the San Francisco Giants own the rings to prove it.

The Giants (43-50) are currently 6 1/2 games behind Arizona, so could they be one of the teams that make a second-half run? And don't overlook Washington and Philadelphia, two teams in the NL East which are struggling to keep pace with the division-leading Braves.

My guess, it'll be Boston and St. Louis in the 2013 World Series. But, what do I know?

There's still a half of a season to be played, or should I reiterate, not quite a half a season to be played.

My heart of course, is behind the D'backs. I hope I'm physically up to watching the remaining games and Arizona's string of relievers doing their thing down the stretch. That alone may produce a hospital stay, or two.