With the baseball season at its unofficial halfway point, CNN/SI's experts give their takes on the good, the bad and the ugly of the first half.

Also: Tom Verducci | Tim Crothers | Ozzie Smith

Overrated: Albert Belle, Chicago White Sox

Decent numbers now, but his tepid start helped doom the White Sox yet again. Then, class act that he is, he complained about not being able to DH more and being left off the All-Star team.

Underrated: Paul O'Neill, New York Yankees

The five-time All-Star no one talks about. He's a model of consistency at the plate, a great glove man in right, has 11 steals, and no one plays with more intensity. In a word, he's a gamer.

Annoying: Irascible umpires

They aren't held accountable for bad calls and they are getting more and more contentious. After Marty Foster obviously blew a key call last weekend, crew chief Ken Kaiser tossed Ray Miller because the O's skipper had the gall to suggest that Foster ask another ump for help.

Breakthrough: Mark Leiter, Philadelphia Phillies

Seemed washed up as a starter, then found new life in the Phillies pen. Subbing for injured stopper Ricky Bottalico, the 35-year-old Leiter has saved 17 games to keep the upstart Phils in the thick of the wild-card hunt.

Biggest Surprise: That Woody Woodward still has a job

Everyone has known about the Mariners horrible bullpen for two years, yet GM Woodward has done nothing to fix it. (No, firing pitching coach Nardi Contreras doesn't count.) The pen's woes are the main reason the M's are in last place at the break.

Keep An Eye On: Ricky Ledee, New York Yankess

With the Yankees running away with the AL East, manager Joe Torre can afford to give the 24-year-old significant time in left field, a position he will man for many years to come. He hits for power and average and has an unbelievable arm.

Uplifting: Walt Weiss, Atlanta Braves

The best season of his career was almost derailed when his three-year-old son contracted E. coli. Brody is now out of the hospital and Walt, who handled the situation with the utmost class and grace, is the NL's starting shortstop in the All-Star Game.

Good Trend: Young pitchers

The home run derby is putting people in the seats, but it's nice to see that a group of young arms—Kerry Wood, Bartolo Colon, Orlando Hernandez, et al.—are giving fans something less offensive to talk about.

Bad Trend: Meddlesome corporate owners

Memo to the folks at Fox: Just because you greenlighted When Animals Attack! doesn't mean you can do no wrong in your decision making. How about leaving the baseball calls to the baseball people?

MVP: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals

His value to the Cards is exceeded only by his value to the game. He is just what a pastime in danger of becoming passe needs—an exciting player who's a nice guy, to boot.

World Series: Cleveland Indians over San Diego Padres

The Yankees can't keep it up forever. The Tribe no longer boasts the AL's most powerful lineup, but they have the league's best pitching staff. The Padres, meanwhile, are playing like a team with a fair amount of destiny on their side.

Also: Tom Verducci | Tim Crothers | Ozzie Smith

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