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 Ozzie Smith's Midseason Ups and Downs
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 | Mark Bechtel
Overrated: Home runs McGwire's team isn't winning. Sosa and the Cubs aren't in first. Junior and the Mariners are pathetic.
Underrated: Runs batted in More of a direct reflection on what's important. Juan Gonzalez has almost 100, and the Rangers are winning.
Annoying: Less fundamental baseball being played in the National League It used to be scratching for runs, moving the runner over, sacrifice bunts. Now, there's more of an AL swing(-for-the-fences) to it.
Breakthrough: Carl Everett, Houston Astros He's been around for six years, and finally it's all coming together for him. He's hitting .338 and playing a good center field for the first-place Astros.
Biggest Surprise: Power surge Before the season, no one would have thought there would be so many guys with 30 homers at the break. With all the hype, it doesn't seem surprising now. But no one called this one. Keep An Eye On: Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers Besides the home run race—everybody will be watching that one—true fans need to watch the RBI leaders to see if Igor can get 200.
Good Trend: Attendance It looks like the fans are finally starting to put the aches and pains of the strike behind them and returning to the ballpark. Bad Trend: Chewing tobacco As far as I can see, the use isn't going up. But it doesn't seem to be going down, either. MVP: Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals The Cards wouldn't be the same without him. More importantly, baseball wouldn't be the same without Big Red.
World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves It'll be a Yankee Doodle Dandy—unless the Braves get their bullpen together. Also: Tom Verducci | Tim Crothers | Mark Bechtel
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