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Future File

We asked Sports Illustrated's gurus of the game to look into their crystal baseballs. Here's what they predict for the second half of the season. Click here to find out what storylines they'll be following down the stretch.

Tom Verducci

1. Manny Ramirez will miss the Triple Crown by three hits. The return of Nomar Garciaparra ensures more RBIs and more pitches for Ramirez, but Ichiro Suzuki, getting plenty of rest in the second half, will edge Manny for the batting title.

2. The Cubs will be the only major surprise team to reach October. A deal for a hitter will help as Minnesota (slowly) and Philadelphia (quickly) fade.

3. Barry Bonds will hit 66 home runs. The record, though, is a possibility if he stays healthy.

4. Jason Giambi will be traded. The Yankees, Braves, Cubs and Giants can all jump to the front of the pack of World Series contenders with his guy. But hey, the A's could still re-sign him after the season.

5. The Mariners will win 110 games. Seattle will make a deal for a hitter (John Vander Wal? Phil Nevin? Jermaine Dye?) in July and the victories will continue.

Jeff Pearlman

1. The Marlins will win the NL East. Florida looks a whole lot like the '91 Braves, with fantastic young pitching and a more-than-solid amount of pop. Catcher Charles Johnson has yielded huge dividends as the tutor of A.J. Burnett, Brad Penny and Ryan Dempster.

2. The Royals will fire manager Tony Muser. Kansas City's skipper is a great guy with a fantastic baseball mind, but he doesn't always click with younger players. Look for the Royals to hire a temporary gatekeeper (Frank White?), then pursue an up-and-comer in the Willie Randolph mold.

3. Rick Ankiel will return to St. Louis ... as a hitter. The Cards will be in a tight NL Central race. Ankiel needs some confidence. He's a very, very good contact hitter with some power. When the rosters expand, look for No. 66 to pinch hit and pinch run.

4. The Diamondbacks will run away with the NL West. Arizona's one-two Schilling- Johnson punch is incredibly strong, and both guys are big-game pitchers. No divisional foe has the goods to keep up.

5. Boston will win only 85 games. Sorry, Beantown. It's getting too hot for Red Sox. They'll wither in the second-half heat.

Stephen Cannella

1. Oakland will climb back into the AL wild-card race. Forget the AL West. But the A's trailed wild-card leader Boston by just seven games at the break. Last year Oakland trailed Seattle by seven in early August and rallied to win the division. The A's pitching makes them dangerous, and Jason Giambi plays even better when he sniffs a pennant race. Plus, they still have a total of 10 games to play against Boston and Cleveland, the teams ahead of them in the wild-card hunt.

2. Manny Ramirez won't hit. But only because no one will pitch to him. Ramirez already has 20 intentional walks, putting him in line to break the AL single-season record of 33, set by Ted Williams in 1957. Why should Ramirez see anything hittable? He's the best hitter in the game and the heart of the Red Sox offense this season. Opponents in tight games down the stretch will wave him to first and take their chances with the rest of Boston's cut-and-paste lineup.

3. Luis Gonzalez will be NL MVP. And if it weren't for Barry Bonds, he might win the Triple Crown. At the break, Gonzalez, who less than three years ago was dumped by the Tigers for Karim Garcia, led the league in RBIs and was second in slugging and homers. His MVP cause will be aided by the fact that the Diamondbacks, behind Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling's Cy Young duel, will win the NL West.

4. The Twins and Phillies will hold on. The Cubs won't. Minnesota desperately needs another bat, but it has the pitching to hold off the Indians -- even they can't score enough to compensate for their sorry staff. Philadelphia will end the Braves' stranglehold on the NL East, simply because Larry Bowa won't allow them not to. And the Cubs? They're the Cubs, so even with the league's best pitching they'll find a way to cough up the NL Central to the Astros.

5. Pedro Martinez won't win the Cy Young award. He might not even win 15 games and -- gasp! -- he'll finish with an ERA over 2.00. That leaves Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte as the AL Cy frontrunners, but watch out for Minnesota's Joe Mays, just 25, who's second in the league in wins and tied for third in ERA.