The 2009 baseball season is headed towards the All-Star break. Although there are a ton of teams in the playoff race, here are the teams that are ahead of the pack.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers held on with Manny Ramirez out of the lineup. Now that he’s returned from his suspension, the Dodgers will be difficult to stop.

2. Boston Red Sox
Although they’ve cooled off as late, the Red Sox are the one team no one in the American League wants to see in the playoffs. With their pitching improving, they’ll be a tough out in the postseason.

3. New York Yankees
All that money is starting to figure out how to win. Since Alex Rodriguez returned, the Yankees have been elite.

4. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels are trying to get past their emotional start to the season. As the campaign goes along, expect L.A. to grow their lead in the AL West.

5. San Francisco Giants
The Giants are the surprise team in baseball. They have great pitching — lead by Tim Lincecum. If they get enough hits, they’ll be in the race for the duration.

Tim Lincecum is on fire. After getting off to a relatively slow start, the ace for the San Francisco Giants is at the top of his game. Against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Lincecum threw a two-hitter to improve his record on the season to 8-2.

His final stat line was nine innings, two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. His ERA on the season was lowered ton 2.37. In his last eight starts, he has only given up nine earned runs. Lincecum also has three complete games in his last four outings.

The Giants got one run in the top of the first inning. Although that run would have been enough, they tacked on nine more runs for a 10-0 victory. The Giants are now 41-34 and in second place in the NL West. They are 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and one game ahead of the Colorado Rockies.

With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 41-37. They are one game behind he Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

When the New York Yankees gave A.J. Burnett a big contract in the offseason, this was the type of production they wanted. On Saturday against the New York Mets, Burnett gave up only one hit in seven innings while striking out ten. His pitching effort led the Yankees to a 5-0 victory.

Burnett on the season now has a 3.93 ERA to go along with a record of 6-4. Although he got off to a relatively slow start, Burnett has gotten better and better. In his last three starts, the 32-year-old has given up one earned run in more than 20 innings.

The Yankees got a Nick Swisher solo shot in the third inning to get on the board. In the sixth, Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single and then Jorge Posada smashed a three-run homer later in the inning.

The win gives the Yankees a 42-32 record on the season. The Mets fell to 37-36 with the loss.

AJ Burnett - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

Cliff Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, almost threw a no-hitter on Sunday. After pitching seven hitless innings, Lee finally gave up a hit to lead off the eighth inning. Although he lost the no-hitter, he was able to shutout the St. Louis Cardinals to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 3-0 victory.

Cliff Lee Near No-Hitter (Image: Zuma Press)

Lee finished with nine innings pitched and six strikeouts while allowing three hits and two walks. On the season, he’s 4-6 with a 2.88 ERA. Last season, Lee was 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA.

At the plate, the Indians got their runs via the long ball. Mark DeRosa hit a two-run blast in the first innings and Kelly Shoppach followed that up with a solo shot in the fifth.

With the win, the Indians are 29-36. The Cardinals dropped to 34-30.

Twitter has been in the news a lot recently. The microblogging phenomenon apparently isn’t appreciated by Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Multiple reports indicate that La Russa filed a lawsuit against Twitter in May. The lawsuit, which was filed in San Francisco, asks for unspecified damages due to emotional distress and damage to his reputation.

This whole issue seems to have arisen after someone registered the Twitter.com/TonyLaRussa page and posted comments that the lawsuit claims were demeaning and derogatory. La Russa’s suit contends that the page was unauthorized and infringed on his trademark rights.

A screenshot has emerged and it appears that the fake Tony La Russa used the manager’s picture and had multiple references to his documented struggles with alcohol.

Perhaps the funniest* part of this whole story is that the fake Tony La Russa had only four followers before Twitter shut down the page. To compare, Ashton Kutcher has 2,026,413 followers at the moment.

Tony La Russa looks shocked when he logs onto Twitter (Image: Zuma Press)

(*in case Tony La Russa reads this, by “funniest” I meant “saddest”)

On June 9th, Major League Baseball will conduct its 2009 draft. The proceedings will start at 6 PM EST and will feature a number of very talented prospects.

Here is a look at the top ten picks in our 2009 MLB mock draft:

Stephen Strasburg - 2009 MLB Mock Draft (Image: Zuma Press)

1) Washington Nationals - Stephen Strasburg
This is a no-brainer first pick for the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg is not only the best pitcher in this draft, he’s probably the best pitcher in any MLB draft of the last few decades. His statistics are off the charts and he has future superstar written all over him.

2) Seattle Mariners - Dustin Ackley
While there are a ton of quality pitchers in this draft, Dustin Ackley might be the only position player with a “can’t miss” label. He has a great swing and should become a very good first baseman.

3) San Diego Padres - Tanner Scheppers
For the last few years, Tanner Scheppers has been a top flight pitching prospect. However, last year an injury scare hurt his stock. Now that he’s healthy again, expect him to be a top five pick.

4) Pittsburgh Pirates - Tony Sanchez
The Pirates have been connected to Tony Sanchez and that’s not much of a surprise. They’ve had a difficult time finding a dependable catcher and Sanchez can solve that issue.

5) Baltimore Orioles - Tyler Matzek
Considered by many scouts to be the best left-handed pitcher in the 2009 MLB Draft, Tyler Matzek is a starting pitcher who can get up to about 95 on the gun. His impressive size should also help him grow into a very good pitcher down the line.

6) San Francisco Giants - Tim Wheeler
Out of Sacramento State, Tim Wheeler is a 6-foot-4 center fielder. He’s still a bit of a raw prospect but he has the tools to be a star.

7) Atlanta Braves - Aaron Crow
Aaron Crow is a well known prospect. Last season, the Nationals drafted him 9th — but Crow and the Nationals couldn’t agree on a contract. He didn’t do anything to hurt his stock and should once again be a top ten pick.

8) Cincinnati Reds - Alex White
Although Alex White needs a lot of work, the Reds could very well roll the dice on him. He needs to improve his confidence in his fastball but his off-speed pitchers are impressive for a player his age.

9) Detroit Tigers - Jacob Turner
When it comes to a throwing a fastball, Jacob Turner probably has the second best raw heat in the draft behind Stephen Strasburg. He can hit 98 miles per hour and given his age, he could even improve further.

10) Washington Nationals - Donovan Tate
Perhaps the best pure athlete in the draft, Donovan Tate is the son of Lars Tate, the former NFL running back. A center fielder, he has very good size, speed and a good arm. The only flaw in his game right now is a below average eye at the plate, however expect someone in the top to take a gamble on him.

The San Diego Padres agreed to trade Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox. However, Peavy had the final say in the matter since he had a no trade clause in his contract. After deliberating about the potential move, Peavy decided to reject the trade and stay with the Padres.

Jake Peavy Staying in San Diego (Image: Zuma Press)

The White Sox undoubtedly have to be depressed by Peavy’s decision. They desperately need an improvement in their starting pitching and he would have definitely made the team better. It has to hurt even more considering that the Minnesota Twins had just scored 20 runs against the White Sox.

Some league experts think that we haven’t heard the end of this deal. The Padres seem to be pushing for a Peavy trade and will likely continue to shop him up until the trade deadlines. If San Diego doesn’t get an improved offer, they may ask Peavy to once again consider a move to Chicago to play for the White Sox.

Sources close to Peavy seem to think that he’d be fine with a trade, however he’d like to stay in the National League and closer to the West Coast. Currently, Peavy is 3-5 with a 3.82 ERA.

Depending on who you believe, San Diego Padres star pitcher Jake Peavy could be headed to the Chicago White Sox in what will be the first big baseball trade of the 2009 season. According to multiple reports, the Padres will receive multiple players in return including Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richards.

Jake Peavy Trade Rumors (Image: Zuma Press)

However, other sources indicate that the trade isn’t very close to happening. While a third commonly held opinion is that the Padres and White Sox have agreed on a deal and Peavy now has to decide whether or not accept the trade. Since Peavy has a no trade clause in his contract, he can decide whether to go to Chicago.

The 27-year-old Peavy has been named in many trade rumors over the last years. Previous rumors had him landing everywhere from the Atlanta Braves to the Chicago Cubs. This year in nine starts, Peavy has a 3.82 ERA with a 3-5 record. He has 69 strikeouts in less than 62 innings of work.

Peavy is such a hot commodity because he has had an ERA under 3.00 in four of the last five seasons. His best season came in 2007 when he had a 19-6 record with a 2.54 ERA. That year he took home the Cy Young Award for the National League.

If the trade with the White Sox is going to happen, expect it to be announced in the next 24-to-48 hours. If that traded doesn’t go down, expect to hear Peavy in a number of trade rumors up until the trade deadline.

To begin the 2009 baseball season, Brandon Morrow was the closer for the Seattle Mariners. However, manager Don Wakamatsu has already decided to make a change. Exit Brandon Morrow. Enter David Aardsma.

Morrow’s struggles are obvious with a quick glance at the stats. He has a 9.72 ERA and his record is 0-3. In 8.1 innings of work, he has given up nine hits and ten walks. While he has held on in 6-of-8 save opportunities, the Mariners obviously won’t a smoother ride at the end of ballgames.

Aardsma is the definition of a journeyman. At just 27 years old, he has pitched for five different teams in each of his five seasons. He started off with the San Francisco Giants, then went to the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox before ending up with the Mariners.

This season, Aardsma has very good stats. He has a 1.53 ERA over 17.2 innings. He has 18 strikeouts and has allowed only nine hits. Aardsma is already 4-for-4 in save opportunities this year. However, it’s difficult to believe he can continue at this pace. Although he has very good stuff, his ERA in three of his last four seasons was 5.55 or higher. The one season it was lower, he had a 4.08 ERA.

If Aardsma can keep pitching at his current level, he will likely be able to hold onto the job. If not, Wakamatsu may be looking at other closer options soon.

David Aardsma, Seattle Mariners (Image: Newscom)

Having two are three top fantasy baseball closers is always helpful in the fantasy baseball world. Here are the top closers in 2009 fantasy baseball so far:

Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers (Image: Zuma Press)

1) Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers
Some Dodgers fans thought the closer spot in the bullpen could be shaky in 2009. Guess again. Broxton has eight saves, an era of 0.56, a WHIP of 0.38 and 27 strikeouts in 16 innings.

2) Frank Francisco, Texas Rangers
The Rangers gave Francisco the closers job. So far, so great. He hasn’t given up a run yet and has nine saves and a win.

3) Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
Another closer who has yet to give up a run, Heath Bell has been a huge hit for the Padres and big reason why they are doing better than most experts predicted.

4) Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
The Mets went into the offseason trying to strengthen their bullpen. To do that, they signed Rodriguez away from the Angels. His nine saves and 1.08 ERA point to a very good signing.

5) Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals
Franklin is doing a fine work as the Cardinals closer. He has nine saves, an ERA of 1.23 and a WHIP of 0.68.