50: Losses for the Phillies at the break. They reached that number on Sept. 12 last season.


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On pace for 40 home runs and 140 RBI, Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (pictured) has jumped into the lead for the National League batting title. At .362, he has nine points on runner-up Melky Cabrera. He’s young and energetic and plays in a weak division. If you drafted McCutchen, you probably lead your league.

• Philadelphia Phillies: On what planet would you expect a team that boasts Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee to be a last-place team?

• Arizona Diamondbacks: Maybe Ian Kennedy’s Cy Young-caliber season last year was a fluke, after all, and Justin Upton can’t carry an offense.
 

• New York Mets: Who knew that R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana would become the most potent 1-2 rotation punch in the National League East (never mind the whole league), and that David Wright would put up an MVP season?

• Chicago White Sox: If you picked this season to be anything but a rebuilding year for the South Side Sox, you’re lying. Nobody could have seen Paul Konerko’s insane season at the plate.

• Pittsburgh Pirates: Maybe last season’s flash of hope wasn’t a fake-out. Andrew McCutchen is propelling the Bucs as they feast on the weak NL Central.
 

• Boston Red Sox: It feels like they play half their remaining games against the Yankees. All of their starters have morphed into Dice-K. David Ortiz has every right to be angry.

• Chicago Cubs: If there’s any team worse than Boston to root for this year, it’s Theo Epstein's new project. The difference: There’s a bright future for the Cubs.
 

• Texas Rangers: They are the best team in baseball going into the break. As long as Josh Hamilton isn’t terribly injured, the Rangers should breeze through the second half.

• Washington Nationals: Nationals Park is full every night, and it isn’t just Ben’s Chili Bowl. This is a well-rounded team, with two of the game’s shiniest young stars, Stephen Strasburg (pictured) and Bryce Harper.

• San Francisco Giants: If they got their hitting together, this team was going to be a force in the West. Though I doubt anyone saw it coming from Melky Cabrera.
 

There is something very wrong with The Freak. Tim Lincecum’s ERA is way up, and his velocity is way down. The San Francisco Giants right-hander’s fastball was up around 93 mph last season, and now struggles to break 90. He’s rocking an ERA on the wrong side of six. He’s drawing comparisons to Barry Zito’s 2008. Ouch.

Mike Trout (pictured) is a rookie. He’s leading the American League in batting, and he’s the best hitter on the same team as Albert Pujols. The Los Angeles Angels haven’t quite met expectations in the first half, but the reason they’re still in the playoff discussion is Trout’s .341 batting average and .397 on-base percentage.

Mets manager Terry Collins put it succinctly: “R.A.’s one of those magical rides you get on.” Maybe the understatement of the season. Knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey’s emergence is the best narrative baseball has seen in forever — and worthy of all the attention.

The call for replay in baseball has never been louder. And that’s saying a lot. Commissioner Bud Selig continues to pooh-pooh the idea, however, saying “baseball is in the right place with instant replay.” Google “blown call Jerry Hairston Jr.” and then say baseball doesn’t need replay.

This is the year of the whippersnapper. Washington Nationals teenaged dream Bryce Harper (pictured) and the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout are the top contenders for Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues — and offensive uranium for their teams.

The Pirates are in first place? A rookie might be MVP? That alone tells us the first half of the major league season is worth another look. The Daily’s Elisabeth Nielsen reviews the trends, surprises and disappointments of the first half.