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As we approach the All-Star break, the Minnesota Twins are sitting in third place after a 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

The Twins are only a game and a half out of first.

This doesn't sound bad, but expectations are high and anything besides a deep playoff run would be a disappointment.  

The problem is that this was supposed to be the year the Twins put everything together.

After a miserable June, A.J. Burnett has apparently returned to form.

Burnett limited Oakland to two runs over seven innings as New York topped Oakland, 6-2, Wednesday night at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Hey Bleacher Creatures! I'm Chris, co-owner and operator over at TheScoreBoards. It's been a while since I've been able to write anything on here, but I miss hearing from you folks.

I think I've found a way to contribute here without having to spend as much time on it as I used to. While I will certainly do my best to offer some of my own original work on a somewhat regular basis, I would also like to start sharing some of the discussions going on at my site.

If you didn't know who Miguel Cabrera was, and you asked him what he did for a living, his staunch response would obviously be: professional athlete. Your response would probably be, "bowler, Lucha Libre wrestler, competitive eater, possibly?"

He enjoys this distinction with the likes of Brian Scalabrine or John Daly as guys who don't necessarily fit the perception of their job description.

There was a point in time in the season where the Oakland A's could have made a surprising run at the American League West division title, but all hope are pretty much gone after another dreadful performance against the New York Yankees. 

So, what is there for the second half of the season for the A's? Well there's five things the A's have to have to show they could become a contender in the American League West division. 

What a difference a month makes.

Poor Niuman Romero. No one knew who he was until last night, and soon he will be forgotten.

Niuman, pronounced as Newman, was Kevin Youkilis' replacement Tuesday night as Youk left the game with a cramp in his ankle.

Let's just say, Romero's debut wasn't memorable. Today, Romero was designated for an assignment and was replaced by Ryan Shealy from Triple A Pawtucket. 

It is clear that some baseball players refuse to participate in the Home Run Derby because they are afraid of the negative impact it will have on their swing during the second half of the season.

Clearly, guys like Alex Rodriguez, who are paranoid, and even players who have experienced negative results like David Wright and Bobby Abreu are off-base.

For there is no apparent correlation between participation in MLB's signature event and future results.

As we hit the 81 game mark over the Fourth of July weekend, I started thinking about the season so far. It has certainly been interesting. There are plenty of new developments in the 2010 Major Leagues: Parity is at an all-time high and pitching is more dominant than ever. Meanwhile, The Yankees have the best record in baseball and the Red Sox aren't too far behind them. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I have a few random thoughts on the current baseball season:

-Interleague is alive and well-
Some don't like it, but I love it.

What in the name of Babe Ruth is Jason Heyward doing on the National League All-Star squad? Were the voters drunk when they voted or what?

Did he make the starting team because of his stellar performance? Don't make me laugh, eh.

Let's look at his numbers for a minute. Currently, he is ranked 74th in the NL in batting with a .251 mark. That's impressive, yes?

He is 42nd in the league with 11 HR and 31st in RBI with 45.