It’s true. The Cincinatti Reds are leading the NL Central. When Dusty Baker’s team jumped out to a early lead in the division many baseball scribes patted them on the head and called them cute. But here we are. It’s the beginning of July and the Reds are a game up on the mighty St. Louis Cardinals. Standing atop the division with a 44-35 record, Cincinati are look like a team that will be battling for a postseason berth all season. It’s been fifthteen years since the Reds have been to the playoffs and 10 years since they finished a season with a winning record. If the Reds keep up their winning ways, this stint in Cinci might be the finest achievement in Dusty Baker’s career. The franchise has been in the wilderness for so long that the city is bound to go crazy if they actually take home the division. Baker’s been helped by heavy hitting first baseman Joey Votto, a reborn Scott Rolen at third, and great pitching from starters Johnny Cueto and Bronson Arroyo. Who knows if the baseball first pro team can keep winning, but the fans in Southwest Ohio should be happy.

It may have taken manager Ozzie Guillen’s team until mid-June to start playing well this season, but the Chicago White Sox are on a roll. The Southsiders have won 8 straight games this month heading into their game today with the Atlanta Braves. The starting pitching the last few weeks has been terrific with Jake Peavy, Freddy Garcia, John Danks, and Mark Buehrle all putting out a string of quality starts. Outfielder Alex Rios is repaying GM Kenny Williams for trading for him last season by raising his batting average to .318. Paul Konerko is having one of his best starts to a season this year with a BA of .304, 17 HR’s, and 52 RBI’s. The White Sox are currently only sitting back 3.5 games from the division leading Minnesota Twins. The Detroit Tigers also have a game up on the White Sox, but the AL Central is looking more every day like a three horse race. A few wins over hated rival the Chicago Cubs in the Crosstown Classic would be a ideal way for the White Sox to finish off the month of June. We’ll see if the The Men in Black can keep this momentum going.

On Thursday night in Detroit a line a mile long at the Tigers’ Comerica Park stretched across the field. The line wasn’t full of kids waiting to run the bases, but to pay there repsects to a fallen friend. Famed radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away this week at the age of 92, sending the Motor City into full fledged mourning. Harwell was a legend in the city of Detroit for his 42 years calling Tigers games. There was line at 7:30 AM at Comerica Park, and by the time the last person left the stadium on early Friday morning more 10,000 Tiger fans paid their respect to the legend. I moved from Detroit when I was in the third grade, but out of curiosity I turned on a few youtube clips of Harwell. Immediately I recognized his voice like an old uncle I hadn’t heard from in a decade. Fox Sports broadcasters are planning on mourning Harwell with a half inning of silence. The Tigers will honor Ernie on Monday night at Comerica Park when the Tigers take on the Yankees at 7:05 PM.

Heading into today’s series final, the Pittsburgh Pirates could complete an unforeseen sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the season. Last season, the Pirates set the dubious record of become the only franchise in Major League Baseball to have 17 consecutive losing seasons. Everyone wants to begin each season in baseball with the old adage, “Hope springs eternal”, but fans in Pittsburgh are probably sick of hearing that applied to their baseball team. But do the Bucs really have  a chance for a winning season this year? Andrew McCutchen’s three hits against the Dodgers were indicative of the many experts expecting a break-out season from the 23-year-old. Garrett Jones, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Doumit have all shown promise at the plate in their careers and if they all have good years this season I don’t see why the Pirates can’t finish the year above .500. Ross Ohlendorf and Zach Duke would benefit from having better run support this season as both pitchers won 11 games last year on a bad team.

Todd Helton, the cornerstone of the Colorado Rockies franchise since he was the Rookie of the Year in 1998, has been given a two-year contract extension by the club. Helton owns every offensive franchise record being one of the most consistent MLB players over the last decade. At age 35, Helton is nearing the end of his career, but proved last year he still has some gas left in the tank. Helton had a batting average of .325 and knocked in 86 runs in 2009, helping the Rockies win the Wild Card for the second time in three years. Helton agreed to have $13 million of the $141 million dollar deal he signed way back in 2001 to be differed to after his playing career to help the club gain flexibility in the free agency market. It is also a possibility according to reports, that Helton continue on with the organization in some capacity after his playing days are through.

Hall of Fame shortstop Luis Aparacio is lending his retired #11 number to the Chicago White Sox’s new signing Omar Vizquel. The 42-year-old Vizquel and the 75-year-old Aparacio are two of the most decorated professional baseball players to ever come out of Venezuela. Aparacio played ten years out of his three decade long playing career in Chicago winning a Golden Glove awards and leading the league in stolen bases for years. Vizquel, now in the twilight of his career, has model himself after Aparacio breaking the baseball great’s record for most games played at shortstop in 2008. Vizquel asked Aparacio if he could wear the #11 for Chicago to honor him and the legend agreed. Vizquel has played for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and most recently with the Texas Rangers. In 2009, Vizquel was used in mostly a backup infielder role playing in 62 games and did not commit a single fielding error all season. Seeing Vizquel play in Chicago wearing #11 will be great to see this season as two legends of past and present pay homage to each other.