Sox playoff hopes rest with Pedro

Happy Fourth of July holiday, and summer is finally here. This is a holiday that more or less signals the middle of the baseball season. So how is this 2003 season going?

In Portland, it is going just fine. The dreamed-of association of the Sea Dogs with the Red Sox is firing the merchandise off the shelves and filling the yard. For an organization already high on the minor league attendance list, this year should set records.

The Sea Dogs’ success is two-fold. One, they are affiliated with the Sox and that means everyone is hoping to see the next bright star in Boston before he gets there. Two, going to the games is fun.

That is the most common term I’ve heard from fans who attend. The park is quaint, the food is good, the entertainment never stops around the park, and kids are especially made to feel at home. How many major league teams wish they could say all that?

Let’s turn to Major League Baseball.

The Sox are just where we thought they would be, second to the Yankees and already thinking about a wild-card spot – again. The bullpen mess now goes from closer-by-committee to Byung-Hyun Kim as the new closer. He picked up his first save Wednesday night.

Pedro Martinez will have to win almost every start he has in the second half if the Sox have hopes of catching the Yankees, or making the wild-card slot.

The AL Central is the weak division, as expected. Not that Kansas City and Minnesota are bad teams, but they are not among the top five or six in baseball. However, they will battle for the division title and a shot at a couple of upsets in the postseason. These two teams hope to be the Angels of this season.

The World Champion Angels are struggling and that is not a surprise. Last year they were a team of players who played above their heads singularly and collectively. Nothing wrong with that, but that’s good for one year only. Seattle, as expected, should win the AL West, with Oakland’s pitching always keeping them within striking distance and in line for the wild-card position.

In the NL, Atlanta has reversed its formula for winning. After a decade of being either one or two in team ERA in the NL, they are now in the middle of the pack in pitching, with their ace, Greg Maddux, showing his age. Yet, they are monsters at the plate, with a sobering lineup for any pitcher to face.

Philadelphia has enough to give the Braves a run for the division title. Their games against one another in the second half will be testy and fun.

Houston should win the Central, but their pitching has faltered. St. Louis is going through another year of filling in the starting rotation as the regulars are injured or just not performing.

The Cubs are not good enough to win, unless the Astros and Cardinals meander in the second half and the Chicago pitching led by Mark Prior and Kerry Wood goes on a tear. They could.

The Giants are the class of the NL West. However, the Diamondbacks have made a great run the last three weeks and have done it with their two aces, Curt Shilling and Randy Johnson, out. Arizona sits sweetly in the position of being the feel-good story of the second half.

As the Yankees get healthy in the second half, they will only be better. Think wild card, Sox fans, as you barbecue that steak using that ugly potholder you’ve burned to a crisp.

Happy Fourth.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.