Now that we have put the Barry Bonds/ Babe Ruth blah, blah, blah to sleep, I think it’s time that we sat back and wagered a few bucks on our favorite MLB team. Parity is here and every one of the six divisions is up for grabs this year and handicapping these teams, takes patience and talent.

Let’s start with the glamour division and of course I am referring to the American League East where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been trading punches since the opening week of April and George’s boys are now sitting in the penthouse.

Lurking down in the lobby are the Toronto Blue Jays who have fought off injuries to their starting pitching staff, with superb hitting and are 32-25 and are just three games back. Toronto has made it clear from the get go, that they will spend money during the season in order to contend.

In the AL Central my 9-1 betting bonanza and that would be the 2005 Chicago White Sox are scuffling a bit after a torrid start and presently trail the Motown Detroit Tigers. The Tigers began the first 50 games under Jim Leyland in spectacular fashion, but injuries are beginning to hit them, with the latest being to Pudge Rodriguez.

At 28-29 the Cleveland Indians will make a move at some point and placing a few bucks on them, could provide you with a nice return on your dollar. The AL West with Texas, Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles is a crapshoot, with only 5.5 games separating the VIP section and the cheap seats. The first place Rangers incidentally are the only team in the West with a winning mark in games played within the division and against the powerful AL East and you cannot ignore that vital gambling statistic.

The New York Mets like their neighbors the Yankees like to throw the money around and they sit atop the NL East presently, but the Phillies and Braves can almost reach out and touch them. With 14 straight division titles, I certainly would think about a wagering a few bucks on them to win once again.

The Cardinals are suddenly trying to ward off the Cincinnati Reds who are getting healthy and pounding the ball. The Cardinals meanwhile have all kids of injury issues with Pujols and ace Chris Carpenter does not look stable.

Just like their counterparts in the AL West, the NL West Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, Giants and Rockies are in a fierce battle for supremacy. Just six games separate the top and bottom, with Arizona leading the pack. The Dodgers are getting superb play out of Garciaparra and if their veterans can stay healthy, watch out!

Whether it’s the AL West or the NL West in MLB, the level of play seems to drop off substantially when rating the various divisions. In the AL West, the LA Angels and the Oakland A’s are presently tied for the lead, but then a team like Texas drops four in a row and they still only find themselves 1 ½ games back of first place.

Over in the NL West, I have a sneaky suspicion that the San Diego Padres are about to make a definitive move on their rivals who are playing sub-par ball. San Diego has won 4 in a row on the road and now heads to Colorado for a weekend set against a floundering club.

The Padres got some great news yesterday when their presumed ace, prior to the season, Jake Peavy won his first game in two months. Peavy helped himself on Wednesday with a homer, a double and four RBIs as the NL West-leading Padres rolled to a 10-3 victory.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have lost eight straight, are 1-13 since the All-Star break and have been outscored 81-29 during this stretch. They are eight games under .500 (47-55) and a season-worst 7 1/2 games out of first place in Grady Little’s first season as manager.

Peavy (5-10) threw 129 pitches over seven innings allowing two runs and five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks. The right-hander came in 0-5 with a 6.61 ERA in eight starts since beating St. Louis 10-8 on May 28. Peavy has seven hits in 36 at-bats this season including his first career home run on July 5 at Philadelphia. His eight RBIs equal what he had in 200 at-bats before this season.

The acquisition of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been the steal of the year as the former 1st round draft pick in 2000 by the Florida Marlins has been nothing short of spectacular. He extended his hitting streak to 17 games on July 26. Gonzalez, who hit in 17 consecutive games from May 17-June 9, is the first player with two streaks of 17 or more games for San Diego since 1997 when OF Tony Gwynn had streaks of 19 and 20 games.

Prior to this year the hometown Gonzalez had hit only 7 homeruns and driven in 25 in just 192 at-bats, so the Padres are jumping for joy and they are getting excellent production out of Mike Piazza who has chipped in with 15 homeruns and 45 RBI’s in just 250 at-bats.

Pencil in the Padres as the NL West champions and look for them to flex their muscles in the Rocky Mountain High state this weekend!