It’s amazing what a difference three days makes.

Prior to the All Star break, the second half of the season seemed so far away. Today, the marathon takes a turn and if you are a player, you can sense the change.

The games become more important because there is less room for error. Having 100 games to play is a lot different than the 72-75 games most teams have remaining in the schedule.

Go on a 10 game winning streak now and you may win a division. Go on a 10 game losing streak and I’ll see you in spring training.

Read on for some of the challenges facing the contenders.The American League will soon know whether the Angels can stay in the race for the rest of the summer. After playing the Twins and the Royals over the next week, the Seraphs face Oakland, Seattle, Boston, and New york right through August 4th with one day off. That’s three and one half weeks of pressure.

The Angels have relied on strong starting pitching, it will be tested. The Angels have hit the ball surprisingly well. Tim Salmon will have to show everyone he can hit the ball with authority during crunch time.

If the A’s are to catch Seattle this season, the Angels will have to help them out when they play the Mariners. Other than Oakland, no one in the West has played Seattle on even terms.

Seattle and Oakland mirror each others schedule once again. The A’s have held their own against Anaheim and Texas in the past. Adding Ted Lilly to a starting rotation that is the best in the league, enhances the A’s chances of overtaking the Mariners. The A’s need to go on one of their patented second half runs right away because Seattle will not play less than .550 ball over the next 25 games.

Will the A’s add a hitter? Probably. I like the idea of acquiring Pudge Rodriguez from Texas. Billy Beane works well with Texas ass’t GM, Grady Fuson. Texas needs pitching. The A’s can return Aaron Harang to Texas with a minor league prospect or two ( see Yankee deal). Rodriguez can hit fourth, a spot the A’s need help. Rodriguez is a Hall of Fame catcher and a certain upgrade from Ramon Hernandez. He can catch the big three with no problem.

Rodriguez is a big name player, his addition would send shockwaves through the division.

Billy Beane likes to be dramatic, getting Pudge is dramatic.

Seattle is still looking for a fifth starter as they put Rafael Soreshoulderiano on the DL.

Boston faces the weak sisters of the league over the next month. Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Detroit and then a few games with New York to keep alert. If the Red Sox suffer any injuries to key players, this could be the month where the Yankees pull away from the Sox.

New York has a similar schedule to Boston’s coming up. Neither of these teams have played up to their potential, if they falter against these teams, then the Angels and the

A’s will be very much alive in the Wild Card race. There is some pressure on NY and Boston to whip up on the bottom feeders over the next few weeks or else the wild card can become a problem for the second place team in the East.

The Giants will find out where they stand quickly over their next 20 games or so. The Dodgers and Cardinals provide opposition as well as two more games with Arizona. Even though August looks like an up month for SF, they don’t want to have to make up a 7 or 8 game deficit on the two teams ahead of them.

The Giants goal should be to stay within 3 or 4 games of the lead heading into the Dog Days of August. Pitching prevails during the hot days of summer and the Giants are built on good pitching.

The Braves can coast in by beating the Expos, Phillies, and Marlins over the next month. There is something wierd about the Expos trying to acquire all the players they are rumored to be after. The team is owned by the league, the league has to approve the deals, the teams in the league are competing with Montreal for the championship, yet have the right to approve any transactions which add salary. There is something wrong with this picture.

Houston plays Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Chicago over the next three weeks. This is their chance to get back into the race big time. If they let this break in the schedule go by without picking up significant ground, it may doom them for the year.

St. Louis has 7 games with the Giants (a test), while Houston tries to get fat.

Minnesota just needs to stay healthy because neither the White Sox nor the Indians have any direction.

This next month will tell us a lot about where the races will eventually end up. Pitching will be the key, watch and see whose five man rotations can stand up to the pressure. Middle relievers will be worth their weight in gold.

The season isn’t at the point of no return for the pursuers, but things can change quickly unless you are ready to play hardball right now.