The World Cup is pretty much over for me.

After the U.S. was eliminated, I became a casual fan. I’m just not as interested.

Sure, there are some great teams left: Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and Argentina, but without the red, white and blue in the mix, I am just not as into it.

Now I can return to my true summer passion.

The MLB season isn’t even halfway over yet, and I am ready to immerse myself in baseball all over again.

I can get back to watching Washington’s ace Stephen Strasburg pitch at a crazy high level for a rookie.

Strasburg recently suffered his first loss but still got the record for most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first four starts.

Other rookie pitchers are also pitching at a high level.

St. Louis’ Jaime Garcia is also throwing some great stuff this season.

Garcia is 7-4 with a 2.27 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

Mike Leake, of the Cincinnati Reds, has also been throwing gems all season long.

He has thrown 58 K’s with a 2.29 ERA while winning five games and losing just one.

Atlanta Hawks outfielder Jason Heyward has amassed a decent rookie year as well. He has slowed down from the torrential pace he was at earlier this season, but he is still hitting well.

Ubaldo Jimenez has arguably been the most interesting player in baseball this year. He has dominated hitters all season long.

Jimenez has amassed 13 wins and just one loss. His ERA is an impeccable 1.60, and he has whiffed 95 hitters so far this season.

It will be interesting to see if he can keep up his dominance after the upcoming All-Star break.

Another interesting storyline this season is the tight division races.

No division in baseball has a clear-cut runaway right now.

The biggest gap between the number one and number two teams in any division is in the AL and NL West divisions.

In the AL west, the Texas Rangers and red-hot outfielder Josh Hamilton hold a four-and-half-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels.

The same gap stands in the NL West stand with the San Diego Padres leading the San Francisco Giants.

Most of the division races are extremely tight, with two or three teams within a few games of the lead, and will create great competition when the regular season comes to a close in September.

It is definitely time to put the World Cup on the backburner and watch the many great storylines playing out in baseball.

The second half of this season will be very interesting.

Jordan Boner can be reached at 581-7942 or at jeboner@eiu.edu.