Two months of the 2013 Major League Baseball season have come and gone, yet four more glorious months await. While some would say it’s a little early to start making bold playoff picture critiques this early in the year, it’s rather obvious that “those people” clearly lack any bit of competitive spirit. A lot of can be said and pointed out by where teams are ranking within their divisions. If nothing else, this is the time to start chiding the experts and sabermetricians if their horses are slipping further and further away from the pack. With that, here’s a shakedown on what to expect in the upcoming months and who may not be able to go the distance.

American League

A.L. East: Boston Red Sox (33-23)

Remember last season when the Red Sox finished a near franchise-worst 69-93? All hope was lost for the once dominant team who broke curses and owned the 2000s. Even after the return of former pitching coach John Farrell to take over as skipper the critics refused to believe that the Red Sox ship would be righted anytime in the near future. Well, looks like some people forgot about how well the pitchers responded to Farrell back when they won the World Series in 2007. Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester have easily become the best one-two combination in baseball, combining for a record of 13-1. Even more impressive is that the bats have been hot too. Dustin Pedroia is mirroring his 2008 MVP campaign with a .329 average and almost half (30) of his RBI total (84) from that season. Despite missing 19 games to start the season David Ortiz made up ground quickly and is leading the team with nine home runs, and OPS of 1.023 and a batting average of .336. It’ll be tough to knock these guys off atop the pedestal come October.

A.L. Central: Detroit Tigers (29-24)

The Tigers are hanging onto their lead by the slimmest of margins over the Cleveland Indians. Miguel Cabrera is playing out-of-his-mind baseball this season, leading in every offensive category except home runs at the moment. The starting pitching staff has been excellent. Max Scherzer is leading the way at 7-0 with Justin Verlander, Doug Fister and a fantastic year by Anibal Sanchez bringing up the rear. The biggest heel for the Tigers, their bullpen. Jose Valverde has been decent since rejoining the team; however, his most recent outing resulted in four earned runs and his first loss of the season. Drew Smyly and Joaquin Benoit have been decent, but everyone else need to step up their game fast, especially with the Indians on their tail.

A.L. West: Texas Rangers (34-20)

The Rangers lost some impact players in the offseason and reloaded with aging veterans Lance Berkman and A.J. Pierzynski as well as a few young faces in Leonys Martin and top-prospect Jurickson Profar. So far, so good. The Rangers have been keeping the Oakland Athletics at bay with an explosive offense and some powerful outings by Yu Darvish and Justin Grimm. Robbie Ross and Tanner Scheppers have been lights out out of the bullpen; however, they lack consistency. The Rangers play a lot of good games, but play equally as poor ones against teams that they should beat. The bitter taste of a quick exit from the 2012 postseason may still be lingering, but it’ll be up to general management to make some moves and get a few more fresh arms on the team before the trade deadline to stay on top.

Wild Card

#1- New York Yankees (31-23)

Brian Cashman is finally starting to look like a true genius. The additions of Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Travis Hafner were sorely needed in the absence of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira’s bats. Robinson Cano has been leading the offensive charge, to no one’s surprise, and despite most critics thinking the Yankees were a wash this season, they’ve done their best to stay relevant especially now with the return of Curtis Granderson. The pitching staff definitely needs so work, mostly in the starting department. Hiroki Kuroda has been dealing well, but CC Sabathia and the rest have been mediocre. It’s still a mystery whether or not this will maintain, but as Yankee fans say, you can never count the Yankees out.

#2- Oakland Athletics (32-24)

The Athletics are a hair behind the Yankees, but would be playing them at Yankee Stadium in the one-game playoff if everything ended now. Based on what happened in New York the first weekend of May when the two played one another, the advantage would definitely be in Oakland’s favor. The Athletics are back on the rise, winning 12 of their last 14 games as red hot Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie continue to pave the way offensively. Bartolo Colon has been dominant at 6-2 with a 3.30 ERA and the bullpen has been near untouchable behind Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook, Jerry Blevins and Grant Balfour. Of all the teams vying to get into the playoffs, the Athletics have the best shot of overtaking their division.

National League

N.L. East: Atlanta Braves (32-22)

Almost everyone knew that the Braves would get into the playoffs, but very few thought that they would do it leading their division. The loss of Brian McCann early on sent worries throughout the organization; however, when they tapped a virtual unknown player by the name of Evan Gattis, very few cared who McCann was anymore. From out of nowhere Gattis has been the lifeblood of the team, hitting .285 with 12 home runs and 32 RBI. To pair with that, Freddie Freeman found his swing again, batting .312 and Justin Upton is currently leading the N.L. with 14 home runs. As for the pitching, it’s been scary good. Mike Minor is the undeniable ace at 7-2 and Craig Kimbrel is proven leader in the bullpen with 16 saves. The Braves just need to keep winning and they’ll be a lock.

N.L. Central: St. Louis Cardinals (35-18)

Somehow the Cardinals are still on top, but it may not be for long unless they fix their problems in the bullpen. Edward Mujica has been their only bright star in this department with 17 saves and a 1.88 ERA. Everyone in the starting rotation has a record over .500, but the two biggest studs have clearly been Lance Lynn and Adam Wainwright with seven wins and ERAs under 3.00 each. The bats have been solid all around with Yadier Molina leading the charge at .355 as well as Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter are both hitting .306 or better.

N.L. West: Arizona Diamondbacks (30-24)

It would appear there’s a new sheriff in town. The Diamondbacks, on paper at least, really shouldn’t be leading their division. Patrick Corbin has been lights out at 8-0 with a 1.71 ERA, but no other starter is at or above .500. Only a few arms from the bullpen (Brad Ziegler and Heath Bell) have been bringing in consistent wins. Paul Goldschmidt has been tearing the covers off of balls with 12 home runs and a .330 average and the same can be said about rookie Didi Gregorius. Right now the Diamondbacks need all the help they can get in a starting pitcher or two. Tyler Skaggs might be a great fit for that, but there’s no telling when the brass will allow this to happen full time.

Wild Cards

#1- Cincinnati Reds (34-21)

The defending N.L. Central division champs got off to a rough start; however, they seem to have found their way behind a great offense led by Joey Votto and his .340 average, 10 home runs and 27 RBI. 27 RBI? Not good enough? How about Brandon Phillips having a rebound year with a .291 average, nine home runs and 44 RBI? Much better. Jay Bruce and Shin-Soo Choo have been producing well, but the pitching has been mediocre at best. Mat Latos is carrying most of the weight, as has Johnny Cueto. The bullpen needs a bit of work, the same goes for Aroldis Chapman on the list too who has been having some rough outing of late.

#2- Pittsburgh Pirates (34-21)

You know that Pirates team that critics have been saying will break the playoff drought? Well, this may be it. Jeff Locke and Wandy Rodriguez has been handling things on the starting pitching side, with A.J. Burnett getting a few quality starts here-and-there. The bullpen has been lights out behind Justin Wilson’s 1.41 ERA and Jason Grilli’s MLB-leading 22 saves. The biggest problem right now is the offense; however, even they’re still producing somehow. No one on the team is batting over Andrew McCutchen’s .287 batting average, but the time when everyone does start getting hot it happens to be with runners on base. If the Pirates can keep this pace they may have a shot of finally shaking the playoff monkey from off of their back.