New York ? Almost everybody was stunned to see Roger Clemens get knocked around in the All-Star game. The second half of the season could be filled with big surprises, too.

Texas and St. Louis are in first place. The Padres and Mets are only two games out. And Randy Johnson could shake up the entire pennant race if he’s traded by the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Yankees and Red Sox are sure to make a run at him, adding another chapter to their storied rivalry. Or maybe a different team — perhaps Anaheim — will pry him away before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

“This isn’t the Florida State League, where the first-half winner automatically gets a berth in the playoffs,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “We have to keep the pedal to the metal, and you’re always concerned about what Boston or others may do. I’ll continue to make phone calls and see what’s cooking.”

Looking for its seventh consecutive AL East title, New York has a seven-game cushion over the Red Sox, who lead the wild-card race by a slim margin.

Yet the Yankees are in need of starting pitching, and they’ve openly coveted Johnson, the five-time Cy Young Award winner who has five career postseason wins against them.

The 40-year-old left-hander, who pitched a perfect game May 18 in Atlanta, is stuck on a team with the worst record in the majors.

He’s making $16 million this season and is due $16 million in 2005, the final year of his deal. He said during the All-Star break that he would consider waiving his no-trade clause if Arizona wants to send him to a contender.

Sounds like a perfect match for one of baseball’s big spenders — and maybe a relief for everybody in the National League.

“There’s not that many difference makers out there. Lord willing, they’re all going to the Red Sox or the Yankees anyway,” San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean said.

San Francisco's Barry Bonds tosses his bat after being intentionally walked Saturday against Arizona. Bonds was walked intentionally 71 times during the first half of the season.

Led by Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt, Sabean’s Giants are in the thick of a three-team race in the NL West, wedged right between first-place Los Angeles and third-place San Diego.

The NL East is just as muddled. Three teams are within two games of first-place Philadelphia, including the surprising Mets. Atlanta, seeking its 13th straight division title, is only a game back, just ahead of Florida.

“It’s a four-team battle,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said during the All-Star game. “Any of those four clubs could win.”

And the wild-card chase also is wide open — eight teams are within 4 1/2 games of San Francisco. That means 12 NL teams still have a real chance to reach the playoffs, making it an exciting second half for fans all over the country.

“It’s a wild and wacky league,” Sabean said. “This might be the year of the 86-to-88-win division winner. I couldn’t even tell you what the record would be of the wild-card winner.”

Bonds, just 19 homers shy of 700, would love to get a few more pitches to hit the rest of the way. He’s already drawn 71 intentional walks — three more than the previous major-league record he set two years ago — and 131 walks in all.

That puts him on pace to shatter his big league record of 198 set in 2002. Still, he leads the NL with a .365 batting average and .794 slugging percentage.

Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez, trying to become the first AL catcher to win a batting title, tops the majors with a .369 average.

The 41-year-old Clemens (10-3, 2.62 ERA) also is putting up amazing numbers, especially considering he retired — albeit briefly — after last season.

But he was a bust in his hometown of Houston at the All-Star game, giving up six runs in the first inning of the American League’s 9-4 victory Tuesday night.

All-Star MVP Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer off the Rocket, helping the AL secure home-field advantage in the World Series for the third straight year. Now he’ll try to help the upstart Rangers hold off Oakland and Anaheim in the AL West.

“We have a lot of young talent,” Soriano said.

Scott Rolen’s major league-leading 80 RBIs helped the Cardinals sprint past preseason favorites Chicago and Houston to a seven-game lead in the NL Central. Cincinnati is still in it, but Ken Griffey Jr. tore his hamstring last weekend, derailing his best season in years.

Houston, which is 10 1/2 games back, fired manager Jimy Williams on Wednesday and replaced him with former Milwaukee and Detroit manager Phil Garner.

Meanwhile, the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins are locked up in their annual fight for first in the AL Central.

“It’s going to be a dogfight all the way to the end,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.