Fan News

July is an early month to give up on a team like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Tuesday night's lackluster performance may have been the final nail in this season's coffin.

The Angels scored just two runs against John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox, the second consecutive game they failed to score less than three.

In fact, in July alone, the Angels have scored four runs or more only eight times in 23 contests, contributing to a miserable 8-15 record this month and an 8½ game deficit in the AL West.

Sure, it's Lee's right to decline any trade, something the man has earned through his  "10 & 5" rights, not to mention his no-trade clause.

However, if Lee was thinking about anyone other than himself, he would acquiesce and go to the Dodgers for another chance at the playoffs, while giving the Cubs an opportunity to land a prospect and secure some salary relief.

It's tempting for the more seasoned (really old) followers of the San Francisco Giants to sit back and enjoy what has been a fabulous start to the second half of the season.

If I had more title space, I would have called this the "Twins Edition."

With the Twins turning the tide at the beginning of the second half, it's time to look at some of Minnesota's big guns and the effect they may have on the American League.

Awards, playoffs, whatever works. I've got enough odd/frightening/bewildering/upsetting predictions to last us until next season.

Begin Slideshow

It's become a rite of summer.  If a major league team has an available player at the trade deadline, he'll be connected to the Yankees somehow, whether he makes sense for New York or not.

So it comes as no surprise that the Yankees have been connected to just about every available player at this year's trade deadline.  They've made known offers for Cliff Lee and Dan Haren and have made inquiries about several other players they view as upgrades.

This headline is an idea that most any baseball fan would disagree with, myself included, except for last night. The loss of Strasburg did not deter the Nationals from winning against their division rival, the Atlanta Braves.

As the 40,000 fans were arriving at Nationals Park ready to see the phenom Stephen Strasburg in action, the young star was having trouble warming up. After a discussion with Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty and GM Mike Rizzo, the Nationals decided to scratch Strasburg from the start.

Good morning baseball fans. For those of us who are baseball enthusiasts, this is one of our favorite times of the season—the trade deadline.

This is the time of year where we want to know what our favorite teams are going to do, who they can or can't trade for, and where the biggest names are heading. Already there have been two top pitchers moved, as Cliff Lee was traded to Texas and Dan Haren was sent to the Angels.

I don’t know what they’re smoking up in Canada, but according to George King of the NY Post , the Toronto Blue Jays have asked the Yankees for Joba Chamberlain or, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, their top prospect, Jesus Montero , in exchange for reliever Scott Downs .

The Major League Baseball trading deadline is a mere days away and there are plenty of rumors to keep the hot stove, well, hot. 

The biggest name still on the market is right-hander Roy Oswalt. The news on Oswalt has changed hour-by-hour and there still is not a guarantee that the Houston Astros ace will wear a new uniform come this Sunday.

Nevertheless, there are still teams scouting Oswalt and burning up the trade chatter wire with their apparent interest and pursuit.

Here is a look at the teams who have been linked to Oswalt at some point and whether it is likely the right-han

Lost in the enshrinement festivities at Cooperstown and A-Rod's "historic" pursuit of 600 homers was Anaheim's acquisition of all-star Dan Haren. Despite his so-so performance thus far in 2010, Haren was considered the finest asset on the MLB trade market.