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The Toronto Blue Jays showed their first decisive sign that they're starting to look beyond 2010 and gear up for the future with a five-player trade with the Atlanta Braves in which the Jays received shortstop Yunel Escobar and left-handed pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes.

One of life’s simple pleasures during the summer, especially for a sports fan, is the joy of listening to a baseball game on the radio.

Whether it’s at the lake, in the yard, on the deck, or in the car, a baseball broadcast is like sharing a sports bar conversation with a good friend, reminiscing about past times, current events, and debating which team or player is better.

Baseball is the perfect summer companion…the game has a rhythm that mirrors summer—the pace is gradual, sometimes slow, and often laidback.

The baseball world has lost a legend.

George Steinbrenner, though he never played a game in a Yankees' uniform, was by far, one of the sport world's most influential persons. 

Arguably, outside of Manchester United, the New York Yankees are the most recognizable franchise on the planet.

He did it by re-establishing the Yankees glory by winning championships.

When he purchased the team in 1973, it had been 15 years since their last world championship.

We are at the break in the 2010 MLB season; a much needed break for some teams.

It has been a year full of surprises, great pitching and not too much negativity surrounding the sport unlike the previous decade with the steroid issue.

Here are your power rankings for the first half of the season.

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Ironically enough, I was in the Yankees Clubhouse Store in New York City when I heard about the passing of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

As I browsed player t-shirts while watching ESPN, I began to realize what an impact Steinbrenner had on the Yankees.

Love him or hate him, he is a legend. Period.

Steinbrenner knew what he wanted, and he was not afraid to go after it.

The best players in baseball don't always make the All-Star teams. It's a fact of life that we have come to accept.

And yet, each year, we (or at least, I) are shocked by the idiocy of the fan, player, and coach selections. With all of the slumping stars, humdrum homers, and straight-up head-scratchers that end up filling out the rosters, it's hard not to keep thinking about the deserving players who got left off.

I feel terrible for the players who are sitting in their living rooms this All-Star Break, watching their inferior peers being honored on national TV.

FORT WORTH, TEJAS by Dr. Diz

Baseball’s halfway around the track.  Figured it’s time to look at some of the whoopsie-daisy moments that have occurred so far…

Francisco Cordero is tied with Heath Bell for second in the major leagues in saves.

He is 24 for 30 (80%) for the season. His career save percentage is 81.5%. His save percentage with the Reds 85.8%.

Here are some more stats to chew on.

Of the 15 pitchers with 20 or more saves, Cordero is worst in the league in WHIP (1.55), ERA (4.20), and third worst in batting average against (.263).

The Reds pay Cordero a lot of money, so continuing to run him out there for every save will likely be the choice.

There have been many poor performances in sports history, but never has a player had a night this horrific. And it just so happened that 12-year old Keri Sterling’s nightmare of a game happened in front of a packed house at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California and a nationwide audience on ESPN.  

The MLB trade deadline is just weeks away, and the Toronto Blue Jays new GM, Alex Anthopoulos, is expected to continue putting his stamp on the team.

With that in mind, here are the players Anthopoulos should consider trading:

John Buck

He was not meant to be much more than a stopgap catcher until a prospect (like JP Arencibia) comes up through the system.