Best Slideshows - League

There are 12 days until the Major League Baseball trade deadline, and the needs and wants of teams are changing daily.

The Yankees thought they might be all good without another starting pitcher Saturday, but that all changed when Andy Pettitte went down in the early stages of Sunday's start.

Who are the hot commodities heading down the stretch, and who are the contenders?

Let's take a look at the latest trade rumors.

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The unofficial halfway point of the 2010 baseball season was culminated by the National League's 3-1 win of the All-Star game on Tuesday night. In addition to the game acting as a celebration of baseball itself, the All-Star break often serves as an opportune time to reflect on a team's position in the standings and what it can realistically achieve going forward. 

Which teams will be buyers or sellers at the July 31st trade deadline?

What prospects will be called up that can make a difference for their respective team?

Major League Baseball's All-Star Week has arrived.

The All-Star Week finds itself stuck in a precarious position. Every year, it's the one true break from all major sports.

Each offseason, owners and general managers of all 30 ball clubs in the Majors work tirelessly trying to put together a collection of players that will contend for the playoffs.

They trade, they sign, they draft and they evaluate talent in hopes that those players have what it takes to succeed at the professional level.

Only eight of those teams see their playoff aspirations realized, however.

The rest must take a step back and reevaluate the direction their franchise is taking.

For some, that point comes sooner than others.

The July 31 trade deadline, for many underachieving teams, is th

Before writing this article, I had set out to prove that the Home Run Derby has no effect on a participant's second-half performance.

But after crunching the numbers, I'm not so sure.

Over the past decade, players competing in the Derby have seen their first-half at-bat-per-home-run ratio increase, on average, from 14.2 to 15.6 in the second half. This means they are going an extra 1.4 at-bats between dingers after the All-Star break.

But maybe that's normal; maybe all players get tired as the season wears on.

Well, not necessarily.

In the 2010 MLB All-Star Game, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier will be starting in his first ever All-Star Game. For Ethier, just being selected is, no doubt, a thrill, and being chosen as a starter probably doubles his excitement.

Perhaps Andre Ethier will one day be on this list of the players who have the most All-Star Game starts, by position, in National League history.

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How tall do you have to be to ride the rides at the ballpark? Being tall doesn't hurt, but it is certainly no requirement.

In 1999 and 2000, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson had the honor of standing next to each other as they accepted their Cy Young Award trophies. The vision of the two of them standing together conjured notions of some big time Texas rancher, and the little latino boy he hired to help clear the brush.

But more to the point, Pedro and Randy stood in direct contrast to one another: Randy was there to remind everyone that taller is better with major league pitchers.

It is the most ridiculous thing in sports to have the fans vote for the MLB All-Star Game. Fans vote for their favorite players even if they have horrible numbers.

This year has been a prime example thus far of the stupidity of fans.

Big-name players that have been hitting very poorly, with three or four guys way more deserving of an appearance, are not only in first or second for their position, but are miles ahead of everyone else.

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With the midpoint of the 2010 Major League Baseball season right around the corner, it’s time to take a look at midseason reports.

In this particular instance, we’re going to be examining how to determine if your team is a buyer—or a seller—at the halfway mark of the 2010 campaign.

So, what are the Top Ten ways to know you’re a seller in MLB at midseason?

Let’s begin with No. 10...

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As Major League Baseball inches closer and closer to the trade deadline, the trade rumors will become more of a hot button topic among all baseball fans.

The two biggest names on the market right now are Houston's Roy Oswalt and Seattle's Cliff Lee.

When you break down the possibilities of each team that will be chasing both of these pitchers, you'll find different problems that each team will have to face if they want to get a deal done.

We'll cover those problems, the teams in the running, and several other rumors making the rounds.