MLB

I know it’s July, but some teams are already going “Holliday” shopping. Or perhaps “Halladay” shopping?

That’s because we’re in that month of the season where MLB teams not only face the trade deadline, but are looking at the two of the better players on the market in Matt Holliday and Roy Halladay.

<!--StartFragment-->

Mike Scioscia said he had a sleepless night after the game in which the Angels had five baserunning blunders. Well, Mike, start looking for the sleeping pills.

Is it that hard to go 90 feet without screwing up? Seriously. Vladdy we know is a self destructive missile on the basepaths. He runs the bases the same way he swings: damn the torpedoes!

<!--StartFragment-->

Why don’t the San Francisco Giants lock up ace Tim Lincecum to a long-term contract?

Since the end of his 2008 Cy Young campaign, I have been answering the above question to more people that I can remember. 

Now, with another stellar season almost halfway done, and with Lincecum among the leaders in almost every pitching category, that question is once again finding its way into many a conversation.

For the first time since 2005, the San Francisco Giants have a chance to be in the playoff race down to the final week of the season.

Players like Pablo Sandoval, Nate Schierholtz, Sergio Romo, and Ryan Sadowski have seemingly come out of nowhere to be major contributors to the NL Wild Card leading San Francisco Giants.

Combine the surprising young studs with the savvy 1-2 punch of aces Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants have a core group that may end up taking the team to the playoffs.

Casey Stengel's Brooklyn Dodgers hosted the hated New York Giants in a holiday double header on May 31, 1934.

Giants' manager Bill Terry had helped to fan the flames during the winter in a New York Herald Tribune interview.

"Is Brooklyn Still in the League?"

"Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Chicago will be the teams we'll have to beat," Terry said. "I don't think the Braves will do as well as they did last year."

I wonder what the opposite of a fist pump is or could it be a fist thrust downwards or possibly a fist bump? Either way, B.J. Ryan is likely doing the opposite of his trademark enthusiastic celebration after hearing he was released by the Blue Jays earlier today.

Even though Ryan is still owed $15 million dollars, the move was a smart one rather than parading him out there in the mop up role for the next season and a half. The Beej had two great seasons as the closer for the Blue Jays, with 37 saves in 2006 and 32 saves back in 2008.

It's something that no Blue Jay fan wants to envision, but with all this trade talk lately it's all I can think about. There is a possibility that Roy Halladay could be traded, and frankly it's breaking my heart.

Right now, it seems that the New York Mets don't know how to win, and that is very much true.  They have lost eight out of their last ten and show no signs of winning anytime soon.  The Mets have been shutout in back to back games for the first time since 2005.

The Mets aren't pitching, hitting or fielding.  That is their formula for losing, and it is the formula for pretty much all baseball teams that lose a game. 

In a somewhat surprising move today, the Toronto Blue Jays have cut ties with former All-Star relief pitcher B.J. Ryan.

The Blue Jays signed Ryan to a mammoth five-year deal, which was the largest ever for a reliever at the time, following the 2005 season.

Ryan, who was the Blue Jays' closer as recently as this year, has struggled mightily this entire season. In 20.2 innings pitched, Ryan posted an ERA hovering near seven, which is more than double his career ERA (3.37).