New York Yankees

In my last article, I said that Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Riccardi would never trade Roy Halladay to divisional rival. Now it seems like he is ready to dangle his best pitcher in the division.

Rumor winds begin to swirl now that Halladay is all but gone in Toronto and the Blue Jays GM will now begin to listen to offers and if the right one comes along, he would pull the trigger.

Now, the Yankees aren't just the only team involved in this. There are plenty of teams who will be vying for Halladay's services.

The New York Yankees have reached the halfway point of the season at 48-33, four games better than last season at this time (44-37), and have won 10 of their last 11 games entering their Monday afternoon tilt against the Toronto Blue Jays.

With the team at the exact midpoint of the season, now is a great time to assess how the players are performing this year.

Every time I watch a baseball game I always have the same question: What is that thing on the hitter's thumbs? After being told, "I don't know" and, "Move your face off the screen" for the hundredth time, I took it upon myself to investigate.

As you watch some of your favorite hitters, check out their thumb on the hand closest to the end of the bat. Some of them are sporting a little tab of plastic that sits between the bat and the space between the thumb and the rest of your fingers.

Yesterday, on our three hour ride back from the postponed Scranton AAA doubleheader, my friend Brent and I got into an argument about Alfredo Aceves.

I maintained that the best comparison for what he's done this season is Ramiro Mendoza. Brent suggested the 1996 version of Mariano Rivera. As you might have imagined, I laughed it off completely.

Then Brent got me the stats:

BY DOUG RUSH

As the calendar turns to July, the Major League Baseball trading deadline looms. Most people are expecting the Yankees to be active players near the deadline.

They already made one deal, landing Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates for two minor leaguers.

It gives the Yankees more depth on the bench and a chance for Alex Rodriguez to get a day off here and there like Joe Girardi planned.

The only problem is Hinske is another left-handed bat, as is their current starting right fielder, Nick Swisher.

There's something to be said about a game where John McDonald hits a home run. For those who witnessed it live, be thankful because a Johnny Mac home run comes around about as often as Haley's Comet.

BY DOUG RUSH

For the last two years, we have heard the $64 million dollar question: Where does Joba Chamberlain belong in the Yankee pitching staff?

This is his first season as a full-time starter. He has already made 16 starts and lets see where Joba is at:

In 16 starts, 84.2 innings—which averages out to 5.2 innings per start, 74 strikeouts, 41 walks and has four wins.

So with the major league season about half way through, Joba has only won 1-4 of his starts and he also hasn't given the Yankees any major length in his starts.

After Brian Bruney blew the hold against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, he had yet to pitch in another game for the Yankees until yesterday. At that moment in the Tuesday night game, I said to myself that Phil Hughes should remain in the game as he cruised through a nine pitch seventh inning. But Girardi stuck to the book and here came his "eighth inning guy."

Seventy years ago today on July 4, 1939, New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig made one of the most famous speeches in sport's history with his "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech.

In this speech, Gehrig told fans at Yankee Stadium he was grateful for the great career he had, and for all of the support he got from everyone around him during his life.

70 years ago, a man stood on the field at Yankee Stadium and told the world that he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth. That man was dying, but no one knew it.

He told them that he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth. He spoke about the great teammates and managers he played with, how blessed he felt for the family he had, and how good the game of baseball had been to him. 

That man was Lou Gehrig, and on July 4, 1939, the man more commonly known as "The Iron Horse," had to walk away from baseball.