Call it a Slow News Day

With the trade deadline a little over a month away, it's kind of like the quiet before the storm. The half-way mark in the season is this this week and everybody kind of knows where they stand. Either they're expecting to make a run for it based on a good first half, they stink and its a "rebuilding" year or they are around .500 and the season could go either way. GMs have a good idea what they need and the positioning and posturing is about to begin in earnest. Take, for example all this Sabathia talk. Do the Indians want to keep him for the compensation they will ultimately receive when he leaves or try to get something for him now? The list is long and growing longer by the day of teams said to be interested- Red Sox, Yanks, Cubs, Dodgers, Brewers, Giants. What about A's Rich Harden, who struck out 11 in 8 innings two nights ago? Can he stay healthy? That's a big question for any interested team. The point is, it's a long way to July 31st and there will be a lot of names and deals floated over the newswires between now and then. I'll try to stay on top of it and filter out the stuff that just seems like talk.