Trade Ichiro?  It's a bold but sensible proposition  —  During last month's news conference announcing the firing of general manager Bill Bavasi, Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said he was open to trading anyone on the team.  —  If that's the case, the Mariners should deal Ichiro Suzuki by the July 31 deadline.

National League second-half preview  —  • A look at the National League, team-by-team.  —  Arizona Diamondbacks  —  •Schedule: Arizona is 21-10 against NL West rivals and plays 41 of its 67 second-half games inside the division, including three beginning Friday against the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

Better late than never (cont.)  —  MLB controversy count very low  —  Another never-ending All-Star game would have been a mess.  But as it is, Selig had a very small number of controversies to confront at his annual All-Star Game press briefing.  His message was that the sport is thriving, and it's tough to argue.

All-Star ties aren't so bad, Bud  —  Selig's overreaction to '02 tie creates poor situation for teams, fans  —  All right, everybody, let's say it together.  Bud Selig, we are so, so sorry.  —  Maybe ties in the All-Star Game aren't so bad, after all.  —  Now, six years after what we …

U.S. Olympic Roster Announced  —  USA Baseball announced its roster for the Olympics this afternoon.  We'll have plenty of analysis as the day goes along, but here's a quick look at the 23-man roster that was announced.  Team USA will be prospect-laden behind the plate and in the outfield …

Hampton tweaks groin in rehab start  —  Injury prone starter suffers another setback  —  Mike Hampton left his minor-league rehabilitation start with Class AA Mississippi on Wednesday night after only two innings, having tweaked his groin.  —  “He didn't want to take any chances with it …

Wainwright finds comfort in latest step  —  On the eve of the second half, one of the Cardinals' healing aces took to the field with his teammates for a simple, but telling, game of catch.  The other pitcher on the mend could learn today what field he's headed to next.

Billy Wagner is a major worry, but starting pitching will carry Mets  —  For Mets fans, the All-Star break was a time to bask in the glory of a nine-game winning streak that wiped away much of the anger and exasperation that came with watching this team for three months.

MacPhail stays the course  —  O's president keeps focus on rebuilding despite surprising first half, but players still hopeful  —  About 2 1/2 weeks ago, Orioles president Andy MacPhail appeared headed for a dilemma that he would have been perfectly happy to confront.

Shea is no place for a teenager  —  Inexpensive veterans would fit team better than F-Mart  —  A nine-game winning streak is a very good thing for any team.  Totally awesome.  Whether the credit goes to Jerry Manuel, the contributions from reserve players, offensive upgrades at catcher and second base …

PCL Rallies For All-Star Game Win  —  The Pacific Coast League scored six times in the top of the ninth inning, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 6-5 win against the International League in Wednesday's Triple-A all-star game in Louisville.  All six runs were charged to Toledo righthander Blaine Neal …

Brian Giles  —  There have been a number of comments concerning Brian Giles, so I thought he should be the topic of a post.  —  In my previous posting regarding our potential free agents and the trading deadline, I did not include Brian.  I did not include him principally because he's …