Second-Half Prescriptions: NL by Baseball Prospectus  —  NL  —  Philadelphia Phillies: Their situation is similar to the Yankees'—they have a productive yet imperfect offense and a pitching staff that hasn't lived up to expectations.  They can give the offense a very small goose by turning …

Chicago Cubs sign reliever B.J. Ryan  —  Will rehab in Mesa, then go to Triple-A Iowa  —  WASHINGTON — The Cubs signed lefty reliever B.J. Ryan and will send him to their spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.  —  Ryan, who was a closer for Toronto, will work out in Arizona and report to Triple-A Iowa.

What's a Fair Return in a Roy Halladay Trade?  —  More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP  —  I have a great idea for a high-impact trade target that nobody's talking about: Roy Halladay.  There would probably be a team or two interested, don't you think?  If I see any further mention of this possibility, I'll let you know.

Moving on from the Manny Ramirez saga  —  More than three weeks ago, Manny Ramirez donned a minor-league baseball uniform in New Mexico and played in a game.  Nearly two weeks ago, he put on a Dodger uniform and did the same thing in San Diego, and then New York, and then elsewhere.

Royals designate Pena, option Maier  —  Betancourt, Gordon coming off DL, will play Friday  —  KANSAS CITY — The Royals designated shortstop Tony Pena for assignment and optioned center fielder Mitch Maier to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.  —  The moves cleared roster space …

D-backs payroll stable with cash investment  —  Player salaries not expected to take hit in future  —  PHOENIX — The current season isn't playing out exactly the way the D-backs' ownership planned it, but because of an influx of capital from the general and limited partners, player payroll should not take a hit in the years to come.

Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondacks to share site on tribal land  —  PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies are NL West rivals.  Now they're partners in a spring training facility planned for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Phoenix.

Ranking the AL's roughest roads to the playoffs  —  Schedule advantages and disadvantages are difficult to calculate in baseball, because you don't know who will be hurt, which team will be hot and which team will fade, and you don't know exactly which pitcher you might face in a crucial series in September.

Marte pitches in rehab game  —  Damaso Marte, on the DL since May 3 (retroactive to April 26) made his first rehab appearance today, throwing one inning against the GCL Pirates in Tampa.  Marte allowed one run and two hits, throwing 12 pitches.  Marte is scheduled to pitch again Saturday.

The Grandstand: Meeting the President and signing autographs  —  Well, the All-Star Game is officially over.  —  For me, it was an incredible experience.  There is no way to truly prepare for everything thrown at you your first time at this event except to experience it.

Prospectus Idol: We Have a Winner!  —  Ken Funck's introduction to SOMA and call for help from producers were very popular with judges and pushed him over the top in Prospectus Idol Finals Week.  Congratulations, Ken!  —  As specified in the contest announcement, we'll be featuring Ken's work throughout …

Riggleman wants Nats to close gap  —  The Jim Riggleman Era, as short and as indistinguishable as it might be, has begun for the Washington Nationals.  Now it's up to the team's new interim manager to make it count for something.  —  There's not likely to be much on the line except pride …