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 …

MLB nixes Yanks' signing after ID fraud … A top New York Yankees prospect is not who he claims to be, sources tell SI.com.  Two weeks ago, the Yankees signed a shortstop purporting to be 16-year-old Damian Arredondo from the Dominican Republic to an $850,000 bonus.

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.

Why the Yanks are in good shape  —  Struggles against top teams aside, Bombers look fine  —  When the Yankees open up the second half of the season on Friday, they'll do it with a three-game series against the American League Central-leading Tigers — a series that, judging by New York's …

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.

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.

Towers Speaks About Possible Moves  —  Padres GM Kevin Towers spoke with Darren Smith of 1090 XX Sports Radio earlier today, touching on a variety of Padre related topics.  You can download and listen to the interview by clicking here, but here's a roundup of the rumors...

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.

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.

Corpas Returns to Active Roster  —  The Rockies issued the following release Thursday:  —  The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has reinstated right-handed pitcher Manuel Corpas from the 15-day disabled list.  In a corresponding roster move, right-handed pitcher Matt Belisle was designated for assignment by the club.

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 …