Halladay traffic growing intense  —  Almost everyone agrees that, sooner or later, Roy Halladay will be on his way to Philadelphia, where he'll become the symbol of the Phillies' enduring dominance of the Mets.  The Blue Jays and Phillies are engaged in feverish, last-minute talks that might turn …

Game 98: Athletics at Yankees (updates with Gardner going on disabled list)  —  YANKEES (59-38)  —  Pitching: RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 4.76).  —  NOTES: Thanks to Ernie Palladino for calling in the lineup. ...  The 1:05 p.m. game is on YES. ...  Oakland is starting LHP Dallas Braden (7-8, 3.40). ...

Rickey, Rice ready to join baseball immortals  —  Idyllic Cooperstown filled with anticipation of inductions  —  COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Having thoroughly soaked this idyllic, tiny, tree-swathed town with a steady downpour for most of Friday, the skies relented as the sun surfaced Saturday …

July 26: Pirates (43-54) @ D-backs (42-56); Yanks scouting Snell  —  First some new news on the trade front...  There may not be any biggest discussion/dilemma in the Pirates' front office right now than about what to do with Ian Snell.  One month ago, the right-hander asked for a demotion to Triple-A …

Dodgers, Indians Deny Reports About Lee, Martinez Talks  —  4:31pm: Kevin Baxter of the LA Times quotes a Dodgers executive saying there is “less than zero truth” to the rumors regarding the trade.  —  4:26pm: Rosenthal now says that both clubs have “strongly denied” the previous reports …

Mariners place Erik Bedard on 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation  —  Erik Bedard is back on the 15-day disabled list this morning, clearing a roster spot for Jason Vargas to be called up to start today's game.  —  “At this point, we're not going to do an MRI,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said.

Different varieties in Apple  —  Yankees flourishing, Mets floundering  —  They represent the same city, but the performances of the Mets and Yankees are as different as Mars and Venus.  —  While sports talk radio isn't always the best barometer, the airwaves generally are filled with angry, bitter fans.

Gonzalez, Bell both unlikely to be traded  —  Teams are interested in All-Star duo, but no deals expected  —  WASHINGTON — Padres general manager Kevin Towers said he is getting a “ton of calls” from other teams regarding the availability of Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell …

Royals' Pena Jr. being moved from shortstop to pitcher  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tony Pena Jr. has hit like a pitcher for the past two years, so the Kansas City Royals plan to convert him to one.  —  Pena, who was the Royals' shortstop on opening day in 2007 and 2008 …

Yanks top A's, get ready for road  —  The road, both literally and figuratively, gets tougher from here.  —  But the Yankees methodically took care of business against two last-place clubs at home this week, completing a 9-1 homestand overall since the All-Star break by churning out a 7-5 victory Sunday over Oakland at the Stadium.

A's escape, snap Yankees' winning streak at eight  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Gio Gonzalez (FSY) worked out of trouble when Andy Pettitte (FSY) could not, and a key decision by Yankees manager Joe Girardi went awry in the Oakland Athletics' 6-4 victory Saturday that snapped New York's eight-game winning streak.