ESPN MLB

You'll probably want to skip work this afternoon. For one thing there are seven day games today and for another, you'll want to be exposed to ESPN and ESPN.com to get the latest on all the last-minute deals that are sure to transpire. I'm not saying you should skip work, now -- let it never be said that I did anything to reduce our gross national product -- I'm just saying you'll probably want to.

Here are what the newspapers are reporting from the baseball trading floor as of this morning:

Baltimore Orioles: Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post reports that the Orioles and Giants are being good phone buddies with the main topic being a Sidney Ponson-for-Kurt Ainsworth swap out. Since Ainsworth is currently shelved and could miss the rest of the year, the O's are requesting that somebody else be included in the deal. Sheinin also reports that the Houston Astros have offered up Richard Hidalgo for Ponson but that Baltimore would like a package of players with Morgan Ensberg as the centerpiece of the deal. From the sounds of it, in addition to Ponson, no Oriole is safe from a trade rumor. Sheinin lists seven other players who are available, including Rick Helling, Pat Hentgen, Jeff Conine and Melvin Mora.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider