Trade Deadline Rumors

But in the interests of full disclosure, it's probably a good time to go over who might get moved and who needs what, bearing in mind the dangers of deadline deals.

For the Angels, a stick — preferably a corner infield bat — remains a priority. Until the Giants picked up Shea Hillenbrand following his designation for assignment by the Blue Jays, there had been talk of the third baseman being traded to the Angels. Earlier in the year, back when Adam Kennedy was actually hitting, the Jays had interest in moving Hillinbrand for Adam Kennedy, but as is usual for the Bill Stoneman-led club, no deal was consummated. (Maybe it's just as well: Hillenbrand wrote "This is a sinking ship" on a clubhouse chalkboard, and later his manager challenged him to a fight.)

Two frequently mentioned bats that might get jarred loose are Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu and the expensive and sometimes whiny Alfonso Soriano. The 32-year-old Abreu has never really been popular in Philly, and the sentiment seems to be that he'll get dealt soon despite numerous obstacles; the Phillies outfielder is friends with the Angels' Vlad Guerrero, but he also maintains an apartment in New York, has ties to Boston via Terry Francona, and to St. Louis by way of Scott Rolen.

As for Soriano, he went through a long soap opera while the Nationals demanded he trade in his second baseman's glove for an outfielder's — exactly the kind of player Bill Stoneman abhors. Despite that, Nationals GM Jim Bowden continues to listen to offers for Soriano, with the Nationals demanding "Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching". Even so, allegedly Dallas McPherson was to have been the centerpiece of one such trade, but he inconveniently tweaked his back again, and thus no deal.

Also supposed to be available is Milwaukee's Carlos Lee, whom Doug Melvin would deal if the club falls out of contention. As with the Nationals, the Brewers need pitching, and in particular, bullpen help. But for all of these names, the late news is that the Angels are happy with Juan Rivera and so are focusing on an infield bat.

As a result, the Angels' latest fling is Miguel Tejada, provided the Orioles asking price goes down; the Angels appear to have given up on Dallas McPherson, and would convert Tejada to third. Other available third basemen include the Cubs' Aramis Ramirez, Arizona's Chad Tracy, and Houston's Morgan Ensberg.

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The Dodgers... well, the Dodgers need pretty much everything except bullpen help. Now that the team has gone through the worst 13-game stretch in Los Angeles history, the smell of desperation begins to permeate through the team a little. With the news that Nomar Garciaparra will miss five games thanks to a sprained ligament in his right knee, the need for a corner infield bat becomes, at least temporarily, more acute.

Considering the need for depth in the starting rotation with Aaron Sele beginning his usual second-half decline, it came as a shock to see Odalis Perez dealt to the Royals for swingman Elmer Dessens; the Dodgers also moved two of their top prospects as rated by Baseball America, RHP Julio Pimentel and RHP Blake Johnson, both still in the low minors, and cash considerations. Both Pimentel and Johnson had struggled at higher levels, and so their stock had fallen from their early successes, making them somewhat replaceable in the system.

Yet for all that Colletti makes questionable trades, he persists in his overall strategy of refusing to bite at partial season rentals of veterans for quality prospects, a fact that disappoints the Times yawping columnist, Bill Plaschke. The frustrating and good thing about this is that Colletti has mostly stuck to his early declaration that he hasn't found a trade good enough to move his young prospects. It's odd to hear that the Angels, famous for not making a move at the trade deadline, aren't quite as stolid as the Dodgers, who have made such moves lately — but I forget, that was one GM ago.