At 42, many thought Tim Wakefield’s days of being a capable starting pitcher were over at the beginning of the season. Think again. Not only is Wakefield pitching well, he’s pitching well enough to be named to the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

On Wednesday, Wakefield showed exactly why he’s an All-Star. In six innings of work, Wakefield struck out eight batters and gave up three earned runs to win for the 11th time this season. The knuckleballer has an ERA of 4.14 and a WHIP of 1.38.

Wakefield has a chance to set a career-high in wins. In 1998 and 2007, he had 17 wins. Last season, he had a record of 10-11.

His 11th win of the season came over the Oakland A’s. With their 5-4 victory, the Red Sox improved their record to 51-33. Oakland dropped to 35-48 with the loss.

The next time you see Wakefield on the mound will be win he’s pitching for the American League.

Roy Halladay, who may very well be the best pitcher in baseball, has been placed on the trade market by Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi. Halladay, who has a no trade clause in his contract, doesn’t seem upset about the possibility of being traded.

Said Halladay: “I want to stay, but I think it’s a situation you have to evaluate. I’m really not at that situation just yet. If something does come up, you weigh your options at that point. I hate to put the cart in front of the horse and start saying ‘Do I want to do that?’ I think you just evaluate the situations when they come.”

Where could he be headed. Here are a few Roy Halladay rumors about his possible destinations:

Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have the hitting to win a World Series, however their pitching needs a lot of help. Halladay could answer a lot of questions.

Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are looking for starting pitchers all around the world. They have even gone to the Dominican Republic to take a look at Pedro Martinez.

Boston Red Sox
Although they probably have enough prospects and talent to get him, the Red Sox may opt to instead hold onto their young studs.

New York Yankees
If there is a big name on the trade market, you just know the Yankees will be interested. Like with the Red Sox, do the Yankees want to trade their minor league talent for Halladay?

Randy Johnson, the 45-year-old starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, is headed to the 15-day disabled list. The left-hander has a strained left shoulder.

On the season, Johnson is 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA. He has 80 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. The highlight of his season so far was when he won the 300th game of his big league career. For his career, he has a 303-166 record to go along with a 3.29 ERA, 4869 strikeouts and 4131 innings pitched.

The good news is that the Giants don’t think Johnson’s shoulder strain is a long-term injury.

Said Giants manager Bruce Bochy: “As of now we hope he can pitch when his 15 days are up. We’ll continue to evaluate him but also give him time to get his arm back.”

Thanks in part to Randy Johnson, the Giants sport a 44-37 record and are in the race for the NL Wild Card. To make a legit push for the playoffs, however, San Francisco will need a healthy Big Unit.

Randy Johnson of the Giants headed to the DL (Image: Zuma Press)

The 2009 baseball season is headed towards the All-Star break. Although there are a ton of teams in the playoff race, here are the teams that are ahead of the pack.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers held on with Manny Ramirez out of the lineup. Now that he’s returned from his suspension, the Dodgers will be difficult to stop.

2. Boston Red Sox
Although they’ve cooled off as late, the Red Sox are the one team no one in the American League wants to see in the playoffs. With their pitching improving, they’ll be a tough out in the postseason.

3. New York Yankees
All that money is starting to figure out how to win. Since Alex Rodriguez returned, the Yankees have been elite.

4. Los Angeles Angels
The Angels are trying to get past their emotional start to the season. As the campaign goes along, expect L.A. to grow their lead in the AL West.

5. San Francisco Giants
The Giants are the surprise team in baseball. They have great pitching — lead by Tim Lincecum. If they get enough hits, they’ll be in the race for the duration.

Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension is coming to an end. On Friday, he will suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they play the Padres in San Diego. It will be the first time he plays since May 6th.

Prior to being suspended due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, Ramirez was off to a fast start. In 27 games, Ramirez had six homers, 20 RBIs, 22 runs, nine doubles, a batting average of .348 and an on-base percentage of .492.

The 37-year-old outfielder will return to the team with the best record in all of baseball. At 50-29, the Dodgers already have a 7.5 game lead over the second place San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

Expect Ramirez to go right back into the middle of the Dodgers’ lineup. While they are good without him, Ramirez turns Los Angeles into a legit World Series championship contender.

And even though his first game back is technically a road game, expect many Dodgers fan to take the trip south to San Diego.

Manny Ramirez Returns to Action (Image: Zuma Press)

Mark DeRosa hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start since being traded from the Cleveland Indians to the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s 0-9 at the plate in three games. And now he’s injured.

DeRosa got hurt on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a strained left wrist. He underwent X-rays and was relieved to learn that there wasn’t a broken bone or any other series injury.

Said DeRosa: “It’s the best case scenario. I was back at the hotel last night kind of panicking a little bit.”

The Cardinals are not expected to put him on the disabled list. Instead, DeRosa will probably miss between two and fives games. Returning early next week is the most likely outcome.

Prior to coming to the Cardinals, DeRosa was hitting .270 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 47 runs while with the Indians.

Once healthy, DeRosa is expected to return to his role as the everyday third baseman for the Cardinals.

Mark DeRosa - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

Tim Lincecum is on fire. After getting off to a relatively slow start, the ace for the San Francisco Giants is at the top of his game. Against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, Lincecum threw a two-hitter to improve his record on the season to 8-2.

His final stat line was nine innings, two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. His ERA on the season was lowered ton 2.37. In his last eight starts, he has only given up nine earned runs. Lincecum also has three complete games in his last four outings.

The Giants got one run in the top of the first inning. Although that run would have been enough, they tacked on nine more runs for a 10-0 victory. The Giants are now 41-34 and in second place in the NL West. They are 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and one game ahead of the Colorado Rockies.

With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 41-37. They are one game behind he Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.

Getting the last four outs against the New York Mets, Mariano Rivera got the 500th save of his Hall of Fame career. His save capped a 4-2 win by the New York Yankees and improved the team’s record to 43-32.

Rivera is currently second on the all-time saves record list. Only Trevor Hoffman has more. Hoffman, who is currently with the Milwaukee Brewers, has 571 saves.

On the season, Rivera has a 2.93 ERA and has 18 saves in 19 save opportunities. In 30.2 innings, he has 39 strikeouts and only three walks. Even at 39, Rivera appears to be near the top of his game.

Rivera had another milestone on Sunday night. In the top of the ninth inning, Rivera drew a bases loaded walk to pick up the first RBI of his big league career.

Picking up the win for the Yankees was Chien-Ming Wang. In 5.1 innings, he gave up only two earned runs. The native of Taiwan has struggled mightily this season. The win improved his record to 1-6 and lowered his ERA to 10.06.

For the Mets, this is their third straight loss and they now stand at 37-37 on the season.

When the New York Yankees gave A.J. Burnett a big contract in the offseason, this was the type of production they wanted. On Saturday against the New York Mets, Burnett gave up only one hit in seven innings while striking out ten. His pitching effort led the Yankees to a 5-0 victory.

Burnett on the season now has a 3.93 ERA to go along with a record of 6-4. Although he got off to a relatively slow start, Burnett has gotten better and better. In his last three starts, the 32-year-old has given up one earned run in more than 20 innings.

The Yankees got a Nick Swisher solo shot in the third inning to get on the board. In the sixth, Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single and then Jorge Posada smashed a three-run homer later in the inning.

The win gives the Yankees a 42-32 record on the season. The Mets fell to 37-36 with the loss.

AJ Burnett - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

At the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Sidney Ponson currently of the Kansas City Royals tested positive for Phentermine, a stimulant that is on the banned substance list. As a result, Ponson won’t be able to play in international baseball competition for 24 months.

Ponson, who pitched for the Netherlands in the 2009 WBC, says that he was prescribed Phentermine to lose weight. Major League Baseball won’t suspend him.

On the season, Ponson has pitched like he needs performance enhancer. The 32-year-old from Aruba is 1-5 with a 7.27 ERA. Last year, while splitting time between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, Ponson was 8-5 with a 5.04 ERA.

Ponson isn’t the first big league player to have busted at the WBC. Recently, Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for marijuana. Soto played in the WBC for Puerto Rico. Since the positive drug test, Soto has apologized. Like Ponson, Soto won’t be suspended by the MLB.

Sidney Ponson - WBC Netherlands (Image: Zuma Press)