Odds & Ends: O’s, Halladay, Pirates

Some links as we ponder what team might be desperate enough to pick up Sidney Ponson:

• Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that the George Sherrill trade sends mixed signals about whether the Orioles believe they can contend in 2010.
• Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe has a lot of interesting stuff from Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in the aftermath of the Roy Halladay talks.
• Pirates owner Bob Nutting was "emphatic" in saying that ownership would not change for the near future, says Dejan Kovacevic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic also talked with general manager Neal Huntington, and has the highlights of that interview.
• Recently dealt Orlando Cabrera says he'd be interested in returning to the A's as a free agent this offseason, says Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle.
• Bill Madden at the New York Daily News calls the Indians' and Pirates' trade deadline "a disgrace."
• Indians GM Mark Shapiro is "not looking for applause now" for the Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals, says Bud Shaw at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
• Bob Klapisch from FOX Sports looks at how each divisional race is impacted by the flurry of deals made at the end of July.