Podcast & Links: Second Half Baseball!

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation! The second half of the season is well underway, and we've already seen a shutout from Bartolo Colon, a blown save by Grant Balfour, a loss to the Houston Astros, and a minor injury to Yoenis Cespedes. All things considered, though, the A's are showing why they are so good: Even when they aren't playing great baseball, they can still maintain a .500 clip.

On today's episode of the Phil Naessens Show, we discuss the Biogensis scandal and its relation to Bartolo Colon, the lackluster debut of Grant Green, the performances of A.J. Griffin and Josh Reddick, and more! You can listen to the podcast right here on AN using the media player below. I'm up first in this episode, so just press play and let it run; my segment goes about 16 minutes.

Give it a listen and leave your feedback in the comments!

And now, Torrey's Taco Stand, aka the Daily Link Dump:

The #Athletics also outrighted infielder Vinnie Catricala, who'd been designated for assignment yesterday, to Double-A Midland.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) July 26, 2013

Catricala is a Sacramento-area native.

- Lots of minor league action today, including Drew Granier taking the hill for Midland and Michael Ynoa on the bump today when the Ports host San Jose.

- On this day a year ago, the A's fell to Toronto by a score of 10 to 4, snapping their seven-game win streak.

Dump away!