Chalupa

He had been sick for awhile. I will miss him. I'm fortunate that I got to see him perform a lot here in Philly. RIP, Byard.

In their early days it was just maddening how bad they were at trades! The All Star team was full of players Houston had traded away. Joe Morgan, Rusty Staub, Denis Menke, Jimmy Wynn. Cesar Geronimo. And a bunch more. It wasn't all bad. They made out like bandits in the Nolan Ryan/Jeff Bagwell trades Edit. Just realized that they signed Ryan as an FA.I got them confused with the Angels. Still that Bagwell trade had to be one of the greatest fleeces in MLB history.

Bucs and the Cards going into the top of the 19th(!!) inning.

This story just gets curiouser and curiouser..... Melky Cabrera creates fake website in an attempt to avoid PED suspension. What a dope. He should get another 50 games for that.

FWIW, for all of those board members having problems w/ a certain poster I would just like to point out that the "ignore user" function works just dandy. The Mets, Phillies, and the Brewers can all lay claim to having some of the shittest BPs in the majors. I heard this stat about the Phillies last night - their BP has the highest ERA for the 8th inning in MLB and they have given up more 8th inning HRs than any other team. Case in point - Thursday night's 8th inning meltdown by Jonathan Lindbloom(Thanks Dodgers!) which resulted in a grand slam by the Brewers Corey Hart. Hart had struck out in all 3 of his previous plate appearances that night vs. Cliff Lee. Ugh.

Actually not surprised considering his past history of drug use. Still it's very sad. I feel for his parents and family.

It would seem to me as if they should to work out a trade, can't imagine Lee being hunky-dory with all this... Don't get your hopes up. Lee is not going anywhere this season. Maybe in the off season. I've seen estimates from 75 - 90% of all the players in the MLB are put on waivers after August 1st every year. It's just standard operating procedure. It is a wonder that when Lee was signed in 2011, it was thought the Phillies would be up at the top of the East every year. Now it seems as if they can't get rid of him fast enough, things are looking grim for the Phillies for the next couple of years. The reason why the Phillies signed him was that they went "all in" for 2011/12/13 and they also didn't want him going to the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rangers. It almost worked for them last year and if everyone had been healthy this year they would be contending again. I don't mind that strategy. I'd rather them be aggressive and pay out the wazoo then to sit back and not take the chance. A lot can/will happen this off season. Don't count them out for next year and beyond just yet.

Trading two outfielders(one of which that will be a FA in two months) is not "blowing up" the team. Why get rid of Pence? Are you serious? He's a good complimentary player that is getting paid star money - $10M this season and he's eligible for arbitration next year(estimates are $13-15) That's a lot of coin for a player that can't field, throws like a girl, strikes out too much, is terrible with RISP, and doesn't know how to run the bases. But hey he's got a TON of energy. The Phillies are getting Schierholtz (who always comes up with a clutch hit vs. the Phillies it seems), the Giants # 2 overall prospect , a young arm, and most importantly they get to dump salary. I like it. I don't think Lee was ever seriously on the market. That was just Amaro messing with the media's heads. Maybe soemthing will happen in the off season but it all depends upon Halladay's health. The Phillies don't need to rebuild, just reload. Get a third baseman that can hit for power and field, grab Michael Bourn, and do something about the BP. Big "to do" list but not impossible. I think you are forgetting your team has had no offense to support Pence this year. Last 3 years with runners on, .309, with RISP, Pence is hitting .301 http://espn.go.com/m...g3/hunter-pence Who lead the team in HR's , RBI's and hits? Pence. He shouldn't be a clean-up hitter, but he has had to be this season. Pence may throw like a girl(then what does Juan Pierre throw like? ) but that girl usually gets outs with her arm, at least in past years http://www.nj.com/ti...ure_outfie.html It just seams to me the Phils really need offense. If this frees up a bit of money to sign some guys, great...but the offense sucked before the trades...and I am seeing they got guys like a AA catcher. No 3rd basemen? No LF, CF, RF?? Ain't gonna get Michael Bourn , braves can actually afford him since we won't be spending money on Zack Greinke or Asshole Dempster in 2013(Hey, hope he's great with the Rangers, Rangers fans, but still a dick and a half!) Let's look at Pence's 2012 #s - Yeh he gives you a power bat but not when you need it the most. With RISP he was hitting a meager .238 with the Phillies. Hasn't done any better since the trade - now his avg. w/ RISP is down to .227. Yes he was leading the team in HRs & RBIs but that 's bc Howard missed 1/2 the season and his RBI total was just 2 more than Chooch even though he played in 6 more games. Also it's interesting that you use the Outfield Runs Saved stat. His numbers in that category have been declining the each year since 2009 and this season he's currently at a -6. Not a good trend. Also check out this little tidbit.. "Both players(Victorino and Pence) rate poorly in a specific defensive metric -- Plus/Minus on balls hit to the deepest part of the ballpark. Victorino is last among major league outfielders with a -23 on deep balls this season, and he and Michael Saunders are the only are the only players worse than Pence, who’s tied with three others at -17. " Can't wait to see how he fares in that crazy RF in SF. Like I said before he's a good player, not an elite player and while he's not getting Jayson Werth dollars(cough) he is getting overpaid this year and will get even more next season. He's getting paid more than some MLB team's entire outfield this season. I still think he can turn his season around though. He had a really good August/September after the trade last season. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery.

It would seem to me as if they should to work out a trade, can't imagine Lee being hunky-dory with all this... Don't get your hopes up. Lee is not going anywhere this season. Maybe in the off season. I've seen estimates from 75 - 90% of all the players in the MLB are put on waivers after August 1st every year. It's just standard operating procedure.

Pence was NOT leading the Phillies in hitting w/ his .271 avg. The Phillies leading hitter is Carlos Ruiz at .342. Pence has some pop in his bat w/ 17 homers. Maybe it will work out for the Giants. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery. He certainly played better last season after his trade to the Phillies. But... there are a lot of holes in his game. A good player but not worth the money he's owed.

Trading two outfielders(one of which that will be a FA in two months) is not "blowing up" the team. Why get rid of Pence? Are you serious? He's a good complimentary player that is getting paid star money - $10M this season and he's eligible for arbitration next year(estimates are $13-15) That's a lot of coin for a player that can't field, throws like a girl, strikes out too much, is terrible with RISP, and doesn't know how to run the bases. But hey he's got a TON of energy. The Phillies are getting Schierholtz (who always comes up with a clutch hit vs. the Phillies it seems), the Giants # 2 overall prospect , a young arm, and most importantly they get to dump salary. I like it. I don't think Lee was ever seriously on the market. That was just Amaro messing with the media's heads. Maybe soemthing will happen in the off season but it all depends upon Halladay's health. The Phillies don't need to rebuild, just reload. Get a third baseman that can hit for power and field, grab Michael Bourn, and do something about the BP. Big "to do" list but not impossible.

And we thank the Giants for Zack Wheeler What's the latest on that kid?

After watching the Angels just put up 9 runs in one inning vs. Oswalt/Ross I'm thinking the Rangers are gonna sweeten their offer for Lee.

Lee's numbers are totally misleading. The Phillies defense behind him has been terrible this year. That combined with their anemic offense and their ABYSMAL bull pen has put a lot of pressure on Lee & Halladay, et al. to really step it up which has caused him and the other starters to stay in longer in games then they should and to take more chances. Lee can still pitch - he has close to a 7K/1BB ratio this season. Earlier this season he pitched 10 innings of shut out ball and didn't get a decision. That's gotta screw with your approach to the game. All that said, If I were the Rangers I would move Ogando back into the rotation and look for BP help. I don't think the Phillies are serious about trading him right now for reasons mentioned in this article. Bottom line - If Texas wants Lee it gonna cost them a lot more than they appear to be willing to part with at the moment. Re: Michael Young to the Phillies. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

$144M ???? Ugh.

RIP. Thanks to Jim S. for recommending the Tenorman album on this board a few years ago.

Ditto that. This was my first introduction to him.... Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

RIP, Mermaid Man.

Well Cliff Lee got his first win of the season today.

RIP, Matlock.

Sam Reed

Here comes Howard! And Bob McAdoo!

25 point Heat lead with 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. Not looking good for the Thunder. Nice of LBJ to tell Chalmers to stop waving to the crowd. Down 24 to start the 4th. Greatest NBA elimination game comeback ever coming up?? Mike Miller on FIRE!

Rob Zombie making a movie about the Broad Street Bullies

IMHO, the NBA's officiating is more of a threat to the integrity of the game than the use, or perceived use, of PEDs. You would think that after the Tim Donaghy betting scandal the NBA would have really gotten serious about officiating but no. If anything it appears the officiating has gotten worse.