Phightins

Well, the refs also helped create the Subban goal, so it all evens out! But really, the Canadiens outplayed the Flyers by a ton. I am shocked to get 2 points out of that.

Perhaps the most impressive W of the season, considering all the circumstances. Obviously, the potential big issue is Chris Pronger.

Sixers have won 6 of 8. And the two losses (in Atlanta and at home against Boston) easily could have/should have been wins. This team is playing some great ball right now.

No surprise, the Flyers look absolutely dead right now. I will be happy just to get a point out of this.

Thanks to Bill McCreary, the Flyers will go at least one more game without getting a shutout. Thanks Bill!

This might be a rough one tonight. Flyers played at home last night, Montreal is rested and playing in their building. Plus, Bob plays for the first time in a week, his longest layoff of the year, and the Flyers may still be on a hangover from the big win vs. Pittsburgh. We'll see.

No. Your avatar is 100% awesome.

Haha yeah...the terrible puns are out in full force!

Because if they fire him, he will sue the team and the real story will come out. There is no way in hell that the strength guy came up with this whole thing on his own. Somebody higher up absolutely gave him instructions. I do not buy this story for a second.

Well obviously, that is what we know now. But at the time, Darek Braunecker said he was taking Cliff Lee to free agency. Meanwhile, Roy Halladay said that he wanted to sign an extension with the Phillies. No competition with the Yankees, Red Sox, etc. Just one on one negotiations between Doc and the Phillies. He took a discount to stay here, and at the time it did not appear like Lee would. I think if Braunecker and Lee would have made it clear last year that they'd take a discount to stay, Amaro would have worked out an extension with him and never would have traded for Halladay in the first place. Rube just wanted to make sure that he had an ace of some sort under contract for at least 2 or 3 more years. He had that assurance with Halladay, not with Lee. Also, this time last year, having both long term was not an option. Something changed this year. The Phillies sold out every single home game...and all you have to do is take a quick walk around the sports complex on a game night to see what kind of business they are running. They are now basically printing money. This is new to them. Not to mention, John Middleton (one of the primary owners) sold his cigar company for billions of dollars. So, expanding the budget for the right player is something that is now possible, but wasn't as recently as one year ago. This past year, the Phillies also made an amendment to their philosophy of never giving a pitcher more than a 3 year contract. My issue with the Lee trade never was the intention...I understood what the Phillies were trying to do. My issue was the return. Three very average prospects (meanwhile Seattle turned Lee into Justin Smoak and two other very good prospects this past July). That is what stung, and still does.

Victory!

FYI, Ed Snider and Peter Luuko couldn't care less about the Sixers. If you mean president/GM, then perhaps. Anyway, I have seen so many conflicting reports about this. Won't believe it one way or the other until the trade deadline passes and Andre is either still here, or elsewhere.

Yeah they were showing that on NHL Network. I have caught bits and pieces.

Whoever does this will be my hero.

"24/7" starts tomorrow night on HBO. I am pretty excited for it, even though I am not very fond of the Penguins and Capitals. It should be very cool.

I agree, but A) they don't have the money for Beltre and B) they have a fine third baseman under contract for two more seasons. And yeah, the outfield situation is interesting. Brown needs to show something in spring training (ability to hit lefties, improvement in the field), otherwise I honestly would rather see him in AAA. I do not want him in a part time role.

Polanco is a perfect fit in this lineup. Prototypical 2-hole hitter, basically the only guy in the lineup not prone to strikeouts. They chose him over Beltre last winter when they had their choice of the two (of course, they also had Jayson Werth under contract then....). Not saying that Polanco is a better player, just that he's a great fit. Plus, Polly is signed for two more years. So no, Beltre is not an option (unless he wants to learn how to play the outfield!).

I think you are being incredibly narrow minded here. I understand your love of Reyes. If the Phillies were in a similar spot, I would hate to see them trade Chase Utley, or something similar. All I am saying is that the Mets should be open minded. They may very well not get a worthwhile offer for Reyes. But to just say "ok we are not listening to offers for this guy period" is incredibly dumb, IMO. They are not in a position to do that. If someone blows them away with an offer, I don't see why you wouldn't want to consider it.

A's sign Hideki Matsui Pirates sign Lyle Overbay

Ohai, Derrick Burgess.

Several pitching coaches feel quite the opposite about his mechanics. And what about the two prior regular seasons, when he was arguably the most filthy/dominant pitcher since prime-Pedro and won two Cy Youngs? He went through a bid of a down period for 2-3 months last summer, but I think we should be giving him credit for making the adjustments and being as dominant as ever in the postseason.

OK....now that the initial shock is over, here are my thoughts. This is obviously fantastic. It was only 8 years ago when the Phillies were overpaying for big free agents to come here (Jim Thome, David Bell) to establish credibility. Now, guys are leaving significant cash on the table to come here (Lee, Roy Halladay). It's an amazing thing. I fully expect the Phillies to unload some salary now. Obviously, everyone is talking about Joe Blanton. He should have some value once Carl Pavano signs. The SP market is rather weak, I am sure somebody will take a chance on him. I wouldn't be shocked if they try to move Raul Ibanez either, although finding a taker for a significant chunk of his remaining contract will be tricky. Long term, the Phillies have a bunch of payroll flexibility (Rollins, Lidge, Ibanez, potentially Oswalt come off the books next winter), but the key will be finding a way to squeeze everyone in for this season.

So I just woke up. Had this crazy, realistic dream that the Phillies signed Cliff Lee. Wait, what?

Because he loved it here and realized that last year, it was a business decision. The Phillies realized that Roy Halladay wanted to sign an extension here, and Cliff Lee wanted to test free agency. They had no idea at the time that he'd leave $50 million on the table to extend here. But it all works out in the end! I just wish we could have gotten more from Seattle last year...

Because the team is terrible, and doesn't look to be improving any time soon. Nobody should be untouchable. If a trade can vastly improve the team, you consider it.