Durzblog

Phillies land Cliff Lee in six player deal with the Tribe

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BD:
The Phils appear to be done with the charade that is J.P. Ricciardi -- and are close to bring last years AL Cy Young winner to the NL. Insiders imply that the Phils and Jays are just about finished and in dealing with the Tribe they can get a top line starter while keeping Drabek and Brown.

Two days until the deadline, stay tuned, this could be just more posturing....obviously Lee is not the same caliber as Doc, but he is a nice fall back plan, for sure.

Source: Jays reject Phillies' latest Halladay offer

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BD:
The Phillies took both Drabek and Brown out of the deal proposed by Toronto. They offered Happ and their three prospects -- outfielder Michael Taylor, pitcher Carlos Carrasco and shortstop Jason Donald.

J.P. Ricciardi (Tornto GM) reportedly told the Phillies "that's not going to work." Apparently Toronto will not deal unless they are "wowed" by an offer. Starks also reports that the Jays are "very comfortable" keeping Halladay if they don't get what they want. J.P. can keep saying that, but his ace is worth half his current value if he does not deal him this week. The Phils should throw Drabek in the deal and keep Happ and Brown -- they become legit world title contenders for two years immediately and can keep a decent number three in Happ. If they can somehow get this deal done by keeping Drabek though -- that would be a major coup.

According to a new SI report, A-Rod failed a test for steroids in 2003. In typical fashion, the report came from four unnamed sources -- who saw a legally confidential document that included Alex's name on a list of 104 players that failed the test 6 years ago -- I am no fan or apologist for Rodriguez, but this is total bullocks. The whole unnamed source craze in the media is a gripe for another day -- these sources at the very best made a federal offense and who ever responsible ought to be sued.

What is the next step for Alex? -- will he go Pettitte and cry, Giambi and kind of admit it, OR is he going to go the lie some more route (see Barry, Palmeiro, Clemens et al). I'm hoping for some truth, but I highly doubt it -- its never been his style.

MLB continues to be an absolute embarrassment and the Players Union ought to be ashamed of themselves. Why is it OK to continue to drop these names out to the public all willy nilly. I'm still outraged by the Mitchell Report, unless you are going to tell me every player who has used steroids -- then I would rather not know any. I'll just assume that at least half of the guys in the majors from 1997-2003 were on the juice, if you weren't -- you just weren't trying hard enough. Show me all 104 or show me none and please stop hiding behind these unnamed sources. A-rod is going to take a big public hit for this, but until last week, everyone thought he was going to be the one to break all the records, "clean". Who else is sitting all pretty who failed drug tests 6 years ago? I guess we will just wait until they become a really big star before we out them. After-all, this is about selling mags and newspapers.

Lidge and the Phillies close out Rays in game 5, 4-3


The Phils are the world champs!

Bundled in parkas and beer scarfs the fans were electric at Citizens Bank Park last night and they were rewarded with history. The city of brotherly love claimed its first major sports championship in 25 years. Hamels would be awarded as the MVP, but nearly everyone played a very important role. It was cold, hard working, nail biting baseball: it was truly Philadelphia...Mitch you are forgiven, Scotty Rolen -- we aint mad at ya, hell even JD Drew is ok today. World Series Champions! I just hope I am not about to turn 60 before we do it again...

Full Espn Coverage

Update from Boob Selig, No Game Tonight -- game 5 of the bizzarro World Series will be played Thursday at 8:37 weather permitting, click












A Perfect Storm has put Game 5 into the most bizarre hold since the 10-day earthquake postponement in 1989. Too bad the imperfect men running Major League Baseball performed like landlubbers trying to sail an America's Cup yacht in a hurricane. Bill Conlin, Philadelphia Daily News

A monsoon suspended game 5 it in the sixth inning with the Phillies and Rays tied at 2. The series will resume whenever weather permits, reportedly by Thursday at the latest.

The storm did provide us with something, it was able to expose MLB as the sham that is is -- having to push these games until 8:30 starts for the sake of TV ratings -- inexcusable. Then calling the game as soon as Selig's butt was covered and the Rays tied the game, was the field really any more unplayable than it had been for the previous 2 innings? If he always knew that the game had to be completed (as Bud contends), the game should have been called in the fourth.

Ahhh, What can you do? The cheese steaks are on ice, Tampa will have new life if they can get this thing down to Florida. At least down there we won't have to worry about sleet, rain and wind at 11:00 at night.

SI Previews game 5.5

The well documented 25 year drought for Philly sports fans can end tonight. The Phils take a gut wrencher in game 3 and bomb out a win in game 4, they now lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. Ryan Howard is back, in case you haven't heard....Werth, Rollins and Utley are supplying the rest. Everyone is getting in on it, even Joe Blanton went deep last night -- the first time a pitcher has hit one out in the Series since the 70's.

Tonight Hamels goes, the biggest Yuengling and Cheese Steak party of all time could commence this evening. They now have three cracks at it, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind skipping the trip to Tampa.




Notes...I had the perfect sports weekend, literally...Phils win 2 WS games and appear ready to take the crown...first attended Uconn football game of the year for me was a smashing success, Edsall's boys put up a big second half and come from behind to beat Cincinnati and stop a two game skid -- are now bowl eligible...1860 keeps rolling, beating Osnabrück 2-0 on Sunday for their third straight...the Giants suck it up late and get to 6-1 courtesy of a hard fought win in Pittsburgh...J.J. Henry went a long way in securing his tour card, by firing a closing round 64 and jumping him 17 spots to 120 with a $208k check after finishing tied fourth (two weeks to go)...Cruz Hernandez heads home an OT winner to lead #15 Uconn men's soccer to a 1-0 victory over # 13 Notre Dame...Boston College loses to UNC (anytime the Eagles lose is good, especially to a team that drilled Uconn)...the Rangers won two games over the weekend, literally any team I have an interest in won, Marist hammered Iona...Xavier upset Hamden...every single team, even the most obscure, won...tonight I am in need of some continued good luck, I will need Wayne to out perform Harrison by 4 points to avoid my second loss of the year in Fantasy, would you really doubt me right now? I've got the hot hand.

-BD

As the series got underway, I think the Phils would have taken the split and gotten out of Tampa with a smile, that is something to keep in mind. Also keep in mind that the club garnered said split by hitting with runners in scoring position more miserably than anyone in World Series history.

They are now 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position after the first two games, each dribbler hurts me more and more. That being said, the Rays proved last night that sometimes hits (Rays 3-5 hitters were 0-for-11) are not what you need with guys on -- its just playing the game the right way -- small ball. Whether its small ball or long ball, the Phils need runs. Credit Shields for out pitching Myers last night, now the Phillies will need Moyer to be big game Jamie on Saturday.

The weather is going to be cold, wet and generally nasty -- advantage Philadelphia, one would think. The NL champs will need two of three at home to take back the advantage in the series. Howard is getting his stroke back, J-Roll will need to do the same....

You gotta believe

Notes: Going to the Rent tomorrow for my first trip of the year, Huskies need to bounce back against a very decent Cinci club -- I'll be in the blue lot with pops...Nice job by Mike Bloomberg getting City Hall to go all communism with the term limits (I just saw Christine Quinn drive by in a new S-Class by the way) -- I just hope we in turn will get some good Eastern Bloc hockey from the Rangers out of the deal...kudos to West Virginia for helping the Big East street cred in beating Auburn last night, putting up 24 unanswered in the second half...looking forward to Penn State v Ohio State tomorrow...J.J. Henry fired a 65 yesterday lets hope for a big week, he needs one...Giants v Steelers on Sunday should be a great game...lastly, Congrats Hey!

Choose your great story as you watch (or don't watch for many) the World Series gets underway..

Tampa
The Rays could be on the verge of the greatest turnaround in the history of American sports. For the first 10 years of their existence, they were a disaster, only six other teams were within 100 losses of them during the span. They only reached the 70 win mark one time..Just last season they had the worst record in baseball. In all four major American sports, no other team has finished with the worst record and gone onto to win the championship in just one season. Nobody.

Philadelphia
The Phils hail from for a city that has sent teams out to battle in all four major professional sports for a quarter-century and not have one of them bring home some kind of championship. That is not easy to do, when you think about it, and consider they reside in the fourth-largest TV market in the entire country. The Phillies themselves, have been playing ball for 126 years and are proud owners of ONE title, they make the Cubs look like a smashing success of an operation in comparison.

Something has got to give...Hamels and Kazmir take the hill in game 1.

• GM 1: PHILLIES @ RAYS -- Wednesday, 10/22, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 2: PHILLIES @ RAYS -- Thursday, 10/23, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 3: RAYS @ PHILLIES -- Saturday, 10/25, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 4: RAYS @ PHILLIES -- Sunday, 10/26, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 5: RAYS @ PHILLIES -- Monday, 10/27, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 6: PHILLIES @ RAYS -- Wednesday, 10/29, 8:00 PM ET
• GM 7: PHILLIES @ RAYS -- Thursday, 10/30, 8:00 PM ET

Hamels tossed his third consecutive gem of the playoffs and the Phils beat Los Angeles 5-1 to win the NL championship series 4-1 and head to the Fall Classic for this first time since 1993. This will be the club's sixth appearance in the World Series (1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993)...the Championship in 80 is the team's lone title in 125 years of existence.

It has to be noted that Manny Ramirez was incredible in the series -- with his attention piqued, he hit .520 with four homers, 10 RBIs and 11 walks in eight playoff games, and will become a free agent this off season. Overall, he batted .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 regular-season games for the Dodgers after being acquired July 31 from Boston.

The Phillies will go for their second World Series title beginning next Wednesday night at Tampa Bay or Boston. The championship-starved, City of Brotherly Love, that hasn't had a title to celebrate since the 76ers won it all in 1983.

For those keeping track at home, the Phillies are 30-13 with a divisional and league title since my daughter was born. Way to go Mars!

Looking Good
The Phillies were the comeback kids last evening, overcoming a late 5-3 deficit in stunning fashion. In the eighth, Shane Victorino, the villain in LA, roped a first-pitch breaking ball over the right-field fence with Howard aboard and one away to tie the game. Spark plug Shane now has three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 11 RBIs in this postseason. It helped break the tension in the dugout as the Phils were staring at a 2-2 series with the Dodgers having all the momentum....

Philadelphia put another base runner on now with two down, late season acquisition Matt Stairs stepped in. Stairs worked the count full and blasted a majestic two-run, pinch-hit, game winning home run to right field in. It gave the Phils a 7-5 lead and six nerve racking outs later (Romero and Lidge supplied the relief) that would be the final. The Phillies lead the best-of-seven series, three games to one, and need just one more victory to play in their first World Series since 1993.

"You've been here for a month and you want to get that one big hit where you really feel like you're part of the team," Stairs said.

Sox fall behind
B.J. Upton (three-run shot) and Evan Longoria homered off Jon Lester, Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena later went deep to add insult to injury and give the Rays a 9-1 victory over the the Sox and a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. Lester had been 11-1 at Fenway this season. The four homers in a game tied the ALCS home run record also achieved by Boston against Tampa on Saturday. Experienced vet Tim Wakefield will face Andy Sonnanstine tonight as Boston tries to even the series.

The playoffs have gotten very interesting over the weekend and today's match-ups could go along way in deciding who competes in the Fall Classic. The Dodgers jumped all over Moyer early and let the Phils know that this will not be a walk in the park. Manny is being Manny, pounding the ball all over the place and acting like a total asshole. The Phils will rely on Joe Blanton tonight as they try and defeat the Dodger's Derek Lowe again this evening. Game 5 will be played on Wednesday with Hamels scheduled to go against Billingsley.

In Boston this afternoon the Sox look to bounce back from a marathon loss on Saturday. The third longest game in post season history ended with a series tied at 1-1...My guess is that things will be a bit different up at Fenway, the ambiance will likely be a little less WWF than the games in Tampa. Are they kidding with that music after Ray' long balls?? Wild Stuff.

Rando Notes
say a prayer for Tony Romo and his little pinkie...I already have a fantasy win in hand, but look to improve by overall totals with my new QB, Eli Manning, tonight, so long Mcnabb...nice effort by the Wolverines this weekend, Toledo...today begins Uconn v Rutgers week...how bad was Mickelson on Entourage? not that it was his fault, but that was awkward city...Good to see Danny O get the start for the Lions -- they almost had one...unfortunately the Nate Miles saga is still going on -- this time in appeals...RIP, New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov collapsed on the bench during a game today in Russia and died later -- He was 19, terrible news...lastly, so long to Tommy Bowden who was fired today after 10 seasons with Clemson -- I suspect it won't be long before we see him (there is a team further North also with Orange unis who could use him)...and kudos to Zach Johnson for his win yesterday in San Antonio, he has been struggling this year and its good to see his perseverance pay off, now just cool it with the God talk after you win -- its really putting me off...J.J. slipped back a couple of spots and is about $120k out of the top 125, with 4 weeks to play, this week the Tour is in Vegas at JT's tournament...

-BD

Childhood Dodger fan, Chase Utley, and Pat Burrell homered off of Derek Lowe in the decisive sixth inning last night backing a solid performance by Cole Hamels. Some successful relief (by Madsen and Lidge) held off the Dodgers as the Phitins' took the 1-0 edge going into this afternoon's game 2 -- Brett Myers facing Dodgers righty Chad Billingsley. Manny Ramirez has once again proved to be a post season force at the plate and someone the Phils are going to have to be very careful with -- he missed a two run shot to the deepest part of the yard by about 3 feet with his RBI double in the first.

Notes: It was the Phillies first NLCS game since clinching the NL pennant against Atlanta at the Vet on Oct. 13, 1993...A long time between drinks...great to see the rough crowd give a warm welcome to Larry Bowa, LA's current 3B coach.

Games this weekend...

UNC 38, Uconn 12
Going into an off week, the Huskies were brought back down to earth with a quickness...It was a comedy of errors -- but even mistake free you were left wondering if the Heels were just flat out a much better team. They sure looked a bunch more athletic than the traveling Huskies. Three blocked Desi Cullen punts, two interceptions and six penalties -- all happened within the first half, and it all contributed to a 17-3 hole. Uconn was still kind of in it at this point...Another interception and a couple of big runs turned this baby into a laugher. It was a tough night for Zach Fraser in his first collegiate start, but he can't take all the heat in this one. One bright note, to nobodies surprise, Donald Brown rushed for 161 yards on 33 carries and became the first UConn player to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Cornell Brockington in 2004. Brown will likely pass 2,000 if he stays healthy. The 5-1 Huskies will look to regroup in two weeks against rival Rutgers -- who gave West Virginia a pretty good game this weekend.

Big Blue
Giants stadium turned into a lax social gathering by the end of the first quarter yesterday -- I spent more time talking to my mother-in-law, the row behind me, than I did watching the game. The poor lad in the Seahawks jersey in front of me was getting sympathy pats on the back before halftime. It was a nearly flawless performance by the Gints -- Eli Manning threw two touchdowns, Brandon Jacobs ran for two more and the unbeaten football Giants scored on their first five possessions in a 44-6 victory, the eighth straight for New York dating to last year's playoffs, and it gave the NFL champions their best start since 1990. In other football of interest -- the Bills lose for the first time, Skins over the Birds, Jets were off, Titans remain unbeaten and both Mcnabb and LT should be ashamed of themselves -- killing my fantasy run...

Phitin Phils
Philadelphia clinched its first trip to the NLCS since 1993 with a 6-2 victory over Milwaukee yesterday!!!!! Jimmy Rollins started the game with the Phillies' second postseason leadoff homer in team history and Pat Burrell would follow with a pair of jacks as they backed up a solid effort out of Joe Blanton..Good for Pat, he has been a lifer with the Phils and has put up with a bunch of noise throughout his career. Phillies move on to take on LA starting Thursday. Lowe v Hamels in game 1...in other playoff action, those Dodgers swept the Cubs and the worlds most lovable losers did not disappoint, another tough one to swallow for Chicago -- 100 years and counting..The Angels and Chisox both staved off elimination and forced game 4's today..look for Boston to advance and Tampa to lose forcing a game 5. Boston v Phils in the World Series -- that would be sick. I guess the story lines would be even better for Dodgers v Red Sox, but lets go Phils!

Notes
NHL hockey is underway and the usual slow start for the Rangers may take a year off this season. New skipper, Chris Drury, led le range' to a pair of two 2-1 wins against Barry Melrose's Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague over the weekend...J.J. Henry fired a closing round 67 yesterday to finish in the top 20 under some nasty conditions up near Syracuse at the Turning Stone -- inching him a couple of spots closer to the magical top 125. Up to 132 from 136 ($89,000 short of 125) -- this week he heads to San Antonio coming off of four top ten finishes in his last five starts at La Cantera. ...today is also the second annual charity golf outing that Henry is hosting in Fort Worth, seems like it is turning into a great event, click here for more...good to see Danny O taking some snaps for the Lions -- even if they are the worst team in the league...watched the Kimba Slice "match" on Saturday -- is CBS kidding putting that stuff on network TV?...sorry if this reads poorly, I have been on cold/flu meds for about 7 days now :(...

Be good
-BD

Where is Dane this year? Consider this year's rendition of the post season a success already -- i''ll watch Frank Caliendo all day long -- just as long as I don't have to here Dane "living for this"....Only 18 of 56 teams who lost the division series opener came back to win the series, including only four of 28 in the NL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Yesteday's action....

Sox take Game One
The Angels won eight of nine regular season games between the clubs this year and that made no difference last night. Jason Bay cracked a two-out, two-run homer off Angel's ace John Lackey in the sixth, and the Sox beat the Angels 4-1 late last night
in the opener of their first-round AL playoff series. Ellsbury had three hits, stole a base and scored a run. These are probably the best two teams in the entire playoffs, a win Friday night for the Sox would be enormous -- Ervin Santana will pitch against Daisuke Matsuzaka. It is rumored that there will be a loud Italian from Middletown at the game -- Beware....

Dodgers Slam ahead of the Cubbies
The 100 year wait looked as if it would continue at Wrigley last night...James Loney hit a go-ahead grand slam off a wild Ryan Dempster in the fifth, Manny hit a bomb in the seventh and Russell Martin homered in the ninth for safe measure. In the end the Dodgers rolled the Cubs 7-2 in their NL playoff opener Wednesday night. Dempster walked seven in total and that is never going to work in tightly played post season games..

Hamels Deals
The Phitins use the arm of Hamels and benefit from a few Brewer blunders as they win their first playoff game since 1995. Today Myers will have to do some good work as he squares off against CC Sabathia at 6:00. A loss would be devastating for the Brewers. Hamels pitched 8 scoreless frames and Lidge barely did enough to preserve the 3-1 win. Cameron's inability to come up with Utley's drive to center in the third would be the difference.

Races in the National League for the East crown and wild card spot remain hot. Phils are blazing and the Mets are starting to play well again -- the Brew-crew gets a bit of an opportunity in Cincinnati. Phils lead el Mets by a half a game in the NLE, those Mets lead the Brewers by a game and a half for the WC...Here are the probably in the penultimate weekend of the season, enjoy the games:


Friday -
Phillies (Myers 10-11, 4.06) at Florida (Johnson 5-1, 3.30)
Mets (Perez 10-7, 4.09) at Braves (Reyes 3-11, 5.50)
Brewers (Suppan 10-9, 4.85) at Reds (Ramirez 0-0, 2.25)

Saturday -
Phillies (Blanton 7-12, 4.82) at Marlins (Sanchez 2-4, 5.87)
Mets (Martinez 5-5, 5.47) at Braves (Campillo 7-7, 3.79)
Brewers (TBD, likely Parra) at Reds (Cueto 8-13, 4.68)

Sunday -
Phillies (Moyer 14-7, 3.86) at Marlins (Volstad 5-3, 3.07)
Mets (Pelfrey 13-10, 3.67) at Braves (Parr 1-0, 2.20)
Brewers (Sabathia 15-9, 2.88) at Reds (Arroyo 15-10, 4.57)

what is that smell coming from Queens -- its smells kind of like the Mets sh*tting their pants again??

The NL East, NL Wildcard and AL Central crowns are all up for grabs as the season turns for home with only two weeks to go. Are the Metropolitans going to collapse once again (I thought that was Willie Randolph's doing), or will they hold on, leaving the Phils in goose chase with Milwaukee and Houston for the lone WC spot. Should be an exciting few weeks and equally nauseating....

ESPN COVERAGE

yes I am still sucking at the ole blog, sorry for that (and deal):

here is what I am watching and thinking of late.

French
Please let this be the year for Roger -- on this surface it would be a big surprise if it happens for the best tennis player of all time. Will he feel that pain of Pete Sampras forever? For world no. 2 Rafael Nadal it has been a nearly flawless clay-court season leading up to Roland Garros. If Nadal slips up Fed and Novak Djokovic will be chomping at the bit. Paris will say good bye to one of their favorites this week as Guga Kuerten, the three time champion, will bid fairwell. On the women's side keep your eye out for American Ashley Harkleroad...


Nats
Big couple of weeks for the Red, White and Blue as they prepare for South Africa 2010 qualifying. The schedule for the USMNT over the next few weeks offers the toughest series of friendlies in US history. The Yanks get things going this afternoon as they square off with a powerful English squad at Wembley, a tilt against Spain in Santander will follow on June 4, with a home game against Argentina on June 8, all this leading up to the World Cup qualifying series against Barbados one week later. Despite what someone like Ives Galarcep (Lando and Beasley playing for England! outrageous) has to stay, the US are in over their heads talent wise with clubs like England and Spain and will need to remain organized and poised to compete. Onyewu and Cherundolo will be the keys for the Americans over the next few weeks.

Association
The NBA games are getting better and more watchable, but I am just making a stand here. I don't know what I will do if its the Lakers and Celts, thats a no win situation. I am passionate about my Celtic hatred (not for the current crop of guys, but my feeling for the likes of Heinsohn and McKale will never die) and Kobe Bryant is just a total jerk. Even though I am hoping Detroit makes the final, the better watch would be Boston/LA.

Diamond
So the leaders in the East are Florida and Tampa, payrolls combined for both teams is less than Santana and A-Rod combined. I'm just saying. My heartburn boys, the Phils are hitting their way into both the NL East and WC battles. They love to just hang around the .5 to 2 games out mark, yes they do. Good to see Omar get a grip and say Willie is safe, even if its just for a week or so. Hopefully the distractions will cease so that poor Carlos Beltran can go back to earning his 17 mil per year salary. Poor guy. Joba looks to be getting the nod very soon for the desperate for pitching pinstripes -- let the second guessing begin.

Burnt ends
Good to see the Big Easy decide to play at the Memorial this weekend; with Tiger already out, Vijay now hurt and Adam Scott simply not playing, it is good to see 7 of the world's top 10 pay Jack the respect of playing in his tournament...In case you all have somehow missed it, the Stanley Cup playoffs are coming to an end, Detroit looks about ready to put and end to the Penguins Cup run (or dive) -- sadly its getting about as much fanfare as the WNBA...Can my v-ball team (Alpha Kenny Buddy) maintain its perch atop the Long Beach Volleyball circuit and remain the talk of the town? -- we'll find out tomorrow night...Lastly there is little going on in Huskyville, but Ater's LOI is in...Borges at the NH Reg has a few more items as well, its a good spot if you are really jonesing for some news out of Storrs...

Late

Jon Lester dazzled the crowd at Fenway last night shutting down KC 7-0 for the first no-hitter in the majors since teammate Clay Buchholz threw one last September. Quite a way to throw your first major league complete game for Lester -- the 24 year old cancer survivor. The no-no was the 18th all time for Boston, the second most in baseball history. It is also serves as a prime example of what is good about America's past time, its not all Canseco, Bonds and Clemens...

Tito was emotional after the game, "He's a wonderful kid, not because he threw a no-hitter. He's a good kid because he's a good kid. We're proud of him all the time but to watch him do that tonight was beyond words. I tried to put it into words but it's hard because -- what a story."

_________________________

In other news...Detroit finally put the Stars to sleep in Dallas and advance to take on the Penguins for hockey's Holy Grail...the Spurs closed out the Hornets last night (they might be hella boring to watch, but they can really play), strong match-ups in the NBA conference finals lie ahead...the always ailing Pedro Martinez is thinking about retiring after this season to spend time with his family -- I have never really liked the future first ballot HOFer, but he would be missed...Keep an eye on the Donaghy case, he and his lawyers are making some pretty damaging claims...Champions League tomorrow, come on Chelsea!

Billy "the jerk" Wagner has got to be the worst teammate in baseball. This is at least the second time this season (usually Bill does not lose his cool soo early in the year -- typically waiting until late June) that he has decided to complain to reporters about teammates instead of keeping it behind closed doors. Pat Burrell will always be one of my all time favorites for calling this baby what he is three years ago..."a rat"

from today's Courant:
"But at least they made some noise. Billy Wagner connected with their only big hit of the day, a verbal broadside at teammates after a deflating 1-0 loss to the Washington Nationals at Shea Stadium. Wagner was surrounded by reporters, most of whom wanted to get perspective on the Subway Series with the Yankees that begins tonight in the Bronx. He spoke about how the Mets simply have to do better than they did in losing three of four to the last-place Nationals. Suddenly, the relief pitcher's mood took an icy turn. "Somebody tell me why the ... the closer is being interviewed and I didn't even play." Then he pointed across the clubhouse to where many of the position players dress. More specifically, he seemed to motion to the lockers of Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. "Why are they over there and not being interviewed? Wagner asked rhetorically. "Oh, I've got it. They're gone ... shocker." Later, during his appearance with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN radio, Wagner said the air will be cleared in the Bronx today. "There needs to be other guys that are accountable," he said. It all was reminiscent of an episode last year involving Paul Lo Duca. Wagner's postgame comment could add either extra tension or extra adrenaline to the cauldron that always exists in Mets-Yankees games.

There has not been so much finger pointing going on in New York since Tiki Barber left the Giants