So far, the theme at the start of the Phillies 2009 Spring Training seems to be weight loss, contrary to what you might think after a winter spent celebrating a World Championship. Several accounts have Ryan Howard trimming down by up to 20 pounds in hopes of improving his fielding. But Howard didn'...

It’s time for another installment of movers and shakers on the Mock Draft Central Average Draft Position Report. Headed Up Andy Pettitte | New York Yankees | +7.7% - You knew the Pettitte re-signing would begin his slow rise in ADP. This is his second consecutive week with a 7+ percentage poin...

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he's still hopeful that they can come to an agreement with Ryan Howard and avoid sitting down at the arbitration table. Then you read Jim Salisbury on the slight difference of opinion on how much Howard is worth and you think there's no shot in hell they avoid arb. T...

A Texas Rangers-centric blog, Lone Star Ball, has an interesting view on arbitration and uses Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn as an example [link/hat tip]:Dunn is also a free agent, unlike Howard. Dunn can market himself to any team, and any team can sign him and pay him... ......

I had a brilliant idea the other day, which happens quite a bit. But unlike most of my mad scientist theories brilliant ideas, this one actually sounded good after I thought about it for a while; so I set it into motion. With the popularity of mock drafts growing and growing, I wanted to put one tog...

The Phillies ended an exciting 24 hours with some difficult news to swallow.  After avoiding arbitration with a number of quality players, they were hit by Ryan Howard's daunting financial demands.  We would be lying to ourselves if we were totally surprised by the number, but now that it's in pri...

Links for Friday (feels like a Monday)... Boston's deal for catcher Josh Bard is official.  Bard had offers from the Cubs and Nationals as well. SI.com's Jon Heyman ranks the top 20 remaining free agents. RotoAuthority asks readers to name their #1 sleeper for 2009. The Marlins reportedly have ...

We get a massive amount of tips in our inbox each week. Some are pretty interesting, but don't get published for one reason or another. (NSFW) It's usually because they're just so absurd or really lack even the most tenuous of news angles to give them the go-ahead. Other times it's because they're j...

“Business Trip” November 13th, 2008 When episodes like “Business Trip” end up being solid entries into a season, it’s not really because of anything they do in an isolated fashion. This is an episode that is all about whether or not the rest of the season has properly b...

The Phillies are a feeble 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position, a damning statistic that led manager Charlie Manuel to state his team was 'trying too hard.'...