AGRI Biz

Yesterday's trade of Cliff Lee confirmed what a majority of Philadelphia Phillies and their fans suspected to be true all along—last winter's deal was a terrible blunder.    On one hand, the team might take solace in the fact that Lee was shipped to the Texas Rangers rather than their divisional arch rivals, other National League contenders, or the World Champion New York Yankees—in that order.    On the other hand, Ruben Amaro and ...

Last week, a historic piece of baseball memorabilia officially was put up for auction to the highest bidder. The 34-inch Mizuno bat was used by banished former star Pete Rose in 1986 when he recorded his final and major league record 4,256th hit of his career. The auctioneer, Lelands.com, expects that the collector's item could potentially fetch the highest price ever obtained for a baseball bat, perhaps exceeding the $1.3 ...

Tonight, one of the most hyped rookies in major league history launches his career. Stephen Strasburg makes his big league debut for the Washington Nationals when he takes the ball to pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The attention and interest focused on him is unprecedented. Besides playing in front of a capacity crowd in the nation's capital, the MLB Network will broadcast the game nationally with their "A" team of ...

As the Philadelphia Phillies prepare to open a nine game road trip against NL East rivals tonight in New York, it's a good time to check in on the division race. With the season just past the quarter mark, it’s early, but there are enough data points and trend lines to get a feel for what to expect over the balance of the year. It is not surprising to see the Phillies ...

A review of each season's Most Valuable Player voting typically reveals the best players in the game at that particular time. Although each player's team's regular season success is a factor, the vote tally usually has a strong correlation to statistical leader boards. Those players have almost always earned this recognition through quantifiable performance from RBI, HRs and batting average to wins and saves. Individual team MVP selections often mirror the ...

After the Philadelphia Phillies fell just short of repeating as World Series Champions, GM Ruben Amaro spent the offseason actively reshaping the club.  Of course, the biggest news involved the tandem trades of Cy Young hurlers Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. Beyond that, Amaro used the free agent talent pool to land a new regular third baseman and essentially perform a makeover on both his bullpen and bench.  The Phillies GM wasted ...

The 2010 Major League Baseball season is still young, but a glance at the standings reveals a few unexpected teams at or near the top as the weekend came to a close. The San Diego Padres, Oakland A's, and Washington Nationals were all projected by pundits to be bottom feeders, but all find themselves turning heads with their strong starts. All three teams have been amongst the worst in baseball ...

  Last evening, Jayson Werth put on a "Baseball Tonight" highlight reel in leading the Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Watching him continue to evolve as one of baseball's brightest all-around stars argues that the Phillies should sign him to a contract extension right now.    As he often does, Werth displayed his multi-dimensional talents in the desert.  With one out in the second inning, the bearded right-fielder with ...

The closer role is perhaps the most difficult job in major league baseball. If not the most difficult, it surely is the most highly scrutinized and insecure position on any team. Before two weeks of the 2010 regular season had passed, four teams had already changed pitchers filling this important role. Looking around the league, it is possible that these are just the first amongst other similar moves by teams that ...

With Kyle Kendrick doing his best Chan Ho Park imitation, and a few other warning signs illuminating, could the rumors about Ruben Amaro contacting Pedro Martinez's agent to negotiate a deal be true? As I detailed on Tuesday in Top 10 Destinations For a Pedro Martinez Return in 2010, Martinez has made it clear that he wants to return to action, and there are many teams that could be a fit. ...