AGRI Biz

As a Phillies fan, I am hoping that the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies' season is not becoming that of the New York Mets' 2009 season, one riddled with injuries and a lost season before the All-Star break I can hear the laughing all the way from Queens. Really though, here's what the Phillies awful 9-1 loss means: The Phillies are in third place, 1.5 games behind the Mets and a half-game behind behind Washington. ...

Hours before the Philadelphia Phillies failed to make the necessary plays in a 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, they made one huge play off the field. The Phillies announced they had locked up slugger Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension that could keep the All-Star first baseman in Philadelphia through 2017. The contract runs through 2016, with a club option for 2017 that could raise the value ...

The latest news out of Phillies camp was not promising: Starter J.A. Happ will miss tonight's start against the Atlanta Braves due to stiffness in his elbow. Instead, Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 17.47), pictured, will face Tommy Hanson (1-1, 2.38). Other matchups feature Tim Hudson (1-0, 2.84) vs. Roy Halladay (3-0, 1.12) and Jamie Moyer (1-1, 7.50) against Derek Lowe (3.0, 4.67). In the face of losing two of three games at home to the Marlins, ...

You could feel the charge of the Marlins' in the ninth inning of an 8-6 Phillies win on Friday night. Phillies ace Roy Halladay left the rain-plagued game in the eighth inning with an 8-2 lead. Reliever David Herndon gave up four runs to make 8-6 before Ryan Madson closed the door, allowing one inherited runner to score. The Marlins' Ricky Nolasco almost shut out the Phillies the following night, save Jayson Werth's ...

Philadelphia Phillies players make manager Charlie Manuel look like a genius time after time. The latest blow to the defending National League champions was leadoff man Jimmy Rollins landing on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained calf muscle. No problem. Juan Castro filled in nicely at leadoff in the first game without Rollins. In a 7-4 win on Monday against Washington, he hit an RBI double. Castro had to lead off because ...

The 2009 Philadelphia Phillies team hit 10 home runs more than the year before and scored 21 more runs and had 26 more RBI. The offense led the team to its second straight National League pennant. They fell short in six games to the New York Yankees, but heck, Chase Utley tied Reggie Jackson's record of five home runs in a single World Series. You ain't seen nothing, yet. Monday's 11-1 thrashing of ...

As Phillies fans, we all remember Joe Blanton going yard against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series. Looking at the batting averages, however, Blanton is only a .111 lifetime hitter, so he musta been feed a real juicy fastball to hit. Most Phillies historians remember that Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton was traded for Rick Wise. Both however, were pretty good hitting pitchers. In his presentation, I will pick the ...

When you are two-time National League champion, there is little room for non-roster players looking to make the squad. As a Phillies fan, I am no longer looking hopefully as Ricky Ledee or John Wockenfuss are added to the squad, with past potential or successes leading to a promising Phillies season. Nope. I am in baseball hog heaven. These are the gravy years. So when the Phillies added six non-roster players to their squad ...

An ESPN report over the weekend stated that the Philadelphia Phillies talked internally about the possibility of shipping first baseman Ryan Howard to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Albert Pujols. Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro told espn.com, "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie." Howard is hugely popular in Philadelphia, but Pujols is a God in St. Louis. For baseball fans, it is a fun thing to ...