http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/397 Recent articles about Greg Maddux en-us Another Trade Deadline has come and gone, and once again the front office has decided, for the most part, that the status quo is good enough. Good enough for what? We shall see. This is no surprise for many of us, as we are used to rumors abounding in July, only to find our Phillies only marginally better (or worse) than we were before. While rumors are fun, and the intellectual exercise of revamping lineups and rotations is plenty of fun for the baseball enthusiast, we once again must come to terms that the Phillies just do not make the big move that everyone wants. As per usual, it is more fun to talk about the speculated trades than what actually happened, but for the sake of completeness, here we go: Joe Blanton for Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman and Matthew Spencer. Great. Nothing wrong with this deal other than the fact that this is about as big as they get here in Philadelphia. With Adam Eaton and Brett Myers having trouble and being generally unreliable, we needed a boost to the rotation. And since the team bosses act like they are so broke they can't rub two nickels together, Blanton will have to do. We will never see the Phillies make a deadline move for a marquee pitcher (a la C.C. Sabathia), unless that pitcher's name is Mike Williams. Blanton's acquisition should help sure up a shaky rotation, and gives us some flexibility in the bullpen so long as Eaton can make some progress in the Minors. Now I'm bored. Dana Carey? The rumor mills were churning when it was speculated that the Phillies were considering acquiring Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes, possibly for Shane Victorino, pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco, catcher Lou Marson, and pitcher JA Happ. That is a hefty price tag, but would have yielded some considerable talent. The Rockies were reportedly sellers this year after a disappointing season following their World Series bid, and the deal seemed to match up well with the Phillies needs. Fuentes has put together a solid season and would fill our need for a lefty specialist and make our bullpen even better, but would likely just have been a rental. Matt Holliday is as consistent as they come. Parting with our prospects and Victorino would be tough, but then maybe they could have a Flyin' Hawaiian giveaway that included fans older than 14, just in order to clear stock. It would have been a blockbuster deal but in the end it looks like managements hesitancy, coupled with the fact that the Rockies, despite being eleven games under .500, are still in the race for the weak West, killed that deal. Or it was just a rumor. Late in the game came a potential trade for Manny Ramirez. Last week Ramirez declared his openness to a trade so long as his option for 2009 was declined, and the rumors swirled. The Manny trade that was realized involved 19 teams and 48 players, and in the end he ended up in Dodger Blue (the actual deal: Dodgers get Manny, the Red Sox get Jason Bay, and the Pirates get Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen from their respective teams). But before then, reports came out that Philly was his preferred choice and the rumors were fueled further by his affinity for his former hitting coach and manager, Charlie Manuel. Pat Gillick shot down the trade talk quickly before speculation on what a deal would entail got momentum. The also-rans: The Phillies were also speculative buyers in players such as Royals journeyman reliever Ron Mahay, Padre pitcher Greg Maddux and Pirate John Grabow. In the end, it was another unexciting year for actual trades by the Phils, but that is not always a bad thing. Just think, Ed Wade picked up Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins in the past week. Around the NL East: The Mets were quiet and only took a cursory look at Xavier Nady, Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay and Arthur Rhodes(what?!). In the end they did nothing, which was slightly surprising considering their aging roster. The Florida Marlins were in the middle of major talks regarding Manny Ramirez, and many Phillies fans were livid. The Marlins have established themselves as shrewd negotiators over the years, often leveraging their seemingly inexhaustible young pitching talent into major deals that vault them onto the league leaderboard. In the end however, the Marlins big pick up was Arthur Rhodes (WHAT!?). The Nationals, who last week moved Closer Jon Rauch for Emilio Bonifacio, traded Jhonny Nunez to the Yankees for shortstop Alberto Gonzalez. Both young players should see Big League time in the coming weeks. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:00:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299068 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299068 With the MLB trade deadline looming at 4 pm Eastern, the Phillies have been very quiet. There have been plenty of deals and rumors going on throughout the league, but the Phillies have not been in the middle of anything. Speculation is that they will make some sort of deal for left handed bullpen help, but they could very well do nothing and wait until the August waiver deadline to get something done. GM Pat Gillick is known for making deals in August so he could be betting that the available talent then will be just as good as what is out there now. In the rest of the NL East, only one team seems intent on making deals. The Marlins, right in the thick of the Manny Ramirez talks, have already made one deal today, for reliever Arthur Rhodes. Thank goodness the Marlins got him so Gillick didn't try to get him. The Manny deal, which has been off again and on again for the last 24 hours, appears to be off again. The Mets, on the other hand, have been just as quiet as the Phillies, with MLB Trade Rumors speculating that they won't be making any deals today. For as desperate as they are for outfield help, I am surprised the Mets won't try to get something done. There are 2 hours left for the Phillies to get something done. Forget about Manny or Maddux or any other big name coming to Philly. Expect a decent lefty pitcher to be coming here for some mid-level prospects. I'll keep you posted if anything happens. Click the link for links to articles about all this news. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:03:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298752 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298752 It may have taken a month to happen but it appears that the Los Angeles Dodgers are talking to the San Diego Padres about acquiring future hall of fame pitcher Greg Maddux. Maddux has suffered through possibly the worst season of his pro career due entirely to the Padres sterile offensive production. Maddux picked up his first win in fifth teen starts earlier this week and is just 4-8 despite a 4.29 ERA on the season. Padres general manager Kevin Towers met with Maddux yesterday to talk about possible trade destinations. Towers walked away from the meeting knowing what he knew all along. Maddux only will accept a trade to a west coast team so he can keep in touch with his homes in San Diego and Las Vegas. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:48:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298399 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298399 According to both Will Carroll and Buster Olney, the Dodgers have interest in Greg Maddux. Ken Davidoff reports that the Dodgers are also interested in Paul Byrd. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:26:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298320 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298320 Deals are going down and rumors are flying. The clock is ticking on the July 31st non-waiver trade and you could count on a few more big names being dealt. Could it be Manny? How about Bay? Maybe Fuentes? See who else we think could be on the move. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:06:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298309 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298309 Greg Maddux has informed the San Diego Padres that he would not be willing to accept a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:02:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298212 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298212 With the trade deadline about 24 hours away, two new Phillie rumors have surfaced, both come via MLB Trade Rumors: Maddux won't come East: The Phillies are still searching for pitching and asked the Padres about Greg Maddux, who has the right to refuse any trade. Maddux has repeatedly said he will only accept a trade to a West Coast team, so he has declined to go to Philadelphia. This rumor won't amount to anything, but it does show the Phils are still interested in bringing in a starting pitcher. Werth being scouted: Here's a new one that seems odd. The Tampa Bay Rays are scouting Jayson Werth, who apparently could be had in the right deal. Trading Werth would be a curious move for the Phillies, unless they plan on bringing in another outfielder. And, no, this isn't a sign that Manny Ramirez is coming to Philly. After speculation picked up again that the Phillies were his likely destination, most "in the know" once again think Manny isn't going anywhere. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:22:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298029 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298029 Jason Bay is just one of several big name players likely to be dealt before the July 31st trade deadline. Read about some of the possible landing spots for him and the many other hot trade rumors in this week's Clearing The Bases column. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:48:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293328 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293328 With both Looper and Maddux ineffective, the slugfest began. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:22:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292542 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292542 Inning by inning summaries of tonight's Padres/Cardinals game. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:46:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292446 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292446 Tidbits regarding the St. Louis Cardinals. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:43:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292166 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292166 The Indians will not be in the World Series as I predicted at the start of the year, so who's got the best shot? O, cmon, did you really think I was going to answer that in the first line? No way Jose. So let's get this thing started. Alright, here we go. The White Sox are my darkhorse pick to win the American League At the beginning of the year who would have thought the White Sox would be where they are? With two powers looming in the division- Cleveland and Detroit- Chicago seemed doomed to another disappointing year. But lo and behold the White Sox are not only winning, but they're winning with a similar formula that broke an 87 year championship-less curse in 2005. Pitching. The White Sox are second in the AL in E.R.A, fourth in wins, and third in total runs allowed. The 2005 Sox were first in the AL in E.R.A, first in wins, and third in total runs allowed. The numbers are pretty close. And then there's this: the Sox are 47-1 with a lead entering the ninth. Of course: Chicago's 'other' team is not without flaws. Namely the fact that they are terrible coming from behind. The Sox are 0-35 trailing after nine. The power is there though: Chicago leads the AL in home runs and they're looking at a probable five guys hitting twenty or more long balls. In other words: great E.R.A., leader in home runs, that sounds like a very scary proposition for another team if the Sox can get to October. Read the other bold predictions for the second half here: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:08:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291476 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291476 Atlanta trading for Greg Maddux is a deal that is unlikley to happen. The Tigers are unlikley to trade for big players before the Trading Deadline. The rumor of the Twins aquiring Adrian Beltre is getting hotter but it is not sure how far these discusions will go. Joe Blanton is getting a lot of interest considiring his sub par season. Count on the Yankees to make a run at reliever Brian Fuentes. The Cards and D-Backs are the frontrunners for the Jason Bay deal. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:25:56 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290112 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290112 The Fantasy Baseball Hall of Fame analyzes the fantasy history of strikeouts in the 8th installment of a series investigating statistical trends over the past 3 decades. There have been ten 300 strikeout seasons since 1980 and six of them occurred in the 6 year period of 1997-2002. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:58:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289182 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289182 The San Diego Padres will be in sale mode, there ofers are SP Randy Wolf,SP Greg Maddux and OF Brian Giles.OF Raul Ibanez is the the New York Mets biggest trade target, they can not go after a Holliday or a Bay because they do no have the prospects to trade.There are other rumors that the Florida Marlins are interested in aquiring OF Willy Taveras from the Colorado Rockies and the Minnesota Twins have talked to the Mariners about 3B Adrian Beltre Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:43:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289023 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289023