Fan News

With summer in full swing, now is the best time to take in a baseball game. And while there are terrific professional ballparks scattered around the country, some of the best collegiate players can be found each summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).

Every year from June until August, 10 teams in the CCBL draw crowds to stadiums across the Cape in Eastern Massachusetts. Many players go onto higher levels of success, with over 200 CCBL alumni currently playing in the Major Leagues, including stars Tim Lincecum and Evan Longoria.

The All-Star Break is a great time to reflect on your favorite team's first half of the season: remembering the good times and the bad of the last three months.

So here they are (in my opinion): the five best wins and five worst losses for the Phillies during their first half of 2010.

Let's start with the five worst losses and finish with the wins, and therefore, a high note. Enjoy!

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"They got in the way!" or "I didn't know it was there" are some of the best excuses that have been given for accidental bird murders. Things can sometimes get out of hand and lead to PETA coming after you or being suspended by the league.

But C'mon! Most of the time the excuses are true and it was the bird's fault.

Bleacher Report examines some of the oddest and most peculiar instances where a bird was not lucky in the end.

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Kickoff Notes

The first half of the Major League Baseball season is now over. For some, this means discussions can start about MVP races, Cy Young races, the trading deadline, and of course division standings.

For me, it is instead a time to look at the types of statistics and awards not often looked at.

These awards are not for the best pitcher, or the best team.

Are you hurting in the RBI category? Here are some reasonably available players who can help you out.

Please check out Mets Paradise and our forum for everything Mets!!!

The second half of the season is going to start tomorrow, so it's only fair to let the players know how they are doing right now.

Stop me if this sounds familiar. A mid-20s middle infielder loses the faith of the Atlanta Braves organization and is sent packing, making him a classic change of scenery guy.

Yup, I will call this Yunel Escobar trade “Kelly Johnson Part 2.” Now of course the biggest difference between Escobar and Johnson is that Johnson left as a free agent after he wasn’t tendered a contract. With Escobar, the Braves got something in return.

Escobar is headed north of the border.

Baseball’s hot stove is heating up. With two weeks left until the trade deadline and Cliff Lee already dealt, the two big names left on the rumor circuit are Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth.

The two have much in common: Both are outfielders who are among the best players on their respective teams. They both play for clubs that are fully in the thick of playoff contention—Crawford’s Rays are three games up in the AL Wild Card, while Werth’s Phillies sit just 1.5 games behind the Rockies and Dodgers in the NL.

The Double G Sports Expert Panel and it's baseball writers have once again been polled to come up with our Major League Baseball Power Rankings for July.

This is our fourth installment of our power rankings this season, for last months rankings, click here .

As usual there was some movement up and down the rankings. The Yankees and Rays were fortunate enough to hold onto the top two spots.