Fan News

With the Mets having lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they still are in need of another starting pitcher.

Losing the last two games to the Braves and falling to five games out of first place and two back in the wild card race have made this need even more obvious.

With the Mets having lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they are still in need of another starting pitcher. Losing the last two games to the Braves and falling to five games out of first place and two back in the wild card race have made this need even more obvious.

Former Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell has been named the new hitting coach for the team.

It was announced late Sunday morning that Bagwell would replace Sean Berry, who was fired earlier in the day.

Berry was a member of the original "Killer B's" along with Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Derek Bell.

Berry played for the Kansas City Royals (1990-1991), Montreal Expos (1992-1995), Houston Astros (1996-1998), Milwaukee Brewers (19990-2000), and the Boston Red Sox (2000).

Berry has been on the Astros' staff for five seasons.

With the Mets having lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they still are in need of another starting pitcher. Losing the last two games to the Braves and falling to five games out of first place and two back in the wild card race have made this need even more obvious.

With Cliff Lee’s struggles last night against the Orioles, some have declared that Lee cannot continue his All-Star performance for the Rangers, citing all sorts of stats to back up their panic. I say it’s still too early to worry.

With the Mets having lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they are still in need of another starting pitcher.

Losing the last two games to the Braves and falling to five games out of first place and two back in the wild card race have made this need even more obvious.

Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. can breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that former Phillies pitcher and fan favorite Cliff Lee has been traded to the Texas Rangers, Phillies fans will no longer be scoreboard, watching every five days wondering "what if?"  

Lee's starts will no longer be Chinese water torture for a Phillies team with three reliable starters and two train wrecks.  

Phillies fans will no longer calculate and recalculate the math it would have required to keep Lee.

The last stop on our trade deadline needs tour is in the American League West. The West has two teams that will be buyers and those teams are the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

We have already seen how serious the Rangers are this trade season as they acquired Cliff Lee from division rival Seattle earlier in the week. Here are the deadline needs for the Rangers and Angels.

Texas Rangers

Record: 50-37, first place in AL West

Needs: Starting Pitching, Backup Infielder

To tell you the truth, I loathe to even broach this subject. It has been debated to death by every fan, writer, media pundit, and cab driver with even a modicum of interest in the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, the issue must be addressed, and the time is now.

What do the Yankees do with Joba Chamberlain?

This isn't a re-visitation of the tired discussion of whether Joba is best suited for the starting rotation or the bullpen. Sure, plenty will still ask that question, but not me—not this time. The stakes are greater than that now.

NEW YORK: No, the headline is not an exaggeration; the Mets are "in desperate need of a win." With yesterday's 4-0 loss to the Braves, the Mets now find themselves five games back in the NL East.

And with the Phillies victory and recent extra-inning magic, they only trail the Mets by one-half game. Meaning if the Mets were to lose today, and the Phillies win, the Mets would enter the All-Star break six games behind, in third place.

Even if they are in second place, six games behind is not ideal when fashioning yourself as a contender.