Phightins

Good on the Canadiens for refusing Jagr's ridiculous demands. Now hopefully the Flyers can follow suit....

Hard to evaluate yet. All this is based on is one (likely) out-of-context quote. One sentence, for that matter. With all of that said, I'd say Jrue is going to be disappointed.

Nice man! Let us know how it goes.

Well, I'd generally agree. But it all depends on what the trade offers are. At this point, I don't expect to sign Hamels one way or the other, but if all the trade offers are crap I may just prefer the two first round picks we'll get as compensation. I have not begun to look into next year's draft class though...a lot hinges on that.

Lavoy gets a new 2 year, $6 million deal. Not bad for a guy who was borderline undraftable last year, eh?

In other words, this is the worst possible year for this to happen, haha.

I really don't expect to get much for him. Under the new CBA, traded players that are pending free agents don't keep their Type-A status. So teams that don't think they'd be able to sign Hamels beyond this season would be way less inclined to give up much for a half-season rental. There is no reward for losing him in the offseason. If Amaro can get a bidding war started until somebody caves, then great, he absolutely should be traded. If not, I'd rather hang on and keep pushing to sign him. Worst case is he walks and we get a couple high draft picks.

My condolences about the Qualls trade.

I think you will enjoy him.

Happy to hear Amaro is taking calls about Hamels. Not saying I 100% want him traded, since I have not made my mind up yet. But it at least shows that Amaro is preparing for all possible outcomes (in other words, doing the opposite of what he did with Cliff Lee in 2009).

Fan voting for ya. Plus, the NL shortstop field is incredibly thin, even more so with Tulo hurt and Reyes sucking. I'd have gone with Jed Lowrie, but obviously not surprising the fans voted for the name they know.

Happy for Chooch. Otherwise I don't care. This isn't worth getting worked up over.

So long, Mr. Thome.

I'd say it's officially official. This team needs to sell at the deadline.

According to his Twitter, he hasn't lived in that house for 3 years. So that's that.

Fine by me. He was better before he lost weight, anyway.

Although there is about a 0.00001% chance he is a Sixer next year, I'd say that selling his home in the city doesn't mean much. Could just be moving to New Jersey. There have been rumblings that the Sixers practice facility may relocate to the Flyers Skate Zone, which is in South Jersey. There are way more Philly athletes that live over here than in the city, anyway. But yes, neither of these picks make any sense unless there is a trade or two coming.

Love the overreaction to this.

Well, all those reports about Carle staying in town for a discounted price appear to be a thing of the past. He will indeed test the free agent market, supposedly. As he should. If Dennis Wideman is worth a $5.5 million cap hit in this market, then Matt Carle has every right to test it.

He is older than Lou and not as good. No thanks.

Oh Chase, how I have missed you.

Too bad we don't get AJ!

Big week ahead! IllWill and myself attending tomorrow night, Chase Utley coming back on Wednesday. Also IMO the trade deadline direction kind of rides on this week. I said before the homestand that 7-3 or better was absolutely necessary to keep the season afloat. To do that, they need to sweep the Pirates (4 game series). And considering some of the pitchers we will be facing, I'd say that's unlikely.

I am sure they'd love to have Suter, but after this trade I'm not quite sure about anything anymore. I think it's way more likely that they re-sign Matt Carle and then focus their attention/money on a forward. Some of the local writers with sources high up in the organization have said that they want to make a big push for Parise, which seems more likely now with JvR gone and with Jagr a 50/50 shot at best to come back. Plus, Carle supposedly loves it here and is wiling to take a major pay cut to stay. There is some word that they have an agreement in place and it's only a matter of time until it's announced. What I don't want is a trade for Nash or Ryan. One or both of Couturier/(Brayden) Schenn would most certainly be involved, and in my opinion they need to be close to untouchable. As for Pronger, I doubt he ever plays again.

So based on everything you guys have told me about Schenn, he sounds very very similar to JvR in terms of not meeting the hype/frustration level. Although JvR is most definitely ready for a breakout season, IMO. (However I also thought that last season). So, I am happy we traded a position of excess for a position of need, however I wish we'd have gotten a bit more. Sounds like we should have. Also, with JvR gone now, wonder what this means about Jagr. Intensified effort to bring him back? I kind of hope not, but we'll see. Also, the Flyers have quietly shed some cap space the past few days (around $1 million with the Bob trade, another $1 mil here). With the cap going up too, have to figure Holmgren is going to try something big. Hopefully not Nash or Ryan.