On a day when the midsummer humidity was leaving young families sobbing over the heat-stroked carcasses of dogs left in cars, it was very clear that Ruben Amaro was the only one in the room not sweating.

“That usually means he’s got something to say,” a source close to the Phillies GM reported.  ”Or that he’s acquired an ace.  Or gotten away with something awful.  He’s a tough guy to judge based on what fluids are coming out of his body, really.  I guess most people are.  Its kind of a stupid way to monitor people.  I guess we should just shut up and let him speak, huh?  That’d probably be easier.  Sorry for speaking to you unprovoked.”

As the deadline approaches, rumors tend to fly recklessly though Major League Baseball.  Some are more easily debunked than others.  But Ruben Amaro shocked the baseball world today when he held a press conference confirming that the Phillies had traded the entirety of their farm system for every single player they had been linked to in the past few weeks. (more…)

Joining us for this 48 hour excursion will be Ben Warwick of Rockies blog Rox Pile.  Be nice while I go electrocute myself in preparation for the moment I inevitably run onto the field and punch Danys Baez in the neck.

1.  With irritating losses comes the assignment of blame. A loss in Philadelphia turns Twitter into a scrambling nest of blame-games; and then people start blaming the people who are blaming people for things!  Its pretty meta. We’re a pretty insightful group.

My point is, I see Jim Tracy is getting his share of it for being too grandpa-like.  Who do you hold most accountable for anything bad that has had happened to the Rockies? And don’t just say, “That’s baseball.” I’m sick of hearing that while blaming people for things.

Usually, the answer of “That’s baseball” would work, but there are actually people to point the finger at for this slump. I think, when you boil it down, there are three groups that deserve blame for the May slide.

First, Jim Tracy deserves some of the blame, mainly for continuing to put ineffective relievers in the game [EDITOR'S NOTE: Yo you're thinking of Charlie Manuel] (See Felipe Paulino and Franklin Morales) when there are two very capable relievers in Triple-A (See Matt Daley and Rex Brothers). (more…)