Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera Moving To Detroit

The Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers have agreed in principle on a trade that will send Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for key prospects.

The Tigers would send outfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three other minor league pitchers to the Marlins. The most notable of those prospects obviously is Andrew Miller who went 5-5 in 13 starts after being called up last summer.

A huge move for the Detroit Tigers. They get a hude prospect and RBI machine in Miguel Cabrera (who according to reports is losing the bulk) and Dontrelle Willis, who might see a resurgence in his new city. The AL Central just got a lot more interesting. Perhaps this could lead to a conclusion of the Johan Santana trade talks because it appears that the Tigers mean business.

Believe

The Philadelphia Phillies have always had to deal with coming up short, never being able to win the big one, and just looking uninterested in winning. That has changed this year however with what is the funnest team to watch since Lenny Dykstra and the 1993 Phils.

The Phillies were seven games behind the Mets after getting killed at home by the Colorado Rockies 12-0 on Sept. 12. The Phils had not been in first place until yesterday when they tied the New York Mets for first. Philadelphia has won 12 of 15 while the Mets, after losing tonight to the Marlins 7-4, have lost 11 of 15.

The Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 6-0 tonight thanks a brilliant effort by now 15 game winner, Cole Hamels. Ryan Howard homered for his 45th of the season while Chase Utley had 2 hits and an RBI.

It's time to believe in Philadelphia. We may be challenging for our first NL Pennant in 14 years.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Philadelphia	88	72	.550	-	46-33	42-39	884	816	Won 3	7-3
NY Mets	87	73	.544	1	40-39	47-34	790	742	Lost 5	4-6

Philles Tied For First Place With Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies are done chasing. The Phillies are tied with the New York Mets for first place in the NL East. The Mets had a 7 game lead with 17 to play at one point and since have lost 10 of 14.

Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer while Pat Burrell connected for his 30th in support of another solid pitching effort from Kyle Kendrick. The Phillies handed John Smoltz his eighth lost of the season and hung on for a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The collapsing Mets lost 3-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals to drop into a tie with Philadelphia (87-72) for first place. Both teams have three home games left. The Phillies play the Washington Nationals, who just recently swept the Mets, for their final three games. The Phillies lead the series against the Nationals 10-5. The Mets host Florida and also lead their series with the Marlins 10-5.

I haven't been this excited for the Phillies since 1993 when they went to the World Series. Could this be the season in which we forget about the Eagles and focus on the Phillies in the playoffs? It would be a nice change of pace.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Philadelphia	87	72	.547	-	45-33	42-39	878	816	Won 2	7-3
NY Mets	87	72	.547	-	40-38	47-34	786	735	Lost 4	4-6

Mets Lose And Phillies Win, Move Within 1.5 Games

Thanks to a Jayson Werth pinch-hit 3 run home run and an RBI double by Jimmy Rollins the Phillies came back from 4 runs down to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6. Shane Victorino, the "Flying Hawaiian", played for the first time since September 10th and went 1-4.

Kyle Lohse lasted only two innings for the Phillies but the bullpen, yes, I said the bullpen, pitched 7 scoreless innings. Brett Myers picked up his 18th save of the season while JC Romero picked up his first win of the season.

The much scrutinized Adam Eaton is scheduled to start tomorrow for the Phillies against Nationals pitcher Shawn Hill. Assuming the Mets lose again tomorrow to the Marlins, the Phillies could climb within .5 games of leading the NL East.

The Mets blew two three-run leads, stranded eight runners and wasted an opportunity to keep the Phillies at bay. The Mets have lost 3 of their last 4 against the Marlins and are only 3-7 in their last 10 games.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
NY Mets	84	68	.553	-	40-34	44-34	744	686	Lost 1	3-7
Philadelphia	83	70	.542	1.5	43-32	40-38	848	791	Won 1	7-3

Hanley Who?

Hanley Ramirez. The 2006 NL Rookie of the Year has quietly become the NL's best shortstop, and one could say even the best in baseball. With shortstops like Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, and Edgar Renteria, being considered the best shortstop in the NL is no easy feat to accomplish. And like I said, one could argue he's the best in all of baseball, which would mean he would be better than Derek Jeter. If you're a New York Yankees fan you can either ignore that statement or just concede and accept that Ramirez is the best at his position.

The 23-year old Dominican is currently sporting the best BA (.341) among shortstops and places 4th overall in Major League Baseball. During his current 10 game hitting streak Hanley has hit 4 HRs, driven in 9 RBIs, scored 9 Rs, and collected 7 SBs. He leads the Florida Marlins in Runs, BA, and SBs. Without the overweight but very talented Miguel Cabrera, Ramirez would be carrying the team. Not only is he consistent (batted over .300 in every month except May (.279)), he is the definition of clutch. In close and late situations Ramirez is hitting .391, with 4HRs and 15RBIs. With men in scoring position and 2 outs he is hitting .311 and driven in 11RBIs. He however has done this all season to little or no applause because unfortunately he is stuck in America's wang, also known as Florida. Both Florida baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins, are the only teams with under 1 million total attendance. The Marlins average only 16,909 fans a game and that's only slightly less worse than the last place team, you guessed it, the Devil Rays.

He does however have one glaring weakness, and that is his fielding. That can be taught and learned though. And with this guys love for the game (wanted to play and finish winter ball on his Dominican team after injuring his arm), that shouldn't too much of a stretch. Now I am certainly not implying anyone who knows their baseball doesn't know about Hanley Ramirez, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everyone would be talking about this kid a lot more if he wasn't stuck in "hell".