Cubs Acquire Closer Gregg From Marlins

The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg from the Florida Marlins on Thursday, a move which spells the end for closer Kerry Wood.

Gregg was acquired for minor league pitcher Jose Ceda.

Bothered by a sore left knee, Gregg finished 7-8 with a 3.41 ERA and 29 save. His nine blown saves tied for most in the majors.

Fired By Fax

Several sources are reporting that the San Diego Padres have rescinded a contract offer to Trevor Hoffman, a free agent, who has piled up all but two of his 554 saves with the Padres since 1993.

The Padres say they’re slashing expenditures, most notably by trying to trade ace Jake Peavy, probably to the Braves or Cubs, and further by pushing away Hoffman, the indisputable face of the franchise.

And, listen to this: The Padres informed Hoffman not in person with a one-on-one conversation, or a hand-written note, or even with a phone call.  Instead, they sent his reps a fax.

Talk about some pieces of sh*t.  Excuse my french, but is this anyway to run a business.  Especially the man who has a pretty significant hand in getting your franchise to wear it is today.  Those motherf*ckers.

Braves Down Phils, Mets Lose

Chipper Jones hit his second career pinch-homer and the Atlanta Braves beat the Phils 10-4 Wednesday night in the 215.

Then the Cubbies beat the New York Mets 9-6 in 10 innings, reducing the Phillies’ magic number for clinching their second straight division title to three.  Three friggin’ wins, come on fellas.

The Phillies remain 1½ games ahead of the Mets. They will finish the regular season with a three-game series against the last-place Washington Nationals, starting Friday and look to capitalize.

Phils Lose, Mets Win

The NL-East leading Phillies missed a chance to reduce their magic number for clinching their second straight division title against the New York Mets, who beat the Cubs 6-2 last night.  Philadelphia leads New York by 1 1/2 games in the NL East. The magic number for clinching the division remains at four.

Casey Kotchman homered, Mike Hampton won for the first time in a month and the Atlanta Braves halted the streaking Phil’s playoff push with a 3-2 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night.

Magic Number = 4

Determined to stay on top, the Phils are playing their best baseball at the right time.

Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer in the eighth and the NL East-leading Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-2 Monday night for their 10th win in 11 games.

The Phillies reduced their magic number for clinching their second straight division title to four after the New York Mets lost 9-5 to the Cubs to fall 2½ games back. Philadelphia’s magic number for clinching a playoff berth is three.

Update: Phillie Fazools

After some careful consideration the Fazools made a transaction last night. 

DROP: Geoff Jenkins LF Phi

ADD: Carlos Marmol RP ChC

The Reason:  Geoff was my only Phillie and actually happened to be Mr. Irrelevant in the draft (I had the #1).  I really would have loved to keep him past the first week of fantasy play but I he would have rotted away on my bench and never really cracked the rotation with Alfonso Soriano, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Matt Diaz all in front of him, and all LFs (the league setup is where you HAVE to have a LF, CF, and a RF, then just an OF spot.  Why not play Geoff at the OF spot you say?  I also happen to have Xavier Nady (RF) and Jeremey Hermida (RF – DL15) behind Jeff Francouer(RF) who I would most likely insert before Geoff Jenkins, being that he is the most platooned out of all my outfielders. 

Carlos Marmol setup Kerry Wood for the Cubs before Kerry decided to go and blow it.  He fanned three out of the four batters he faced and had some really good stuff.  I figure you can always have pitching, especially relievers who are solid and will see the field more then once every five days.