NL East Report

Atlanta Braves: (7-3; -6.5)

The Braves took two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers, and will open a series in Florida Tuesday night. If the Braves make any moves at the deadline, it would be to help their pen, as they do not seem to have any glaring holes, just areas that could use help.

Florida Marlins: (6-4; -6.5)

The Marlins took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and will return home for a series with the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins are most likely going to stand pat at the deadline, as they do not want to trade any of their prospects, nor can they add salary. If Uggla and Cantu are still there after the deadline, they will almost certainly be gone in the offseason. Also, the Marlins demoted Andrew Miller and called up Gaby Sanchez. Sanchez will take time away from Emilio Bonifacio at 3B.

Philadelphia Phillies: (8-2; Leader)

The Phillies took two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals and will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in Arizona. The Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays are currently at an impasse in the Halladay negotiations. The Phillies would consider Cliff Lee as their backup plan. Lee has had a good season, but his record is misleading because he has not received much run support. The Indians want a big offer, and the Phillies would have to contend with the Rays and Red Sox for Lee. This is an interesting quirk: On July 31, the Toronto Blue Jays will be staying at a hotel in San Francisco for their series with the Oakland Athletics. Also on July 31, the Philadelphia Phillies will be in San Francisco to play the Giants. The Blue jays and Phillies will share the same hotel.

Washington Nationals: (4-6; -27)

The Nationals finally had some offense from Austin Kearns. They took two of three from the San Diego Padres, including a walk off single by Kearns. The nationals will open a series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Reports are that Stephen Strasburg and Scott Boras are not too thrilled with the Nats front office mess. The Nationals “lead” the Bryce Harper sweepstakes by 7.5 over the Padres.

Weekly Musing:

Two more incidents happened Sunday that further add to the disgraceful and classless perception around Phillie fans. During Sunday’s game with the Cardinals, a fan in the crowd shone a green laser pointer at Julio Lugo and Albert Pujols. This lead to a delay in the game in which the security staff had to look for the culprit. An inning later, another fan shone a red laser pointer at members of the Cardinal team. Team officials and fans on the St. Louis Post Dispatch website repeatedly blasted the Phillie fans. Shining a laser pointer at players can be dangerous, especially in the eyes. And when you do that to the greatest player in the game today, you raise the stakes against you.

The second story is tragic. A 22-year-old man was at a Citizens Bank Park bar for a bachelor party, and was beaten to death by two drunk Phillie fans. The prime suspect is still being hunted by police.

Security in Philadelphia sporting events is slow to react and often looks the other way with fan misconduct until it becomes noticeable. Any hockey fan can tell you that. Now obviously, one is more serious than the other, but both took place on Citizens Bank Park grounds, and nothing will happen until Philadelphia fans and teams themselves act tough against their own fans. But what do I know, I’m just a NY fan.

Till Next Time