6:28 p.m. McCarthy does a dramatic prerecorded promo for the Braves series, raising his voice to a fan-in-the-stands intensity that is startling in the pregame quiet of the booth. It's as if McCarthy suddenly decided to do "King Lear," then receded into his normal, calm self.

Soren wrote:Jim Jackson is so much worse.

SWING AND A FLY BALL out to shallow right...Utley's under it....and he makes the catch

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1969 Baltimore Orioles 109-53 + 9 (lost W.S.)
1970 Baltimore Orioles 108-54 + 6 (won W.S.)
1974 Los Angeles Dodgers 102-60 +11 (lost W.S.)
1975 Cincinnati Reds 108-54 +10 (won W.S.)
1980 New York Yankees 103-59 + 6 (lost ALCS)
1984 Detroit Tigers 104-58 + 7½ (won W.S.)
1986 New York Mets 106-56 +10 (won W.S.)
1989 Oakland Athletics 99-63 + 6 (won W.S.)
1990 Oakland Athletics 103-59 + 8 (lost W.S.)
1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)
Eight team play-offs:
1995 Cleveland Indians 100-44 +10 (lost W.S.)
1998 New York Yankees 114-48 + 8 (won W.S.)
2001 Seattle Mariners 116-46 +14 (lost ALCS)
2009 New York Yankees 105-57 + 8 (won W.S.)

Exactly half of these teams went on to win their championship. The most dominant of these - the '01 Mariners - did not finish as champions, nor did the next most dominant team by games ahead of the competition ('74 Dodgers) or by regular season W-L Pct. ('95 Indians).

The Phillies don't mind paying on the back end because of what dealing prospects has helped provide on the front end. The Phillies have won four straight National League East titles and also two pennants and one World Series in that span. They have the best record in the major leagues, as they are a season-high 31 games over .500 at 71-39 through 100 games, and Pence fills their most-glaring need as a right-handed hitter with power.

Part of the reason the Phillies have been able to stay competitive is because they try to make deadline trades for players who can be part of the future. Oswalt had another year on his contract when acquired, and the Phillies hold a club option on him next for next season, while Pence is under club control through the 2013 season. The Phillies opted not to re-sign Lee after he became a free agent in 2009, as they traded with the Blue Jays for right-hander Roy Halladay. Yet Lee enjoyed the Philadelphia experience so much that he signed a five-year, $120 million contract with the Phillies as a free agent last winter despite receiving more lucrative offers from the Yankees and Rangers.

"I think we've targeted the right guys because of their makeup, the ability to keep them more than just half a year," Amaro said. "We try to stay away from guys who aren't good fits or who will be rentals."

CFP wrote:One more funny note from that article, which is quite interesting BTW:

6:28 p.m. McCarthy does a dramatic prerecorded promo for the Braves series, raising his voice to a fan-in-the-stands intensity that is startling in the pregame quiet of the booth. It's as if McCarthy suddenly decided to do "King Lear," then receded into his normal, calm self.

Soren wrote:Jim Jackson is so much worse.

SWING AND A FLY BALL out to shallow right...Utley's under it....and he makes the catch

Napalm wrote:

Soren wrote:Jim Jackson is so much worse.

SWING AND A FLY BALL out to shallow right...Utley's under it....and he makes the catch

He's just too used to calling Jeff Carter during Flyers games.

"WICKED WRISTER FROM JEFF... high and wide into the 10th row"

Soren wrote:

Napalm wrote:

Soren wrote:Jim Jackson is so much worse.

SWING AND A FLY BALL out to shallow right...Utley's under it....and he makes the catch

He's just too used to calling Jeff Carter during Flyers games.

"WICKED WRISTER FROM JEFF... high and wide into the 10th row"

:deadhorse:

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)

phdave wrote:

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)

Maybe I'm not understanding something but the Braves were only 1 game better than the Giants in '93.

smitty wrote:

phdave wrote:

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)

Maybe I'm not understanding something but the Braves were only 1 game better than the Giants in '93.

He probably made a mistake.

phdave wrote:

smitty wrote:

phdave wrote:

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)

Maybe I'm not understanding something but the Braves were only 1 game better than the Giants in '93.

He probably made a mistake.

But that would mean that people who post comments to on-line articles are not always accurate.

smitty wrote:

phdave wrote:

smitty wrote:

phdave wrote:

Teams that had a W-L record at least 5 games better than any other team since divisional play:

1993 Atlanta Braves 104-58 + 7 (lost NLCS)

Maybe I'm not understanding something but the Braves were only 1 game better than the Giants in '93.

He probably made a mistake.

But that would mean that people who post comments to on-line articles are not always accurate.

And people who WRITE on line articles aren't always accurate either. Hey, we're on to something here. Maybe it's not good to believe something just because it's on the internet.