Kuzul

With this being a weak crop of first-ballot candidates, this year gives some guys who have already been on the ballot previously a little extra boost to their chances.Former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy is a player who fits that profile, being a guy who has been on the ballot for a while without making it.This article examines the reasons why Murphy deserves to make the Hall of Fame as well as the reasons he does not and will give my personal opinion on whether he's Hall of Fame material.Begin Slideshow

Mark Buehrle has a dream. A dream that his four little dogs will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the ferocity of their appearance but by the content of their tameness. A 1989 pitbull ban in Miami-Dade County forced Buehrle to distance himself from the Miami Marlins ballpark in order to legally keep one of his dog. According to the Miami Herald, Buehrle is an avid dog lover and wouldn’t even fathom parting with his pitbull Slater over the ban. The All-Star ace even said that if there hadn’t been a place for him and his family to move that permitted the pitbull, he wouldn’t have signed in Miami. Luckily for the Marlins, Broward County shares his love for canines. Buehrle, one of many dog owners who admitted that they hoped Michael Vick would get hurt, complained about the absurd law saying (via ...

Philadelphia has had its fair share of interesting athletes throughout the years. Along with interesting characters, Philly sports figures have also been known for their infamous quotes.Whether it was directly after a loss, or a miraculous fourth down reception or at a World Series parade, some Philly sports stars really knew how to blow a gasket or pump up a crowd.No matter if it's the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers or Big 5 basketball, these quotes will definitely bring back some memories.So without further ado and/or eloquence, here are the best/most ridiculous/most passionate quotes in Philadelphia sports history.Warning: Some quotes have rather distasteful languageBegin Slideshow

Since its opening season, in 2004, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has completely changed the face of the Phillies organization.In 2003, the Phillies ranked 24th in the MLB in attendance. After the inception of Citizens Bank Park in 2004, they rose all the way to fourth. The Phillies have now led all of baseball in attendance for the past three seasons. They are now working on a 204-game sellout streak going into the 2012 season. The stadium sells out every single night, and the atmosphere is perpetually electric.Not only does this state-of-the-art, $336 million stadium draw in massive crowds, but it supplies them with everything that a baseball fan could possibly dream of. The Philadelphia Phillies have created a model of success for other teams to follow in Major League Baseball. Over the past decade, they have gone from the basement of the National League to a perennial powerhouse. This ...

The Atlanta Braves have been discussing a possible trade with the Colorado Rockies since the very beginning of the offseason.The Rockies originally discussed Martin Prado with the Braves, but are also reportedly interested in Jair Jurrjens.The main Rockies' player the Braves are interested in is Seth Smith.Smith is the Rockies' right fielder, and has an impressive career BA of .275. Last season, he hit .284, with 15 home runs and 59 RBI.However, a straight up trade of Smith for Prado is not going to happen.Prado's BA is higher, and he is much more useful to the Braves.In his career, Prado has hit .293, and he is an accomplished defender at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and RF. He also has the ability to play SS and CF.A trade that makes more sense for the Braves is Prado for Tim Wheeler and Smith.Wheeler is one of the Rockies' best outfield prospects, and has ...

Ozzie Guillen was a terrific manager for the Chicago White Sox the last eight seasons, but the 47-year-old new skipper of the Miami Marlins is going to fall flat on his face in 2012. A World Series champion and former AL Manager of the Year (both 2005), Guillen has already set himself up for a few struggles next season and in one of the baseball’s most unforgiving divisions, it’ll be an uphill battle. After the Winter Meetings massive haul, expectations are immense for Guillen and the new-look Marlins next season. I don’t see how he is going to meet them.Begin Slideshow

The Philadelphia Phillies may want a word with their star pitcher Roy Halladay, who is apparently off saving lives in the Amazon. The 700 Level reports Halladay was in Brazil for a fishing trip when he went all Superman and saved a little boy from a dangerous anaconda. Now for the reality portion of this tall tale. Doc Halladay was allegedly on a fishing trip with buddies and the group towed home a boy in need. The local boy had been bitten by an anaconda but was able to fight of the extremely dangerous snake. The report comes from a blog entry written by fishing legend Skeet Reese. His photo can be seen below.Halladay just finished off another fine year. I mean, it's not saving lives, but a 2.35 ERA and 19 wins is pretty substantial pitching. Now we have to bring the fairy tale of Halladay with a machete in his teeth ...

As the end of December rolls around and January 2012 approaches, we are only months away from the start of yet another MLB season. It is hard to believe that already over one month ago, the World Series was awarded and that now, teams are already preparing so that they have their shot to win it all in 2012.With the Phillies having the National League's highest payroll, the Marlins moving to a new stadium and bringing stars with them, the Braves keeping much of their core in tact and the Nationals slowly working their way into the playoff conversation, the National League East race has the potential to be extremely tight and one of the best in baseball to follow in the coming season.Let's start with the Phillies. Obviously, as the five-time defending champion of the NL East crown, they are the ones being chased in 2012. The Phillies had ...

It doesn't take much talent to make a boy band, but the Braves couldn't even pull that off. This tone deaf, rhythm-less, group of players couldn't even lip-synch their way to a performance that didn't leave the audience running for exits with blood protruding from their ears.Several prominent Braves decided to share their holiday cheer by butchering "Jingle Bells" into a unrecognizable horror.This performance was impressive for one notable reason: It is hard to imagine anyone doing a worse job.Manager Fredi Gonzalez ends the aural torture by wishing everyone a happy holidays, and telling us that his ballclub "may not be worth a bag of baseballs when it comes to singing, but they sure can play some baseball."So it appears as if the rascally Braves may not have been trying to flex their pipes after all. Perhaps this horror show they masqueraded as singing was all part of the plan?My ...

The 2012 Philadelphia Phillies look strangely similar to the 2011 version. All of the biggest contributors to the team's success will be back in the City of Brotherly Love for at least another season. Of course, this logically leads to the question as to whether or not the same top performers will have equally productive seasons. That's what I'm trying to address today. Here are my statistical projections for each of the top-six players on the Philadelphia Phillies. This is kind of a power ranking because the top five are in order, but I am also predicting each of their individual stat lines.Begin Slideshow