Philadelphia Phillies

BaseballPhiladelphia Phillies -- Signed OF John Gibbons and C Joe Cipolloni to replacement contracts.CollegeRose-Hulman -- Announced that men's basketball coach Jim Shaw will return for the 1995-96 season.HockeyPhiladelphia Flyers -- Called up D Karl Dykhuis from AHL Hershey.San Jose Sharks -- Assigned LW Andrei Nazarov to IHL Kansas City.

It was the spring of Gavin Floyd's senior year, and professional baseball scouts were flocking to his games at Mount St. Joseph High School. A right-handed pitcher with a blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve, Floyd was considered one of the top prep pitchers in the country and perhaps the closest to being major league-ready in 2001. "Pitching that year was really fun," reflects Floyd, now 30, a dozen years after drawing national attention. "I remember the visuals. It was a long time ago. " Born in Annapolis, Floyd grew up in the Chartwell neighborhood of Severna Park and honed his skills with the Green Hornets at Kinder Park and in youth leagues in Gambrills, according to his mother, Elaine Floyd.

BaseballLos Angeles Dodgers -- Named Jon Debus manager of the Great Falls Dodgers of the Pioneer League (Rookie).Philadelphia Phillies -- Placed P Andy Ashby on the 15-day DL. Recalled P Darrin Chapin from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.DTC San Diego Padres -- Activated P Mike Maddux from 15-day DL. Optioned P Jeremy Hernandez to Triple-A Las Vegas.FootballIndianapolis Colts -- Traded RB Eric Dickerson to the Los Angeles Raiders for a fourth- and eighth-round draft choice in 1992.

How badly is Cliff Lee's head spinning? Lee leads the Phillies to the World Series, delivering one of the best postseason runs by a starter since a third round was added, and only a little more than a month later he is traded for the second time this year. The first trade was in July, only about eight months after he had won the American League Cy Young Award. Now that he has gone from the Indians to the Phillies to the Mariners in four of the craziest months imaginable, he must be ready to settle down, right?

PHILADELPHIA - It has been 12 days since Mount Bowa erupted during a team meeting in Montreal, and it has been a pretty good 12 days for the Philadelphia Phillies. They are tied with Florida atop the National League wild-card standings, and they have won 10 of their past 12 games, which is either a testament to fiery manager Larry Bowa's motivational skills or a sign that the Phillies - in spite of a strange clubhouse chemistry - might be resilient enough to give retiring Veterans Stadium a nice send-off this October.

The Cincinnati Reds claimed former Orioles outfielder Jeff Fiorentino off waivers. The Orioles designated Fiorentino for assignment this week to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Chris Roberson, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash considerations. Fiorentino, drafted in the third round in 2004, batted .282 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs at Double-A Bowie last season. He hit .253 with one homer in 32 games with the Orioles during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Philadelphia Phillies@Orioles Day .............. Time ........... TV ......................... Starters Today ........ 7:05 p.m. ... CSN ............. Cole Hamels (1-3, 4.41) .................................................................... vs. Erik Bedard (7-6, 5.09) Tomorrow . 7:05 p.m. .... CSN ............ Scott Mathieson (0-1, 4.22) .................................................................... vs. Kris Benson (8-5, 4.06) Thursday ....7:05 p.m. .... CSN .............

BaseballAtlanta Braves -- Placed OF David Justice on the 15-day disabled list. Recalled Francisco Cabrera from Triple-A Richmond.California Angels -- Traded SS Dick Schofield to the New York Mets for P Julio Valera and a player to be named. Placed P Chuck Finley and P Scott Bailes on the 15-day disabled list. Purchased the contracts of P Steve Frey and IF Rene Gonzales from Triple-A Edmonton.Philadelphia Phillies -- Placed IF Dale Sveum on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 8. Purchased the contract of C-1B Jeff Grotewald from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

BASEBALL American League * California Angels -- Agreed to terms with Luis Polonia outfielder) on a one-year contract.National League * Atlanta Braves -- Agreed to terms with Glenn Wilson (outfielder) a one-year contract.* Philadelphia Phillies -- Agreed to terms with Dave Hollins (third baseman), Tony Longmire (outfielder) and Chuck Malone (pitcher) on one-year contracts.* San Francisco Giants -- Agreed to terms with Mike Benjamin, Tony Perezchica and Andres Santana (infielders) and Rick Parker (outfielder)

BASEBALL American League * Boston Red Sox -- Placed Danny Darwin (pitcher) on the 15-day disabled list.* Toronto Blue Jays -- Placed Al Leiter (pitcher) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 21. Recalled Willie Fraser (pitcher) from Syracuse of the International League.National League * Philadelphia Phillies -- Fired Nick Leyva (manager). Named Jim Fregosi manager. Recalled Mickey Morandini (second baseman), Jim Lindeman (outfielder) and Danny Cox (pitcher) from Scranton-Wilkes-Barre of the International League.

PHILADELPHIA - -Over three days at Citizens Bank Park, Orioles manager Dave Trembley listened to loud cheers and resounding boos directed at the Philadelphia Phillies, who just eight months ago captured a World Series championship. When pinch hitter John Mayberry's bid to tie the game off George Sherrill died in front of the left-field warning track to secure the Orioles' 2-1 victory Sunday, Trembley heard something else from an announced 45,256 - stunned silence. "It was real quiet here after the final out," Trembley said, a wide smile stretching across his face.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard offered a warning to the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the day that his bat was warming up. Joe Blanton, however, kept his emerging power stroke a secret before last night's World Series Game 4. Using two homers by Howard, the National League's most prodigious basher, one by Blanton, the starting pitcher who had never gone deep in his big league career, and one by former Orioles farmhand Jayson Werth,...

GLEN ROCK, PA. - When Bob Bogart married in 1989, his streak was in its infancy, about 500 games. His new bride couldn't have known it would keep going, that it would last 19 more years and counting, that it would be acknowledged by his heroes. Still, Lauri Bogart said she wasn't blindsided. "It's pretty obvious when you are around him," she said. "You know there is something else on his mind all the time, even in the offseason. "And all these people keep giving him attention for being nuts.

The Philadelphia Phillies are playing for the National League pennant even though in the opening playoff series, they really didn't do what they're supposed to do best - hit. They dispatched the Milwaukee Brewers in four games, scoring just under four runs a game, more than a full run below their season average. And their two most dangerous hitters, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, went a combined 4-for-26 with three RBIs. So, for starters, is it likely that Howard and Utley will stay this quiet?

It's hard to imagine this fall being better scripted for TV executives and Major League Baseball. Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Boston are all involved as baseball kicks off its postseason with three games today. New York teams failed to join the high-powered mix, but it was the Milwaukee Brewers, a pretty good story and baseball commissioner Bud Selig's hometown club, that ruined things for the Mets last weekend. So MLB can't be too upset with that. Besides, there are plenty of story lines worth following.

1 Big Game in Big D: With no Ravens game to watch, guess you have to watch the other game tonight, between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, two teams that don't like each other very much (8:30, ESPN). 2 Coachspeak: John Harbaugh (left) greets the media while his players enjoy their three-day bye week. Go to baltimoresun.com/ ravens for coverage of his news conference. 3 Playoff baseball: OK, not quite, but the New York Mets, who are trying to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, face the Washington Nationals in D.C. (7 p.m., MASN)

You've heard of banjo hitters. Well, for a day, the Philadelphia Phillies' Shane Victorino was a ukulele slugger. Victorino, nicknamed the Flyin' Hawaiian, hit a walk-off home run to beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-8, on Sunday, which also happened to be his own dashboard figurine day. You have to hand it to Victorino. On a day when the Phillies participated in a campy promotion that included playing Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles" when the right fielder batted and hula dancers swaying on the dugout, the guy managed to bring some dignity to the whole episode.

Six weeks ago, during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Orioles' last world championship, Todd Cruz stood on the field at Camden Yards and reveled in the moment. "Being with these guys here is like being a little kid . . . getting ready for Christmas," said Cruz, who played third base on the 1983 title team. "I love them all, and I'll be an Oriole for the rest of my life." Cruz, 52, died Tuesday while swimming in the pool at his apartment complex in Bullhead City, Ariz. The coroner's office is conducting tests to determine the cause of death.

The Orioles continue interleague play by going on the road starting Friday for nine straight games in National League ballparks in Milwaukee, Chicago and Washington -- which brings up the prospect of Orioles pitchers performing the unfamiliar roles of batters and base runners. Fans might chuckle over Daniel Cabrera's perfectly imperfect career batting statistics of nine at-bats and nine strikeouts, but the recent experiences of American League East foes New York and Boston give sobering pause.