David Bell News

The Phillies are taking a chance. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced Sunday night that the club declined its 2010 option on third baseman Pedro Feliz.

THE PHILLIES laid their wretched 1996 season to rest during a late-September weekend series at Shea Stadium in New York.

Phillies' Jayson Werth, who says he doesn't think about salaries, talks with Robin Roberts, who pitched for the Phillies in 1950, the last time the team met the Yankees in the World Series.

And here we go again. The 2009 Phillies have not only captured their city's heart, but they have the defied the stigma that has been historically attached to every team in this town.

The delirium that engulfed Jimmy Rollins when he smacked the game-winning two-run double with two outs in the ninth inning Monday actually began forming in July 2006.

An angry and offended Melvin Mora lashed out at Baltimore Orioles manager Dave Trembley yesterday after being benched for the third time in four games.

As a Yankees fan at the 2006 trade deadline, I was elated upon hearing the news that my favorite team had acquired proven run producer Bobby Abreu and innings eater Cory Lidle from the Phillies in exchange for a quartet of unproven minor leaguers.

Jimmy Rollins didn't feel like talking yesterday about coming only a home run short of being the first Phillies player to hit for the cycle since David Bell in 2004.

It would've been appropriate if, after Jimmy Rollins broke a career-worst 0-for-28 slump with a third-inning single July 2 in Atlanta, the organist at Turner Field had played his rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.

"We like high-ceiling players, guys where there's some risk and high reward," says Marti Wolever, the Phillies' scouting director, adding that he seeks "kids who are aggressive." 1 of 20 PARTNER OFFER Phillies game tickets Tickets: Check for availability Buy tickets online Advantage, Phillies, in big rivalry Phils look beyond first round Big night ...

So, yeah, technically the Phillies won't have a first-round pick when Baseball's annual amateur draft cranks up.

"We like high-ceiling players, guys where there's some risk and high reward," says Marti Wolever, the Phillies' scouting director, adding that he seeks "kids who are aggressive." Tickets: Posted on Tue, Jun.

It was a family reunion of sorts last Sunday for Charlotte Knights hitting coach Gary Ward .

Is there such a thing as "useless information" when it comes to baseball? Probably not.