Philadelphia Phillies

1.    Jan. 6 -- PHILS SIGN GILES TO MINOR-LEAGUE DEAL

2 hours ago - https:

[Photo] BY SCOTT LAUBERThis won't get much play in The Paper tomorrow (it got one paragraph, in fact), but I wanted to pass along that the Phillies have signed veteran second baseman Marcus Giles to a minor-league contract. Quick primer on Giles : He's 30, the younger brother of Brian Giles , and best known for his years with the Atlanta Braves. In 2003, he batted .316 with 21 homers and 69 RBIs (his best offensive season, by far) and played in the All-Star Game. Giles spent '07 with the San Diego Padres, batting only .229 with four homers and 39 RBIs, and didn't play last season after being released by the Colorado Rockies in spring training.Giles will have a chance to make the team this spring. Clearly, the Phillies believe he can provide some veteran insurance for Chase Utley , who likely won't be ready to start the season after undergoing hip surgery in November.

3.    Romero deserved his punishment

4 hours ago - sports.yahoo.com

5.    After helping beat Rays, Burrell set to join them

6 hours ago - usatoday.com

Pat Burrell strokes a key double in the seventh inning of World Series Game 5 to help propel the Philadelphia Phillies to the clinching victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. After agreeing to terms with the Rays, Burrell will likely be Tampa Bay's designated hitter in 2009. The Tampa Bay Rays won't pretend they can keep up with the New York Yankees in the free agent market, but after signing outfielder/DH Pat Burrell to a two-year, $16 million contract Monday, they still believe they're the team to beat in the powerful American League East. "We're a much improved team today than we were at the end of last season," Rays general manager Andrew Friedman said. "We feel like our pitching and defense will remain strong, and we feel like our lineup has gotten a lot better. He solidifies the middle of our already potent lineup." Friedman said Burrell, who will be the primary DH, is the first of several free agents expected to sign this week. "This is a team I had a lot of interest in going to," said Burrell.

7.    Park signs one-year, $2.5M deal with Phillies

6 hours ago - sports.espn.go.com

9.    Jan. 6 -- ROMERO SPEAKS; LINK TO BALCO

7 hours ago - https:

[Photo] BY SCOTT LAUBER J.C. Romero is traveling today, and thus, unable to respond to The News Journal's (and other media outlets', Im sure) attempts to reach him. But he has issued this statement, through representatives at Outside Eyes, a California-based public-relations firm that he has enlisted to help with his case. "Basically, I am being punished for not having a chemistry lab in my house to test everything I put in my body, because reading the ingredients on a label is no longer good enough. But I feel like Im the victim of system where a player like me is punished because other players before me have blatantly broken the rules." Apparently, though, the supplement used by Romero, 6-OXO, was manufactured by ErgoPharm , whose lead chemist, Patrick Arnold , pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiring to distribute performance-enhancing drugs while working for the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (known to me and you as "BALCO"). That would conflict with what Romero said in ESPN.com's initial report last night. Thus far, though, our calls to the MLBPA have gone unreturned.More later, hopefully.***Also, right-hander Chan Ho Park has passed a physical, so the Phillies have finalized his one-year, $2.5 million contract.

11.    Ex-Marlin Sergio Mitre and Phillies reliever J.C. Romero suspended ...

8 hours ago - palmbeachpost.com

13.    Phils' Romero won't appeal 50-game suspension

9 hours ago - sports.espn.go.com

Romero suspended; no appeals planned NEW YORK -- Phillies reliever J.C. Romero was officially suspended Tuesday for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance. Neither Romero nor the Players Association plans to appeal the case further. "That process has played itself out completely," said Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock. Romero is allowed to participate in spring training workouts and games. And Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Romero had been expected to pitch for Puerto Rico.

15.    Phillies to address Romero void

9 hours ago - mlb.mlb.com

17.    Former Sox pitcher J.C. Romero faces 50-game drug ban

12 hours ago - soxblog.projo.com

Romero, the former Red Sox reliever who won the fifth and deciding game of this year's World Series as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, will be suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season and lose about $1.25 million as a result of his use of a banned supplement, ESPN is reporting . Romero tested positive for the supplement, which he bought over the counter at a GNC retail store, in August. The pitcher says that before he began taking the supplement (which he is choosing not to name), he had it checked by a personal nutritionist, who told him that it was legal; he also showed it to the Phillies' strength and conditioning coach. There is some dispute about what the coach told Romero. The ESPN report states that Romero declined to accept a lesser suspension that would have kept him out of the postseason, instead choosing to fight the punishment through an arbitration hearing. According to the report, Romero and other players appear to have been misled by the players union into believing that products purchased legally at U.S. retail stores would not land them in trouble; the union has since contacted players to alert them about three substances legally available in the United States that can cause positive drug tests under MLB's program.

19.    Are Phillies in chase for Derek Lowe?

15 hours ago - sports.yahoo.com