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Weeks of conversation take place before most trades are executed, and in a lot of cases, the first talks are theoretical feelers. No hard offers, no firm proposals, just an idea tossed out, like part of a brainstorming exercise. This was the vein...

Blog | May 12, 2012

Buster Olney writes that the Phillies have already tried to gauge teams' potential interest in Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino, so if they continue to struggle they'll have a sense of what the trade market is for both players.

Blog | Conversation | May 12, 2012

What Red Sox fans wanted to see after the last day of last season, after the September collapse, were broken-hearted Red Sox players. They wanted to see Josh Beckett laid out in despair, like Ralph Branca was after allowing Bobby Thomson's legen...

Blog | May 11, 2012

Josh Beckett hasn't just driven a wedge between himself and Red Sox Nation; he's driven a wedge between himself and any sense of a trade market. Boston is in a tough position -- the city and the team management.

Blog | Conversation | May 11, 2012

The Philadelphia Phillies have been terrible so far, winning just 14 of 32 games despite facing what appeared to be the National League's easiest schedule in the first quarter of the season. The expectation, however, is that help is on the way ...

Blog | May 10, 2012

Buster Olney writes that the Philadelphia Phillies are struggling, and the return of Chase Utley won't necessarily be the boost that they desperately need. Given the status of Utley's knees, what he can actually contribute remains unclear.

Blog | Conversation | May 10, 2012

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Roy Halladay was the first of the Phillies' starting pitchers to step into the open room where some 75 or so reporters waited Monday, and he looked taken aback by what he saw. So did those who followed him -- Joe Blanton and ...

Blog | February 15, 2011

Philly unveiled a Fab Four this week, and the collective quiet signaled what this group will really be all about -- work, not talk. The bottom line is that when it comes to Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, only the results will speak.

Blog | Conversation | February 15, 2011

As the Rangers took batting practice in Texas on Friday, Matt Cain quietly ran the stairs in the lowest decks at the ballpark, running faster as he ascended and slowing as he descended. An executive who watched him mentioned that as the Texas bullpen...

Blog | October 30, 2010

Buster Olney examines why Matt Cain has been so successful and provides analysis of the World Series, in addition to the usual links.

Blog | Conversation | October 30, 2010

A few years ago, I worked on a long piece on Trevor Hoffman for ESPN The Magazine, and we sat in the visitors' dugout at Shea Stadium and talked about his father's influence, the games he played as a child with his older brothers, about his...

Blog | September 08, 2010

Trevor Hoffman tried his hand at being a position player, but his bat never showed up. At least he had a mid-90s fastball to fall back on -- until he didn't even have that anymore. Here, he tells the story of the pitch that made him great.

Blog | Conversation | September 08, 2010