Lou Marson

Lou Marson is about as disciplined as a quarterback-turned-baseball-player can be. The catcher leads the Eastern League with a .447 on-base percentage. The next closest, entering last night's games, trailed by 18 points. Marson can't explain it. "I don't know," he said. "I'm just trying to have good at-bats and see the ball. "And have fun. " Marson, who turned 22 on June 26, is having plenty of fun in what is becoming a breakout season. Entering last night, he led the league in walks, with 60. He was tied for fourth with a .323 batting average.

ALTOONA, Pa. - The Reading Phillies' Alex Concepcion and Pat Overholt combined on a one-hit shutout for a 5-0 victory in the second game and a doubleheader sweep of the Altoona Curve last night in the Eastern League. The Phillies took the opener, 5-3. Quintin Berry hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth. Durham 5, Lehigh Valley 4 ALLENTOWN - Chris Richard's two-run homer in the top of the ninth sent the Bulls past the IronPigs in the International League. David Newhan and Lou Marson homered for Lehigh Valley.

The best trades are the ones that help both teams. Here are the recent Phils' Traded Away All-Stars by position (asterisk denotes potential future All-Star): STARTERS: 1B:: Jonathan Singleton 3B:: Jason Donald SS:: Jonathan Villar 2B:: Adrian Cardenas LF:: Domingo Santana* CF:: Anthony Gose* RF:: Michael Taylor C:: Travis d'Arnaud* SP:: RHP Jarred Cosart SP:: LHP J.A. Happ Closer:: Josh Zeid BENCH: IF/OF:: Matt Spencer C:: Lou Marson OF:: Greg Golson DAMAGED GOODS: RHP:: Carlos Carrasco (Tommy John)

TOLEDO, Ohio - Mike Koplove, a Chestnut Hill Academy graduate who pitched for Delaware, tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the win last night as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs edged the Toledo Mud Hens, 5-4, in the International League. Doubles by Lou Marson and Rich Thompson in the ninth helped the IronPigs score the tying and winning runs. Reading 3, Altoona 1 READING - Mike Spidale's two-run homer in the eighth gave the Phillies an Eastern League win over the Curve.

READING - Lou Marson hit a grand slam yesterday to lead to the Reading Phillies to a lopsided 14-1 victory over the Akron Aeros in the Eastern League. Luke Appert and Greg Golson also homered. Lakewood 3, West Virginia 1 LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Dennis Winn's two-run homer snapped a 1-1 tie in the eighth to lift the BlueClaws past the Power in the South Atlantic League. Michael Taylor also homered for Lakewood. Rained out The Lehigh Valley IronPigs' International League game at Buffalo was postponed.

Lou Marson drove in two runs and reached base four times last night as the Reading Phillies won their fourth game in a row with a 6-2 Eastern League victory over the New Britain Rock Cats. Marson was one of three Reading players to homer. Javon Moran hit his first of the season, and Luke Appert hit a two-run shot, his third of the year. J.D. Durbin pitched 6 2/3 innings for his third win. Durbin struck out six and allowed one earned run. Trenton 4, Portland 0 TRENTON - The Thunder's Jason Jones struck out seven in seven innings, holding the Sea Dogs to two hits in Eastern League play.

ALTOONA, Pa. - The Reading Phillies scored four runs in the fourth inning last night to win their Eastern League season opener, 8-3, over the Altoona Curve at the cold, windy and rainy Blair County Ballpark. Five players making their double-A debuts were big contributors. Jeremy Slayden had three hits, two runs and an RBI. Jason Donald was 2 for 5 with a run and two RBIs, and Lou Marson had two hits with a run scored and one knocked in. On the mound, Andrew Carpenter allowed two runs in five innings to get the win. Will Savage threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Lou Marson scored from third base on a passed ball in the sixth inning last night as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs edged the Buffalo Bisons, 2-1, in the International League. Trenton 11, New Britain 0 NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Zach McAllister scattered four hits over seven innings for the Eastern League win. West Virginia 4, Lakewood 3 LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Marcus Davis tripled in the fourth and scored the winning run on a groundout in the Power's South Atlantic League win. Reading 5, Akron 0 AKRON, Ohio - Vance Worley limited the Aeros to three hits over seven innings in the Eastern League win. Lehigh Valley 010001000-240 Buffalo000000010-172 WP: Drew Carpenter (2-0)

Lou Marson's two-run double in the top of the seventh propelled the Lehigh Valley IronPigs past the Norfolk Tides, 5-3, last night in the International League. Camden 9, Newark 2 Jon Knott was 2 for 4 with two runs scored as the Riversharks beat the Bears in the Atlantic League at Campbell's Field in Camden. Rainouts. The Trenton Thunder's Eastern League doubleheader at Binghamton in New York was postponed. The teams will play two games today beginning at 12:05 p.m. The Lakewood BlueClaws and Lake County Captains will resume play in a suspended game at 2-2 in the top of the 12th at noon today in Lakewood, N.J. The teams then will play a full nine-inning game as scheduled.

In the third inning of Saturday's Grapefruit League game, Phillies catcher Lou Marson called for a fastball high and inside. Jamie Moyer thought it was a risky choice for the situation but decided to throw it anyway. Sure enough, Moyer left the pitch over the plate, and Scott Sizemore, batting ninth for the Detroit Tigers, homered. Moyer had been correct: He shouldn't have given the ninth man in the order a hittable pitch. "If it had been a regular-season game, I would have shaken Marson off," Moyer said.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Turns out, everybody is rooting for Tuffy Gosewisch. Colin Curtis, a non-roster invitee in Yankees camp? Team Tuffy. Roy Halladay, a two-time Cy Young winner? Team Tuffy. And if you believe that a catcher's value cannot be measured by batting lines and stolen base percentages, then you will end up on Team Tuffy, too. "Honestly, I would take him any day of the week," Halladay said. "I really would. " You might know the name. Born James Benjamin Gosewisch, his parents decided on a more appropriate moniker during a toddler-hood in which he rained destruction upon everything he touched.

The best trades are the ones that help both teams. Here are the recent Phils' Traded Away All-Stars by position (asterisk denotes potential future All-Star): STARTERS: 1B:: Jonathan Singleton 3B:: Jason Donald SS:: Jonathan Villar 2B:: Adrian Cardenas LF:: Domingo Santana* CF:: Anthony Gose* RF:: Michael Taylor C:: Travis d'Arnaud* SP:: RHP Jarred Cosart SP:: LHP J.A. Happ Closer:: Josh Zeid BENCH: IF/OF:: Matt Spencer C:: Lou Marson OF:: Greg Golson DAMAGED GOODS: RHP:: Carlos Carrasco (Tommy John)

THE MAGIC formula that has propelled the Phillies from contender to World Series winner to baseball superpower, is 17=5. Seventeen minor league prospects (one still to be named) exchanged as needs arose for five extraordinary All-Star talents. Four are pitchers; one, the most recent acquisition, Hunter Pence, is an outfielder. All-Star Houston closer Brad Lidge for centerfielder Michael Bourn, corner infielder Mike Costanzo and righthanded pitcher Geoff Geary. Cleveland Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee for righthander Carlos Carrasco, catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald and righty Jason Knapp.

JEFF FRANCIS pitched eight sharp innings, Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam and the visiting Kansas City Royals pounded the Cleveland Indians, 12-0, last night in a game that turned testy in the fourth inning. Billy Butler went deep twice and Alex Gordon also connected for the Royals, who have won seven of 10. Butler hit a two-run shot in the first and a solo drive in the eighth, giving him five long balls in a four-game homer streak. Butler came to the plate right after Cabrera's grand slam in the fourth, and Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco promptly threw one at his head on the first pitch.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Serendipity can play a bigger role than we'd like to admit. Seemingly minor decisions subtly alter our course, piling up one on top of the other for days and weeks and months and years until it's hard to figure out whether we got where we are through free will or if it's all just random chance. Sebastian Valle is the starting catcher for the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies' top Class A affiliate. He is the consensus pick as the No. 1 catching prospect in the organization.

ASK ANY STOCKBROKER, real estate agent, or 1-900 fortune teller: Predicting the future is an uncertain business. Three years ago, the Phillies' pitcher, catcher and infielder of the future were Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and Jason Donald. None of the three is still in the organization. In fact, none of the three has had anything more than a modicum of success in limited big-league action. For the Phillies to extend this era of success well into this century's second decade, they will likely need to draft and develop far more talent than currently exists in a system that is rich with young pitching and corner outfield talent, yet thin on positions up the middle.

For the Phillies, it is the best Christmas present ever. Clifton Phifer Lee reportedly is back. The free-agent lefthander, who helped the Phillies reach the World Series in 2009, reached a preliminary agreement on a contract with the Phillies, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Monday night. The deal is worth $100 million over 5 years with a vesting option for a sixth year that would make the deal worth $120 million, according to MLB.com. Two separate sources told the AP that the New York Yankees and Rangers - who were both intensely courting Lee - received calls Monday night telling them they were out of the running.

Who made the best deal for Cliff Lee? Maybe five years from now we'll be able to look at the three Cliff Lee trades made in the last 12 months and declare a winner. Maybe we can even turn it into a board game: Cliff Lee's All-Star Baseball. Spin the wheel and see which prospect you land on. For now, it's too soon to tell whether the Cleveland Indians, the Phillies, or the Seattle Mariners made the best deal for Lee. It's possible they could all end up as clunkers, leaving three entire cities disgruntled about Lee's departure.

The all-star break is always a good check point for what's happening with a baseball team and organization. The Phillies' struggles have been well documented, so here's a look at how things are going down on the farm as the Phillies' Lehigh Valley affiliate prepares to host the triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Let's start with one man's opinion of the organization's top 10 prospects. The last time Baseball America put together one of these lists, it included pitcher Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor, and catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

As John McEnroe said, you have got to be kidding: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was suspended one game for "aggressive arguing and inappropriate contact" with home plate umpire CB Bucknor. Now, there is no excuse for touching an umpire. Ever. Period. But this is a joke. The only way to tell that the brim of Manuel's cap brushed Bucknor's forehead is the way Bucknor reacted. If he had kept his cool, nobody would have even known that the contact had occurred. Good umpires know when to make a point . . . and when to let something slide.