Rick Rhoden

Chase Utley has tied former Yankee Reggie Jackson for most home runs in a single World Series, with five. A look at those performances: Chase Utley 2009, vs. New York Yankees 1. Game 1, third inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 2 outs, rightfield (Phillies, 1-0). 2. Game 1, sixth inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 1 out, rightfield (Phillies, 2-0) 3. Game 4, seventh inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 2 out, rightfield (Yankees, 4-3) 4. Game 5, first inning, off A.J. Burnett, 2 on, 0 out, rightfield (Phillies, 3-1)

He walked into the Pirates' clubhouse grinning sneakily, concealing his favorite new T-shirt under a jacket he didn't need for the warmth. It was another day in the life of Rick Rhoden, the human trade rumor. So you knew this had to be good. "So whaddaya think?" asked Rick Rhoden, stepping back to unveil a shirt that read: "Somebody in Pittsburgh Loves Me. " "Oh, yeah? Who?" asked catcher Junior Ortiz. "I don't know," Rhoden said, laughing. "But somebody must. " Yes, there was absolutely no doubt that somebody must, because whoever it was had just sent him that shirt in the mail.

Don Mattingly doesn't believe the New York Yankees when they say they are not trying to trade him. "I know they're talking to other clubs about me," he told the New York Daily News before last night's 9-6 loss to the host Seattle Mariners. "I heard they turned down one trade already. A friend of mine said the Yankees turned down a deal of me for Eric Davis. " There were other reports circulating in Cincinnati about Mattingly being traded to the Reds. Radio stations reported an impending deal of Mattingly and Rick Rhoden to the Reds for pitchers Tom Browning and John Franco and outfieler Kal Daniels.

As expected, Milt Thompson has been recalled from Portland and will be available for tonight's twi-night doubleheader against the Pirates. Seldom-used first baseman Francisco Melendez has been optioned back to the Beavers. The lefthanded hitter batted .250 in eight at-bats. Thompson, who batted better than .300 three times in his seven previous minor league seasons, was hitting .357 with 21 stolen bases in 40 games at Portland. The presence of Thompson could presage another wave of lineup juggling.

Trade talks continue between the Phillies and the Pirates involving righthand pitcher Rick Rhoden. Phillies player personnel advisor Hugh Alexander said that the Pirates demand for the disgruntled righthander remain high. The Pirates are willing to trade Rhoden for lefthanded relief pitcher Don Carman even up. The Phillies have already rejected that proposal. They would also trade Rhoden for third baseman-shortstop Rick Schu, but would want the Phillies to sweeten the deal with a top minor league prospect.

Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco, who hit 33 homers and drove in 117 runs, was named Rookie of the Year in the American League today, beating Wally Joyner of the California Angels in a close vote. Canseco received 16 of 28 first-place votes and 110 points to 12 first- place votes and 98 points for Joyner. Toronto Blue Jays reliever Mark Eichhorn finished third with 23 points on a 5-3-1 basis, while outfielder Cory Snyder of the Cleveland Indians totaled 16. Danny Tartabull of the Seattle Mariners wound up with four points and Ruben Sierra of the Texas Rangers got one. "It's a great honor, knowing that I put together a year like this and won this award," the Cuban-born Canseco said from his home in Miami, Fla. "I thought I might win, but I didn't know if Wally Joyner would get it. " PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Rick Rhoden has been granted his wish and will be traded to the New York Yankees if he works out a contract extension with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Even cockeyed optimists who believe in the tooth fairy or a lower income- tax bill would have bet the house, the dog, the kids and their constitutional rights against Tom Hume flirting with a no-hitter Saturday night when he made an emergency start in Game 2 of the twi-nighter with the Pirates. Hume not only flirted with a no-hitter, carrying one into the sixth inning, but he and bullpen mate Kent Tekulve flat-out seduced 31,349 fans who were still in shock from manager John Felske's Game 1 moves, or lack of them thereof.

The cross hairs paused briefly on the person of righthander Fred Toliver, then moved on. The newest pitchers in the gun sight, as the Phillies probe for ways to assemble the best possible 10-man pitching staff, are veteran righthander Larry Andersen and lefthanded reliever Dave Rucker. The Phillies have put the word out that either pitcher is available. Cheap. Why cheap? Because both players have had more than three years of major league experience and can't be sent to the minor leagues without their permission.

If you're sick of reading the name Rick Rhoden, you can begin to rest easy. It now appears that for the time being, at least, the Phillies have ended their marathon trade talks with Pittsburgh. The Phils had one last conversation yesterday morning with the Pirates, and were told that the Pirates had not amended their demand for reliever Don Carman and that Rhoden was likely to open the season in Pittsburgh. "From what we were told, it sounds like they intend to hold onto Rhoden, at least for now," said Phils president Bill Giles.

It is just six games into the long season and the Phillies have lost the services of their best player. Nah, nothing has happened to Mike Schmidt. He's still out there playing on those bad wheels Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola kept mentioning on NBC-TV Saturday. The fallen warrior is Juan Samuel, the rawhide-tough second baseman whose all-around skills mean so much to the Phillies' improving fortunes. Although X-rays of Samuel's injured left rib cage showed no stress fracture as feared Sunday, Dr. Phillip Marone recommended rest for the injury Samuel aggravated swinging at a 1-1 pitch in the fifth inning Saturday.

Chase Utley has tied former Yankee Reggie Jackson for most home runs in a single World Series, with five. A look at those performances: Chase Utley 2009, vs. New York Yankees 1. Game 1, third inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 2 outs, rightfield (Phillies, 1-0). 2. Game 1, sixth inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 1 out, rightfield (Phillies, 2-0) 3. Game 4, seventh inning, off CC Sabathia, 0 on, 2 out, rightfield (Yankees, 4-3) 4. Game 5, first inning, off A.J. Burnett, 2 on, 0 out, rightfield (Phillies, 3-1)

The New York Yankees traded righthander Rick Rhoden yesterday to the Houston Astros for three minor-leaguers. In exchange for Rhoden, 35, the Yankees acquired outfielder John Fishel, righthander Pedro DeLeon and lefthander Mike Hook. Rhoden was 12-12 in 30 starts with the Yankees in 1988 with a 4.20 earned run average. He led the Yankees in starts and innings pitched, and finished second on the team in complete games and strikeouts. Following two years of bitter contract negotiations, first baseman Wally Joyner of the California Angels filed for salary arbitration, while Phillies pitcher Ken Howell was one of three players eligible to file who signed contracts yesterday.

Don Mattingly doesn't believe the New York Yankees when they say they are not trying to trade him. "I know they're talking to other clubs about me," he told the New York Daily News before last night's 9-6 loss to the host Seattle Mariners. "I heard they turned down one trade already. A friend of mine said the Yankees turned down a deal of me for Eric Davis. " There were other reports circulating in Cincinnati about Mattingly being traded to the Reds. Radio stations reported an impending deal of Mattingly and Rick Rhoden to the Reds for pitchers Tom Browning and John Franco and outfieler Kal Daniels.

There comes a time in every Billy Martin managerial regime when the asylum begins to overrun the inmates. Well, look out - because in this Billy Martin regime (which is Billy V, by the way, in case you've lost count of your Roman numerals), that time just might have arrived. Every day now, you can twist your dial to baseball's most outrageous soap, "The Yanks & the Restless," and it's something new. Pitchers become designated hitters. And 45-year-old starting pitchers appear four times in seven games.

Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco, who hit 33 homers and drove in 117 runs, was named Rookie of the Year in the American League today, beating Wally Joyner of the California Angels in a close vote. Canseco received 16 of 28 first-place votes and 110 points to 12 first- place votes and 98 points for Joyner. Toronto Blue Jays reliever Mark Eichhorn finished third with 23 points on a 5-3-1 basis, while outfielder Cory Snyder of the Cleveland Indians totaled 16. Danny Tartabull of the Seattle Mariners wound up with four points and Ruben Sierra of the Texas Rangers got one. "It's a great honor, knowing that I put together a year like this and won this award," the Cuban-born Canseco said from his home in Miami, Fla. "I thought I might win, but I didn't know if Wally Joyner would get it. " PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Rick Rhoden has been granted his wish and will be traded to the New York Yankees if he works out a contract extension with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Where do you think the 2-2 pitch to Jeff Stone was headed? Yep, right at the wounded right knee enemy pitchers have been trying to bury him under. The eighth-inning pinch-hitter for reliever Kent Tekulve skipped an invisible rope. Two pitches later, Stone beat the faltering San Francisco Giants, 6-5, with a two-run homer to left. The victory in the first game of a nine-game California trip moved the Phillies over the .500 mark with a 60-59 record. They trail the second-place Montreal Expos by just a half-game.

Even cockeyed optimists who believe in the tooth fairy or a lower income- tax bill would have bet the house, the dog, the kids and their constitutional rights against Tom Hume flirting with a no-hitter Saturday night when he made an emergency start in Game 2 of the twi-nighter with the Pirates. Hume not only flirted with a no-hitter, carrying one into the sixth inning, but he and bullpen mate Kent Tekulve flat-out seduced 31,349 fans who were still in shock from manager John Felske's Game 1 moves, or lack of them thereof.

As expected, Milt Thompson has been recalled from Portland and will be available for tonight's twi-night doubleheader against the Pirates. Seldom-used first baseman Francisco Melendez has been optioned back to the Beavers. The lefthanded hitter batted .250 in eight at-bats. Thompson, who batted better than .300 three times in his seven previous minor league seasons, was hitting .357 with 21 stolen bases in 40 games at Portland. The presence of Thompson could presage another wave of lineup juggling.

The best trades in baseball, it is said, often are the ones not made. That is not the case, however, in the Phillies' long but fruitless pursuit of Pittsburgh Pirates veteran pitcher Rick Rhoden. Every time Rhoden wins a game, which lately has been often, personnel strategists in the Phillies' front office no doubt grind their teeth and contemplate the might-have-beens. You can be excused for doing that when three-fifths of your current starting rotation has accumulated all of four major league victories this season.

Gee, it kind of reminds you of the good old days, doesn't it? There the Phillies were the other day, swan-diving toward disaster, caught in a losing streak from which there seemed no escape. And then, suddenly, up rose their two long-lost giants of yesteryear to ride to the rescue. First, Steve Carlton remembered what that "W" on the back of his baseball card stood for. That was Wednesday. Then last night, it was good old No. 20, the third baseman who has finally decided, at age 36, that leadership isn't as bad as he had always made it out to be. Yes, last night it was Mr. Michael J. Schmidt's turn.