Trade

The abrupt hiring of Houston Rockets assistant general manager Sam Hinkie as 76ers president of basketball operations and general manager, coupled with the swift kick the organization gave to Tony DiLeo on Friday, shows that owner Joshua Harris is going full-bore in doing away with one culture and giving birth to another. Harris has made his billions by propping up distressed companies, restoring them to value, and, in some cases, increasing their value. But in less than one year, the 76ers regressed badly after being one victory away from the Eastern Conference finals.

WASHINGTON - As Ruben Amaro Jr. and various members of his front office emerged from a tunnel at Nationals Park early Tuesday evening, you half-expected them to recoil in pain at the sudden burst of sunlight. The group had spent much of the previous 3 days hunkered down at the team hotel, laying the groundwork for one of the more dramatic afternoons in recent club history. By the time the annual non-waiver trade deadline arrived, the Phillies had parted ways with two-thirds of their outfield, exchanging Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino for a well-regarded prospect, a young major league reliever, and a part-time major league outfielder, along with a couple of minor league projects.

BOSTON - The Los Angeles Dodgers are stocking up for the stretch run with some new, expensive players who couldn't help the Boston Red Sox make it to the postseason this year or last. The Dodgers officially acquired first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, and injured outfielder Carl Crawford from Boston on Saturday, hoping to boost their playoff hopes by taking on the underperforming and high-priced stars who failed to thrive in a fractious Red Sox clubhouse. Boston also sent infielder Nick Punto and about $11 million in cash to Los Angeles in the nine-player trade that was the biggest in Dodgers history.

When will the idiots who write your editorials come to realize that our government and our politicians in Washington are there for one purpose and that is to serve the constituents with laws that will benefit their constituents and protect their way of life. Call it protectionism, trade legislation, or whatever; this is what these people were elected to do. They are not elected to protect the Japanese, the Koreans, the French or the Germans, as has been happening during the last 10 years.

Cincinnati's Barry Larkin met with general manager Jim Bowden for about two hours yesterday to consider the shortstop's request for a trade. Afterward, Larkin reiterated his desire to play for a contender, but Bowden said any trade was a "dead issue" right now. Larkin asked for a trade about two weeks ago because the Reds are rebuilding, according to Bowden. The Reds talked to four clubs but could not make a deal, he said. Montreal placed pitcher Mike Maddux on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained tendon in his right elbow.

Florida Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez hopes to return from off-season shoulder surgery by the summer, but it may just be a showcase for a trade. A memo from team president Don Smiley said the Marlins would try to trade Fernandez, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Charles Johnson to trim the payroll from $33 million to $16 million next year. Fernandez is in the second year of a five-year contract that guarantees him $7 million a season. Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra missed Boston's game against Kansas City with a strained right shoulder.

Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said there was "no chance" he would trade for Florida Panthers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. "He hasn't exactly done a lot for them this season, has he?" Clarke asked yesterday. The Panthers, 18-36-12, are winless in their last 12 games. Vanbiesbrouck, who stoned the Flyers in the 1996 playoffs, has a 2.89 goals-against and a .898 save percentage. Of course, given Clarke's record on being truthful with reporters, the Beezer is probably lugging his equipment through Philadelphia International Airport as you read this.

The Soul acquired wide receiver Chris Horn from the Arizona Rattlers yesterday in a trade for defensive lineman Jonathon Engram. Horn, 30, played in the preseason for the NFL's Carolina Panthers but was released before the start of the season. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder also played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003 and '04. A former star at Rocky Mountain College, Horn played two seasons with the Rattlers starting in 2001. In 28 games, he caught 134 passes for 1,675 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Dallas Mavericks forward Roy Tarpley said he is prepared to accept his one- game suspension, amid reports trade talks were under way before his Tuesday night shouting matches with coach Dick Motta. "I'm going to try not to overreact and to take my medicine like a man," Tarpley said yesterday from his home minutes after owner Don Carter telephoned him with news of the suspension. "If they think this is what's best, I'll live with it. I still don't think I did anything wrong, but I have to deal with it. " Meanwhile, Tarpley's agent, George Andrews, said he is preparing to file a grievance with the NBA Players Association.

The David Justice era is over for the New York Mets, who traded him just one week after acquiring him. Justice was dealt to the Oakland Athletics yesterday for reliever Mark Guthrie and minor-league pitcher Tyler Yates, a move that could lead to the Mets entering more serious talks with free agent Juan Gonzalez. Indians. Cleveland reached a preliminary agreement with free-agent infielder Ricky Gutierrez, two sources familiar with the negotiations said. The signing is expected to be announced Monday.

Gov. Corbett and senior agricultural officials from Chile gathered at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia on Tuesday to mark what they say is a growing Chilean and South American fruit trade to Philadelphia. On a pier behind them, the Bahia Castillo, a refrigerated cargo ship, was unloading fresh Chilean fruit. About 10,000 pounds of the grapes, kiwis, apples, and pears were donated to Philabundance, the hunger relief group, which took the fruit by truck to area food pantries.

A day before facing the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Union traded midfielder-defender Gabriel Farfan on Tuesday to Chivas USA for allocation money and a 2014 Major League Soccer SuperDraft first-round pick. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Farfan had started three games and appeared in six this season. He played the entire game at outside back in Saturday's 1-0 victory over the host Chicago Fire, filling in for Sheanon Williams, who missed the game due to suspension. The twin brother of Union midfielder Michael Farfan, the 24-year-old signed with the club in 2011 and appeared in 51 games, making 43 starts in three seasons, scoring one goal and adding three assists.

NEW YORK - The World Trade Center's rebirth has long revolved around creating a centerpiece of unsparing symbolism: a skyscraper 1,776 feet tall, its height an homage and a bold statement about looking forward. The new 1 World Trade Center reached that height with the lowering of a silvery spire from a crane on Friday, officially taking its place as a signature of the city's skyline and, with some argument, the nation's tallest tower. After years of waiting for and watching the building's rise, the moment resonated for many, from workers who looked on from the building's roof to visitors on the ground.

A CROSSROADS is no place to get sentimental, and the Phillies have the mother of all of them looming on the horizon. Forget about whether they can claw their way back into contention. What happens on the field over the next couple of months will have little impact on the dire situation that will greet them come November, when they will no longer have three of their most productive hitters in the order under contract. Second base, third base and catcher: Good luck filling them.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - President Obama, concluding a three-day visit to Mexico and Costa Rica, is cheering Mexican economic advances and pressing other Central American leaders to deal with poverty and security while reaching out to a politically powerful Latino audience back home. Boosted by reassuring jobs numbers, Obama is calling for greater trade and economic cooperation with the U.S.'s southern neighbors, arguing that economic prosperity is the best antidote to drug and gang violence and, by extension, to the illegal immigration that the United States is seeking to control.

SAWS SAWED. Drills drilled. Sweat poured. An annual competition in the Northeast yesterday challenged area construction apprentices who will graduate from the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Committee of Philadelphia and Vicinity's four-year program this month to think - and work - on their feet. The 23 contestants, chosen based on their success on written tests, represented different areas of training offered at the facility - and made up the categories of the competition, including general carpenters, interior-systems carpenters, floor layers, millwrights and mill/cabinetmakers.

CITY CONTROLLER Alan Butkovitz and Brett Mandel, one of his two foes in the May 21 Democratic primary election, used a debate yesterday afternoon to accuse one another of ethical violations. Mandel, who finished third in the 2009 primary for controller, claimed that Butkovitz is under investigation by the Philadelphia Board of Ethics for using brochures produced with city money in his campaign for a third term. "Alan has been using his staff and his resources to produce materials that he distributes at campaign events as if they were political material," said Mandel, who later said he based his claim on an account from one person questioned in the investigation.

CLIFF LEE will pitch in Cleveland for the first time as an opponent tomorrow, facing the team he won his one and only Cy Young award with, in 2008. Meanwhile, the four players the Phillies surrendered to acquire him midway through the 2009 season - the "big price" - will not be participating in the game, or any other major league game this week. Carlos Carrasco, currently pitching in Triple A and facing a five-game suspension for a beaning incident when and if he returns to the majors, has a 10-16 career record with a 5.16 earned run average.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch traded verbal jabs during spirited exchanges Monday night in their only scheduled debate in the race for the state's vacant First Congressional District seat. With eight days to go before next Tuesday's special election, Sanford stressed his efforts to rein in spending as a three-term member of Congress and as a two-term governor. The Republican noted that he was the first governor in the nation to turn back economic-stimulus funds.