We first heard about this months ago, but getting the agreement with the Phillies took a bit longer than expected.

In any event, outdoor hockey will come to South Philly this winter, the day after the Eagles wrap up their regular season at home against the Washington Redskins. Yeah, the New year will ring in with one long tailgating session.

As for the game, does it make sense to hold it in Philly? The fan base and ability to sell tickets isn’t the issue. The temperature is. You don’t always think of Philly as a cold weather city such as a Boston or Chicago.

But, according to stormfax.com, the average high in January is 39 degrees. We’ll explore this more in-depth next week.

He’s now trading underachieving, uncommitted fans. I was blindsided when I woke up this morning with a text from a friend of a friend of a relative of the Flyers locker room attendant informing me that Holmer traded my rights to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a copy of the Frank McCourt’s Bankruptcy Filing.

Look, I know I haven’t been a diehard fanatic when it comes to the Orange and Black. I’ve just followed the lead of our former captain Micke Richards and his sidekick Jeff Carter and only turn it on when the games really count. Sure, as a blogger I’ve barely given the team any mentions on this site, instead choosing to post about my buddy’s hat business.

Still, to just jettison me to the West Coast for scraps? Do you think that will free up a seat or two to offer Steve Stamkos’ family and friends?

I’m now going to hole myself up in my Wildwood, NJ, home with a six pack from Green’s Liquors and three pounds of Curley’s Fries. If LA wants me, let them send a contingent of their thug fan base over for a sitdown.

Otherwise, joust count me among the former scorned lovers Holmgren has moved in the last five days.

But, don’t put up the “W” just yet. Cole Hamels still has to pitch well an the Fightins need to keep the offense going.

The New York Mets have a 2-1 record and get rewarded by facing Hamels and halladay this series. Hamels, the fourth Phillies ace, has not faired well against the Mets in his career. Can he keep up with the Lees and Oswalts?

The Mets come to South Philly 2-1 after taking the weekend series against the trendy Marlins in Miami. They have to be feeling good with a new manager and a fairly decent lineup when everyone is healthy. Maybe they even have visions of giving the Phils a run for their money this year. Heck, they missed Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, so they should feel OK.

Then, it’s time to realize they’ll face Hamels and Halladay this week.

Hamels gets it started and gets to keep up with his co-aces who tossed 19 innings of ball and racked up 23 Ks to 1 BB. But, this is where the feel good news stops. The fact is, this won’t be a given for Hamels.

First, the man is 1-7 with a 4.33 ERA against the Mets over the last three years. Sure, he has nearly a 3.5-to-1 K to BB ratio. Still, 74 hits in 54 innings over that time period is far from solid. The fact is, the team he once called choke artists has owned him.

If you break it down even more, Hamels was 0-4 with a 3.20 ERA against the Mets. Again, his 4-to-1 K-to-BB ratio was superb. Yes, his ERA was respectable and the lack of run support hurt him. Still, 0-4 is 0-4.

Hamels and the Fightins need to send the Mets back to the cellar.

Second, Hamels had a poor spring, which isn’t unexpected as pitchers often work on new pitches and are less concerned about their numbers. Still, a 6.67 ERA is something to keep an eye on. Will Hamels start this year like last, or pick up where he left off?

The bottom line is it’s time to send the Mets back to NY with a losing record. And, that starts with Hamels on Tuesday.

Imagine having a job that paid $80,000 a year and reporting $600,000 – $700,000 in income to the IRS. Someone was making a ton of money on the side.

Welcome to the world of former Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels, who was fired from the team last week. Unlike the rest of the Mets organization, Samuels wasn’t canned for the lack of professionalism by the players. I

According to the New York Daily News, Samuels is under investigation for betting on baseball, a major no-no since the days of Pete Rose.

Not only did he allegedly gamble, he also gave inside information to friends who gambled and used his team expense accounts to cover his gambling debts.

First, we have to wonder how any insider tips could help anyone the last three years. The Mets flat out sucked. Bet against them every day and you had to come out on top.

Second, how dumb is Samuels? And, we don’t think he’s far from bright because he used the team expense account as his own personal cash stash. No, he’s dumb for having gambling debts. Did he bet on the Mets to win or something?

Giants closer Brian Wilson and Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino are far from strangers to the UFC/MMA circuit. Both have displayed the intensity fighters display in the steel cages. In a battle, who has the edge? Let’s put it this way, Victorino should be far from scared of Wilson’s “signature” MMA gesture he displays after closing games with the substance on his cheesy, greasy beard.

Giants closer Brian Wilson displays his "signature" MMA tribute gesture after closing out a game. We'd still take Shane Victorino in a UFC-style brawl.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Size:
Wilson — 6’1′, 196 pounds.
Victorino — 5-9, 190 pounds

Age:
Wilson — 28
Victorino — 29

Athleticism:
Wilson — relief pitcher
Victorino — everyday player

Home:
Wilson — New Hampshire
Victorino — Hawaii, lives in Vegas

Intangibles:
Wilson — Fake beard that would lose to Werth’s
Victorino — NLCS ring, World Series ring, UFC friends, heart of a champion

Shane Victorino went UFC/MMA on the umps after being tossed from center field last season. That's more fire than Wilson has shown.

THE PICK: Victorino by submission
Wilson has the size (four inches taller) and the reach on Shane. But, the Flyin’ Hawaiian makes up for that with his athleticism and heart. Shane plays every day and runs a lot more. We’ll give him a slight edge in cardio, which is key to lasting in an MMA/UFC battle. Plus, he’s displayed his intensity before when being tossed out while standing in center field. His bolt toward the home plate ump who gave him the boot was reminiscent of an MMA introduction. Sure, Wilson displays intensity after each save. But, how much does it take to cross your arms and stick out your fingers.

And, there’s this. Victorino is friends with UFC President Dana White and Hawaii native and UFC fighter BJ Penn. We’re thinking Victorino can get training any time he wants it. And, we haven’t even touched on heart and desire yet. Shane has it. Wilson? Well, he has his beard. Shane doesn’t Fear the Beard. In fact, he’s ready to rumble right now.

Behind a three-hit, seven-inning shutout performance by Cole Hamels, the Phils dropped the Brewers, 1-0, at home Friday night. Coupled with the Braves 6-1 loss to the Marlins, the Phillies now trail the Braves by just one game.

Cole Hamels tossed seven innings en route to a 1-0 Phillies win on Friday. The Phils now trail the Braves by just a game in the NL East.

Pitching was the key to tonight’s win as Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson combined for two shutout innings in relief. Hamels, for his part, threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes and looked as his dominating self.

Just a day removed from a twelve run performance, including a nine spot in the seventh inning in Colorado, the Phillies looked like their old anemic selves. There is no reason to worry, however.

The Phillies got in from Colorado at 4 a.m. on Friday. They had to get to the ballpark around 11 a.m. In essence, the team was tired from a seven game West Coast swing. Jetlag had to be playing with their bodies.

Luckily, the same old sorry ass brewers were in town and Hamels was on his game.

With the way the pitchers are throwing and the Braves are slumping, we could be talking about the Phillies magic number by the end of the weekend. Roy Halladay gets the call for the Phillies on Saturday.

ESPN.Com’s Jerry Crasnick reports that future free agent outfielder Jayson Werth has fired his agent and is searching for a new one.

“Phillies OF Jayson Werth has left the Beverly Hills Sports Council and is looking for a new agent. ‘He’s shopping,’ said a source,” Crasnick tweeted minutes ago. “Werth is one of top free agents on market this winter, so that’s led to the expected agent feeding frenzy. He hasn’t made his call yet.“

Jayson Werth ponders which agent will show him the money this offseason.

Could he be switching agents because he didn’t like the way negotiations with the Phillies were progressing? What other reason would Werth have for switching agents now. Granted, he’s going to look for big money this offseason, but has his agent ever done him wrong? Or, does he just want a big name on his side such as a Scott Boras? Boras, by the way, was canned by A-Rod recently?

Time will tell, and the agent Werth ultimately hires will give us a glimpse into his plans. We can only hope it’s a change to someone with a great working relationship with the Phillies, Ruben Amaro and Pat Gillick.

Werth is hitting .297 with 19 HRs and 64 RBI. While his power numbers have dropped, his average has jumped this year. He will be a much sought after player on the free agent market.

Lights Out Lidge was back. or, so we were beginning to think. Then, the man reverted to his 2009 form last night with a mental hiccup. If he’s smart, he picked up JRoll’s bar tab last night.

The Phillies, battling for their playoff lives, had a paltry 2-1 lead heading into the ninth inning. Roy Oswalt was cruising, having retired thirteen straight batters. He also had thrown 102 pitches, 78 for strikes. The man not named Cliff Lee was rolling.

Then, Charlie Manuel decided to pinch hit for him and go with Lidge. You can second guess Manuel all you want, the bottom line is Lidge’s slider appeared to be back and he is the closer. His job is to save one-run leads, even against the best team in the NL on the road.

Lidge then loaded the bases and committed a baseball sin. He balked in the tying run. Not walked. Balked.

Brad Lidge is a little miffed at himself for allowing a game-tying balk.

“It’s a bizarre thing,” Lidge told MLB.com. “The ball hit my glove as I was taking it to my glove to get my grip. It started coming out and I had to look down to get the grip otherwise the ball probably would have fallen out of my glove. By that time my momentum was taking me forward, so basically I had to step off or I would have fallen on my face.”

You know what, dude, fall on your face. Faceplant like a drunken college kid. Get laughed at but don’t balk in the tying run.

The Phillies finally pulled the game out in the 12th thanks to this play:

Words truly can’t describe the slide that Rollins made to avoid the tag and then drop down to slap the plate and give the Phillies the lead that Chad Durbin was able to hold onto.

Lidge might want to buy JRoll a watch for that.

In any event, the win gives the Phils the lead in the Wild Card race and pulls them to within two games of the faltering Braves.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. As cliched as that expression is, it fits what’s happening inside the offices at Citizens Bank Park and the visiting locker room in St. Louis right now.

The Phillies, fresh off losing three of four to the crappy Cubs at Wrigley and then the opening two games in St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday have shuffled the deck the last two days with more moves on the way.

Let’s recap.

On Tuesday Kyle Kendrick gave up seven runs in five innings , including five in the fifth frame alone, was optioned to Triple A Lehigh Valley and Andrew Carpenter was called up to serve as a long relief man.

On Tuesday night, Jamie Moyer hurt his arm and was placed on the DL. Carpenter, in his first outing, relieved Moyer and promptly gave up three runs in three innings. He was shipped back to Lehigh valley on Wednesday and 22-year-old Vance Worley was called up from Double A Reading to take his place.

Also, JA Happ was finally called up from the IronPigs to reclaim his starting spot. However, he may not even be here long enough to make that start as rumors have him involved in a deal to land Astros ace Roy Oswalt.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, skipper Charlie Manuel has seen enough of his runless producing sack of 2010 underachievers and overreachers that he’s made major lineup changes for Wednesday’s game.

Ben Francisco is slated to bat Third on Wednesday in St. Louis. That is not a misprint.

In fact, it looks nothing like it has at any point this year.

Here it is:
Polanco 3B
Victorino CF
Francisco LF
Howard 1B
Werth RF
Rollins SS
Ransom 2B
Ruiz C
Pitcher

Have things really gotten so bad that little-used-until-recently Ben Francisco — the “other” guy in the Cliff Lee deal — is taking over for Ibanez and hitting third. THIRD! Really?

Oh, and the spark plug that’s missing a few electric bolts, JRoll, is moved down to sixth?

Seriously, this is where the Phillies find themselves as they are on the verge of falling out of the postseason mix completely.

Times are desperate and the Phillies are making moves daily to try to find a fix. At least they’re trying, but is there really a cure at this point?

If that really is the only thing holding up this deal, the Ruben Amaro needs to tell ownership, “this is what we need to do and we’re doing it.”

Roy Oswalt wants his 2012 option guaranteed to accept a deal to Philly. The team would be wise to pay that man his money.

OK, he can soften that a bit so as to not piss off his bosses. Still, the Phillies must step up and get this done. If there was any pitcher who could possibly fill the Cliff Lee void a bit, it’s Oswalt. Dan Haren would be a close second.

Plus, dealing for Oswalt can’t be for just this year. The Phillies are far from a postseason lock even with Oswalt at this point if they can’t get the bats going.

This deal is about being stronger the next two years with Oswalt in the mix. Picture a rotation that features Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels. There won’t be many better. Even if at age 35 Oswalt slows a bit, he’d be the third man in the rotation and likely be pitching as a No. 2. He’s worth the money. And, really, who else would you get for that money? Joe Blanton or someone of that mold. That’s a far dropoff.

Pay that man his money and get the deal done.