Hey Phillies! Call the Dbacks! - MLB

Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro has a problem:

I talked to Amaro on the phone yesterday, and while he said that
upgrading the starting rotation remains his “main focus,” he said he
doesn’t yet have any willing trade partners. The problem, evidently, is
two-fold: a) Some of the pitchers who ordinarily would be on the market
(Jake Peavy, Erik Bedard, etc.) are injured; b) Some of the teams that
were expected to be trade-deadline sellers (Rockies, Reds, etc.)
haven’t completely dropped out of contention.

“No one’s out there dealing anybody or wanting to part with anybody
because the pitchers who are available are, one, hurt, and two,
pitching for teams that don’t think they’re out of the race yet,” Amaro
told Philled In. “I know because I’ve asked about every one of them.”

Ruben! Put Circling the Bases in your RSS feed and your problems will be solved!

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.