-P- The Phils have signed Chase Utley to a seven-year, $85 million extension. This strikes me as way too much - Father Time does not tend to be kind to second basemen. Utley is an elite hitter now, but so was Marcus Giles three years ago, and what happened to him? There's a chance Utley could be the next Jeff Kent, but I wouldn't want to take that chance, especially since the Phillies controlled his rights for the next three years anyway.

-P- Reaction to the Utley signing: The Good Phight likes the deal. So does Balls, Sticks & Stuff.

-P- Pat doesn't want red in the Pirates' new uniforms.

-P- There's a column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution bemoaning the loss of Adam LaRoche.

-P- Speaking of LaRoche, OnlyBucs has a close look at the trade. This is a pretty interesting article.

-P- Also, this BCT article suggests that LaRoche became a completely different - and better - player after trying a new drug to treat his ADD in May 2006. If the drug was indeed the cause of LaRoche's improved play, we could be getting a really terrific player here.

-P- A reminder: the Ronny Paulino Community Projection is still open.