Morning Paper

One note about the Phillies and the ongoing Billy Wagner negotiations, one note about 2 names mentioned in the Phillies GM Search, and one final note that sums up the Terrell Owens situation pretty nicely if you ask me.

• From Jim Salisbury of the Inquirer:

Wagner, who will hit the open free-agent market on Friday, won't sign for anything less than three years guaranteed.

"No way," the lefthander said in a telephone interview yesterday. "Not when the Mets and a few other teams will guarantee three."

According to Wagner, the Phillies' current offer guarantees two years and includes a third-year option that can vest based on appearances. It's called "sharing the risk." Teams frequently structure contracts this way to protect themselves against a player getting hurt. If the player stays healthy, he gets the extra year and the money. If he doesn't, the team is off the hook.

...

"I can't imagine why [the Phillies] wouldn't have already gone to three years," Wagner said. "I can understand not wanting to do a full no-trade clause, but I can't understand why they're not going three years. I'm surprised."

...

"I enjoyed Philly, but there are huge holes that need to be filled, and they're dealing with a tight budget," he said. "It's awful hard for me to see how they can afford me and make the necessary adjustments they need to get better. It'll be interesting what Pat says."

...

"We need help in the bullpen," Wagner said. "[Ryan] Madson's going in the rotation. We need a second closer for the eighth inning. We need power pitching for the sixth and seventh.

"My goal is to play in the playoffs and win a championship. I don't want to be in a situation where I'm sitting there saying, 'Well, we could have used another pitcher, but we didn't have the budget.' "

Odds of Wagner returning to the Phillies: 5 to 1

• From Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe:

Another name that has surfaced as a virtually certain candidate is Dayton Moore, the Atlanta Braves' director of player personnel. The 38-year-old Moore, who previously worked in amateur and international scouting for the Braves and has occupied his current position since 1994, was described yesterday by another major league executive as a ''young John Schuerholz."

That's a reference to the current dean of major league general managers, who has directed the Braves to 14 consecutive division titles.

The Red Sox have also asked Cleveland for permission to interview Chris Antonetti. Phillies didn't interview a "young John Schuerholz." He was my choice from the very start and you'd better believe I'll be keeping tabs of his career from here on out.

• Surprisingly good intro to a piece from Ashley Fox of the Inquirer:

The only time Terrell Owens cracked a smile during a heated 13-minute news conference outside his Moorestown home yesterday was when one ambitious questioner asked his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, this:

What have you done for your client besides get him kicked off the Eagles?

It was a terrific question, and one Owens should be asking, because nothing has gone right for him since he fired David Joseph and hired Rosenhaus, the NFL's biggest power broker, eight months ago. Owens did not get that new contract he wanted. He was allowed to flounder in the midst of a crisis while alienating himself from his teammates and the town he owned after a brilliant Super Bowl performance.