Perhaps Mason can finally take that honour. "I

PHILADELPHIA -- Jeremy Hellickson pitches against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.The Philadelphia Phillies right-hander might very well be pitching for the Marlins in the near future.Hellickson (6-7, 4.03 ERA) continues to be the subject of trade speculation, with the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline approaching. MLB.com Marlins writer Joe Frisaro tweeted Monday that Miami is one of the teams that has expressed an interest in the veteran righty, who faces left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (5-3, 4.90) on Wednesday.Hellickson, 29, has been hearing the scuttlebutt for a while now.Yeah, its on my mind, he admitted after losing to the Mets last Friday, just when I see it on Twitter and talk to you (media) guys about it. Other than that, Im focused every day on doing what I have to do for the next start. Like Ive said all along, I love it here and would love to be here the rest of the year, but obviously Ive been through it before and know that side of the game. My focus is here and on my next start right now.Hellickson, who gave up four runs over six innings in that loss to New York, was 2-0 with 1.50 ERA in his three previous starts. He is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in six career outings against Miami.The Marlins, 51-42 and owners of a one-game lead in the race for the National Leagues second wild-card berth, are looking to solidify their rotation behind All-Star right-hander Jose Fernandez.Chen, who went 46-32 in four years with the Baltimore Orioles, has had his ups and downs after signing with the Marlins as a free agent in January.He took a no-decision in his last start, at St. Louis, allowing four runs on six hits in six innings, and he has yielded at least four earned runs in five of his last seven outings. Chen is 2-1 in that stretch despite a 6.00 ERA.He is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against Philadelphia.The Marlins have won seven of their past eight games, taking each of the first two games in this four-game series against the Phillies in extra innings. Christian Yelich drove in the winning run Tuesday in a 2-1 victory with a 10th-inning single off reliever Daniel Stumpf.To be a good team, you have to win those close ones, games like tonight and last night, Yelich said Tuesday. We know were going to have to continue to do that in the second half if we want to go where we think were headed. Its a good start. You just have to build on it.Tommy Joseph hit his second homer in as many nights for Philadelphia, which lost for the fourth time in five games.The Phillies managed just five hits Tuesday, and over their past three games (all losses), they have generated three runs and 10 hits while striking out 34 times. They fanned 11 times against five Marlins pitchers Tuesday.Were in that hitting funk again, manager Pete Mackanin said. Were just not swinging the bats. Too many bad at-bats. Were not grinding out at-bats, and we need to do that. ... Too many called third strikes with men in scoring position. Thats a pet peeve of mine, and were going to address that.He plans to do that in a team meeting. Nike Air More Uptempo Wholesale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Best Nike React Running Shoes . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. http://www.nikereactsale.com/epic-react-flyknit-shoes.html . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Buy Nike React Running Shoes . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Nike Shox Cheap China . PETERSBURG, Fla.PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Mason was about to tee off on the back nine when Brayden Schenn interrupted with a breaking report. "Have you heard the news," Schenn asked. A puzzled Mason had no clue what Schenn was about to spill: Ilya Bryzgalov had his contract bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. When it comes to Flyers goaltenders, Mason is suddenly the leader in the clubhouse. Mason finished his round with a solid day on the course and the realization that he is, for now, Philadelphias No. 1 goalie entering next season. Sure, his solid month as a Flyer after he was acquired from Columbus merited a deeper look from the organization. But the Flyers mostly wanted to get rid of the flaky Russian who never performed up to the $51 million, nine-year deal he signed in 2011. Mason has the chance to prove hes more the goalie who was the NHLs rookie of the year in 2008-09 and not the one who posted a goals-against average of 3-plus each of the next three seasons. "Im prepared to be the No. 1 guy," Mason said by phone from Toronto. "I feel Ive come a long way in the last few years in the growing-up process of being a goaltender in the NHL." Mason had it all figured out when he went 33-20-7 with 10 shutouts and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2008-09, the only season the Blue Jackets have made the playoffs. But Mason and Columbus could never recapture that fleeting success again. He fell to 20 wins and five shutouts the next season, and hasnt had a winning record since he was a rookie. He bottomed out in 2011-12 with a 16-26-3 mark. Mason lost his job to eventual Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, a former flyer, and was traded away by Columbus in April. He called the last few years "extremely humbling." "You almost hit rock bottom in terms of the way you feel about yourself as a goaltender," Mason said. "It got to the point in Columbus where I was struggling to find my confidence and also, struggling to come to the rink happy about playing hockey." Only 25, Mason appreciated a fresh start in Philadelphia. He instantly bonded with goalie coach Jeff Reesse, and a 4-2 record with a 1.dddddddddddd90 goals-against made him a hit with his teammates and management. He signed a $1.5 million, one-year extension shortly after the trade. "Im a big Steve Mason fan," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. "I know theres a short window that we got to watch him here, but he played very well. Even the game he lost, he played well." Holmgren has to add another goalie to play with Mason. But he expected the bulk of the playing time to be thrust on Mason. The Flyers went 23-22-3 and were 10th in the Eastern Conference with 49 points in this lockout-shortened season. "I looked at coming to Philadelphia as a great new challenge," Mason said. "Regardless of the length of Bryzs contract, I was confident that if I played well, I was going to get an opportunity to play a lot of hockey games." Theres been a revolving door in net for Philadelphia for decades. They Flyers -- and their fans -- thought that was solved with Bryzgalovs arrival. Perhaps Mason can finally take that honour. "I was going to prepare myself this summer," Mason said, "to have the mindset of being able to handle the pressures of playing in Philadelphia and the pressures of being a No. 1 goaltender again in this league." Bryzgalov was 52-33-10 with a 2.61 goals-against and a .905 save percentage in the two seasons for Philadelphia, which failed to make the playoffs this year. Bryzgalovs quirky personality and sometimes brutal honesty with the media didnt always endear him to teammates. But the Flyers say that didnt factor into this decision. Coach Peter Laviolette and Holmgren have each checked in with Mason this summer, though not since the trade. "It was an extremely easy team to come into," Mason said. "and feel welcomed." Example? Mason was invited along with captain Claude Giroux and other Flyers to play in Scott Hartnells charity golf tournament in Canada. Thats when word hit that Bryz was out -- and Mason was in. "It wasnt a celebration," Mason said. "It was, heres an opportunity and go with it." ' ' '