Off-Topic Forum

Originally it was rumored they were going to the Padres. I like this much better.

Also, Kris Bryant may be heading to San Fran...

Javier Báez to the Mets?!

As a Nationals fan yesterday was a day we've really never experienced before (losing Harper almost felt like a relief in some respects).

Hate to see the Scherzer era come to a halt like that, but the Trea Turner thing was a tough pill to swallow. At least we have Soto and the hope we can have a quick retool. Somehow Ryan Zimmerman is still here...he shall never not be a Nat.

I'm ambivalent towards the Dodgers but will hope the best for Trea and Max. 

Yeah, the Turner part of that deal took me aback. But already, the gutted Nats are beating my gutted Cubs. 

Best to all the players on both teams who brought joy to my original home of Chicago and my current home of DC. 

v3

Just a crazy deadline.  I thought the A's would pick up a couple bullpen guys, like Andrew Chafin.  But, then, Starling Marte, Yan Gomes, and Josh Harrison!  That's 1/3 of a starting lineup.  Wow.  Then across the bay the Giants picking up Bryant.  Crazy. 

Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about these end of the year fire sales and "rental players".  It really doesn't feel right.  I suppose its a sub-topic of the whole notion of tanking seasons.  

Anyhow, it is crazy to watch.

Tonight I was updating my 2009 Upperdeck OPC and saw Mr. Scherzer sporting that Dbacks uniform, really enjoyed seeing him perform as a National.  Looks like LA is loading up for the play-offs. He had a pretty good run in DC and well, best wishes as he takes on the west coast where he will face the pesky Padres and the Giants.

Also watching in person Bryant play in Boise as a Hawk and then as a Cub, I cringe to see him don the orange and black. Poor Cubs...

Yeah, what a deadline.  While exciting, hope this isn't a norm going forward.  teams selling off for total rebuilds and we get stuck with a league. of 3-5 good teams and 15-20 terrible teams.

"3-5 good teams and 15-20 terrible teams."

This! Oh man, I'm not really in favor of a salary cap but it does make some sense because small market teams are left in the lurch come trade deadline. Coastal teams just end up pilfering whatever they want because they have 'f-you'-money and the only penalty is a luxury tax that they shrug off or make up with jersey sales. Dodger memorabilia sales are going to be ridiculous. Belly, Betts, Beuler, Turners A & B, Kershaw, Jansen, Lux, Scherzer, Pujols, Muncy, Seager, Price, Trienen --- Good gravy! It's an embarrasment of riches.

The Yankees do it every year and it irks me. There isn't much strategy involved when you can just buy the whole board. 

Hmmm... I really questioned the Trea Turner part of the trade... I don't know what they'll do with Seager because LA just aquired Turner. That tells me they won't resign Seager which could mean he could come to my Angels! I don't know, but it could happen.

Since we are talking West Coast here, did the Padres do ANYTHING in trading?! They need a lot of help now to get ahead of the Dodgers and Giants. Tatis Jr. is likely out for the season and that really hurts the team on both sides of the ball. I don't see SD getting to the playoffs now without Tatis on the team. He was the NL HR leader and his loss at the plate hurts the Padres so much.

The Dodgers have definitely been stocking up lately. Looks like they are set to repeat at any cost and I think that is based on how they got ripped off a few years ago. Vengence is the goal for all of LAD management, IMO. Back-to-back titles has not been common for nearly 2 decades and LAD missed about 20 years of titles since their last win. I have no problem with their "win-now" mentality. If you have a good enough team to do it after half the season AND are the defending champs, stock up now to repeat. Who cares what happens next season?! You might still do well after a chunk of the team is gone in free agency during the off-season. The championship SHOULD be the goal for every team every year! But if you get one, it is sometimes better to cash out the big-money players to replace with younger players to re-stock the team for many more titles in the near future. I can give many examples in multiple sports where this actually worked out very well for the former championship team. We'll see what happens in October!