Preller's Reputation

The trade deadline this summer saw many moves across the league. The Padres were very active in these trades as well, moving players such as James Shields, Andrew Cashner, Fernando Rodney, Matt Kemp, Drew Pomeranz and many more. In return, the Padres received some high-end prospects, giving them one of the top farm systems in the entire league. But (and that's a big but) major league baseball has been investigating this situation since the deals went down because they have received complaints from several teams across major league baseball, namely the Red Sox, White Sox and Marlins - teams the Padres have dealt players to this summer. What the league has found has resulted in a suspension of A.J. Preller for 30 days without pay and a undisclosed fine to the organization. Apparently the complaints given by the aforementioned were those regarding health. The records of the players being dealt was not fully disclosed and thus the teams receiving the players feel like they have been cheated in case a player develops an injury. This causes a problem because now the new club of the player cannot be treated properly because the club doesn't have the proper medical information. Not only that, but Preller lied in trade discussions. For example, the Padres sent Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea to Miami for four minor league prospects. During Rea's first start with the Marlins, he pitched 3 1/3 perfect innings before complaining of elbow discomfort. He later was diagnosed with a strained UCL in his elbow, a sign of needing Tommy John surgery. Outraged, the Marlins asked for the Padres to send back one of the prospects in exchange for Rea. The issue here wasn't the injury. It was the dealing of paperwork. Back in Spring Training, the head athletic trainer for the Padres was told to input data into two databases, one for the eyes of Padres employees only, and the other for the rest of the league to view. The trainers were told to put all of the information into the one visible only to the Padres and only put some into the one visible to the rest of the league. This would show the team that there are not many injury reports to be worried about. Now that Preller has been caught, this will hinder the franchise for a while until Preller builds up his reputation once more. If he wants to make a trade with another team in the future, and that team asks A.J. Preller about potential off-field issues regarding that player (which is not placed into a database anywhere across the league) and he says that nothing is wrong with the player, then how is the GM of that team supposed to believe him? If Preller wants to make a trade, he will have to work twice as hard as another general manager to prove that he is telling the truth.

In the world of college football, we have some good games this weekend. Last week showed some big upsets and controversial calls, especially within the game between Central Michigan and Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma. LSU replaced Brandon Harris at QB for a backup (who didn't do much better). So we will see who comes out of the other side of an upset this week. Here are your big games for the weekend:
- #2 Florida State vs #10 Lousville, 12 ET, ABC
- North Dakota State vs. #13 Iowa, 12 ET, ESPN2
- #22 Oregon vs. Nebraska, 3:30 ET, ABC
- #1 Alabama vs. #19 Ole Miss, 3:30 ET, CBS
- #12 Michigan State vs. #18 Notre Dame, 7:30 ET, NBC
- #3 Ohio State vs. #14 Oklahoma, 7:30 ET, FOX
- USC vs. #7 Stanford, 8 ET, ABC