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

The End of Summer

This summer has seen many thrills and none larger than the spotlight on Rio at the Olympic games. The United States Olympic team stole the show, winning 121 medals. The second most winning country was China at 70 followed by Great Britain at 67. Of course, many of you may have had favorite events such as track and field or swimming. But my favorite event was men's basketball. You may argue that it was the United States gold medal to lose, which it was, but the dominance that they showed at times was so entertaining that I was not able to leave the couch. Critics argue that that is why it is so boring. They know that the US team will win gold. But why not enjoy the show as they do so? During the tournament, they were given some difficult tests against teams such as Serbia and France (who was playing without their best player, Tony Parker). Eventually they wound up winning gold anyways. Many other historic and memorable moments occurred during the games, and I don't have time to mention them all, but how about Michael Phelps winning his 26th gold medal? That was amazing. The men's 1500m final in track and field was also incredible as we saw an American win gold for the first time since 1908 in the form of Matthew Centrowitz. Usain Bolt won three gold medals at his final games, which gives him nine altogether in his career, the most decorated track and field star ever. Leave a comment below as to which event was your favorite and which moment was most memorable.

Meanwhile, the Padres have slipped to the third worst record in the majors thanks to inconsistent pitching and offense, and seeing a tee-ball team compete against a high school varsity team. I love my Padres. It just hurts to see them not doing so well. Edwin Jackson shut down the Red Sox over seven shutout innings yesterday, however and Adam Rosales delivered a two-run shot to provide the only offense for the Padres as we won 2-1. The Red Sox are looking to take the AL East, so a win of this magnitude means a lot. We'll see if that happens again tonight. Tons of Red Sox fans will fill the stands at Petco park to support a team they haven't seen in San Diego since 2007. I remember that series, especially the last game of the series where aces dueled with Jake Peavy facing off against Josh Beckett. The Red Sox won that day, and had we won that day, we would have won the wild card over the Rockies instead of witnessing Trevor Hoffman's collapse in the eleventh inning against the Rockies on October 1, 2007. In the end, however, the future looks bright for the 2016 Padres. Plenty of prospects are slowly rising up the ranks and we will start seeing some of them here in a couple of weeks.

College football has also begun! Unfortunately, this is sad news. LSU, the fifth ranked team in the country, lost to unranked Wisconsin on Saturday 16-14. Total collapse from QB Brandon Harris led to the loss. Leonard Fournette was not able to get into any rhythm and Les Miles is back on the hot seat. In order to make the playoff this year, they will have to win every game the rest of the year, including taking on Alabama. Possible? Yes. Doable? Doubt it. Here are your games for the week:
-BYU vs Utah, 7:30 ET, FOX
-Virginia Tech vs. #17 Tennessee, 8 ET, ABC (From Bristol motor speedway)
Those are really the only good games for the week. There will be many others but fans will most likely witness some landslide victories or boring games.

Thanks for reading! Have a great week and tune in next week! I'm not sure which day I will consistently post this semester, so tune in to find out!

Let the Games Begin

The Olympic games begin this Friday in Rio amidst much controversy. The government is nearly imploding in Brazil, the infrastructure of the buildings aren't even done yet, the water is contaminated and teams will inevitably get sick and criminal acts are going unnoticed by law enforcement, assuming that even exists in Rio. Pushing all that aside, however, stands an olympic games that should be pretty exciting as it always is. Tune in to the opening ceremonies on Friday at 7:30 ET and watch the games over the next three weeks on any of NBC's family of networks.

In major league baseball, we have been greeted with the trade deadline. The Padres, as we know, have traded all of their important pieces. Matt Kemp was traded to the Braves, Melvin Upton Jr. was traded to the Blue Jays and Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea have been traded to the Marlins (although Rea has since returned upon receiving an elbow injury). The team is still looking to move Derek Norris, which is a move that I would like to see done because Austin Hedges is waiting to take his place and is tearing up the PCL. What other deals will get done? Check in next week to find out.

This Season's Sell-Athon

You always here about great bargains and how a particular business is offering a sale seemingly every weekend to bring in customers. One example that I keep thinking of is Moor furniture. For every recognized holiday they will have a marketing program that says something like, "No interest until the year 4759262947!!!!" Yeah, that will sure draw me in. The Padres seem to be something similar. As the trade deadline approaches, each team is trying to market itself as a seller or a buyer. The Padres have been very active recently at the trade deadline, which hits next Monday. Just a week and a half ago, or so, they traded Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox in exchange for an elite pitching prospect, Anderson Espinoza. Even though everybody in the organization seems to praise the deals being done, here is my issue with trading good players who are controllable and affordable: You look at the Cubs and the Astros and other teams that have built their success from the inside. But once you find a good player, you want to build around him. That is my issue with the Padres of the past and Padres of the future. Look at Adrian Gonzalez. He wanted to stay in San Diego but could not because he was becoming "too expensive." Jake Peavy was the same way. And we have seen very little success from those received in those deals. Pomeranz is a pitcher that has turned his career around here. Now let's build around that. Sure, our minor league system may be #2 in the majors now, but who cares? They're just prospects. Don't just give up on your current big league team. Continue to add piece by piece while patiently and gradually building up the farm system. That is what the Cardinals have done. The trade deadline is a week away. The only trade that I see to be productive is if you unload a burdensome contract or poisonous personality. Other than that, keep the guy and see what he can do.

Two Months a Charm

I apologize for not posting here in the past couple of months. I have been so busy getting back to work (and getting married) that I have had zero time in posting on my blog. Hopefully I will be better now that I am back for the summer, because a lot has happened since I last posted.

First matter is the San Diego Padres. At the beginning of the season, they were borderline decent and I hoped for the first month that they could hang on and wait out the injuries that were plaguing the team. Well that did not happen and what compounded how bad we were came in just this past week. We were up 12-2 in the sixth inning. Easy victory, right? Nah, not this time. The Mariners decided to pull a fast one and come back to win 16-13. That was one of the most embarrassing games that I have ever witnessed in Padres history. Hopefully something good comes out of this draft with five picks in the top 100. We need talent and we need it fast. Ron Fowler was right when he said that this team's performance has been pathetic and embarrassing. I know that I am being negative about the Padres, but it's for good reason. I have never seen them be consistently good, meaning successful over a 5 year span or more. It has only been two or three years of decency that have shown me what they have until they trade away every last piece of talent in search of "the future" because those talented players on the Padres become "too expensive." Yeah, that future has never come. But I look on the bright side; when this team starts to win and set their sights on the playoffs, I will be the first one out there to show my support. I still support them everyday and want them to win everyday. So I'm not a Padres critic, I'm a Padres fanatic.

Meanwhile, the finals are in full swing, but the Cavaliers are not looking good against perhaps the best team in NBA history in the Golden State Warriors. Down 2-0, can they come back? Tune in to find out on ABC resuming again on Wednesday night at 9 ET. Also, comment below on what you would like to me to write on. I don't have much time but I will do my best to answer your questions. Thank you!