The Great Deadline Debate: AL Part IV

This is the last part of the Great Deadline debate as Burga and I only have a few more teams to complete trades with. It is getting harder and harder to make deals happen as the bigger names come off the market. But here we go. These are the deals that have been completed so far.

The Great Trade Debate: NL Part III

 

Things are starting to pick up now on the trade front as Heat and I continue our mock deadline. We have a handful of new deals we're excited to announce so let's jump right into them.

Nationals trade prospect Matt Purke for Yankees SP Huroki Kuroda
The Nationals are a team knocking on the door this year, but they're not ready for a long playoff run yet. Adding Kuroda is a huge step for them. The veteran pitcher has defied age and sometimes logic all season long, delivering quality start after quality start and not looking back. He will take pressure off of guys like Strasburg and Zimmermann who will undoubtedly benefit from his veteran presence. Purke is a solid prospect but the Nats have plenty of young players already on their roster. This is a rental deal, so if Kuroda gives you anything more than this year it's just icing on the cake.

The Great Deadline Debate: AL Part III

This is the Great Deadline Debate: Part III as Burga and I have gone back and forth on a few trades. Here are some more of the deals as a couple small ones have been passed as well as a potential blockbuster.

The Great Deadline Debate: NL Part II

After a couple days of bartering, Heat and I have completed five deals. Without further ado, let's take a look at what we've completed so far:

Reds trade SP Tony Cingrani for Yankees OF Curtis Granderson.
This is a high risk/high reward deal for the Reds. I like really like Cingrani and I know the organization values him, but they have a sneaky deep pitching staff and some young guys they can bring up as needed. Cueto should be back soon barring a setback to round out the rotation. Granderson, though his average may have settled around .240, brings a rare power/speed combination and has seen success in the playoffs before. I really like him playing centerfield between Choo and Bruce that will be easily on of the most talented, and perhaps underrated outfields in the game. Good deal for the Reds.
 

Hypothetical Hernandez Question

After hearing all the sports talk radio stations talking about Hernandez for the last month and listening to Belichek and Brady finally speaking up about the issue, a thought popped into my head. A hypothetical question that might be difficult to answer.

If the Patriots had won the Super Bowl against the Giants in 2012, would the victory be worth what's happened with Hernandez and how bad it's been for the Patriots?

In other words, if you could see the future in 2010 and were faced with the dilemma of passing on Hernandez in the draft OR taking him, winning the Super Bowl, then dealing with everything that's going on, which choice would you make?

For the purpose of this question, let's look specifically at the football side of things. Let's assume that everything that Hernandez has done, he would have done whether or not he was a member of the Pats. As it stands, Hernandez was a fantastic player, probably the best in the league at what he does, but it was not worth it to have drafted the thug and alleged murderer that he is. It has brought negative media attention to the organization and serves as a distraction to the players.

If the Patriots had won, however, then it makes me reconsider.

What do you think?

The Great Deadline Debate: AL Part II

So after a few days of bantering back and forth with Burga, we have agreed in principle to five trades so far. I will break down what they mean to the AL teams and why we offered, or accepted the deals that you see before you.

Gators remove Hernandez All-American Brick from Stadium

Via @ProfSpiker

With Aaron Hernandez's recent arrest and murder/gun charges, the Florida Gators have taken the initiative and have removed his 2009 First Team All-American brick from their football stadium. The brick was replaced by a blank brick and will most likely be kept that way. This is not the first move a team has made to distance themselves from the Ex-Patriot, as the Pats offered a Hernandez jersey buy-back program earlier this summer to replace fans' Hernandez jerseys with any jersey they wanted in store. This will also most likely not be the last move made by a major organization to further themselves from the murder-charged tight end.

The Great Deadline Debate: AL Part I

As previously mentioned by Burga in his breakdown of the NL Part I, we will be breaking down the 2013 MLB Trade deadline by going through each team identifying needs both present and future, and  making at least 15 deals including all 30 teams across both leagues. In order for this to be successful, we both need to make compromises in order to achieve what is best not only for our teams now, but in the upcoming future. Without further delay, let me break down which teams should buy, sell or hold.

Great Deadline Debate: NL Part I

With the MLB Trade Deadline just a week away, every team in the league is assessing their rosters, their player performance, and their position in the standings to decide which direction they will go this year. There will be buyers looking to add that extra piece for a playoff push, sellers looking to shed salary and assets for future players, and teams who are content with their situation and will stand pat.

This year, Heat and I will be trying something new. It is based off of the Trade Wars that Richard Cloutier and Travis Yost play on Hockeybuzz.com, and involves us playing GM for the MLB teams this deadline. The rules are simple: Heat will be the GM for all AL teams and I will cover the NL teams. Each team must be complete a trade with another team from the other league. Every team must make one, and only one, trade.

We've spent time assessing our teams and identifying each as a buyer or seller. Our offers to each other, rejected, accepted, and counter-offered until 15 trades are made.

Burga's US Olympic Roster

The US Olympic team has just announced the list of players who will be invited to the Olympic Camp, from which the roster for Sochi will be selected. Here is the complete list:

F: Kane, Ryan, Kessel, Kesler, Pavelski, Abdelkader, Backes, Bennet, Bjugstad, Brown, Callahan, Galchenyuk, Lewis, Okposo, Oshie, Pacioretty, Pavelski, Palmieri, Parise, Saad, C. Smith, Stastny, Stepan, Wheeler, Van Riemsdyk

D: Bogosion, Byfuglien, Carlson, Dekeyser, Faulk, Fowler, Gardner, E. Johnson, J. Johnson, Jones, Leddy, Martin, McDonagh, Orpik, Shattenkirk, Suter, Trouba, Yandle.

A look at the Bruins 2013-2014 Schedule

The new NHL realignment offers a new dynamic in assessing the Bruins schedule next season. Instead of the 6 divisions with 5 teams, there are not 4 divisions with 7 or 8 teams in them. This will give teams a chance to play other teams more often and see some teams they normally wouldn't see too much during the regular season. It also changes the way the playoffs will work, but that's a blog for another day.

The Bruins new division, the Atlantic Division, includes the Sabres, Red Wings, Panthers, Canadiens, Senators, Lightning, and Maple Leafs. Simply put, Detroit, Florida, and Tampa will join what was the North East Division. As I look at the schedule, a few things jump out at me.

Fantasy Baseball 2013 Mid Season Awards

We've reached the midway point in the season (not exactly), and the All Star Game is this week. Now is a good time to take some time to praise and evaluate how players have done so far this season. Who has emerged as an elite player, who is breaking out, who is a fluke and who is still a second half sleeper. There have been quite a few surprises this season and the rookies seem to be flying off the waiver wire faster than ever (Thanks Mike Trout). It's time for me to break it down for you.

Reassessing the Bruins Moves

The Bruins have been one of the most active teams in the week since the NHL Draft, which is a little surprising based on past experience with Chiarelli. However, the salary cap going down has forced the hands among lots of GMs across the league and has made for an entertaining offseason.

Buyouts have long been an option for teams looking to shed an expensive contract, but now they are more common than ever. Lecavalier, Dipietro, and Bryzgalov are the big ones this summer. We've seen some big names being traded like Bobby Ryan, Tyler Seguin, Loui Eriksson, and Jonathon Bernier. And finally, we've seen some big Free Agency signings that could possibly alter their franchises like Jarome Iginla, Daniel Alfredsson, Nathan Horton, and Mike Ribeiro.

If you remember, I wasn't too pleased with the Seguin trade when it first happened. After having some time to think it over, however, and in light of what he's said and done since then, I think it's a great move for the team. Eriksson is a professional who plays the game right, the prospects they got have a good chance to make an impact, and it cleared salary room for a big FA signing: Iginla.
 

Hernandez Out. Who's In?

As most of you have already heard, Patriots star Tight End Aaron Hernandez has been arrested and arraigned for 1st Degree Murder as well as five different gun charges. If you haven't read the full story you can read it all here.

I won't be covering the criminal aspect of the case, but rather looking at what this does to the Patriot targets this fall for Tom Brady and what the Patriots could end up doing to help out their offense.

Seguin Traded to the Stars

Well, I was genuinely shocked when I read this news. Seguin was traded along with Peverley and Button for Loui Eriksson and three prospects. My initial response was anger, feeling that we gave up too quickly on a budding superstar. To get a sense of my reaction, here's a glimpse of the Twitter rant I went on:

 

From Hockey Goalie to… Catcher?

            The Tim Thomas era displayed the classic story of an underdog paying his dues to the sport of hockey and finally displaying a historical performance in 2011 to take the team to win the coveted Stanley Cup. However, following an early playoff exit in 2012, Thomas announced in an unprecedented move that he would not be returning for the 2012-2013 season.

            Following the controversial move, Thomas has been living with his family in Colorado and his rights have since been traded to the NY Islanders. However, he has recently announced that he would be holding a press conference on Monday morning regarding a “major change in his career.”