
July 22, 2024
The MLB Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching and the Dodgers have a lot of decisions to make. They have a ton of players on the DL who may or may not come back, and the biggest questions among those are in the starting rotation. I’m all for Andrew Friedman upgrading his software, which hopefully isn’t Microsoft based at this point, and having it tell him what elite player to go after. In all seriousness though, players who are free-agents-to-be this off-season make little sense to pay for. If the Dodgers are going to make an impact move they need to think about ones beyond this year. That’s why Tarik Skubal makes a ton of sense. He’s an elite level pitcher, who can help this this year, and the next couple. The Dodgers also have the farm system to get it done. He also makes sense because he and Glasnow can be high % strikeout guys come October, which plays well in the postseason. It also makes sense to acquire a player like Luis Rengifo, who can help the Dodgers at 2nd or 3rd base, and even move Mookie Betts back to the outfield when he returns from injury. The only problem is Arte Moreno would probably rather gargle with razor blades than make a trade with the Dodgers. Enough of the Garret Crochet and Luis Robert Jr talk. Crochet is a converted reliever, and has a very small body of work. You can’t blow up your farm system for that, and Robert is just a marginal upgrade. Also, Dodger fans need to stop pretending like Rays outfielder Randy Arrozarena is some sort of savior because he hits in October. Dude is hitting .200 right now.
Then there’s the Angels. Warriors owner Joe Lacob claimed last week that he was close to actually purchasing the Angels a year ago. That has to be maddening to all Angel fans, because Lacob figures to not only be a wealthier owner than Arte, but a much more forward thinking one who will build out a more modern and stable organization. There’s a lot of bad owners in the MLB other than Arte, so it’s no guarantee a new owner would be better, but you would have liked your odds with Lacob. As for the trade deadline, it would be stupid for the Angels to hang on to someone like Luis Rengifo and Tyler Anderson, who can fetch real value. What has happened to Reid Detmers though? 3 months ago, this kid was looking like the real deal. Now he’s been demoted, but the Halos haven’t even communicated with him. Hello? Is this guy still in your plans? Or are you going to botch his development like everyone else’s? It’s this kind of operation that makes you think the young players they do have like Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe will have their development botched too. Now that Joe Biden has essentially retired, isn’t it your turn Anthony Rendon?
To the NBA, where Rob Pelinka reminded everyone last week that the Lakers need to be patient. He’s not wrong. The Lakers shouldn’t give up their draft picks for some marginal upgrade, and that’s all that’s out there right now. One more wrong move, and they only have one big swing left in this era, and the AD and Lebron era is over. So why screw that up? The Lakers are already better with Dalton Knecht on the team, and with some more competent coaching. There’s also stupid moves that have been made by the Denver Nuggets, and serious regression from the Clippers as well after losing Paul George. So things are looking up despite the fact people think otherwise. Now that Bronny James finished summer league with a couple of nice games, can everybody shut the hell up about him now? He’s the 55th pick! He looked like most 55th picks do, and will get the chance to further develop in the G League. Relax.

Meanwhile, the Clippers traded Russell Westbrook to the Jazz, who released him, and now he’s going to sign with the Nuggets. I’m going to say what I’ve said for a while with Russ. Great guy, but doesn’t fit on a lot of modern NBA teams at this point. He can’t shoot, he can’t finish at the rim like he used to, and some people seem to think he can defend. He can’t anymore. He is a poorly aging NBA player, that in reality, can hurt more teams than help them if you don’t manage his role effectively. The Clippers actually saw that, but it’s the Clippers, so you didn’t hear the noise around it like you did with the Lakers.
You’ve gotta give credit to the WNBA and their All-Star game. Those women are actually getting after it and competing. You may recall, the men used to be like this in a different era, now it’s soft and nobody wants to get hurt. Of course, I also loved to see the WNBA beat the Team USA squad. Those women are just catty toward Caitlin Clark, and once again, they need to realize the only reason people are actually paying attention to them is because of her. Everyone wants her to “pay her dues”, but she’s the only one that’s actually paid them. Sorry Angel Reese, you’re a really great player, but if it weren’t for Clark, nobody would know much about you. With just one week to go before the Olympics, it’s a bummer that we won’t see Clark aa s replacement. In any case, with how well she is continuing to play, all the haters look like complete idiots now.
ESPN came out with a list of the top 50 athletes since 2000. Their top 10 was Michel Phelps, Serena Williams, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Simon Biles, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt, and Kobe Bryant. Also notable were Shaquille O’Neal at #17, Aaron Donald at #20, Mike Trout #30, and Clayton Kershaw #31. It’s a fun little list, but it’s always amusing to see how triggered people get by it. It doesn’t mean much, but it is interesting that Aaron Rodgers isn’t in the top 50 considering he’s a 4-time MVP. There’s a lot of international and Olympians on the list, so ultimately, how we’re defining best athlete here is the big question. Most dominant? Most impactful? Feels more like most dominant but there’s even some questions there.
Speaking of Olympians, I’m very excited about the Summer Olympics that will begin on Friday night in Paris. I have the privilege of actually attending the games, and really looking forward to seeing some of the greatest athletes in the world: Simon Biles, Katy Ledecky, and Noah Lyles among others. More than anything though, this group of athletes is far more likeable than some of the teams we’ve seen in recent memory, and easy to get behind. Looking forward to a spectacular two weeks!

Finally, what an unprecedented week in American history. Former President and Republican candidate dodgers an assassination event through dumb luck, and then the sitting President steps down 4 months before the election. It’s safe to say that the Democratic Party just waived Joe Biden. What a day to drop out though: on National Ice Cream Day! We know Joe loves his ice cream too. Look in all seriousness, I said after the Trump incident last weekend, this would take a few more turns before it was over. I said a few, but sounds like many more before we find out who the next President of The United States will be.
