In this edition of THE Ultimate Sports Blog Roundtable, Steve Cook, Dustin James, and myself discuss the MLB Trade Deadline and early impressions of our NFL teams.
Biggest winner at the MLB Trade Deadline
Steve Cook: I gotta go with the Kansas City Royals. They added Johnny Cueto, an ace on pretty much any staff in Major League Baseball, and Ben Zobrist, a guy that can be a starter at any position you need filled. KC already has the best record in the American League & those additions should be enough to keep them in that spot. Honorable mention goes to the Toronto Blue Jays for making the most moves like a drunken sailor, the Los Angeles Dodgers for acquiring a ton of bad contracts but doing so in an entertaining fashion, and the Cincinnati Reds & Milwaukee Brewers for knowing their role in the NL Central & getting some prospects for the future. I'll also mention the New York Mets because they had a more interesting/amusing trade deadline than anybody else.
Dustin James: Toronto Blue Jays. What's the purpose of the trade deadline? To try and improve your team right before everyone buckles in for the post-season. The Blue Jays did exactly that and more by nabbing the two best available prospects in the market in Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. Toronto is very much in the wild card hunt and could still make a run at the Yankees in my opinion. Things just got a lot more interesting in the American League East as the Blue Jays showed that they aren't messing around.
Jeremy Lambert: Like Dustin, I'm picking the Toronto Blue Jays. They added the best shortstop in baseball and an ace pitcher. They're in a heated Wild Card race right now and they made moves that should put them over the top. The Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs in over 20 years, but now they're not only in a position to make the playoffs, they're in a position to potentially win it all.
Biggest loser at the MLB Trade Deadline
SC: The Washington Nationals have a ton of injured position players & could have used some added depth. So instead they added a closer. They already had Drew Storen, who'd saved 29 of 31 games this season, but apparently that's only good enough to pitch the 8th inning if you're the Washington Nationals, so they added Jonathan Papelbon because...yeah, I dunno. You don't get better at the trade deadline by making your strengths a little bit better and ignoring your weaknesses.
DJ: San Diego Padres. The San Diego Padres were one of the teams that were wildly rumored to make a big trade or two in order to beef up the team in an effort to make the post-season. Well, they did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline, so if that was their plan...then good job I suppose. Not only that, but word soon got out that the Padres weren't making a move at all because GM A.J. Preller thought the team had a good chance of making the playoffs. According to Baseball Prospectus, the Padres have a 3% chance of making the playoffs. Yes, I said 3%! Does the San Diego Padres G.M. know something that we don't know or is he just going to start handing out HGH in the dugout? Screw drug testing the Padres players, I think we need to start drug testing their general manager.
JL: Teams that didn't acquire Aroldis Chapman. There was plenty of interest in the Reds closer, but at the end of the day he's still in Cincinatti. Chapman is one of the best closers in the game and would've given any team the shutdown guy in the 9th that every team so desires. He could've helped a playoff team immensely. Instead he'll be throwing meaningless 100 MPH fastballs the rest of the season.
NFL training camps have started. What's your early impression of your team?
SC: My team is the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that pretty much is what it is at this point. They go 9-7 or 10-6 & lose in the wild card round of the playoffs. Ever since the Andy Dalton/AJ Green reboot of 2011 that's exactly what has happened every single year. With not many changes to the team during the offseason, I don't see why things would be different this year. So far the big news in training camp is Michael Johnson getting carted off, but the team seems to do the same thing with or without him anyway. I don't see them getting much better, but injuries could send them downwards.
DJ: My early impression of the Kansas City Chiefs is the same as it's been for the past two years or so. They will have an elite defense (this unit could be their best ever), and an average offense that has the potential to be really good. I don't really need to get into full detail about the defense because it's loaded with elite players and guys who could start on any other defense in the league with a few exceptions. The offense is what worries me the most. Can the Chiefs start throwing the ball downfield already? Will someone please tell Alex Smith that it's perfectly OK to go ahead and throw a 20-yard pass, especially when your team just signed one of the best deep threats in football in Jeremy Maclin?
If Kansas City can find a way to open up the playbook a little more, they may not only be a potential playoff team, but could also make some noise in the playoffs if everything goes right. Remember. This is the team that not only beat both teams that played in the Super Bowl last season, but they also absolutely crushed the New England Patriots back in week 4. If that Chiefs team can show up on a weekly basis, good luck NFL. Unfortunately, we will probably get the same old average 9-7 team we've gotten the past few seasons. If that happens, it might be time for K.C. to think about moving on from Smith because it's just not working.
JL: I'm optimistic about my Carolina Panthers. The defense is one of the best in football, especially the front seven, and the offense has finally been built around Cam Newton. I still have my worries about the offensive line and Jonathan Stewart's health, but if the line can decently protect Cam and I can get 12+ games out of Stewart, I see no reason why this team can't win another NFC South title. And the fact that they're in the NFC South is why I'm also optimistic. The Saints are a mess, the Buccaneers were the worst team in football last year and have a rookie quarterback, and I don't know what to make of the Falcons. As long as Ron Rivera remains Riverboat Ron, I like our chances.
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