-0-

“Winners-Losers-Trade Deadline Day”

-0-

The Baseball Trade Deadline is made to order for baseball junkies…the media…and wannabe GMs.

A total of 31-deals were consummated in the week leading up to the Wednesday afternoon deadline.

Who did well..who did not…here’s a scorecard.

MILWAUKEE….Adds 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas….2nd baseman Jon Schoop and closer Joacim Soria, to a strong roster already…..The two bats will help a lot to what was a dangerous batting order.

ATLANTA….Kevin Gausman, with great stuff joins the rotation, with Brad Bach, Darren O’Day and Johnny Venters joining a tired bullpen. Watch how many homers Adam Duvall hits in Atlanta.

DODGERS….Manny Machado’s big bat and gold glove adds a lot….Brian Dozier should hit some homers and get mores hits with a better lineup around him…..reliever John Axford hasn’t been dominant for years and LA may regret not pursuing a better rated setup man for the struggling bullpen.

CLEVELAND….Brad Hand and Adam Cimber will be difference makers the final two months where injuries had hurt the Tribe closers….Cleveland could have used another outfield bat though.

ARIZONA….Brad Ziegler returns to the D-Backs, bringing with him a (0.94) ERA since May 1st-a huge upgrade…..Eduardo Escobar adds pop to a troubled 3rd base situation…..Jake Deckman can setup.

A’s…….Closer Jeurys Familia brings veteran closer ability to a young staff.

CUBS….They needed arms, bug did they get trustworthy arms in an aging Cole Hamels, .journeyman Brandon Kintzlere and journeyman arm Jesse Chavez. Maybe Hamels, with good bats around him, will pitch better than he did in Texas, but then again, it’s at Wrigley Field, and Hamels is no longer the gun he used to be, despite hist 1st start for Chicago.

HOUSTON….The Astros are taking heat for taking on a suspended pitcher, but Roberto Osuna has been a big time closer, despite off field problems….Catcer Martin Maldonado replaces the loss of injured veteran Brian McCann.

PIRATES…They paid quite a steep price, but we see now if Chris Archer, with better run support, can be what he was a couple of years ago, an All Star pitcher….Keone Kela will upgrade the closer role.

YANKEES….JA Happ and Lance Lynn weren’t having good years, but they weren’t on good teams….maybe Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and others change all that….Zach Britton will help a dominant bullpen.

PHILLIES…..Will Ramos, the catcher, is having a career year, Asdrubal Cabrera can play all over the infield, and Aaron Loup is a decent setup pitcher..

BOSTON…hoping that infield rental Ian Kindler can get hot, and starter Nathan Eovaldi gives them two months of quality starts.

SEATTLE….Jerry DiPoto keeps making trades, but you wonder if pitchers Adam Warren-Zach Duke and outfielder Cam Maybin can make a difference.

ANGELS….They added 3-young arms, all having good seasons at the lower minor league level…future pitchers on the way.

PADRES….Losses pile up and San Diego keeps adding quality minor league talent, the latest being catcher Francisco Mejia, but how close are any of them, and when two they start to win games?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Aztecs Football-A Program That Has Arrived”

-0-

San Diego State football. You remember the great Don Coryell era as a Division II power. You remember Marshall Faull and the big games.

You also have not forgotten Chuck Long, Ted Tollner, Tom Craft and others in the down years.

The Aztecs open preseason camp, led by Rocky Long, who has compiled a (64-29) record, wins against Pac 12-teams, and bowl wins after bowl wins, in addition to Mountain West Conference titles.

This era of SDSU success has been wrapped around great individual players, Donnel Humphrey, Rashaad Penny, and a host of players who have gone on to the NFL.

It’s also been delivered by Long’s old school style of tough defense and running downhill football.

Tuesday was Aztecs Media Day, and people had things to say:

(Rocky Long)

..Pressure to maintain the program…if you don’t win now-people wonder what’s happened.

..We’ve had 8-years of great running backs…led by Ronnie Hillman-Donnell Humphrey-Rashaad Penny. Juan Washington is the next in line.

..Real camp battle-who backs up Juwaan Washington at running back-Chase Jazman-Chance Bell-Kaegun Williams-Zidane Thomas.

..Each of those young running backs has a different style…just like the Humphrey-Penny style were so different.

We must find WRs who are going to make us a bigger threat.

We have a younger secondary-that’s the quickest way to get beat

QB-Chrstian Chapman does not get recognition he deserves-it’s a disservice to say he ‘manages games’…About to become the winningest QB in school history….it’s not how many yards you throw for-it’s how many games you win….Great QB’s fit into systems and produce-he does.

Potentially best OL we have ever had…4-redshirt sophomores-all experienced…

Tariq Thompson had a real surprising freshman year at CB

John Barron-best kicker in the league…deep kickoffs help our defense.

Love game opportunities to play Stanford-Arizona State…prove we belong.

6-years ago we contacted each Pac 10-team and offered home and home contracts…all have agreed except UCLA-USC.

Gap between Power 5-schools and the Mountain West as big as the Grand Canyon in terms of resources…We don’t have what they have.

Future college football…TV contracts will be coming down…College football will expand playoffs to make up for lost revenue..

Transfer rules….great players on your teams won’t play entire career with you…Power 5-shools will try to recruit players from smaller schools….will lead to tampering…..this is a gad precedent.

Hiring Ryan Lindley-Jerome Haywood….you want guys with a connection to SDSU…they bring a special extra effort to the job as young coaches.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

.

-0-

“Trading Deadline-What It’s Like to be Dealt”

-0-

The clock is ticking towards 1pm-our time-Tuesday.

It’s the baseball trading deadline, and so far 24-deals have been made in the last week, including the Dodgers blockbuster deal for Orioles star Manny Machado, and the Padres-Indians Brad Hand-Adam Cimber deal.

And as we wait, rumors swirl the Padres may deal away their other two relievers, Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates.

It’s part of the culture of baseball, the pennant races, the trading deadline deals, tons of rumors and the parting goodbyes in clubhouses.

Manager Andy Green says people in his clubhouse are pro’s and know how to focus on what they can control, though he chided the media, saying all the things written and said about trades aren’t true.

What’s it like to have to go out and pitch, and wait for the phone to ring, to see if you’ve been dealt.

Craig Stammen, who has rallied his career from elbow surgery, and become a strong component of the bullpen, could be dealt. The ex-Washington National had some candid comments about that last nite. At game time it was all rumors. During the game came a tweet from a Pittsburgh writer the Pirates were closing in on a deal. By the end of the Giants game, the Buccos had traded for a Texas reliever.

..I might be traded, but all I can do is go out and compete.

..It’s tougher on my wife Audrey and our 4-month old baby.

..She and I have talked about it-we know it’s part of the deal.

..I told her-stop reading the internet.

..I just don’t read all this outside stuff right now, and that’s hard because I am a baseball junkie.

..I can’t-won’t let the outside world bother my concentration.

..If I get traded, I will thank the Padres for this opportunity…I am thankful.

..Players never think they’ll be dealt….it can be a shock..

..Brad Hand was my closest friendj-he didn’t think it was going to happen.

..I will not worry-just focus.

..It’s hard to lose your best player, Hand was an all star.

..Losing like this is hard. What we do is compete.

..Baseball is a great life teacher…..you learn about adversity.

..I saw all this losing in Washington…I know what Luchessi and Lauer are going thru.

..We went from a bad team…to 98-wins in one year.

..Drew Storen and I came up together-we went thru that losing, then we won.

..Luchessi and Lauer are going thru that learning process.

..We can turn this in San Diego.

Stammen will know by the end of the day game against the Giants, whether he stays in San Diego, or goes to a pennant contender.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Cooperstown-Hall of Fame Quotes”

-0-

Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame Day came up with 50,000 on hand, sun drenched fans, with the memories of greatness of the game waiting for the new enshrines. The acceptance speeches were emotional, tearful, thankful, and heart-warming.

(Trevor Hoffman)

Oh Doctor-what a day.
Struggling shortstop in Cincinnati-never imagined a day like this
Cooperstown is a great shrine
Be humble-Be grateful-be careful
Greatest gift my dad gave me is humility
Job is worth doing…it’s worth doing right.
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.
San Diego-jackpot place to land
Bruce Bochy challenged players to be great.
Darren Balsley-communicates so much by saying less.
Bud Black-thinking man’s manager
Teammates in San Diego-no statistics describe how good you were
Kevin Towers-GM-great vision to make a great team
John Moores-treated us as a family
Thinking of my dad up in heaven today smoking a cigar
Thinking of Tony Gwynn-miss him
Hells Bells-created such great enthusiasm.
I love being a Padres for life
Be more concerned about your character than reputation.

——–

(Chipper Jones)

An incredible honor
Thanks to Bobby Cox-Atlanta manager-believed in me before I believe in me.

———

(Alan Trammel)

A memorable experience
Proud to have won the ‘Old English D’ my entire career
Sparky Anderson taught me team first.

———-

(Vlad Guerrero)

Thank Montreal Expos for brining me to major leagues
Felipe Alou-Mike Scoscia helped me so much

———-

(Jack Morris)

Love hearing ‘Let’s Go Tigers’
Baseball inspired me to be great
1st game at Met Stadium left an impression forever
Jim Leyland taught me thru tough love
Sparky Anderson taught me to fight thru adversity
Ron Luciano umpired rushed to the mound-welcome to the majors leagues

————

(Jim Thome)

Wow is this amazing-ultimate dream come true
This is the ultimate fraternity and I am in awe of these men.
Hall is the intersection of the game’s past and present.
Charley Manuel-my 1st minor league manager-made me a player

—————

-0-

“NFL-Camps Open-Question Marks Everywhere”

-0-

NFL training camps are opening this weekend, and there are tons of storylines to pay attention to, around the NFL, if not just with individual teams.

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM…The NFL will meet with the Union on Monday to find a middle ground as to how the league and its players should handle the salute to the flag. Some owners are mandating their players stand, others say it will be the players individual choice, others think they should just stay in the locker-room. As much as Roger Goodell may want a common policy, he really wants to get away from the spray fire criticism of President Trump and the on-going fallout in public.

NFL IN TROUBLE….Attendance has dropped, TV ratings are off, but the league this past week distributed 255M-per team in shared revenue, and gross revenue went up again this past season, controversies not withstanding. The big issue is the poor play of so many teams, and the QB-crisis that seems to have enveloped some teams.

HALL OF FAME…The ceremonies will not include outspoken ex-49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens, but not one seems to care. Honor those who want to be there, ignore the idiot that won’t be there.

THE HELMET RULE….As the NFL evolves with more rule changes, to make the game safer, now comes the gray area, how they are going to police the new ‘you can’t lead with your helmet to make a tackle rule’. NFL refs concur this will be hard to police, because of how fast the game is played and all the contact among players going towards blocks and tackles.

TARGETING-EJECTIONS….It was in the rule book last year, but hardly used. Yes flags and penalties, but no really ejections to note. Maybe a year into it, with the new addendum rule, use of NFL replay to review a targeting hit, we may see an increase in ejections. The game will be fast, refs can miss some of these calls, but slo-motion replays can show intent to hit or injure. Now they can toss the Vontaze Burfect’s of the world if they wish after a look-see at the video..

WHAT IS A CATCH….New rule, three items. Catch, 2-feet down, make a football move. Nothing else. Not possession, not juggling, not point of contact. This has to be better than the gray area that cost teams touchdowns and dragged long instant replay reviews into the game. Der Bryant has time on his hands to help the refs determine all this.

KICKOFF RETURNS….It’s not extinct, but it might be going there soon. Now you can fair catch a kickoff and place it at the 25. There will no longer be wedge blocking to blow up kick cover guys. There won’t be unbalanced overloaded lines for the kicking team to try and get down field. There won’t be running starts for the outside gunners. The blocking will occur within 15-yards of the kickoff. Maybe we’ll see more ‘Billy White Shoes Johnson’ TD returns, with less injuries.

BATTLE FOR LA….Year two of the Rams-vs-Chargers in Los Angeles. The Rams have a legitimate NFC Super Bowl contender, a rich owner, an aggressive front office, a dynamic young coach, and lots of firepower on both sides of the ball. The Chargers have Philip Rivers and Dean Spanos and sons, little money, playing in a soccer stadium they couldn’t sellout last year. The Rams are coming off an 11-win season with kid QB-Jared Goff. The Chargers failed to make the playoffs again, and Team Spanos has just 14-winning seasons in 35-years of ownership. Who do you think will garner most of the attention in 2018?.

Here comes NFL football. Take a look at how these storylines evolve in the next couple of months.

-0-0-0-0-0-