It's time for the unofficial second half of the Major League season. For the JLB, though, it's the home stretch.
We have the third and final week of Interleague play where we have double matchups, and this could certainly have a major impact on the standings. A lot can go right and a lot can go wrong as we have seen in the past.
It's been a long time since I've written a Jargon. April 25 was the last post, and yes, you're all thinking, "Jimmy failed again."
And yes, I did. But I do have an excuse, maybe a good one. I was doing so well to start 2023 with blog posts and it was because I had a new laptop to type while I relax on the couch at nights.
Sadly, in April, when I opened the pool, I discovered that we had a pipe burst in the basement on the outdoor spigot, and that led to a deluge of water pouring on to my secondary desk in the basement.
Thank goodness it wasn't my primary desk.
But sitting on the secondary desk was an iMac, a PS3, a printer and the new laptop I was using.
It was soaked and never worked again.
So, I was without a laptop to use on the couch at nights and the last thing I wanted to do was sit down at my desk in the basement at night.
But now, I have my replacement and I'm sitting on the couch typing this right now.
Maybe, just maybe, this will get me back on track.
A lot has happened since the last post and there's no good way to cover it.
We've added a new owner — hello, Cory!
Choo has climbed out of the basement and changed most of his team — what else is new?
I've traded Gilbert twice — surprised it wasn't three times. Some tried to make that happen at the deadline.
Breakfast is 15 games clear of first in the American League, as usual, and Dude and JV are battling each other for the coveted bye week as they sit 30 games clear of third place.
They both know all too well how important that bye week is in the National League. The No. 3 seed has won three of the last four divisional series in the NL.
The No. 3 seeds could become more clear this week as Choo faces Triple Eh and the Nutz. For Nutz, gunning to overtake the Slammers for third, it's a really tough draw having to face both Choo and Breakfast.
On the flipside, the Slammers face a pair of sellers in Topton and Sex Panthers. Sadly for me, the on-paper wins haven't been wins, so it will be really important for that trend to end this week.
If it doesn't, I may just be out another laptop.
TRADE GRADES
Why a D? Well, D is for Dude. Also for dud. The Dude didn't make a deadline move, but don't let that get you in the dumps about the deal grade. Don't need to deal when the Dude is feeling comfy in first place. "You're just perfect the way you are," is what the Dude said when looking in the mirror.
CHEESE STEAKS: B-
The deadline was tough for JV this year. He didn't manage to pull off one of the many head-scratching, playoff-changing deals that he has in the past. He certainly tried, but fell short. ... I guess no one wanted Nolan Jones or an injured Kyle Wright? ... Well, no one did up until 17 minutes before the deadline when he sent both for JP Sears and Brandon Drury. That certainly wasn't the haul he wanted when he started packaging those two. He tried so hard to get Sonny Gray — among many pitchers he tried for — but he lost that race when the Slammers sent a future-filled deal to Parker. ... But then, in the day leading up to the deadline, he found a way to get Grey afterall, but it cost him a very good player. Or at least, a player that Parker doesn't really know much about. He also added Yandy Diaz from Topton, but in the end, Diaz, Gray and Sears doesn't really spark fear in others.
SLAMMERS: A-
So biased here. But let's be real. Adding Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Logan Gilbert, Kyle Bradish, Spencer Steer, Edouard Julien is a nice deadline week. It did involve sending out Austin Riley, Orlando Arcia and Masataka Yoshida, along with young potential in Spencer Torkelson, Heston Kjerstad and Emmet Sheehan, but end of the day, the team looks to be better prepared for that National League Division Series. ... Only question is, can the Slammers hold off the Nutz?
ROCKY MOUNTAIN: A-
Butter added four starting pitchers who are all performing well in 2023. Lucas Giolito, Yusei Kikuchi, Bryce Elder and Braxton Garrett were all acquired in two separate deals, and they should all make him competitive against the other three contenders in the NL when it comes to pitching. It could get even better if Giolito gets traded to a contender in real baseball. He also got Whit Merrifield, but sent out Steer, so aside from some extra steals, he didn't change much offensively. So the real question lies in how much better will his pitching be? He was 10th in the JLB before the deals, and if you look at teams one through five (Breakfast, Cheese, Slammers, Crox, Dude), they're all playoff teams. He needs these four arms to vault him upward to contend.
DOUBLE, TRIPLE-EH: B
Erik brought in notables in Jarren Duran, Mason Miller, Nolan Jones and Kyle Wright, but two are IL stashes at this point, and Jones is a hitter striking out at an insane 37-percent clip, so it's hard to completely weigh this deadline for him at this time. Considering there were several offensive pieces that could have been moved earlier, I take away from the grade. With the pitching depth issues, he also could have potentially jumped in on the "buyers" market and swiped some of the veteran pitchers out there. If Miller and Wright come back strong and are keepers for 2024, this could be all moot, but for now, I have questions. Duran is without a doubt the highlight add here at the deadline.
STANTONIANS: A
Coming into a new League is tough. Doing it midseason is even tougher. And Cory did it with just 2 weeks to prep and get ready to sell. Only four trades, but they were big ones.
OUT: Tim Anderson, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Coby Mayo, Charlie Morton, David Bednar, Clayton Kershaw, Andres Gimenez and Nick Yorke.
IN: Masataka Yoshida, Colton Cowser, Jackson Chourio, James Outman, Orlando Arcia, Heston Kjerstad, Yanquiel Fernandez, Tink Hence and Will Brennan. Notable picks: 1st from Slammers, 2nd from Breakfast.
That's a lot of big talent going out, but some good pickups coming in. Without the fact that Cory is new to this all, I would give this a B+ rating, but given his work to learn the rules and talk to every team, easily gets an A. He had multiple offers and had to weigh several options for the players listed above. He also did a great job to get out from under Kershaw before he went on the IL.
BREAKFAST: B+
Sam made four deals before the deadline which brought him JD Martinez, Taijuan Walker, AJ Minter, Erik Swanson, Andres Gimenez and Clayton Kershaw. It's a lot of solid pieces, but like JV, there isn't that big move that stands out. Then again, like the Dude, there was no need for him to make any moves. He had the best deadline acquisition of any team — Elly de la Cruz from his minor league system. He goes from an A- to B+ solely on the fact that he gambled on Kershaw and immediately lost.
CROX SOX: B
Only two moves for the 8 p.m. deadline man. He got Anthony Rizzo and Will Smith from Choo in a deal that cost him Luis Severino and Nick Martinez, and at 11:09 p.m. on deadline day, three hours past his own deadline, he reacquired the man he dropped earlier in the season, Jose Abreu. It stings to have to trade for a guy you dropped; it stings even more to have to read about it.
CHOO: A+
The busiest man at the deadline, to no one's surprise, was Choo. Seven deals in July. Many of them have been mentioned above, so the highlights are the additions of Austin Riley, Tim Anderson, Zach Eflin and Pete Fairbanks. Why does Choo get a straight-up A+? Because I always doubt his trades and then he rolls off a bunch of wins. Could this be the year it backfires on him?
TOPTON: A
Tommy acquired plenty of picks and future talent in Taj Bradley, Max Meyer, Vaughn Grissom, Walker Buehler, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Mick Abel. And the biggest piece he sent out was Lucas Giolito. All-in-all it was a great seller's deadline for a team that is closer to third than the Gamblers who thinks he still has a chance.
GAMBLERS: C-
Maybe he should have sold sooner? Maybe he should have sold more? All Parker shipped out was Sonny Gray. It brought back a strong return in Emmet Sheehan, Connor Phillips and a 2nd and 3rd draft pick. But that was it. He's looking to make the playoffs still. ** Looks at schedule ** Oh look, it's Dude and JV week. ... Yeah, should have sold more.
SEX PANTHERS: C-
The last-minute decision to jump in the seller's market hurt the Panthers' chances to truly capitalize on the deadline. Instead, it was a single deal with Breakfast that brought in a potential keeper catcher and Kris Bryant for 2024.
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