Joe Lucia

/waves/ if you have a better idea for us to make money, I'm all ears.

The family released a statement afterwards saying something along the lines of "he hadn't been feeling well, and wasn't responsive on Wednesday morning".

Very big caveat re: Fielder, which plays into our A-Rod discussion from the other day. Gotta get the rest of that ~$103 million. If the Rangers don't have insurance on the contract....sucks HARD for them.

I personally call them STRONG OPINIONS (all caps, obviously), but you can call them hot takes as well.

A hot take is something people say to get a rise out of people, even though they probably don't believe the opinion and it doesn't have any basis in reality. For example - saying Derek Jeter isn't a top ten Yankee ever is a hot take. Saying he's not a top 20 Yankee ever is a MOLTEN take.

Let's check in with the Arizona Diamondbacks. This is fine.

The issue is that Time Warner launched the Lakers RSN a year or two earlier, and they want the providers to double dip. If they bundled them for a lower fee per network, this wouldn't be an issue. They totally misread the market, especially given the fact that there are two established Fox RSNs in the market already. I'd be pissed if I lived in LA, but I'd get it. They're not just clashing over a few cents here.

Correct. They're on the hook for the $21 million or whatever next year too. It's not unheard of for this to happen - shit, the Mets ate $21 million on Jason Bay a couple years back. The Dodgers are eating roughly $30 million on Carl Crawford this year and next.

They're releasing him on Friday. The contract is guaranteed. If another team signs him, they only pay him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum with the Yankees paying the rest.

The Pirates lost two out of three to the Braves this week. Feeling bad and wanting to Do The Right Thing, the Cardinals then proceeded to drop two out of three to the Braves.

Yes. They did quite well. The Lucroy/Jeffress deal gave them more quality over quantity compared to the nixed trade with Cleveland, and they got Lucroy's long-term replacement in the Smith trade.

I've seem dudes score from second on a sac fly, but never first. Wild.

He's fine. He's a typical trade deadline middle relief addition.

Jon Niese back to the Mets

It's not Nimmo that's hurt, it's one of the other unnamed minor leaguers. Weird. This deadline sucks.

Smith already blew out, so maaaaybe not. Although yes, that trade was widely panned at the time. Also, how worthless of a player is Jason Heyward for not winning that game with a walkoff homer and instead just doubling and scoring on a squeeze? Pathetic.

Blue Jays be like "I can't wait to see him again" (that IS Miley Cyrus, right? Sorry)

Or he'll get traded to one of the 21 teams not on his no trade list in the next 24 hours. Texas is apparently picking up talks, the Mets look like they're out.

Even Jose Abreu has struggled to some degree since that rookie year. But the Dodgers gave money to three guys that were complete, absolute busts - and one more that's an insanely talented headcase. Also, the money the Padres gave the Braves with Kemp was the money the Dodgers initially gave them with him, so no "extra" cost from SD.

I firmly believe Rivero will have a higher fWAR over the rest of the season than Melancon. No brainer trade for the Pirates since paying closers is dumb. Matt Kemp is washed, but Hector Olivera is a shitty human who can't ball at all. Good riddance. Havent dove into the Lucroy trade yet, but Cleveland was getting nothing from catcher. He'll help them, not that they need much help in a pitiful AL Central. Also, Wade Davis is getting an MRI on his elbow. Imagine if both him and Holland needed TJ in back to back years...again, never pay relievers.

Everyone's opinion on retired numbers is different. Mine is that it's the highest honor that a team can give a player, and should be reserved for legitimate legends. The Mets apparently feel the same way, as the only numbers they've retired are Stengel, Hodges, Seaver, and now, Piazza. I'd much rather a team reserve the honor for icons rather than dish it out to simply "greats" - that's what the team Hall of Fame should be for. Some teams, like the Red Sox, actually have specific criteria for retiring numbers. SRSBIZ.

This is a person I want to meet so I know never to take their opinions seriously.

I'm not sure which side would be more insane - the Nationals for offering it, or the Yankees for declining it. I wonder if they'd decline it because they don't think it's enough, or because they don't want to sell.

What the fuck is so modern about the modern pentathlon, anyway? It was created by the dude who founded the Olympics. It's so absurd.

They're talking to the Royals about Davis. KC apparently asked for Giolito this week and rightfully got laughed at. They're also talking to the Pirates about Melancon, who would likely come cheaper, but Pittsburgh isn't going to just give him away. This could all be solved by just letting Reynaldo Lopez pitch out of the pen...