Frag

It's frustrating seeing the folks defending these trades for reasons related to these moves being seen as the team's best possible solutions. It's like the logic goes: Atkins made good draft picks in the past; therefore, he's good at other areas when it comes to evaluating minor league/major league talent as well as managing a baseball team. Sure, his picks have been good, but from the trades he's made, he seems to be a pretty spotty negotiator (and a s***** communicator). Sanchez and, especially, Biagini had some control left, and neither NEEDED to be traded at the deadline. Stevenson did not need to be added to a trade for a soon-to-be 26 year-old 'prospect' who was promising 2 years ago. Stroman is a weird one, because I was underwhelmed by the return (I do like SWR, whose numbers seem similar to Pearson's at a younger age). However, his antics off the field leads me to believe that other teams were hesitant to take him on, which may have impacted his value (of course, hothead Bauer got a better return despite having somewhat similar numbers besides 2018, so what do I know?). The hitting core looks pretty damn good, but it's going to be a challenge building a decent starting rotation that is good enough to contend in this division, even with prospects like Pearson and Manoah in the system. Overall, I don't trust this risk-averse ownership and management right now.

To me, knowing how to negotiate your way to a reasonable return in a trade is important to filling your team's weak spots during times of contention (and fill up the farm during a rebuild). That window of contention is, obviously, not now, but his trades have been a mixed bag (at best). We won't know the true impact of these deadline trades until years from now, but I'm not impressed. As for the poll, it's a 4/10 for me. Stroman trade was underwhelming, IMO, but at least I can get behind the SWR train. I'm not a fan of the asset management regarding Sanchez, trading him at his lowest point (I would have kept him on the team myself, given the return, but I'm no GM). The Sogard, Hudson, and Phelps trades are fine, given we initially got them for pennies on the dollar and sold them when their value was at its peak.

Blech/10

This Atkins diet sucks

The gist I get is that the official made a lazy and condescending remark about Stroman not being a veteran compared with Thor and DeGrom, even though the latter two are both younger and/or less experienced than Stroman. Law saw it as racist, which Stroman seems to believe is the case based off of his reply.

http://giphygifs.s3.amazonaws.com/media/tFK8urY6XHj2w/giphy.gif

There are two baseball writers I cannot stand: Andrew Stoeten and Keith Law. His exchange here showed everything wrong with Law's way of communicating - he's a condescending prick with very little self-awareness.

Found this, too.

Gusev traded to the Devils in exchange for a 2nd and 3rd round pick. The Devils are building a damn good team there.

As important as they are in the game, I'm not sure I agree with locking up goaltenders long-term. They are such voodoo, I'm hesitant to give them large contracts.

The fact that the Jays turned a player like Sogard into actual value on the market is a win for the organization.

Why not? Teams tend to ask for more from divisional rivals.

I was disappointed by the return, but I've been wrong before (see: Bautista trade).

I'm not so sure this is the case. It's quite possible that the Yankees offered a better package than the Mets. However, because they are a divisional rival, it wasn't large enough for the Jays to accept it over the Mets' offer.

Fire Atkins

Leafs trade Sparks to Vegas for David Clarkson and a 4th. Opens up more potential cap space.

I love these:

My sources tell me he's taking his talents to Beijing, China.

Knicks fans switching to the Nets in a hurry.

Nice. Next up: Marner.

Montreal Rayons

Um, this seems like a huge development: