The world according to Jim:
• There are two ways to look at baseball’s most frenetic trade deadline in years from a Los Angeles standpoint. The Dodgers might have made themselves unquestioned World Series favorites – that’s the way the oddsmakers leaned following the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner deal, anyway – and at least did all of L.A. a mental health service by overshadowing that recent 2-5 stretch against the Giants.
But it also helped energize their current/potential foes. The Giants’ trade for Kris Bryant, the Mets’ addition of Javy Baez, the Yankees’ acquisitions of Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo and the White Sox obtaining Craig Kimbrel represented a high number of teams rolling the dice and going for it. That’s good for baseball. …
• How historic a trade deadline was this? In the 26 trades made Friday alone, 17 All-Stars changed teams, led by Scherzer and Kimbrel with eight selections apiece. The previous high apparently was 11, in 1998 and 2019.
Most All Stars traded in one day. Could be in jeopardy today pic.twitter.com/9ZrJncvUSF
— Kenny Jackelen (@kennyjackelen) July 30, 2021
All told, since July 15 there were 51 deals involving 138 players (plus four players to be named and two strictly cash deals), with 25 All-Stars changing hands. Greatest deadline in baseball history? You can make that case. …
• We know this: When Scherzer takes the mound for the first time as a Dodger next week he will have an opportunity to become an immediate L.A. folk hero. It will be at Chavez Ravine, in all likelihood before a full house, against the Houston Astros. …
• Did anyone else notice the subliminal message in the Dodgers’ TV ad promoting that series, the first chance for L.A. fans to register their displeasure in person? “Join us and make some noise,” the voiceover announcer said. Translation: “You know who to boo.”
But no, I don’t think they’ll allow trash can lids into the park. …
• One big reason for Friday’s frenzy: This was a hard deadline, with no more provision for August trades of players who have cleared waivers. That’s how Justin Verlander became an Astro in 2017 (and before that, how Adrián González became a Dodger in that big 2012 trade with Boston). …
• Meanwhile, if you can, spare a kind thought for our friends on the North Side of Chicago. The deadline certified the final breakup of the 2016 World Series champs with Bryant, Baez and Rizzo heading elsewhere. (Two others who had already left Chicago were swept up in Friday’s trade winds as well: Jon Lester going from Washington to St. Louis and Kyle Schwarber from the Nats to Boston.) …
• While you’re at it, wish Nats fans well during their team’s rebuild. Only four players remain from the 2019 champions following this trading spree. …
• Those examples, as well as the rise and fall and re-rise of the Red Sox and all of the other boom-and-bust cycles throughout the big leagues, should remind Dodgers fans how lucky they’ve been since their team was liberated from the clutches of Frank McCourt in 2012.
You might not like all of the things Guggenheim ownership has done, especially involving TV coverage; SportsNet LA remained unavailable on non-Spectrum cable systems even after DirectTV ended its holdout last year. And you can disagree with some of the front office’s methods, especially if you have little use for data-driven baseball. But they’ve figured out how to be competitive every year, not just in cycles. …
• The other franchise that considers “rebuild” a dirty word? The Yankees. They might have been 8-1/2 games back in the American League East going into Friday, but they were 3-1/2 back in the AL wild-card race. More to the point, they understand the expectations of their fan base. Thus, the trades for Gallo, Rizzo, and Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney. …
• The Angels were six games back in the wild-card race going into Friday. Their deadline moves – trading Heaney and sending reliever Tony Watson back to the Giants – might as well have been a white flag. …
• Given the twin D.C.-to-L.A. deals this week involving the Lakers and Dodgers, the Rams got in on the fun with this tweet: “So this whole DC to LA thing … We have a 2093 first-round pick available @WashingtonNFL.”
So this whole DC to LA thing…
We have a 2093 first-round pick available @WashingtonNFL. pic.twitter.com/ZTmfsWkF5e
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) July 30, 2021
Maybe Kings GM Rob Blake should have asked the Capitals about Alex Ovechkin’s availability, too, just for laughs. …
• Isn’t it odd that most of the people ripping Simone Biles for quitting, or failing, likely have little to no expertise in gymnastics and feel obliged to fake it once every four years (or, in this case, five). The people who know the sport best seem to understand why she did what she did, and that’s good enough for me. …
• A reminder: The rugby Giltinis will try to put themselves in the City of Champions conversation on Sunday at the Coliseum, when they face Rugby ATL for the championship of National League Rugby. The first-year team finished the regular season 12-4 and advanced to the 1 p.m. title match (to be televised by CBS (Ch. 2 locally) by beating Utah, 17-13, in the conference final last week. …
• It bears repeating: This is the most diverse sports market in North America, and it is brutally difficult to break through the noise, especially as a new franchise. Adam Freier, the team’s general manager, noted at the beginning of the season that it was a long-term process to build a fan base but said he understood one key aspect of this market: “If you’re a pro sports team here, you need to be a winner.”
By getting to the championship game, his team has a chance to extend its reach.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim_Alexander on Twitter
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