Padres' ruthless deadline strategy reveals Preller's championship mentality

Friars fans know what the other side is like. What's the other side? Being a lifelong fan of a team who refuses to make deals much less engage in talks at the deadline. AJ Preller traded away fourteen prospects yesterday. Some will become stars, some won't. Fans will remember yesterday as the day so and so got traded away. And yet, if the Padres are the last ones standing at the end of this season, it won't matter.

The other component Padres fans don't have to worry about is front office politics. Preller has a green light, and trust me, you want it this way. Let us not forget the Denver Nuggets, who after winning a championship spent two years in limbo because the general manager and coach couldn't get along. They lost years. In Preller's war room-esque post conference, he explained, "if you're going to win a championship, you can't have any weak links. The pieces fit, and the personalities. I'm looking forward to having a lot of conversation with Shildty about the clubhouse dynamic, and how these guys are going to fit in."

No mercy, just moves: Preller’s deadline tactics expose his true intent

Most dealmakers like Preller hold their cards close to their chest. What makes Preller so unique, and dangerous, is that he'll tell you what he's going to do, then do it. Yesterday, after shipping those coveted MLB prospects away from the most talented on down, he told everyone his game plan.

Clubhouse dynamic, personalities, and fit. Sure, there have been personality conflicts, Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin, Shaq and Kobe, but these are the exceptions. Mostly, Preller understands if there's tumult in your dugout you won't go far. And who can forget how Terry Francona's clubhouse dynamic faltered in 2011. As for fit, Preller took reporters behind the curtain to reveal the details of their trades, revealing that they wanted to know how catcher Freddy Fermin was perceived by his peers.

Conversely, in an act of total hubris and perceived excess, the Dodgers shipped pitcher Dustin May to the Red Sox. As much as the move was a statement of "we got this" to the entire MLB, one thing remains true, the Dodgers will remain the champions until someone knocks them off. And that's what we love about sports, and Preller, the pursuit of greatness.

Preller went Guy's Grocery Games on the MLB. Instead of one pitcher he took two, same with the outfield, but perhaps the biggest character and championship mentality reveal was what Preller said about Dylan Cease. To heal and move forward, after most thought he would be traded, Preller stood firm and said, "our best team has Dylan Cease on it."

AJ Preller is a madman obsessed with victory. It wasn't about bats, balls, and strikes, it was about the dugout, personalities, and fit. It was less about giving these newly acquired players a chance at a deep postseason run, and more about a unique group of guys and a love of baseball. If that's not genius, I don't know what is.

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