Welcome to the sports desk of the Good Pirate Ship RedState, tucked away just below the main deck. Before diving into today’s updates, here’s a quick note from Sammy the Shark, filling in for Karl the Kraken who’s currently on assignment.

We all do, Sammy. We all do.

As we are still navigating through late July, the spotlight in sports remains on baseball and the beginning of the NFL training camps. College football, or what we sometimes refer to as NFL Jr., is not far behind. Let’s kick things off with baseball.

As I jot down these thoughts on July 26, 2025 (and yes, this was just a mere three days after my birthday, so those delayed birthday wishes and gifts are still welcome), there is a curiosity about who in Major League Baseball, apart from the surging Milwaukee Brewers, is eager for postseason play. Take the Detroit Tigers, for instance; they’re lucky to be in a division filled with underperformers. Despite a recent cold streak—losing five consecutive games and ten of their last eleven—the Tigers still boast an eight-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain a six-game lead over the San Diego Padres and a seven-game edge over the San Francisco Giants, even though they’ve been playing less than stellar baseball lately given their strong lineup. The Dodgers’ pitching staff has been plagued by injuries, signaling potential trade activity before the July 31 deadline at 6 PM EDT.

The conundrum facing teams wishing to rob themselves of Peter Prospect in order to pay Paul Playoffpush is that there are not that many teams so far out of postseason contention that they would be willing to strip away what they already have in favor of potentially making a run down the road should the traded-for prospects pan out. There is not a single high roller without some kind of need or needs. The New York Yankees need starting and relief pitching, as is ironically the case with their crosstown rivals, the Mets. The kings of Queens have done something about said need, acquiring Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles. The Philadelphia Phillies need bullpen help, as do the Tigers. It’s a seller’s market for sure … but who’s selling? Stay tuned.

On to football. The 32 NFL teams opened training camp this week, thus starting the most anticipated part of said proceedings: picking which team will be the first to have a key player, usually one just acquired via free agency or the draft, go down for the year with an injury before playing a single meaningful down for his new team. No one has quite reached this level yet, but it certainly has not been due to a lack of effort. The Arizona Cardinals, already locked in a tight struggle with the Tennessee Titans for the most invisible franchise in the league, are presently without the services of first-round draft pick Walter Nolan III, courtesy of a calf injury suffered before training camp started. Linebacker J.J. Russell took a trip to the hospital on July 24 after colliding with a teammate during practice. Still, he was back in camp the next day just in time to watch cornerback Starling Thomas V get carted off the field after an awkward landing while making a play, which incurred some kind of lower extremity injury. Since the NFL is loath to allow one team all the fun, the New York Jets’ newly acquired quarterback Justin Fields is battling a dislocated toe (ouch), and the Miami Dolphins’ already thin secondary grew even more so with cornerback Artie Burns tearing an ACL.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone.