MLB Bullets Is On The Hot Seat

And the number one thing you don't want to find out about your prized Dominican prospect? "His real name is Dick Whitman."

• The Dodgers won last night because they had Clayton Kershaw on the mound, but Don Mattingly's job is definitely in danger. However, as Ken Rosenthal points out, there aren't any good candidates to replace him right now. He says "Walter Alston isn't walking through that door."
• Tim Brown at Yahoo! defends Mattingly and writes the obligatory "It's not the manager who's out there playing so poorly" story. I kind of feel sad for a writer who resorts to such a hoary chestnut.
• Staying in SoCal, Josh Hamilton says he has sinus congestion, which is affecting his play. I know from experience that it can be hard to function properly with such a condition. I've never had it last for ten days like Hamilton is saying he has, and I hope I never will.
• And David Price's season has apparently been affected by an allergic reaction to chemicals in the Rays new laundry system. Not laughing at that one, either.
• Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area says Melky Cabrera is lying again when he says that the Giants made the decision to award him his World Championship ring in private. Baggarly says Bruce Bochy wanted to do it on the field, like they did with Nate Schierholtz, but that Cabrera asked to do it in private.
• At ESPN.com, David Schoenfield says it's time for the Mariners to make some tough choices about whether it's time to cut ties with Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero.
• Meanwhile, the Royals are in the hunt for a playoff spot, but Eric Hosmer needs to live up to his promise of 2011 if they hope to stay there.
• Rockies hitting coach Dante Bichette is confident that their offense will get better soon. Well, if they can face Carlos Villanueva and Shawn Camp every game . . .
• Rany Jazayerli at Grantland says the Astros can't afford to be bad, they need to be horrible. So far, so good.
• Meanwhile the Astros team president and CEO George Postolos has resigned. This starts up the Nolan Ryan to Houston rumors again. Honestly, I can't think of anything worse for the Astros. They tear down the whole team to follow a new vision of building a whole organization from scratch, based mostly on cutting-edge baseball thinking. Putting Ryan in charge of that would be to pull the plug on that plan and to start again, only this time they'd be starting from less than nothing.
• Speaking of the Rangers, they're succeeding because they're getting production from surprising places.
• Here's a philosophical question from Christina Kahrl: Was the Cardinals choice of Pete Kozma with the 18th pick in the 2007 draft a success or a failure? On the one hand, they got a major league player out of it and not everyone can say that. On the other hand, it's Pete Kozma.
• David O'Brien in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that Brian McCann is the kind of player you can build a team around, but just not the Braves. He does believe that McCann's return this season is huge for the Braves playoff chances, but he probably doesn't have a future in Atlanta beyond this season.
• The owners are meeting today and tomorrow, and Jeff Passan says this is a crucial moment for the future of instant replay in the game. Right now, there is no consensus as to how to move forward with replay, but that may get worked out this week.
• Worst uniforms ever. And they're getting a turn-back-the-clock comeback.
• Manny Machado. Already a superstar.
• The Tigers have done well so far with their two off-season free agent acquisitions, Anibal Sanchez and Torii Hunter. Well, Sanchez was already on the team, but you know what I mean.
• Henry D. Fetter in the Atlantic says the Pirates are getting a totally unfair rap in the movie "42." There's little record of any of the Pirates or Pittsburgh fans treating Jackie Robinson poorly, yet he says the Pirates come off as villains in the movie nonetheless.
• Your Manny Ramirez update. That's a little early to start your slide, Manny.
• Salon.com has an article claiming that the movement on a knuckleball is mostly an illusion.
• Finally, Deadspin has obtained the FBI records of former Union head Marvin Miller. They all date from before his time in baseball, during World War II and the Red Scare period, when he was investigated for alleged Communist and anti-American attitudes. Among the evidence the FBI uncovered that Miller was anti-American? He believed in equality among the races.