MLB Bullets Says Give Peace A Chance

Sometimes I wonder whether I ought to just run a re-run article and see if anyone notices. It certainly seems like the same stories are coming up again and again.

• There was a major bench-clearing brawl last night between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. For the second time this season, the Dodgers are involved in a major brawl, although last time it was against the Padres. For the second time, Zack Greinke was involved, although it was an Ian Kennedy pitch that precipitated it this time.
• In another bean ball war on the other side of the country, Rays manager Joe Maddon blasted John Lackey for intentionally throwing at Matt Joyce. Maddon said that such a move made Lackey a "bad teammate." Maddon and Lackey were together for four seasons in Anaheim.
• Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston says Lackey isn't a bad teammate, he's just "old-school." I guess that's one way of looking at it. I'd say Ty Cobb was both "old school" and a bad teammate.
• Doug Fister is hitting a lot of batters too this season, although no one thinks it's intentional.
• Ken Rosenthal thinks that young home-grown phenoms like Mike Trout, Yasiel Puig, Matt Harvey and Manny Machado are the key to building a winner in under the current spending rules.
• Molly Knight of ESPN the Magazine gives an in-depth look at how the Astros are going about rebuilding through drafting, signing and developing those young home-grown phenoms.
• Albert Chen of SI.com says the lesson of Domonic Brown is patience.
• The Mariners called up Mike Zunino, hoping that he could win the AL Rookie of the Year and be the next phenom.
• I mention that Rookie of the Year thing because the field for AL Rookie of the Year is distinctly underwhelming so far.
• Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says "Pitch Counts? I don't need to show you any stinking pitch counts." And that's the second time I've referenced "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" this season.
• Chris Perez's dog is a pothead. At least that's his story and he's sticking to it.
• Teams all the time find some sort of gimmick or superstition to coalesce around. It can be a song, a phrase, an animal or a Rally Monkey. But the Royals have decided the secret of their success lies in Billy Butler's Barbecue Sauce.
• Carlos Beltran flew home to Puerto Rico to see the first graduating class of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy. All twelve graduates are heading to college.
• Put Cardinals manager Mike Matheny in the "yes" category on instant replay.
• Peter Schmuck says the Orioles strong showing in the All-Star balloting proves that local fan interest in the Orioles is back.
• Cameron Maybin just missed two months on the DL, so he's going back for at least six more weeks.
• Pablo Sandoval is going on the DL as well. The Giants want him to lose some weight while he's out.
• Tyler Kepner says Ryan Braun deals with the distractions of the Biogenesis scandal by blocking it out. He adds that Braun is either a cheat and a liar or he's a victim. There's nothing in between those two positions.
• Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs marvels that Joey Votto has yet to pop out this season. Sort of. He has hit foul pops that have been caught by infielders. But whether or not you count those as a pop out or not, Votto is still an amazing hitter. And that's an amazing stat.
• Another Fangraphs article apologizes to Luis Valbuena and Dioner Navarro. Seriously, I don't think any of us here thought they'd be as good as they have been.
• A sinkhole at Rangers Ballpark cancelled batting practice yesterday. But they fixed the hole before game time. The Rangers lost big. I bet they're sorry they spent so much money on a first-rate grounds crew now.
• The White Sox disappointing season is causing some to once again question if manager Robin Ventura is up to the job.
• The vultures are circling around Mets manager Terry Collins. Any by "vultures" I mean "New York media." And by "circling" I mean "Calling for Wally Backman to take over."
• Finally, among failed prospects, few loom larger than Kelly Leak and Amanda Whurlitzer. But now you can remember when the Bad News Bears were the future of baseball because now they have their own set of baseball cards. (Actually, that Jackie Earl Haley has been doing well lately. Maybe he's the Domonic Brown of acting.)

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.