MLB Bullets Is Gone, Just Like An Ex-Girlfriend That Will Never Return

If you missed the video that the title of today's bullets refers to, you can watch it here. (And don't worry, this feature isn't going anywhere.)

• Manny Ramirez's Taiwanese career is over, as he opted out of the rest of his contract with EDA Rhinos. He's hoping that he'll get an offer from an MLB team or, failing that, a NPB team.
• Jay Jaffe says that Manny shouldn't hold his breath on an offer from an MLB club.
• Speaking of NPB, Johnette Howard of ESPNNewYork thinks that MLB could learn something from the honesty of NPB in admitting that they had juiced the baseballs. At least I think she does. She refers to Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as Nippon Baseball League (NBL) which doesn't exist.
• The Houston Astros signed the No. 1 pick in the draft, Mark Appel, for $6.35 million.
• Back to Jay Jaffe, he thinks the Astros made a smooth move by getting Carlos Correa last year, Mark Appel this year and all the other players they could sign because of the money they saved by signing both for under slot.
• Scott Boras says . . . wait, hear me out . . . that the artificial spending limits on draft picks are hurting North American players at the expense of foreign players. He also thinks the Pirates were badly hurt as they had no chance, according to him, of signing Appel last season under the new rules. His point is actually a good one. Before the caps in 2011, teams spent $235 million on bonuses to draft picks. Last season, they spent $200 million. Where did the $35 million go? To huge bonuses to players who weren't covered under the slotting system: Cuban and Japanese players.
• Bud Selig responds to the lawsuit by the City of San Jose by saying . . . nothing.
• Add Tom Van Riper of Forbes to those who think the City of San Jose has no case. Of course, what we've said before is that the goal isn't to win a case and damages, but to force MLB into action.
• SBNation's Larry Granillo looks back at the nomadic existence of the Athletics.
• Alex Rodriguez's rehab is ahead of schedule and he should return to the Yankees before Derek Jeter does. Sometime after the All-Star Break.
• Speaking of ARod, his lawyer calls the MLB investigation into the Biogenesis Clinic "despicable."
• Albert Pujols feels like he's back to where he was in St. Louis as a hitter. He has been hitting more like Pujols recently. He just needed to face Cubs pitching. I'm sure he's hoping to see Ryan Dempster and the Red Sox soon.
• Josh Hamilton, on the other hand, can't figure out what's wrong.
• Jeff Passan thinks the future is now for the Mets because of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler.
• Danny Knobler talks to some scouts who think Harvey is the best young pitcher in the game, and that includes Stephen Strasburg. They think he's a lot better than Wheeler.
• Rays pitcher Alex Cobb has a fluid buildup in his ear, a complication from being struck in the head by a line drive.
• Ryan Braun is going to be on the disabled list for a while. I'm sure you're all choked up.
• David Schoenfield thinks the Pirates need to go for it and trade for Giancarlo Stanton.
• Royals GM Dayton Moore thinks Kauffman Stadium is the reason the Royals don't take more walks. Nice try, but the Royals actually walk more at home than they do on the road.
• Twins fourth-round draft pick Stephen Gonsalves explains the one-month suspension that caused him to fall from the first round. It's not the crime, it's the coverup. But he's happy to be a Twin, so all's well that ends well. Except that he's probably out between $800,000 and $1.5 million.
• Phillies GM Ruben Amaro says Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon will not be traded before the July 31 trade deadline. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Ruben.
• Finally, Joe Torre's daughter Cristina made a bigger catch than her father ever did.

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