MLB Bullets Is Still A Freak

Almost half way through the season now.

• For the second time in less than a year, Tim Lincecum no-hit the Padres on Wednesday. Andrew Baggerly breaks the game down.
• Wendy Thurm shares her experience of being at AT&T Park for the game.
• Ray Ratto says that Lincecum's no-hitter should quiet the complaining in the Giants fan base for a while.
• David Schoenfield says that Lincecum is as good as ever, as long as he's pitching against the wretched Padres. Still, Lincecum shows that he still has something.
• Paul White says that Lincecum has reinvented himself as an pitching "artist" rather than a thrower who blows guys away. That's true, but with his ERA at 4.42 this season, he's painting a lot of sad clowns and dogs playing poker this season, even if he still has a masterpiece or two inside.
• Going back to the no-hitter than Clayton Kershaw threw last week, Ben Lindbergh looks at where Kershaw's "Game Score" ranks among the all-time great games. Once you make some adjustments, it's up there, but there, but it's not the best game of all-time. It's in the top five though.
• He hasn't thrown a no-hitter, but David Price says he's better than he's ever been.
• Of course, Price is likely to be traded this summer, so Jonathan Bernhardt looks at some teams that might be interested in him, if the price is right. (Oh, he's never heard that one before, I'm sure.)
• The Diamondbacks are going to back up the truck and put everyone but Paul Goldschmidt on the market. Other teams aren't likely to be very interested in the DBacks junks, however.
• Matt Snyder says the Braves need to add another pitcher. Yes, he does mention Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.
• Jeff Sullivan notes that Robinson Cano has been really good for the Mariners so far this season and Seattle is five games over .500. Everything's great, except where did all the power go?
• Rick Cerone seems pretty angry that Cano signed with the Mariners. He called him a "fool" to sign with Seattle.
• The Athletics announced that they have agreed to a new ten-year lease at the Oakland Coliseum.
• Except that they haven't come to an agreement.
• The lease buys the A's more time to find a new stadium. You know, if there were actually a lease. But assuming one gets sign, owner Lew Wolff did say that there were escape clauses in the deal.
• Alex Guerrero, the baseball player who was bitten by someone other than Luis Suarez, is getting ready to play again. According to his agent Scott Boras "The ear is going to make it." So that's good news.
• Curt Schilling was a hell of a ballplayer and while I don't actually know him, my impression is that he's also an ass. But I certainly don't wish ill upon him so I'm very happy to report that Schilling announced that his cancer is in remission. I would vote for him for the Hall of Fame. He was easily a better pitcher than Don Drysdale, and Drysdale's not that controversial a selection.
• To honor Derek Jeter's 40th birthday, here's an All-Star lineup of the greatest 40 year-olds of all-time.
• Is Troy Tulowitzki the best hitter in baseball?
• C.J. Nitkowski shows you how to scuff a baseball.
• The Phillies put prospect Jesse Biddle on the Temporarily Inactive List because he's miserable and he needs a mental health break from baseball.
• John Sickels takes apart NCAA president Mark Emmert's statement (under oath) that "minor league sports aren't very successful either for fan support or for the the fan experience." Yeah, those 41 million people who attended minor league baseball games last year were miserable the whole time.
• Although the Mexican League is technically a minor league, but it's not one that treats its players very well. Or even very legally. Even by minor league standards.
• Despite instant replay, or maybe because of instant replay, ejections are on the rise this season.
• If named to the All-Star Game, Yu Darvish says he's going to go sightseeing in Minneapolis rather than pitch. Please. I want to see a picture of Darvish and his family standing in front of "Spoonbridge and Cherry."
• Adrian Beltre got his 2500th hit, and then Miguel Cabrera had to ruin it by touching his head. There's pretty much a 95% chance he gets to 3000 now, I'm figuring.
• Carlos Peña hit his first Rangers home run--right into a tub of brisket.
• Rob Neyer looks at Alex Torres cap and the home plate collision rules and says that baseball's future won't be pretty, but it will be better.
• In a in-depth magazine piece, Tim Keown explains how Scott Kazmir turned to an unconventional trainer to revive his career.
• In an even more in-depth magazine piece, Ben Reiter looks inside the Houston Astros front office to see how they're going to win the World Series in 2017.
• Grant Brisbee says the odds of the Astros winning it all in 2017 are better than you might think.
• And finally (and I do seem to have a lot of Rangers stuff today), Rougned Odor struck out and made it all the way to third base anyway.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Although Buster Olney's Vanderbilt Commodores did win the College World Series.