MLB Bullets And The Wild West

Just six weeks to go.

• You can make a strong case that the two best teams in baseball are in the same division. And now, the Angels have caught the Athletics and are a percentage point in first place. Jason Collette writes that despite all their big-name hitters, the Angels are being carried by their pitching at the moment.
• Angels manager Mike Scioscia says that Josh Hamilton is not playing with the same confidence that he had in Texas.
• Christina Kahrl believes that the Athletics have several reasons to be worried.
• Jim Caple writes an excerpt from the new movie Moneyball 2. (The Legend of Hatteberg's Gold?)
• And while the Angels and Athletics are trying to pass each other, the Mariners passed the Tigers for the second wild card spot. Although manager Lloyd McClendon got ejected from the last two games.
• Rob Neyer says that Tampa Bay is a playoff team. Now if only they hadn't dug themselves into too big a hole to climb out of.
• Anthony Castrovince lists the injuries that are having the most impact on the pennant races.
• Jonathan Bernhardt says that the Rockies need to accept that Troy Tulowitzki is not likely to ever get through a full season without getting injured.
• Speaking of injuries, the Brewers have lost Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson for the season.
• The Padres' Yonder Alonso is out for the year with a forearm strain. Remember, this is the guy the Padres traded Anthony Rizzo to make room for.
• More bad news for the Padres. Top pitching prospect Max Fried needs Tommy John surgery. So add him to the list.
• Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko hit his 31st career home run on Saturday. Believe it or not, that the new Padres career record for second basemen.
• Masahiro Tanaka threw off a bullpen mound. The Yankees are encouraged and think he'll be back before the end of the season.
• White Sox legend Minnie Minoso was hospitalized after falling from his boat. He says he's fine and will be back in the White Sox lineup before the end of the year.
• You may have missed this late last night, but Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle.
• That was in game two of a doubleheader with the Reds. They had to play two games because Saturday's game was postponed when a water main broke. You'd think they were in Oakland or something. Oh, this one was outside of the stadium. That explains it.
• He's not exactly impartial because he was a teammate of his, but Gabe Kapler thinks that James Shields will be just as good a free agent signing as Max Scherzer or Jon Lester.
• Jeff Sullivan finds the worst pitch in the major leagues. Luckily, Drew Smyly doesn't throw it very often.
• Jon Paul Morosi lists three thoughts about the election of Rob Manfred as the next commissioner.
• In case you missed the "Jerry Reinsdorf is a loser" article, here it is.
• Joe Lucia looks at the media issues that Manfred will need to deal with.
• This is a soccer story, but it has impact on MLB. The Premier League is looking to shut down all fan-posted video and gifs on social media. Obviously, this is something that could have an impact on American sports as well.
• Another media issue is that the Jackie Robinson West Little League team is getting higher ratings in Chicago than either the Cubs or White Sox.
• Unfortunately it is ESPN Insider only, but Jose Abreu shares his thoughts about his first season in the majors.
• Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons are expected to return next season.
• Hal Steinbrenner expects that Alex Rodriguez will return next season as well.
• Mike Axisa says the Astros are showing signs of real improvement this season.
• Jeff Sullivan looks at how Michael Brantley got so good all of a sudden.
• Kyle Kendrick apologized for showing up his manager.
• Zachary Levine asks if a pitcher will ever again get suspended for throwing at a batter?
• Even though he's not as good as his Cy Young seasons, Tim Lincecum is still a fan favorite in San Francisco. Although I have to say that Buster Posey has passed him as the player whose name is on the back of every kid's shirt.
• Bob Ryan thinks that the way minor league players are treated is a disgrace. Amen.
• It only took a month and about 650 miles, but two Twins minor league pitchers combined on an odd no-hitter.
• Has Oscar Tavares lost his starting job?
• Joe Posnanski ranks all 30 major league ballparks. You might agree with his number one choice. Or maybe you won't. He's not there every game.
• He explains why Wrigley Field is number one.
• Do you want to go into a corn maze of Derek Jeter's face?
• Did you know that Babe Ruth was one of the first people to ever receive radiation treatment and chemotherapy for cancer? (h/t Hardball Talk)
• He's the logo for the 2014 World Series. Looking at the bright side, at least it won't be on the Cubs' caps this year.
• Over at Viva el Birdos, they decided to write a "Game of Thrones" baseball parody of the NL Central. The Cubs are the White Walkers. While that may sound like an insult, they're actually admitting that they're terrified of the Cubs.
• And finally, 50 Cent is off the hook. Miss Texas is the new champion in the "worst first pitch of all time" category. McKayla Maroney is not impressed.

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