MLB Bullets Examines The Second Baseball Theory

Good morning. It's day two of the new Cubs era.

• And we're getting closer to a new era in baseball, too. Al already covered the story that the list for the next commissioner has been narrowed down to three names, but Jayson Stark reported last night that the decision on the new commissioner is expected to come sometime next week.
• Jon Heyman has the politics behind the decision. Rob Manfred is the overwhelming favorite, but White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Angels owner Arte Moreno are trying to put together enough votes to block Manfred's election and elect Red Sox chairman Tom Werner or a different, compromise candidate. And no one has any clue what Reinsdorf and Moreno have against Manfred, who is Selig's choice.
• Whomever becomes the next commissioner, the one thing we all know is that he is going to be taking over a dying sport. Or not, writes Rob Neyer.
• One deal the new commissioner will have to deal with is the length of games. Tom Verducci looks at the Atlantic League's new rules to speed up the game and likes the rules limiting mound conferences a lot.
• C.J. Nitkowski agrees that there needs to be a limit on mound conferences. Nitkowski is still traumatized by all the mound conferences that he attended that consisted of little other than his pitching coach saying "Throw a $%#@!& strike, Nitkowski!"
• In more executive news, it looks like the Padres have settled on a new GM and it's Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller.
• Scott Miller writes a letter to the new Padres GM explaining what a terrible mess he's going to have to clean up.
• Craig Calcaterra says that Preller might be the best person for the job (he doesn't know), but he takes issue with those who felt that Kim Ng wasn't "qualified" for the job.
• The fallout from the Pirates-Diamondbacks series from this past weekend continues. Two days after getting drilled by Randall Delgado, the Pirates announced that Andrew McCutchen has a broken rib, although he will not go on the DL for now.
• It's natural to assume that the injury comes from being hit, and certainly that was the talk of the MLB Network yesterday. But the Pirates are saying that it "probably didn't" come from being hit by a pitch.
• And Rob Neyer doesn't see how the Snakes' Nick Ahmed was not called out for interference on that controversial game-ending play on Sunday.
• Here's a really thoughtful article by Mets beat writer Andy Martino questioning whether his personal relationships with Lucas Duda and Ike Davis colored his opinion of their relative skills and ability to succeed. Sportswriters are human (well, most of them) and it's only natural that their opinions of players could be colored by how much they like them and help them do their jobs. The good ones realize this and ask questions of themselves like Martino is doing here. The bad ones stick their heads int he sand.
• Since it's creation in 2012, SportsOnEarth has provided some of the best sportswriting on the web. I guess not anymore. I've linked to SOE pretty close to every MLB Bullets I've written.
• Will Leitch, one of the few SOE writers who wasn't fired, looks at the showdown between the Angels and the Dodgers as a showdown between the old and the new.
• The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, but players who clear waivers can still be traded. What are waivers? Bluebird Banter explains all you need to know about all the different types of waivers.
• Dayn Perry says some contenders still need to make a move to fill a hole.
• Shawn Windsor doesn't think David Price was the missing piece for the Tigers.
• The Nationals got Matt Thornton from the Yankees.
• The Tigers signed Jim Johnson to a minor-league deal.
• Anthony Castrovince identifies which players are most likely to be dealt this offseason.
• Ben Lindbergh says that history is very much against Jon Lester returning to Boston this offseason. Probably because the Cubs won't play in Fenway next year.
• The Yankees have their mojo working, writes Richard Justice.
• Brandon McCarthy has apparently found his mojo in the Bronx as well.
• The one move the Yankees wanted to make was to acquire Dustin Ackley from the Mariners. But the Mariners wanted too much mojo in return.
• The Yankees have been accused of reneging on a $2.1 million deal with a 16 year old Dominican shortstop.
• In what will come as no surprise to anyone, this map confirms the Yankees are the most-hated team in baseball. But I'm pretty disappointed that the Cubs are only hated in Arkansas. But these things seem pretty fluid. Missouri will hate us again one day.
• The polls say that the Indians are more popular than the Reds in Ohio.
• The Indians might be more popular with Reds manager Bryan Price, who publicly called out his team for a lack of effort in a game against Cleveland.
• The Indians released Nyjer Morgan. No word on Tony Plush's status.
• In a blow to the Giants, Matt Cain will undergo season-ending surgery. He should be fine in time for spring training.
• Matt Harvey threw a bullpen session, although apparently without the prior approval of the Mets.
• Stan McNeal wonders if Trevor Rosenthal will ever get a chance to be a starter. Or if he even wants to anymore.
• C.J. Nitkowski thinks someone ought to make a reliever out of former top prospect Jacob Turner, who was designated for assignment by the Marlins.
• How long do World Series teams stay together after winning a title?
• I have no idea how electrical current could be a PED, but apparently, some people think it can be.
• First Tulowitzki. Now Arenado. Seriously, the Rockies need to hire a proofreader.
• Justin Verlander tossed Kate Upton a baseball.
• Finally, one of the most famous (infamous?) moments in Cubs history was the famous "two balls in play" game in 1959. That isn't exactly what happened in last night's Reds-Indians game, but David Murphy did get thrown out at third after getting confused by a second ball on the field.

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