MLB Bullets Has Been Reinstated

The big news the past two days involves the Cubs, Scott Boras and Kris Bryant, and that territory belongs to Al and Russ. So I wouldn't want to step on any toes and cover it. And no, it has nothing to do with me not having a spare moment to write this column on Tuesday before 11:30 at night.

• With Mets pitcher Zach Wheeler needing Tommy John surgery, it only seems natural that New Yorkers would start looking for someone to blame. GM Sandy Alderson defended the Mets handling of the young pitcher.
• Grant Brisbee looks at some of the columns criticizing the Mets and defends the team by saying it's possible that Wheeler's accident is just one of those things.
• Dillon Gee is expected to replace Wheeler in the Mets rotation.
• Yu Darvish had his Tommy John surgery. No complications were reported.
• In more injury news, Koji Uehara has a strained hamstring. It's considered mild and he's expected to be ready for the start of the season.
• Stanford pitcher Cal Quantrill, the son of former major league pitcher Paul Quantrill, will also undergo Tommy John surgery. Quantrill was considered a candidate to be the first pick in the draft in 2016.
• Pete Rose has sent commissioner Rob Manfred a formal request to be reinstated. Manfred says he'll consider the request, but that no one should read too much into that statement because it's his job to consider all such requests when he receives them.
• MLBPA head Tony Clark thinks Rose should be reinstated.
• Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman's advice to Rose is that if he wants to be reinstated, he needs to keep his mouth shut. I have the same advice for Brennaman: If Marty wants to be reinstated, he should also keep his mouth shut. What? Marty Brennaman hasn't been banned from baseball for life? Must have been an oversight. Maybe he should keep his mouth shut just to be on the safe side.
• Manfred said that getting a new ballpark for the Athletics is a top priority. Yes, I believe it was a top priority for commissioner Bud Selig as well. How'd that work out?
• Making this (likely) more difficult is the Obama administration's proposal that the issuance of tax-exempt government bonds to pay for sports stadiums. Unlike most things in Washington these days, this proposal seems to have bipartisan support.
• The Braves announced a deal with Comcast for their new stadium. Comcast will take over a nine-story office building that is to be built as part of the stadium development and will provide the technological infrastructure for the new park. Additionally, the start time of all Braves home games at the new park will be listed as "sometime between noon and 4 pm."
• Buster Olney wants to end the practice of pitchers getting high-fives, handshakes and pats on the back when they exit the game after a lousy performance. (ESPN Insider) Olney only has a problem with this after a bad outing. Guys exiting after giving up one run over 6.2 innings can still get a pat on the rear.
• Bill Baer asks "Seriously, Buster?"
• MLB has ended being able to vote for the all-star game using paper punch-card ballots. All voting must be done online now.
• Mike Oz can't really argue with the decision, but feels like a part of his childhood is dying along with the punch-cards.
• Anthony Castrovince writes that time has caught up to Cliff Lee and that he may have thrown his last pitch for the Phillies.
• Staying with the Phillies, Castrovince also thinks that Ryan Howard should have some value for some team in the league.
• Bruce Bochy said that the Giants are not currently even close to being ready for Opening Day.
• Dave Cameron can't understand why the Reds are considering veterans Paul Maholm and Jason Marquis for the opening week starting rotation.
• Bryce Harper threw a runner out at second base and his manager, Matt Williams, was not happy about it. But is Matt Williams ever truly happy about anything?
• Williams is also starting to worry about the amount of time Anthony Rendon has missed this spring because of an MCL strain. Rendon's status for Opening Day is now in doubt.
• The Dodgers are still thinking that top prospect Corey Seager can stick at shortstop. Current shortstop Jimmy Rollins thinks Seager has the ability to stick at short.
• Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson got knocked around pretty good by the Phillies, but he hasn't lost any confidence.
• David Schoenfield examines why Nathan Eovaldi strikes out so few batters despite throwing 95+ mph.
• White Sox GM Rick Hahn is happy to have Gordon Beckham back.
• Rob Neyer is elated that he got to see ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte pitch.
• Neyer also talks about defense-independent batting statistics (DIBS),  the next frontier in baseball statistics.
• Former manager Ron Gardenhire showed up in Twins spring training "as a fan" and to pass out cigars, apparently.
• And finally, with tongue planted in cheek, Be Lindbergh looks at the career and skills of Twins shortstop Eduardo Nunez and asks "Why does Nunez hit pop ups on purpose?"

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