MLB Bullets Cuts His Hair

If you haven't checked out the SB Nation MLB Preview yet, be sure to do so. There are a lot of good sports out there, but there's really no better game than baseball. I really believe that. And looking over that preview (and others like it) just gives me chills down my spine. Not because the preview is so good (although it is), but because the sport is so good. I'm not saying that because I'm paid to say it, but if Rob Manfred wants to send me a check, I won't say no.

• If you're not convinced how good the game is (and I'm not sure why you're reading this is you aren't), be sure to check out this wonderful breakdown of THE play from the 2014 World Series by Tim Kurkjian. You know the play, the one where Alex Gordon stopped at third. Kurkjian manages to do both an oral history of the moment from all the people involved as well as doing an analytical breakdown on whether or not Gordon could have scored. (The answer is still no.)
• On to less exciting news. Last season's first pick in the draft, Brady Aiken wrote this piece for The Players' Tribune in which he revealed that he underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. He also wrote that he does not regret not signing with the Astros, saying he needed an organization where he felt "comfortable" and with a good "support system."
• C.J. Nitkowski was struck by Aiken's comments and says they make the Astros look bad. Nitkowski also calls his former team the "Amelia Bedelia of MLB organizations." I liked that one, but I'm guessing he's not getting invited back to Old Timers' Day.
• David Schoenfield writes that Aiken's plight highlights how unfair the current draft system is.
• Jim Callis believes that Aiken will get drafted in the first round anyway. There has been some speculation by Callis and others the Cubs might be interested in Aiken at number nine, although that's just speculation.
• Yu Darvish will miss this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. So what are the horde of Japanese reporters who follow him around going to do? At least one of them is heading to Seattle to follow Hisashi Iwakuma around.
• Former Cardinal Curt Ford, who played in St. Louis from 1985 to 1988, was assaulted at a St. Louis gas station by a man shouting racial slurs and telling him to "go back to Ferguson." I just have no words. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• Jorge L. Ortiz reports that many Venezuelan ballplayers, including the Cubs Miguel Montero, have fled the crime and political unrest in that country and are moving to the United States full-time. Montero is also planning on applying for US citizenship, which was news to me.
• The Reds made two minor trades, acquiring first baseman Dan Johnson from Houston and trading infielder Devin Lohman to the Phillies.
• Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford is out for a month with an oblique strain.
• So far this spring, Grady Sizemore seems to be the forgotten man in Phillies camp. Sizemore has only played 13 games so far this spring, despite being healthy.
• Ken Rosenthal writes that Corey Kluber has more leverage than you might think in negotiating a long-term extension with the Indians.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred said that finding a compromise solution to Pete Rose's reinstatement is difficult.
• Somewhat related, Marlins pitcher Jarred Cosart is being investigated by MLB after he exchanged multiple direct messages with a "gambling authority."
• Cosart says that he is fully cooperating with the investigation, which caught him by surprise.
• Pitch framing is the latest craze, but Rob Neyer finds that people have been talking about it since the 1950s. At least.
• Rob Arthur writes about the current issue about public versus proprietary advanced baseball information. He fears that all new information is going to be held by the teams and not shared with the public.
• They're telling us again that MLB will have a decision about Josh Hamilton before Opening Day.
• Paul Swyden defends Brandon Phillips, writing that even though his on-base skills are pretty average (at best), he's still a pretty good ballplayer because of the other things he does.
• Anthony Rendon will most likely start the season on the DL.
• Jon Heyman is impressed with the new biography of Mets GM Sandy Alderson, but not nearly as impressed as Alderson is with himself. For Heyman, this article is as close as he's ever going to come to blasting a baseball executive. Or at least his authorized biography.
• Speaking of the Mets, they've been cutting security at Citi Field to save money over the past few years. Better ask Frank McCourt how that went for him. And ask Rob Manfred (and Bud Selig) how in the world the Wilpons are still allowed to own this team.
• The food safety manager who blew the whistle on the unsanitary conditions of the concessions at Kauffman Stadium has been fired. Because that's the way the world works these days.
• David Ortiz wrote a rather odd piece for The Players' Tribune where he complains about people who think he takes PEDs, about all the drug tests he's taken and Dan Shaughnessy. (OK, that last one is totally justified.)
• This isn't good news for the Rays or the Marlins. The two most popular baseball teams in Florida are the Yankees and the Braves. The Red Sox and Cubs are just behind the Marlins and Rays.
• An update on the "Last Expo Standing" competition. We're down to seven contestants, but Bartolo Colon or Maicer Izturis are the favorites to be the sole survivor. (No. Ian Desmond does not count.)
• The Yankees players are awfully pleased to have a really good defensive shortstop in Didi Gregorius. Unlike the last guy who played the position, whose name I can't remember.
• Cuban Yasmany Tomas, whom the Diamondbacks signed for $68.5 million this offseason, may start the season in the minors.
• John Buck retired.
• Marc Normandin remembers the minor league baseball career of the late professional wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
• The Indians got tired of infielder Jose Ramirez not parking his car where he was supposed to. So they parked it for him--on the infield at the shortstop position. Ramirez thus became the first ballplayer to lose his job to his own automobile.
• And finally, in a shocking development, Andrew McCutchen cut his hair. If you miss his glorious locks, you can bid on them with the proceeds going to charity. He looks good with the short hair, but then again, he looked good with the dreads.

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