MLB Bullets Is Running Up That Hill

We're all business today.

• Someone in Houston finally took a look at center field and asked "Why do we have a hill and a flagpole out there again?" So when this season ends, the Astros are going to remove Tal's Hill. The official reason is that they're going to move the fences in and put more bars, restaurants and seating out there, but. . .yeah, that's probably the real reason. They finally realized that stupid gimmick was costing them money.
• Matt Snyder tries out outline the pros and cons of removing Tal's Hill.
• Some Astros players give their opinions.
• The contributors over at The Crawfish Boxes offer their opinion. It's pretty mixed.
• Here's a collection of the best catches made running up Tal's Hill. I guess the only thing I'll miss is cueing up Kate Bush and playing highlights like this.
• There was a trade! The Mariners acquired Mark Trumbo from the Diamondbacks in a six-player deal that included Welington Castillo. Jeez, Arizona. If you wanted Castillo, why didn't you just ask for him in the first place?
• Jeff Sullivan has an analysis of the deal.
• David Schoenfield thinks the Mariners adding Trumbo just means more of the same for Seattle.
• Ken Rosenthal is skeptical that the Mariners can turn their season around, Trumbo or no Trumbo.
• Major League Baseball admitted to the Royals that the replay officials blew a call in Tuesday's game with the Indians. They said that the replay officials made their decision before they got the super slow motion video.
• There was a big mystery when Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen wasn't available to pitch in Wednesday's game in Denver. Matters weren't helped when the Dodgers declined to comment on the matter and broadcaster Rick Sutcliffe Tweeted that he was "Sending his prayers" to Jansen.
• Yesterday they cleared the whole matter up. Jansen was feeling ill from high blood pressure due to the altitude in Denver. Jansen has had some heart issues, so he and the Dodgers were just taking no chances.
• The Rockies Jordan Lyles is going to miss the rest of the season after what he calls "Tommy John surgery for the big toe."
• About that storybook return home for the prodigal son. Josh Hamilton is going to miss the next month with a hamstring strain.
• Devin Mesoraco hasn't caught a game since April 12 because of a hip injury. He's going to put off surgery and try to play this season as a left fielder.
• The MLB Draft starts on Monday. Ben Lindbergh looks at several trends over the course of the past few drafts.
• Every team's fanbase howls when their team drafts someone listed as having a "low upside." Dave Cameron points out that several players taken this century that were labeled "low-upside" actually turned out to have some pretty high ceilings.
• Astros pitcher Lance McCullers became the youngest pitcher since Kerry Wood to throw a complete game strikeout with 10 or more strikeouts.
• Bartolo Colon doesn't want to be the clown prince of pitchers batting anymore. So he's working hard to improve his batting.
• The Mets shuffled their infield around, but manager Terry Collins left Wilmer Flores at shortstop because he didn't want to create "a firestorm."
• Ken Rosenthal has some advice for Collins: Stop caring about what gets printed in the New York tabloids.
• Rob Neyer thinks that the Blue Jays are going to regress to the mean, which in this case means they'll get better. Probably not better enough though.
• Jerry Crasnick explains how awful Billy Hamilton has been at the plate this season and what Hamilton and the Reds are trying to do about it.
• Jeff Passan explains how the Indians are using advanced techniques and analytics to build the best rotation in the game.
• David Schoenfield thinks that Sonny Gray may be the best pitcher in the American League.
• Eno Sarris explains that Brian McCann, normally thought of as an offensive-minded catcher, is actually one of the best defensive catchers in the majors. (ESPN Insider Only) Well, he's no David Ross.
• Jayson Stark explains how Joe Maddon came to bat the Cubs pitchers eighth.
• Should we turn #MetsLOL to #PhilliesLOL. The Reds scored a run when Anthony DeSclafani was ruled safe at home because Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz was ruled to have blocked the plate. But their was a force at home and all Ruiz had to do was step on the plate. Instead, he tried to tag Sclafani and was ruled to have blocked the plate in the process.
• Red Sox owner John Henry said his team has "played like bleep" but he reiterated his support for GM Ben Cherington and manager John Farrell.
• Ben Carsley says Henry can't afford to be patient forever with Cherington and Farrell.
• Ooh! Ooh! I get to do a soccer story! Mike Piazza says that he's trying to purchase the Italian football club Parma F.C. Just to give you some background, Parma F.C finished last in the Italian first division this past season and was relegated to the second division. This was in many ways a result of the team going bankrupt, which meant no one was paid, including the players. So Piazza would likely be able to pick up the team on the cheap, mostly for just assuming some of their debts.
• The Giants made their every-other-year trip to the White House. McCovey Chronicles has all the goofy pictures of the event
• Remember the dress worn by Rangers on-field reporter Emily Jones that was ruined by a Gatorade bath? It was autographed by Josh Hamilton and Elvis Andrus and auctioned off for charity. But what color is the dress?
• And finally, Josh Collmenter walked down Hollywood Boulevard in a costume: A Josh Collmenter costume. I like it that Collmenter didn't take it personally that no one seemed to recognize him, even though he had "Collmenter" written on his back.

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