MLB Bullets Faces Some Guy

In the long and tragic history of the Cubs, I don't think anything compares to what happened to Laura Bassett on Wednesday. Only Bill Buckner's error in 1986 compares to that, and that only sent it to game seven. Sports can be cruel and it would be nice if some of the male athletes would be extended the same kinds of sympathy that female athletes like Bassett get. The agony of defeat indeed.

• We have an update on the hacking scandal, as the Cardinals have fired their scouting director Chris Correa, reportedly in connection to the hacking. So much for it only being "low-level employees" behind the scandal.
• Former lawyer Craig Calcaterra says that the statement Correa's lawyer made as a defense of his client is actually much closer to an admission of guilt.
• The front-office hijinx continue in Anaheim, as the Angels replaced resigned GM Jerry DiPoto with former GM Bill Stoneman on an interim basis. Stoneman was the GM of the Angels when the won the World Series in 2002. He's also a former Cubs pitcher.
• Stoneman, now 71, said "Hopefully I still have the energy to do it and my mind still works well enough to do it." Halo Nation is brimming with confidence. (Having said that, Stoneman was an excellent GM 15 years ago.)
• Angels manager Mike Scioscia has denied that DiPoto resigned as a result of any "power struggle" with the former GM. DiPoto, for his part, says he's not a "disgruntled employee" but simply that he felt he was no longer the right GM for the Angels.
• Jonah Keri asks "What in the name of Champion's Ghost is going on in Anaheim?" (OK, the part about Gene Autry's horse is mine.) (Note: This entry has been edited to put in the right name of Gene Autry's horse and not Roy Rogers' horse.)
• A new book out on the Dodgers by Molly Knight is getting a lot of attention for several anecdotes about what a pain in the rear Yasiel Puig can be. (PUIG!)
• Craig Calcaterra, while not denying anything in Knight's book, reiterates his defense of Puig and explains why we should and should not care about Puig's behavior.
• I've got a piece up about the Cubs international signings yesterday, but it was the Dodgers who, as expected, made the biggest splash in the market.
• After the Dominican Republic, Venezuela is probably the most important market for international talent. Ignacio Serrano documents the rise and fall of baseball development in Venezuela and how the local conditions are causing teams to flee the country. (The Cubs are one of five teams still there.)
• Jose Fernandez made his first major league appearance after Tommy John surgery. All he did was hit a home run off of Matt Cain. He also allowed three runs in six innings, so he was OK on the mound too.
• The Marlins may not have a lot of fans, but the ones they do have seem to be insane. (I guess they'd have to be.) One Marlins fan who refused to cut his hair until Fernandez pitched again had his hair cut with some help from Fernandez himself.
• SB Nation's Louis Bien got an interview with French teenager Melissa Mayeux, the first woman eligible to be signed by a major league team, that you should check out. She sounds like an impressive young woman who loves baseball.
• It's July, which means Bobby Bonilla gets a check for over a million dollars from the Mets.
• Craig Calcaterra says it's time to stop laughing at the Mets for this deal, since they did get a lot out of it. But when part of your defense is "The Mets thought they'd more than make the money up with the money they invested with Bernie Madoff," you know there are some problems with it.
• Calcaterra also points out that Bruce Sutter is still getting deferred money from the Braves. A team he was fairly awful with, by the way.
• Reds GM Walt Jocketty says he's not trading Todd Frazier. Especially not to the Mets.
• Everyone thinks Joe Maddon is a genius for turning the Cubs around with a magician. Well, Mets manager Terry Collins wants you to know he's getting ready for a human sacrifice to turn the Amazin's around. (We assume he's kidding. But you know what happens when you assume.)
• Indians pitcher Carlos Carrasco lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth.
• Victor Martinez has no respect for the Pirates after Gerrit Cole (allegedly) hit him on purpose.
• The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez are in talks to donate the disputed $6 million bonus to charity.
• Paul Casella looks back at the amazing month of June in baseball this season.
• How did Justin Turner get so good all of a sudden?
• How did Brian Dozier get so good all of a sudden?
• Looking back at the insane 1985 Fourth of July marathon game between the Braves and Mets. This is the "Rick Camp Game" that went until four in the morning. And they shot off fireworks afterwards, "by the dawn's early light." I watched this game until the bitter end that night and all the time I couldn't believe what I was watching. (Of course, it was only 3 a.m. where I was.) If you remember this game, you'll want to relive it. If you don't, you'll want to know what all the fuss was about.
• The Nationals have added Calvin Coolidge to the President's race. At least his mascot will talk as much as "Silent Cal" did.
• Former Cub (along with 10 other teams) Todd Zeile is now a movie and TV producer. Albert Chen has his story.
• And now it's the part of our program where baseball players reach for their crotch. First, we have the Cubs own Chris Coghlan with his hands down his pants on second base. At least he doesn't go full Steve Lyons on us.
• And we're not limiting it to players with just hands just on their own crotch. Here's Sean Doolittle's crotch getting grabbed by one of his teammates in the dugout. Seriously, Al. Can we submit today's column to the Pulitzer Committee? I think they have a category for Excellence in Sports Journalism--Grabbing Of Privates. I should be a shoo-in.
• I'm continue to insist baseball is more fun in Korean. Here's a Korean hitter who has managed the art of both admiring his home run and flipping his bat on the same pitch. You'd get hit twice with the same pitch if you tried that in MLB.
• And finally, you've probably seen this, but this is the nightmare of all of us who write for publication. But while we on the internet can just go back and fix our mistakes, it's not so easy in print. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that "Some Guy" would start for the Twins and that he would be opposed by "Some Other Guy."

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