MLB Bullets Bites The Big Apple

Is it time to feel giddy yet?

• The Brewers announced that GM Doug Melvin will step down and move over to an advisory role. That's a nice way of saying that we still want you around, Doug, but we're not letting you drive anymore.
• Rob Neyer notes that the Brewers are planning to hire a young, analytic-minded GM. Also, he finds a passage from a scout, written in 2013, that expresses skepticism over the Red Sox hiring Theo Epstein as GM. Really? With the benefit of hindsight, the Red Sox shouldn't have hired Theo?
• David Schoenfield says that while the Brewers haven't had much success lately, the team was a joke when Melvin took over and he restored respectability to the franchise.
• Mark Saxon writes that the Dodgers deadline deals aren't helping the team much at the moment.
• Grant Brisbee says the Dodgers missed their chance to fix their bullpen.
• Don Mattingly says he talked to Yasiel Puig about his diminished playing time as the team tries to work Carl Crawford back into the lineup. He says Puig took it well.
• Mike Bates notes that the Dodgers are not talking about an extension with Zack Greinke and the Cardinals are not talking about an extension with Jason Heyward. He says that this says two very different things about the finances of the two teams.
• Tom Verducci thinks the Cardinals have the air of a "Superteam." Good thing Joe Maddon still owns a kryptonite mine near Tampa.
• David Schoenfield gives ten reasons the Blue Jays look unbeatable at the moment.
• The Mets are selling postseason tickets, and that has some of their fans worried. (Really? Even Cubs fans aren't that bad.) In any case, Chris Bahr says their fans have little to worry about: the Mets are a good bet to make the playoffs. Jinx or no jinx.
• Kieran Darcy thinks the Mets are a feel-good story in New York.
• Brian Costa notes that with the Mets and Yankees both in first place, baseball is back in New York and this time, parity is benefitting Gotham.
• Jose Reyes is stuck in Denver and looks with regret as two of his former teams make a drive for the playoffs.
• Andrew Simon lists ten playoff contenders who can be improved by their own players coming off the disabled list.
• Rob Neyer is impressed that Joe Maddon benched Starlin Castro and wonders what other playoff contenders could benefit from benching one of their starters.
• Ben Lindbergh examines the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Ubaldo Jimenez. Just on the mound. I'm sure he's mostly a nice guy off the field.
• Just great. Now Mike Trout is hitting home runs to the opposite field. Just when you thought he couldn't get better.
• Michael Baumann looks at some post-waiver deadline trade candidates.
• Just in case you thought anything else, Chase Utley cleared waivers. He still has 10-and-5 rights though.
• Rob Neyer isn't sure why any team would be interested in Utley.
• Grant Brisbee looks back at what he wrote in April as a lesson to not make snap judgements on small sample sizes.
• Why are teams suddenly putting their best hitter in the number two spot in the lineup?
• Red Sox closer Koji Uehara is out for the season after having his wrist broken by a line drive.
• So the Red Sox signed Rich Hill to a minor-league deal. Just thought you'd be interested in that.
• Marcus Stroman is making a "stunning" recovery from his knee injury. He was supposed to be out for the season, but he started a minor league rehab assignment yesterday.
• Chuck Hildebrandt starts a series on "Little League Home Runs." I had one of those!
• We often see position players pitching in hopeless games. But Zachary Levine wonders if teams should use position players as pitchers when they have an insurmountable lead as well. He also tries to figure out how big a lead is insurmountable.
• Brad Ausmus thinks Johnny Cueto's delivery is illegal.
• Tell that to this adorable baby dressed up as Cueto. Aww.
• They're seriously going overboard with the Cueto-mania in KC. They've started writing folk songs about Cueto in Kansas City. Or at least some sort of techno-dance track. Watch if you dare.
• Vice Sports has another report on "security theater" and how the latest security technology at Yankees Stadium (and a couple other major league parks) isn't making anyone any safer.
• An all-star team of current Cuban major leaguers.
• New Met Yoenis Cespedes is willing to have a Cuban sandwich with über-Mets fan Jerry Seinfeld.
• Russell Martin made a spectacular and dangerous leap onto the dugout rail to catch a foul ball. He didn't catch it. As Steve Stone would say "There's a tip for you youngsters. . ."
• And finally, Matthew Floratos has collected a list of 40 spectacularly-awful Yankees caps that are available for purchase. Just so you don't get smug, a lot of those caps are available in Cubs versions as well.

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