MLB Bullets Scares Small Children

The big news is a guy wearing mustache pajamas threw a no-hitter, but I think we've got that covered elsewhere. And like anyone is going to read about these stories this morning. I think I may just cut and paste the whole thing for Wednesday's column.

• Let's just start with this piece by Jon Paul Morosi since it ties in with the Cubs. Morosi thinks that when all is said and done, the 2015 NL Central could be the best division ever.
• Going hand and hand with that, just exactly how bad is the NL East? They can't touch the 1994 AL West, of course, but beyond that?
• Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully made two big announcements over the weekend. First, he announced that he would return for his 67th season. Second, he said that 2016 would be his final season. But he really, really doesn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it. As he said, the game will go on without him.
• One other broadcasting note. Red Sox chairman Tom Werner defended the unpopular firing of broadcaster Don Orsillo, saying that Red Sox broadcasts needed to be "re-energized."
• The Mariners finally dropped the axe on GM Jack Zduriencik. And just after I finally learned to spell "Zduriencik."
• Published just a few hours before he got canned, Mike Salk explains why Zduriencik needed to go.
• Unlike sometimes when these things happen, pretty much no one is speaking up and saying Zduriencik should have been allowed to stay on the job. David Schoenfield says the Mariners made the right decision.
• Jay Jaffe concurs. Zduriencik needed to go.
• Jerry Crasnick explains what the Mariners are looking for in a new GM.  Team president Kevin Mather seems to want someone both with experience and who is a forward-thinking sabermetric type. So I guess it will be Jerry DiPoto or Ben Cherington? They are listed as candidates, but so are a lot of others who only fit one of those two categories.
• More front office news. The Blue Jays are expected to name Indians team president Mark Shapiro as their new team president.
• Like when Joe Maddon had an opt-out clause when Andrew Friedman left the Rays, Indians manager Terry Francona has an opt-out clause if Shapiro leaves. He says he won't exercise it just for leverage for a new contract. He didn't say he wouldn't exercise it for other reasons though.
• I feel pretty strongly about this piece and I think the author makes a very important point about sexism in sports writing. Stacey May Fowles says that female fans can have intelligent opinions about sports that should be heard and taken seriously and at the same time, they should be allowed to find male athletes attractive. No one should have their opinion dismissed with a "You just think that because you think he's hot" comment. Especially if that opinion concerns Kris Bryant.
• A fan died after falling from the upper deck at Turner Field.
• Bob Nightengale says that in the wake of this and other incidents, there is no reason to not immediately implement new safety measures for fans.
• Rob Neyer says fine, but why is nobody talking about what is really killing fans at ballgames: alcohol.
• A fan who was hit by a foul ball at Fenway Park last season is suing the team. Craig Calcaterra explains why this case may have more merit than other suits which are usually quickly dismissed.
• Calcaterra is also very dubious of Pedro Martinez's claim that team chemistry is the reason the Tigers are losing. The Tigers themselves talk about how wonderful their clubhouse is and certainly, the Tigers don't have any known "problem" players.
• The Mets got Addison Reed from the Diamondbacks. It was hard for me to not type "Russell" there. Good thing I didn't.
• If anyone wondered if Reed would fit in with the Mets, he said that on a scale of 1 to 10, his hatred of the Nationals was a "25."
• Michael Cuddyer has done nothing but hit since coming off the DL.
• This was an interesting dilemma. The Mets declined to challenge whether David Ortiz was safe at second base out of fear that the double would be ruled a home run instead.
• Curtis Granderson. Mets outfielder. Moon-landing conspiracy theorist.
• Nathan Gismot wrote a piece about being a displaced Mets fan in Colorado. I'm sure many of you can relate to this. Like us Cubs fans in California.
• D.J. Short was excited by this weekend's Mookie Summit at Citi Field. Where was Spike Lee?
• This is apropos of last night. Jeff Sullivan examines why the Dodgers can hit but they can't score. Except that now they can't even hit.
• Doug Padilla tries to figure out why Jeff Samardzija has been so terrible lately.
• Christina Kahrl thinks everything is coming together for the Rangers at the right time.
• Joe Lemire explains how use of the shift has been a key to the Astros success.
• The Athletics have tried in vain to get their travel-heavy 2016 schedule changed.
• John Baker talks about how thinking can get in the way of reacting on the baseball diamond.
• Over at Blue Jays Banter, they explain what a simulated game is, in case you were wondering. And I know some of you were wondering.
• Hall-of-Famer Rollie Fingers grades the facial hair of current major leaguers.
• Eric Lichtblau took his kids on a road trip to see games in eight different games in six different stadiums and he reflected on how the game has changed since he took a similar trip in 1987.
• A legally-blind kid from Millville, New Jersey flew to California to have surgery to correct his sight. The MLB Network did a piece on how the town chipped in to pay for the trip and how the child got to spend the day with his idol, fellow Millville-native Mike Trout, thanks in part to Trout's mother. Harold Reynolds was crying after this piece. Not going to make fun of Reynolds, because you might cry too.
• Eddie Matz says that Jayson Werth is once again proving his "worth" to the team.
• Except for one awful promotion. The Nationals had to postpone a Jayson Werth bobblehead giveaway because the bobblehead was scaring small children. And big ones. And freaking out anyone with a soul. If I ever make a baseball horror movie, that bobblehead is going to be featured.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. We'll be one day closer to the playoffs.