MLB Bullets Is Ready To Rumble

Good morning.

• Yesterday the Rangers and Blue Jays got into a major fight yesterday and second baseman Rougned Odor hit Jose Bautista in the chin with a right cross.
• Mike Axisa breaks down everything that had happened that led up to this bench-clearing brawl.
• David Schoenfield thinks that the Rangers are mostly to blame for this fight.
• Jon Tayler agrees that the Rangers are the primary culprit here, but he thinks the Blue Jays have more responsibility than Schoenfield blames them for. But above all, Tayler thinks that baseball "culture" caused much of this to happen.
• Sure enough, the internet went wild over this fight. Because it's the internet.
• And that includes Wikipedia, which was quickly vandalized Odor and Bautista's entries to reflect the incident.
• The man who threw the pitch who hit Bautista was former first pick in the draft Matt Bush, who was called up to the majors by the Rangers after having spent 39 months in prison.
• On Friday, MLB announced that Jose Reyes has been suspended under the domestic violence policy until May 31. That works out to a 51-game suspension. He will not appeal the suspension.
• Bob Nightengale says that the suspension indicates that MLB's domestic violence policy has teeth.
• Jayson Stark agrees that the suspension was tough, but he wonders how one decides what the "proper" amount of suspension is in a case like this. Stark thinks there are no easy answers to how many game Reyes should have lost.
• Cliff Corcoran thinks that the suspension was a good first (or second) step in MLB taking a stand against domestic violence.
• Buster Olney talks to people within baseball who argue that Reyes and the Rockies have another problem: Reyes may not be good enough anymore to play for the Rockies, even without the suspension. (ESPN Insider Only) The Rockies still owe him $41 million.
• As far as player suspensions for PEDs goes, Ken Rosenthal notes that several recently-suspended players are seeking answers as to why they tested positive. They believe that they accidentally took something tainted, and there is some evidence to support that. Not enough to lower the suspension, though.
• The Houston Chronicle apologized for the article where they quoted Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez in fractured English.
• Grant Brisbee thinks that a sequel to Moneyball about the 2016 Oakland Athletics would be "sad as hell."
• At least they have Danny Valencia, who hit three home runs yesterday. Dayn Perry notes that none of the home runs were cheapies.
• Meg Rowley is surprised that the Mariners are actually good.
• Mark Townsend has three things that Braves fans can look forward to this season. Other than the sweet release of death, I assume?
• There was a fanshot about this, but it's important. Former Cub Dan Haren opens up about his injuries and his anxiety that led to his retirement from baseball. He also talks about life after baseball.
• You might remember Dan Johnson as a first baseman with the A's or the Rays. But he's still playing in independent ball, trying to recast himself as a knuckleball pitcher.
• Michael Stern writes that the Marlins are responding to manager Don Mattingly's easygoing approach.
• Giants closer Santiago Casilla has apologized after exploding when manager Bruce Bochy pulled him in the ninth inning of Thursday night's win.
• Cat Garcia writes that Jose Quintana is one of the best pitchers in baseball.
• Manny Randhawa thinks Nolan Arenado is one of the best and one of the most underappreciated players in the game.
• David Schoenfield examines how Daniel Murphy is hitting .400 so far this year.
• Scott Spratt examines whether defensive shifts have gone too far. (ESPN Insider Only)
• Former Reds pitcher Sammy Ellis has died.
• I linked to a story about this last week, but Lindsay Berra has the newly erected gravestone of 19th Century baseball pioneer James Whyte Davis and explains why this project matters.
• Normally I don't cover softball, but you have to see how Army's Kasey McCravey leaps over the catcher to touch home plate.
• David Ortiz was showered with baby powder after hitting the game-winning walkoff double. At least we hope that's baby powder.
• And finally, my motto has always been that baseball is better in Korean. Watch outfielder Lee Dae-hyung bunt for a double over the heads of the infielders.

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