MLB Bullets Has Gone To Be With The Angels

I'm listening to Pet Sounds, just a couple days after the 50th anniversary of its release. The greatest rock 'n roll record ever. And I'm sure I'll now hear about some Rush album that if I just gave it a chance, I'd change my mind on that.

• The first ax of the season fell as the woeful Braves (or is that Barves?) fired manager Fredi Gonzalez. Gonzalez will be replaced on an interim basis by Triple-A Gwinnett manager Brian Snitker. I should mention that I got a press release announcing that Snitker is the first former Myrtle Beach Pelicans manager to manage in the big leagues.
• Snitker is happy for the opportunity, even as he's sad for his friend Gonzalez. Snitker has been in the Braves organization for 40 years.
• In the "Oops, that's embarrassing" category, Gonzalez realized he was fired when he received an email of his travel itinerary back to Atlanta on Monday, the night before they actually informed him he had been terminated.
• The Braves are off to a worse start than the 1962 Mets, who lost 120 games.
• Cy Brown thinks Gonzalez needed to be fired, but not for anything he's done with this year's woeful Braves.
• Jerry Crasnick looks at the favorites to be the next permanent manager of the Braves.
• The fallout of the Sunday Afternoon Fights hit as Rougned Odor was suspended for eight games. Jose Bautista got one game. Overall, 14 players or staff were either suspended or fined.
• Bob Nightengale thinks the punishment was fair.
• Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was also suspended one game for a tirade in a game Monday night.
• There was a "fight" in last night between the Madison Bumgarner and Wil Myers, but it was one of those typical baseball fights where the benches clear and people yell and no one actually gets hit.
• Staying on the West Coast, Tim Lincecum has gone to be with the Angels.
• OK, Lincecum isn't dead. But Grant Brisbee is really sad anyway.
• David Schoenfield thinks that Lincecum is unlikely to make much of a difference in the Angels season. Still, he does think that the Freak is worth a shot.
• Not so much, writes Bill Shaikin, who compares the signing of Lincecum to the Angels' 1991 signing of Fernando Valenzuela. And a bunch of other late-Autry Angels desperation moves.
• Steven Goldman explains why no trade of Mike Trout will ever make sense for the Angels.
• Also, Angels pitcher Garrett Richards will not undergo Tommy John surgery, but will attempt to rehab his elbow instead first.
• The Pirates have locked up catcher Francisco Cervelli for the next three seasons. That's Amore.
• Chris Cwik thinks the Bucs are using smart tactics to build a long-term contender on a budget.
• After a terrible start in the desert, Daniel Kramer thinks that Diamondbacks pitcher Shelby Miller has finally straightened his season out.
• Jonah Keri examines how the Phillies have ridden good young pitching to become the surprise team in the NL so far. That, and a lot of games against the Braves.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that Noah Syndergaard has joined Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta as the best pitchers in the National League.
• Mark Saxon thinks Stephen Piscotty is the future of the Cardinals.
• Cardinals manager Mike Matheny explains how much work goes into making out a lineup card. No, it's not darts.
• Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explains why he like to mix up the lineup a lot. Again, not darts.
• Mike Axisa looks ahead towards the trade market for the White Sox and whom they might target for a mid-season boost.
• People who wrote off Robinson Cano as a bust after last season are strangely quiet as Cano is having an MVP-type season, writes Chris Cwik.
• And add Hanley Ramirez to that list as Tom Verducci writes that Ramirez has turned the direction of his career around and is now one of the team leaders of the Red Sox.
• Andrew Simon makes the case for Carlos Beltran for the Hall of Fame.
• Grant Brisbee writes that after Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Beltre reach the plateau, joining the 500-home-run club could become rare again for quite a while.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred is not happy that the length of games is getting longer again this season.
• We'll finish in the minors. Rougned Odor's former team, the Frisco Rough Riders, is going to be serving "Rougie's Red Punch" in a commemorative cup.
• And finally, the Binghamton Mets are going to change their name. You can help pick between six very off-the-wall choices. I actually kind of like "Rumble Ponies." Yes, it does sound like a biker gang formed by people who got kicked out of Sha Na Na.

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