MLB Bullets Recaps The Quarrel In Queens

I wonder if Iggy Pop realized in the early '70s that he was going to be set financially for the rest of his life the moment he realized that "apology" rhymed with "technology." Probably not. He was too strung out at the time. Or if he did, it was probably because he thought his life would be over by next Thursday.

• More stuff 'bout the Mets. The big news over the weekend was that Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was ejected for throwing behind Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley. Later Utley hit two home runs to win the game for the Dodgers.
• Syndergaard denied that he threw at Utley, saying that his hands were "sweaty."
• Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, because someone asked him, said that it's not very easy for a pitcher to actually hit a batter on purpose.
• The Mets have also complained to MLB about the Dodgers' use of an electronic rangefinder to help position their outfielders. To be clear, the Dodgers were not using the device during games, which would be prohibited, but they wanted to use it before the game and then mark the spots on the field. That goes into a grey area of the rulebook, apparently. At least according to the Mets. I'm going to admit that I haven't read the specific rules on that. It's why Rob Manfred makes the big bucks.
• Adam Rubin declares the Mets/Dodgers feud "over." Can he do that? I hope so. He does give five reasons for his decision.
• More notes from the Quarrel in Queens. The debut of Julio Urias that I hyped in this column on Friday turned out to be a bust and Urias was sent back down to the minors after the game. But Urias did say that despite the result, "this is the best day of my life."
• David Schoenfield looked at how other teenage pitchers did in the majors.
• Clayton Kershaw is having an insanely good year, and Michael Clair tries to explain how good Kershaw's current K/BB ratio is.
• The Mets are going to stick with struggling Matt Harvey in the starting rotation. For now, at least.
• The Mets also acquired first baseman James Loney from the Padres.
• And in the "Aww, isn't that cute" moment of the series, Yasiel Puig went to the Statue of Liberty during Thursday's off-day and he ran into a young fan of his. Who from the photo, at least, was too sleepy to know he was getting his picture taken with his idol.
• Moving on to other teams, Yu Darvish made a triumphant return to the mound on Saturday.
• Michael J. Mooney followed Darvish to his minor league rehab and has the story of the work and dedication that went into Darvish's recovery.
• Jonah Keri says Texas' chance to win the AL West is dependent not only on the return of Darvish but also on their willingness to bench or release Prince Fielder.
• Darvish is coming back from Tommy John surgery, of course. Mike Vorkunov reports on a new study that connects the number of fastballs thrown to an increased risk for Tommy John surgery. As always with these things, more research is needed. But it is an interesting start.
• One last Rangers note. With Rougned Odor suspended, the Rangers promoted infielder Jurickson Profar. Profar last played in the majors in 2013.
• Rian Watt has a big story about how some MLB teams are using tracking technology to monitor their players around the clock, raising concerns about privacy and how this data will be used.
• Kyle Ringo thinks that if the Diamondbacks want to get back in the playoff hunt, they need their big free agent acquisition Zack Greinke to start pitching like an ace.
• Grant Brisbee asks if it were possible, would the Diamondbacks like to take back their entire offseason? It hasn't worked out well so far.
• The Snakes have fallen nine games behind the first-place Giants, who very quietly have the second-best record in the National League. Tracy Ringolsby explains that Hunter Pence modestly exemplifies the Giants low-key approach. Also known as "Buster Posey's good friend Hunter Pence."
• The Royals are back on top in the AL Central, thanks to three come-from-behind wins over the White Sox over the weekend. Heh. Still chuckling over that blown six-run lead in the ninth.
• Cliff Corcoran examines how much losing third baseman Mike Moustakas for the season will hurt the Royals playoff chances.
• Alex Remington talks to some Braves fans and worries that this year's terrible team is costing the team fans for life. I've got news for him. In two or three years when the Braves are running away with the NL East, the fans will be back. That's assuming they'll actually be able to reach the new stadium, of course. That's not guaranteed.
• Now that it's Memorial Day, we're getting ready to start "Hug Watch." Ken Rosenthal explains why he thinks Padres pitcher James Shields would be a perfect fit for the White Sox.
• One report says that the "hot name" on the trade market is Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.
• Mike Axisa doesn't even think the former MVP is the Brewers top trade chip. He thinks the Brew Crew's most valuable trade asset is catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
• Daniel Kramer talks to Red Sox third baseman Travis Shaw about how he seized his opportunity to play and made the most of it.
• There's another baseball team in New York other than the Mets. They are . . . can't seem to remember . . . oh yeah. The Yankees. Rays starter Jake Odorizzi held the Yankees to only one hit on Sunday, but that hit was a two-run home run by Starlin Castro and the Yankees won 2-1. The Yankees haven't won a game in which they were one-hit in over 100 years. Nice going, Starlin.
• Taiwanese player Lin Chih-Sheng has now reached base in 100 straight games. That's impressive for any league.
• Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim got his first career home run and his teammates gave him the silent treatment. Last we heard from Kim, he was a Spring Training bust. I guess Spring Training stats really are meaningless.
• For those who don't think extended netting is needed because fans should be aware of foul balls, please note that the Marlins' Derek Dietrich got struck in the back of the head with a foul ball. If even the players can't avoid them, I don't see how the fans are expected to. We don't know how Dietrich is yet.
• Dave Cameron says that the current proposal to "shrink" the strike zone will not extend the length of games by any meaningful amount.
• Will Leitch has a fun list of all the best active players by the year they were born in.
• The Mariners lost to the Twins on Sunday with the ultimate double-TOOTBLAN.
• The daughter of Alex Rodriguez wrote a cute questionnaire about her dad. And I want to know the story behind cutting the apple.
• Some Indians fans spent over $200 building a huge beer can pyramid at Progressive Field. And that was with $2 beer night. Imagine what they could have done at ten-cent beer night. Better yet, don't imagine that.
• And finally, in remembrance of Memorial Day, Lindsay Berra has the stories of the 12 major league ballplayers who lost their lives in service to their country.

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