MLB Bullets Digs The Long Ball

On a day like today, with everything going on, I think we need something to take our minds off of things. So here's a report on Mike Krukow hitting a home run, getting into a fight and picking up the win for the Cubs over the Phillies.

• The baseball community reacts to the tragedy in Orlando. As you can imagine, it hit the Rays especially hard.
• Not really too much baseball news over the weekend. But Jake Arrieta and Adam Wainwright have joined Madison Bumgarner in the call to get pitchers into the All-Star Home Run Derby. Or at least a separate one for pitchers. If they do this, they've got to let Bartolo Colon participate.
• Speaking of Bartolo, he set another baseball record over the weekend by NOT drawing a walk.
• On records, Ichiro Suzuki walked in a pinch-hitting appearance yesterday. That leaves him (unofficially) four hits behind Pete Rose. Ichiro isn't making a big deal out of this milestone, but it's become a big deal in Japan. While MLB doesn't recognize NPB as a major league, there's little doubt in my mind that if Ichiro had played his entire career in North America, he would have broken Rose's record.
• Mark Saxon notes that the Pirates have made a lot of enemies in the NL Central with the number of batters they hit.
• Bad news for the Bucs as catcher Francisco Cervelli is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a broken hand.
• Mets manager Terry Collins was taken to the hospital in Milwaukee on Sunday after feeling ill. He's missed yesterday's game and he was held overnight for observation. It does sound like they're just being overly cautious though.
• Do you remember when Daisuke Matsuzaka came to America ten years ago and his super-special "gyroball"? You know, the pitch that turned out to be as real as the Loch Ness Monster? Barry Petchesky tells the history of the "gyroball" and how it became a legend.
• Patrick Dubuque looks at the lost art of stealing home.
• Mark Townsend thinks the long time that replay reviews are taking is a sign that the system needs fixing.
• Nathaniel Grow, in the light of Yordano Ventura's suspension, thinks baseball's system of suspensions needs fixing.
• Former Cubs pitcher David Aardsma explains how the study of biomechanics has saved his career.
• The David Ortiz farewell tour rolled into Minnesota over the weekend. The Twins were Big Papi's first team and Scott Laubner recaps Ortiz's time with the team. He loved the Minnesota State Fair, apparently.
• The Twins gave Ortiz a giant tub of peanut butter as a retirement gift. Find out why.
• Ortiz is also using his time at Target Field to train for his next career as a massage therapist.
• Bad news for the Twins in that Phil Hughes will miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a fractured knee.
• Ben Berkon wonders why MLB doesn't have an industry-wide insurance policy for contracts on injured players?
• The shakeup on the South Side continues as the White Sox designated Jimmy Rollins for assignment.
• Jay Jaffe looks at what has happened to the Pale Hose since their hot start and examines whether their changes have been enough to stop the bleeding.
• Danny Knobler thinks that the reality of a busted season is starting to set in for the Yankees.
• Because the Yankees go through first baseman like Spinal Tap goes through drummers, they signed Ike Davis to a major-league contract. I fear Ike is going to die choking on vomit that is not his own. They'll never be able to tell whose vomit it is because you can't dust for vomit.
• Clayton Kershaw really doesn't care about pitcher wins. As if he wasn't Brian Kenny's favorite pitcher already.
• Doug Padilla believes that the improving Dodgers bullpen is a sign that rookie manager Dave Roberts is improving as well.
• R.J. Anderson thinks Danny Duffy has become the ace of the Royals after starting the season in the bullpen.
• Another pitcher who has transformed himself into an ace this season is the Angels Matt Shoemaker, writes Mike Axisa.
• The Pirates are hoping Jameson Taillon will become an ace after waiting a long time for him to reach the majors.
• Kyle Ringo argues that Jurickson Profar has ignited the Rangers recent winning ways.
• Red Sox third baseman Travis Shaw, the feel-good story of April, has come crashing back to Earth over the past month.
• Giancarlo Stanton recorded the hardest-hit ball ever recorded by StatCast. The result? A 4-6-3 double play. If it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.
• Mark Townsend thinks the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon is an underappreciated star.
• For longtime followers of the Cubs minor leagues, you might remember "Front Row Joe" from the Daytona Cubs/Tortugas who sat in the front row of every Daytona game since 1995. This past Wednesday, Joe Rowe ended his streak. He wasn't sick, he just said it was time for the streak to end. Rowe was often interviewed in the D-Cubs radio broadcasts.
• Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors went to see the Giants game at AT&T Park wearing a Dodgers cap and got booed by the Bay Area crowd. C'mon people. His brother Trayce Thompson plays for the Dodgers. You'd cheer for the Dodgers too if your brother was one. Well, maybe. I don't know your opinion of your brother.
• And finally, Buster Posey got the game-winning hit for the Giants on Saturday, but not before having to retrieve his bat that got stuck in the extended netting earlier in the game. They actually had to get a ladder to get the bat out, but this show the importance of the extended netting.

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