Happy Friday. You want links. I've got them. Let's get this over with.
- The Orioles are kind of surprisingly in first place in the AL East. I say "kind of" because while no one thought they were bad, few thought they were the best team in their division. But now they are looking to stock up for the stretch drive and Jon Paul Morosi says they are interested in picking up a left-handed starter. He also reviews the Orioles market.
- Ken Rosenthal notes that while the Orioles have made some pretty terrible trades in recent years (cough. Jake Arrieta. cough) the Birds must be doing something right to be as successful as they have in recent years.
- Multiple teams are interested in Braves pitcher Bud Norris, which just goes to show how bad the starting pitching trade market is.
- Rosenthal also notes that the Indians have a problem if they want to acquire Jay Bruce. Namely, the Tribe is on Bruce's no-trade list.
- I've linked to other articles saying the same thing before, but Matt Snyder once again lays out the case for the Pirates trading Andrew McCutchen.
- Wallace Matthews declares the Yankees a "bad team," or more accurately, he writes that the Yankees have declared themselves a bad team through their putrid play. He think the team needs to start selling parts now.
- Jonah Keri thinks the Marlins could win a playoff spot this year but they'll need to make some trades to improve their starting pitching. I hear Bud Norris is available and yes, he would be an upgrade.
- The Rangers lost two starting pitchers to the disabled list this week and David Schoenfield notes that the team is scrambling to replace them.
- Jonathan Bernhardt traces the ups and downs and ups and downs of the Rangers rotation this season.
- The Braves may not trade him, but Eno Sarris evaluates just how good Julio Teheran is.
- Aaron Gleeman notes how the Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler trade looks a lot different in hindsight. I will admit that I was one of those who thought the Rangers had made a great trade, although I remember some of the smarter posters around here convincing me that the deal wasn't as one-sided as I initially thought. So while I am an idiot, I am at least open to learning.
- David Schoenfield looks at five slumping sluggers and gives a prognosis on the chances they'll bounce back. Yes, Fielder is on the list.
- The Rockies have started the procedure to release Jose Reyes. I'd say that deal worked out horrible for Colorado, except that Troy Tulowitzki has been pretty mediocre for the Blue Jays as well and the Rockies still have Jeff Hoffman.
- Doug Padilla looks at the options the Dodgers have for filling the holes in their rotation.
- You've probably seen Yasiel Puig's walk-off single/three-base error "Little League home run" that won Wednesday night's game. Puig, for his part, said he had to convince his hamstring to let him circle the bases on that play.
- Nationals outfielder Michael Taylor made the error that cost the Nats the game on that play. Jay Jaffe makes the case that Taylor had the worst game in MLB history that night.
- Red Sox outfielder Chris Young injured his hamstring. He should have talked to it more like Puig did.
- Twins closer Glen Perkins is out for the season after labrum surgery. He wrote a note to Twins fans saying that he's upset that he's still getting paid. I'm willing to take that money off your hands if it makes you feel better, Glen.
- Mets manager Terry Collins has apologized for calling the team's VP of media relations "a puppy dog."
- Jerry Crasnick talks to Ozzie Guillen and about why he hasn't gotten another chance to manage. I do miss Ozzie in the game. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him anywhere near Wrigley Field. But I do wish some team would hire him, just for the laughs.
- Anthony Castrovince lists seven players who have been pleasant surprises for their teams in 2016.
- August Fagerstrom writes about the disconnect between Eric Hosmer's gold gloves and his poor defensive statistics.
- Erik Kratz became the first player since 1879 to both pitch and catch for two different teams in one season. He's done neither well, unfortunately.
- Karen McDonough writes about Athletics rookie pitcher Daniel Mengden, who chose baseball over a family tradition of ballet. He has three ballet dancing siblings. It must be the season for AL rookies with family ballet connections, because both of Max Kepler's parents are ballet dancers in Berlin.
- Former Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine is trying to make a comeback as a knuckleball pitcher.
- Mariners minor leaguer Boog Powell was suspended 80 games for testing positive for a PED.
- Tom Seaver's wife is upset that there is no statue of her husband outside Citi Field. Of course, there are no statues of any player outside Citi Field, so I'm not sure why she's so upset. It's not like Lenny Dykstra has one at the entrance gates and Tom Terrific doesn't.
- After 40 years of toiling in the Braves minor league system, interim manager Brian Snitker is finally in the majors leagues for the first time. He knows this gig will almost certainly end at the end of the season and he'll be headed back to the minors, but he's just going to enjoy every day while he's up in the show.
- Hilary Potkewitz tells the story of James Sass, a bat salesman for Louisville Slugger. There's more to the job that you might think.
- You can now get a 1994 Expos World Series Champions cap. Or you could, but they're all sold out. Jonah Keri will just have to find one on Ebay.
- The New Orleans Zephyrs, the Marlins Triple-A affiliate, is changing their team nickname and almost all of the choices have to do with food.
- The complete conversation between Derek Jeter and President Obama is on-line.
- And finally, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones got frustrated after flying out so he took it out on his gum. That's a neat trick, spitting out your gum and kicking it on the fly.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.