MLB Bullets Tries Not To Embarrass Itself

Happy Fourth of July. Today's the last day of my vacation, so I'm going to be gone for the next two days as I drive home.

• The Red Sox have been banned from any internationals signings for one year and have had five minor league players signed last year declared free agents.
• Eric Longenhagen looks at the implications of these penalties for Boston and for the rest of baseball.
• Buster Olney, in an ESPN Insider article, says that now that the Red Sox have been punished, the commissioner's office now turns to the Cardinals potential punishment in the hacking scandal.
• Dayn Perry had 10 things to know about the international signing period. I'll point out that the Cubs are under the same restrictions that the Red Sox just got hammered for violating. Also, the Padres and Braves are expected to be the big winners this year.
• The Athletics did well too, signing Cuban outfielder Lazaro Armenteros.
• On the actual games, Stephen Strasburg had a no-hitter going through 6 2/3 innings yesterday, but Dusty Baker took him out at 109 pitches. It seems weird just to type that. The Nationals bullpen lost the no-hitter in the eighth inning.
• The Indians' Rajai Davis hit for the cycle on Saturday, but the Tribe's 14-game win streak came to an end anyway.
• The Angels blew out the Red Sox on Saturday 21-2 and C.J. Cron and Carlos Perez combined for a hitting milestone not seen in baseball since 1936.
• Despite that, Tim Brown writes that the Angels are fading into irrelevance this season.
• Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke went on the disabled list with an oblique strain.
• Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson goes on the DL with a shoulder injury after crashing into a wall.
• Doug Padilla writes about how Clayton Kershaw's injury is affecting the Dodgers plans this season.
• Jonny Venters was attempting a comeback after a third Tommy John surgery but he tore his UCL again. He has to decide between a fourth Tommy John surgery or retirement. Seriously dude. You've got to be running out of good ligaments. I know it's hard, but it's time to hang it up. (Also, Venters is a good example of why TJS comes with no guarantee of a comeback.)
• Indians outfielder Abraham Almonte has served out his 80-game PED suspension and has returned to the team.
• The Twins sent Byung-Ho Park down to the minors.
• After the birth of his second child, Nick Swisher opted out of his deal with the Yankees and said he will sit out the rest of 2016. He insists he's made no decision on playing again in 2017, however.
• Disney has purchased one-third of MLB Advanced Media for more than a billion dollars. But we can't afford to pay minor leaguers minimum wage.
• I have been replaced by a robot. I know that there are many of you out there who feel that is progress.
• Jonah Keri looks at the Orioles' secret for success.
• Peter Gammons has sympathy for the devil as he writes that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is focused on the long-term success of the franchise.
• Gersh Kuntzman wants teams to stop playing "God Bless America" at games. Amen.
• Henry Grabar agrees with Kuntzman's analysis of the song, but he believes it is the Yankees secret weapon for "icing" the opposing team's pitcher. Yet another reason to dump it.
• Jerry Crasnick thinks that Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is finally living up to his potential.
• Mark Townsend likes the way that Joey Votto lives up to his reputation as a villain on the road.
• Manny Randhawa looks at the career of Jason Grilli, who he terms the "ultimate baseball survivor."
• Matthew B. Mowery talks about a documentary about the life and career of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych.
• Vin Scully admitted he didn't think Sandy Koufax was much of a prospect when he first saw him.
• Josh Reddick hit a "hole-in-one" as his drive to the outfield landed in a hole in the Oakland Coliseum wall.
• Mike Trout got engaged in a big way.
• Salvador Perez tried to tackle the umpire going after a foul pop.
• And finally, we've seen a lot of position player pitching over the weekend. Some were more successful than others. But no one looked as bad as the Twins' Eduardo Nunez trying to hit a knuckleball from the Rangers' Bryan Holaday.

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