MLB Bullets Remembers

I’m getting tired of being the bearer of bad news. But just to put things in perspective:

• As you’ve no doubt heard, Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic over the weekend. He was 25.
• Just a few hours earlier, former major leaguer Andy Marté was killed in a different car accident in the Dominican. He was 33. Marté has played the past two seasons in Korea and had one of those “What should have been” careers. I remember thinking he was going to be a star in the mid-aughts.
• Royals players Danny Duffy and Christian Colon joined fans outside Kauffman Stadium, sharing their grief.
• Others shared their remembrances on social media, both for Ventura and Marté.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred made a formal statement on the passing of the two ballplayers.
• Jerry Crasnick writes that once again, the baseball world is in shock over a sudden passing.
• Grant Brisbee remembers both Ventura and Marté.
• Anthony Castrovince writes that they both left us too soon.
• Jeff Passan says “fearless” is the word to describe Ventura’s life and career.
• Tom Verducci offers his thoughts on Ventura and those of Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland. Eiland says he feels like he lost a son.
• Joe Posnanski traces Ventura’s “miraculous” rise through the minor leagues.
• Ken Rosenthal writes that Ventura had the makings of a star.
• Jorge L. Ortiz writes that Ventura’s intensity could be a good thing and a bad thing.
• Bill Baer offers that Ventura represented what was good and what was bad about baseball culture.
• Michael Bauman just thinks Ventura brought so much flair and joy to the game.
• I feel bad moving on to our regularly-scheduled baseball news, but that’s what we have to do, right? Life will go on after all of us are gone. So Michael Klopman praises the Orioles for getting a good deal in re-signing Mark Trumbo.
• Grant Brisbee doesn’t think the Orioles can stop with just Trumbo and that the team should be in “win-now” mode.
• Jonathan Bernhardt makes that same “win-now” comment about the Marlins, but that the Fish aren’t doing a very good job of it.
• Mike Axisa thinks that the Athletics refusal to do a teardown and rebuild is costing the team.
• Axisa also looks at the remaining free agent sluggers on the market and where they might end up. Unfortunately for some of them, the answer might just be “involuntary retirement.” (Or Korea, one supposes.)
• One other guy who isn’t ready to hang it up yet is Tim Lincecum, who still wants to play in 2017. “A funny thing happened on the way to Cooperstown. . .”
• Speaking of Cooperstown, Andrew Marchand thinks that Alex Rodriguez’s Hall fate will be determined by Manny Ramirez and how well he does in the voting.
• Manny Randhawa thinks Edgar Martinez now has a “fighting chance” to make Cooperstown, although he doesn’t even think it should be a question.
• Doug Glanville offers his personal thoughts on those inducted and those who just missed. He also thinks that while the numbers are important, future voters will need to go beyond the numbers to determine a player’s hall-worthiness.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that the Angels recent moves, like signing Luis Valbuena, are driven by the uncertainty over the health of Albert Pujols.
• Dayn Perry shows how the Angels could be contenders in 2017. Seems like every week we have another story about how the Angels are the sleeper pick in 2017. Certainly a healthy Angels pitching staff would be a big step forward for the team.
• Scott Lauber writes about the challenges Chris Sale faces in his first season pitching half of his games at Fenway Park.
• The Braves signed catcher Kurt Suzuki.
• Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis could play for Team Israel in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
• The Blue Jays will wear red alternate uniforms in 2017.
• Dallas McLaughlin criticizes the Padres for their constantly-changing uniforms, saying that it hinders the fans from establishing a bond with the team. He also talked with the front office about the brown unis, but the team says that brown is pretty controversial among the fanbase.
• Steven Martano has a history of baseball and tobacco products. Interesting reading.
• Orioles outfielder Adam Jones got to live a life-long dream with his new off-season job as an “off-ice official” for the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League. He got to be in charge of the penalty box.
• We’re used to seeing Dee Gordon go fast around Marlins Park, but this is the first time he’s ever done it in a race car.
• And finally, with all the talk about putting radio receivers in catcher’s masks, Meg Rowley wonders what those conversations would be like.

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