MLB Bullets Has A Price To Pay

A vulture and his son had a fight which left them estranged for years. One day, after years of living apart, the son returned to the nest to make amends with his family. The father welcomed his prodigy back and invited him to dinner with his mother and siblings. The son asked what they were eating and the father replied “Carrion, my wayward son.”

Thank you. Be sure to tip your wait staff on the way out.

• The Butcher’s Bill is especially high today as Red Sox ace David Price had an MRI on his sore elbow and is going to Dr. James Andrews (Da dum dummmm!) to get a second opinion.
• Scott Lauber writes that the Red Sox don’t want to think about what will happen if Price needs Tommy John surgery but adds that it’s not a foregone conclusion that he will.
• The Red Sox might not want to think about it, but Craig Edwards outlines what it means to the Red Sox if Price misses all of 2017.
• Grant Brisbee looks at what happens after pitchers see Dr. Andrews for a second opinion. The odds are not good that the player will avoid surgery. (I should mention this is not because Dr. Andrews is a knife-happy surgeon. It’s because no one goes to see him if they got a clean bill of health from their first doctor and most of the time, Dr. Andrews is just confirming what the player has already been told. From Lauber’s article, we hear that Price’s MRI was “inconclusive,” so there is hope for Price.)
• Al already published an article about the new rules changes for 2017, but Anthony Castrovince tries to make sense of them all.
• As far as pitcher Carter Capps goes, the situation is still unclear. The Padres say that they have been led to believe that Capps’ delivery is still legal as long as he drags his foot and doesn’t hop a second time
• David Fleming has some thoughts about Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow’s “relentless pursuit of failure.” Whether you think Tebow’s quest is a noble, romantic quest against impossible odds or just a foolish reluctance to accept reality is a philosophical question that everyone has to answer for themselves, argues Fleming.
• Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang was given an eight-month suspended sentence for drunken driving. He’ll now be allowed to report to Spring Training and will stay out of jail if he can stay out of trouble for the next two years.
• Jon Heyman looks ahead to Bryce Harper’s upcoming free agency and guesses where he will end up playing. Realistically, he’s going to sign with the Yankees, although he is happy in Washington.
• Harper, for his part, says he’s not going to worry about anything but the present, reports Bob Nightengale.
• Scott Lauber thinks the Red Sox’s decision to renew Mookie Betts’ contract (even at a near-record salary for a renewal) could cost the Red Sox when Betts becomes a free agent. Seriously? No, it won’t.
• In case you don’t want to listen to me, Michael Baumann gives you six reasons to watch the World Baseball Classic.
• Hanley Ramirez has dropped out of the WBC with a sore shoulder and has been replaced on the Dominican Republic roster by Jean Segura. That seems like, at worst, a lateral move for the DR.
• Segura’s new team, the Mariners, were very busy this winter. But Kate Morrison asks if the Mariners busy winter has made them any better?
• It was revealed that White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu ate his fake passport that he used to get out of Cuba. But as Jeff Passan writes, that’s just one of many horror stories being told by Cuban ballplayers who left the island.
• And a Mexican League manager has turned up safe after disappearing after part of what authorities are only calling an “extortion attempt.”
• Jerry Crasnick explains why there is no need to be scared of Joey Votto anymore. He means that Votto has become friendlier, a better teammate and a mentor to the younger players on the Reds. Pitchers? You can still be scared of Votto.
• Jeff Sullivan thinks that Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich is just one adjustment away from being the next Votto at the plate.
• Tom Verducci talks to Albert Pujols about his contract, his time with the Angels and some upcoming milestones.
• Tracy Ringolsby picks a “surprise” team for each division.
• David Schoenfield is fascinated by the 2017 Braves, who may not be good, but they’ll be interesting.
• Cliff Corcoran ranks every baseball team over how “watchable” they’ll be in 2017.
• Anthony Castrovince “overreacts” to Spring Training. Or does he?
• The Nationals may end up releasing catcher Derek Norris, since no one seems to be willing to trade anything for him.
• David Schoenfield wonders if David Wright’s career is over.
• Mike Lupica is a big fan of Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. Who isn’t?
• Joe Posnanski tells the story of Rangers reliever Jake Diekman and his battle with colitis. Diekman is in the process of having his colon removed and wants to raise awareness of the disease.
• Longtime Mets player of the 1960s and ‘70s Ed Kranepool needs a kidney transplant and is selling his 1969 World Series ring to help pay for it.
• Cardinals minor league pitcher Ryan Sherriff had been walking to Spring Training every day so Adam Wainwright paid for a rental car for him for the rest of the spring.
• A Padres player left a Spring Training game after getting hit by a pitch, so his mother asked on Twitter if he was OK. (He was fine.)
• Mets minor leaguer Luis Guillorme is known for his ability to catch a baseball, but he also made a spectacular one-handed catch of a flying baseball bat as well. Grant Brisbee thinks he’s Batman.
• And finally, Dodgers pitcher Trevor Oaks is a man of many talents, one of which includes putting on a piano concert in the Dodgers clubhouse for his teammates. Which begs the question: What was a piano doing in the middle of the Dodgers clubhouse? (So Trevor Oaks could perform for the team. Duh.)

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