MLB Bullets Asks You To Please Clap

I care way more about the whole Dovydas Neverauskas issue than I should, but we now have a definitive answer that Neverauskas is indeed the first Lithuanian-born major leaguer. Earlier reports claimed that Joe Zapustas, who played three games for the Athletics in 1933, was the first Lithuanian-born player, although everyone agreed he grew up in Boston. But official MLB historian John Thorn explains that while Zapustas was ethnically Lithuanian, he was born in what is present-day Latvia. Both Latvia and Lithuania were part of the Czarist Russian Empire when Zapustas was born.

We’re still waiting for our first major leaguer born on the African continent. There are actually more major leaguers born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean than were born in Africa. Maybe the Pirates will find a spot for Gift Ngoepe sometime this summer. At least a September callup.

• There is a report that the Marlins have agreed to be sold to a group headed by former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter for $1.3 billion. Please clap. (It should be mentioned that there is a lot about this agreement that we don’t know yet, like where are Bush and Jeter getting $1.3 billion. They’re both rich. They’re not that rich.)
• The new Marlins ownership is expected to retain Marlins manager Don Mattingly. I do wonder if some veteran hazing of a rookie from Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1995 will get mentioned, however.
• Ken Rosenthal wonders why Jeter would want to get involved with a troubled franchise like the Marlins. He suggests hubris plays a role.
• Ian O’Connor thinks no one should doubt Jeter’s drive to succeed.
• Michael Baumann thinks Bush and Jeter couldn’t be worse than current owner Jeffrey Loria and he bemoans a system that would allow Loria to profit so much from his own mismanagement.
• Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes was suspended for four games for throwing at Manny Machado.
• Ken Rosenthal explains the problems with harsher punishments for such incidents.
• Grant Brisbee writes that the “unwritten rule” should be never throw a baseball at someone.
• Will Leitch praises Dustin Pedroia for being the voice of reason over the whole matter.
• Buster Olney lays all the blame on the Red Sox.
• Nationals shortstop Trea Turner hit for the cycle last night.
• Nats manager Dusty Baker compares Turner to Rickey Henderson and explains that Turner is going to bat leadoff from now one.
• Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner faced the media and admitted that going dirt biking was “definitely not the most responsible decision” he could have made.
• Dave Cameron argues that the Giants shouldn’t give up on 2017 just yet.
• Two Astros, second baseman Jose Altuve and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, had a scary collision in last night’s game. That one will give you flashbacks.
• The Indians fixed their early season problems with their starting rotation by doing nothing, reports Jerry Crasnick.
• Mets outfielder Jay Bruce insists that the struggling Mets haven’t hit “Oh [expletive]” level yet.
• Mark Saxon believes that the Cardinals have turned their struggling season around the past few days.
• Rian Watt thinks that while the Reds aren’t a good team, they are an exciting one.
• Ken Rosenthal wonders if the Rockies and the Diamondbacks are the teams on the rise in the NL West. (Rising, yes. Contending, not yet. Probably.)
• Former Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart thinks that the Snakes early strong start is proof he was a good general manager, proving that he still doesn’t understand sample sizes.
• Jack Magruder looks at the Diamondbacks options for replacing the injured Shelby Miller.
• Lee Jenkins has a profile of high school right-handed pitcher/shortstop Hunter Greene and why baseball is looking forward to his arrival. You’re going to hear a lot about Greene over the next few months, as he’ll likely be the first or second pick in the draft. And while he’s a legitimate first-round pick as a shortstop, it’s his pitching that makes him a possible first pick.
• One person who probably read that article and didn’t like it is Louisville left-handed pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay, the other big candidate for the Twins to select with the first pick in the draft. So McKay just hit four home runs in one game against Eastern Michigan yesterday.
• David Schoenfield wonders just how good are pitchers Rick Porcello and Kyle Hendricks?
• Ben Lindbergh keeps his eye on five new pitches and the pitchers who throw them.
• The Dodgers promoted top prospect Clay Bellinger and Tommy Stokke writes that it was the right time to make the move.
• The Braves traded reliever David Hernandez to the Angels for cash. That cash-guy gets traded a lot.
• Jonah Keri got to sit down and interview Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a one-hour podcast. They talked a lot about the Expos, among other things.
• Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman got called for an illegal “quick pitch,” although it certainly seems like it was a bad call.
• The Marlins, at the end of a long road trip, have to stay in a hotel in Delaware because all the hotels in Philadelphia are filled up for the NFL Draft.
• Travis Sawchik points out that most of the new ballparks are pushing the upper deck away from the playing field in order to accommodate luxury boxes. He’s against this trend.
• John Thorn explains the importance of that newly-discovered 1876 constitution of the National League.
• Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The Blue Jay jumped over the Cardinal. OK, that didn’t work. And it’s dumb. But I deserve partial credit for trying to describe Chris Coughlan’s incredible jump over Yadier Molina at the plate to score a run last night.
• And finally, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria hit a ball that seemed to go whichever direction it wanted to. And Longoria didn’t run it out, so he was out when the ball decided to go fair.

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