MLB Bullets holds all the cards

Good morning. Print out this page and paste it on your cereal box to read with breakfast.

• They don’t call it the Wild Card for nothing. Cliff Corcoran profiles all eight American League teams that are still fighting for the second Wild Card spot.
• David Schoenfield takes a different tack in that he gives reasons to cheer for each of the eight teams to take that last playoff spot. Just in case you can’t decide which of these teams are for you.
• Mike Axisa notes that the while the National League Wild Card race may not be quite as interesting, the slumping Rockies and Diamondbacks have made the NL WC race interesting again, as the Brewers, Cardinals and even the Marlins have a shot.
• I love this piece by Ben Lindbergh and you will too if you’re a fan of down-on-their-luck stories about people who refuse to give up on their dreams. Lindbergh spent time with the Salina Stockade of the independent American Association, the worst team in professional baseball.
• Lindbergh has been spending a lot of time in minor league stadiums lately and he relates that he had a terrific time watching the total eclipse at the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes game.
• Speaking of the American Association, their St. Paul Saints have long been associated with interesting promotions. They painted 56,000 colored dots on their field to stage the world’s biggest game of Twister.
• Bill Baer lists some major leaguers who are quietly having terrific seasons.
• Mike Axisa looks back at how we overreacted to small sample sizes in April and notes how we would have reacted if April played out the way August had. Back to the minors, Aaron Judge.
• Jay Jaffe analyzes what has gone wrong for Judge in the second half.
• Mike Axisa (again) believes that a shoulder injury is the cause of Judge’s struggles.
• Zach Kram looks at the struggles of another Yankee, ex-closer Aroldis Chapman, and he offers an explanation for why Chapman isn’t getting very many swings and misses.
• Scott Lauber wonders if the Red Sox will be able to get through the gauntlet of the playoffs without David Price.
• Jeff Passan is impressed with the debut of Red Sox rookie third baseman Rafael Devers. Plus some other thoughts on Joey Gallo, Mike Trout and others.
• Jeff Sullivan notes that Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is finally playing like the star that everyone thought he was going to be. Well, maybe not quite since many thought he’d be Trout 2.0. But he is playing like a terrific ballplayer anyway.
• Dave Cameron thinks Phillies rookie outfielder Rhys Hoskins looks pretty awesome too.
• Neil Paine believes that the greatness of Joey Votto is wasted on the Reds. I’d agree, except that he really should be playing for an American League team. Like the Blue Jays, maybe. The Cubs played them this year. They probably shouldn’t play them again for a while.
• Sam Miller says that for those who think the single-season home run record isn’t 73, maybe it’s 66. Or maybe it’s 61. Or even maybe it’s 37.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred says the technology will be ready for our robot umpire overlords “sooner than later.” He says that it then becomes a question as to whether or not we want to use them. I don’t know—do any of them record bad country music?
• Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler was fined $10,000 for his comments about umpire Angel Hernandez.
• MLB will implement a fan code of conduct for 2018. What? I won’t be able to watch games in just my underwear anymore? Oh, it will only apply to fans attending in person. Good.
• Bradford Doolittle analyzed the recent start of Tigers ace Justin Verlander when he dominated the Dodgers and thinks that the Astros should be talking to Detroit right now.
• Diamondbacks outfielder Yasmany Tomas will have season-ending surgery.
• Believe it or not, Mets third baseman David Wright played a game last night for the St. Lucie Mets. He was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, in case you were wondering. I’m pretty sure he’s rusty.
• The Giants released outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. at his own request.
• Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Felo Ramirez has died at 94. He had been calling games in Spanish for 60 years and was the voice of the Marlins from their birth in 1993 to this past April.
• Carroll Rogers Watson interviews ESPN broadcaster Jessica Mendoza.
• Grant Brisbee remembers the 10th anniversary of the day that the Rangers beat the Orioles, 30-3.
• It was a better day in Baltimore yesterday because it was Boog-fest! Mariners outfielder Boog Powell finally met Orioles legend Boog Powell. They also called the kid in the Little League World Series who goes by Boog Powell.
• Joe Posnanski ranks the best 25 nicknames in baseball history. He doesn’t go back far enough. No Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson? The Only Nolan?
• Speaking of the Little League World Series, Joe Sparacio has a photo essay on the Little League Classic for you to re-live that day.
• Here’s a piece on “Boyhood,” one of the most popular TV shows in China about a popular boy band that tries to save a losing baseball team. I heard about this show on NPR—there’s a lot more going on in this show than they let on here, but the point today is that millions and millions of young Chinese are learning about baseball because of this show.
• And finally, Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies tried to throw to first base to complete a double play, but the ball ended up at home plate. That’s like 50 Cent first pitch bad.

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