MLB Bullets goes streaking

Good Friday.

• The Diamondbacks fell short of a record for most consecutive innings without trailing, but they won their 13th-straight game anyway.
• Which means they have two games to go to catch the Indians, who won their 15th-straight game yesterday.
• Together, it’s the first time in baseball history that two teams have winning streaks of 13 games or more at the same time.
• A local Cleveland windows dealer is going to have to give some refunds after a promotion offering to refund the money of anyone who bought windows in July if the Indians were to win 15 games in a row.
• Cliff Corcoran looks at some of the greatest winning streaks in post-war baseball history.
• Cleveland and Arizona are streaking in the good way. The Dodgers are streaking in the bad way. Jay Jaffe gives some explanations as to how the “best team ever” went to the worst stretch in baseball in just a few weeks.
• Paolo Uggetti has a profile that’s worth your time entitled “The Redemption of Yasiel Puig.” #puigyourfriend
• And then there is Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who is now a team-record oh-fer his last 38 at-bats.
• Grant Brisbee looks at what we’d be saying right now if baseball’s first half never happened.
• Former Yankees executive and manager Gene Michael died at age 79. Michael also managed the Cubs in 1986 and 1987.
• Michael’s tenure as Cubs manager is generally not remembered fondly by Cubs fans. But Michael deserves a lot of credit of building the great Yankees teams of the late-90s.
• Joel Sherman remembers the state of the Yankees in 1990 when Michael took over and he calls Michael “the man who saved the Yankees,” he also writes that he a good man on and off the field. Sherman also remembers that Michael was talking about on-base percentage in 1990, which seems ridiculous now but was pretty progressive for baseball front offices at the time.
• Buster Olney credits Michael’s “stubbornness” and honesty for his success in building the Yankees.
• Orioles manager Buck Showalter remembers Michael, the man who gave him his first major league managing job.
• Before we move on from the Yankees, Ben Lindbergh places Aaron Judge’s second-half dropoff in the context of great second-half swoons throughout baseball history.
• And then there’s Yankees reliever Chad Green, who has been a big reason for the Yankees success this season.
• There is more on the sign-stealing controversy as the Red Sox have now accused the Yankees of using YES cameras to steal signs.
• The Angels and the Athletics also got into a brouhaha over alleged sign-stealing.
• Jeff Passan has a history of sign stealing.
• Will Leitch looks at the strengths and weaknesses of each American League Wild Card contender.
• Zach Kram looks at the Twins, who are looking to be the first team to go from 100 losses one year to the playoffs the next, and thinks outfielder Byron Buxton will be the man to lead them if they do.
• Eddie Matz looks at Bryce Harper and other injured players who could have a big impact on the races if they return to the field.
• Bob Nightengale has another jeremiad against the expanded rosters in September. I agree it’s a problem, but I’m not sure Nightengale’s solution is the answer.
• We just finished with Hurricane Harvey, and now Hurricane Irma is threatening to do major damage and baseball will be affected like everyone else. Tim Healey explains how the Marlins are preparing Marlins Park to withstand the storm.
• The Braves are offering to help by giving a free ticket to anyone with a Florida ID to this weekend’s games.
• Like the Rangers, the Yankees are unwilling to flip series with the Rays.
• Stephen Loftus writes that the new penalties to prevent teams from going over the luxury-tax threshold aren’t stiff enough to keep any team from going over.
• Despite needing rotator cuff surgery, Mets third baseman David Wright has no intention of retiring. David Wright is the Amy Winehouse of baseball—should have been one of the greatest ever but couldn’t stay healthy. (Yeah, I know that Amy’s health problems were self-inflicted.)
• Noah Syndergaard talks about his rehab and the adjustments he’s making to stay healthy.
• David Schoenfield thinks that the way the Mets are handling Matt Harvey indicates that the team doesn’t expect Harvey to be back in 2018.
• Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton went on the DL with a broken thumb. He’s probably out for the season.
• Here’s a great piece on former Phillies prospect Matt Imhof and his life after baseball. Imhof, if you remember, lost an eye when a piece of exercise equipment broke. He’s had good days and bad days. One of the best days was when he got to meet with many of his former Phillies minor league teammates when the team played the Giants at AT&T Park.
• A seven-year-old girl with a 3D printed hand wants to throw out the first pitch at all 30 ballparks.
• The Athletics are putting up 50 life-sized statues of their mascot Stomper around Oakland next year for the team’s 50th anniversary in Oakland.
• And finally, our good friend Jeimer Candelario is taking some of that Cubs spirit to Detroit. Here’s Candy celebrating a Ian Kinsler home run with a hoe-down dance with Kinsler.

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