MLB Bullets and the Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Good morning. I wonder if Travis Wood wasn’t trying to shoot an albatross with that crossbow.

• An international crisis has been averted as the Mariners are bringing back Ichiro Suzuki on a one-year deal. I know that Ichiro is going to have to retire one day, but let that day not be today.
• The Mariners players are pretty excited about playing with Ichiro, a guy many of them idolized growing up.
• Ichiro is 44 years old, which puts him in rare company for a position player. Andrew Simon looks at other recent position players who were 44 or older.
• I know not everyone loves my soccer stories and normally, I try to bury them near the bottom of these lists. But this one is too darn good. Baseball Hall-of-Famer and AC Reggiana owner Mike “The Rent’s Too Damn High” Piazza went on an epic rant about the rent his team has to pay on their stadium. It’s made all the better by a translator having to repeat it all in Italian. She doesn’t repeat his fist-banging, however. Had this been about a US team, it would go down with “Practice?” or “Playoffs?” or those other famous epic rants. (It can’t touch Lee Elia’s because it lacks the profanity, although Piazza does say “balls.”)
• Former Cubs outfielder Jon Jay signed a one-year deal with the Royals.
• The Cardinals have signed Paul DeJong to a six-year, $26 million extension that buys out his arbitration years and gives the teams two option years on his potential first two free agent season.
• Tommy Stokke thinks that with the uncertain free agent market, more young players could sign extensions like this. I have to say though, off the top of my head the only one of these deals that hasn’t worked out well for the team has been the Astros signing Jon Singleton.
• Bob Nightengale writes that this year’s free agent market mess has left some players who will reach free agency next season very concerned.
• The Rangers are close to a deal with top international free agent, Cuban outfielder Julio Pablo Martinez.
• Tim Lincecum talked about his comeback, joining the Rangers and that he’s going to wear number 44 this season in honor of his recently-departed brother.
• The Nationals sent last year’s first-round pick Seth Romero home from Spring Training after he repeatedly violated curfew. Romero was considered a risky pick because despite his talent, he was repeatedly suspended and eventually kicked off his college team for disciplinary reasons.
• The Twins reportedly made a two-year, $20 million offer to Lance Lynn as they are still looking to add pitching.
• Jay Jaffe can’t understand why no team has offered free agent second baseman Neil Walker a job and suggests some teams, including the Twins, who could use him.
• Craig Edwards can’t understand why the Phillies haven’t added some free agent pitching this winter, arguing that the Phils are not far from being the second wild-card team.
• Dayn Perry asks a question that I’m sure only has one answer around here: Who is the best National League third baseman, Kris Bryant or Nolan Arenado?
• David Schoenfield writes about how some of the best young players in the game could be even better in 2018.
• Braves outfielder Nick Markakis threatened to kick team president John Hart in the rear if he mistreated manager Brian Snitker again. Except he didn’t say “rear.” Craig Calcaterra notes that the Braves players rallied behind Snitker after the incident and that ironically, in a roundabout way, Snitker probably saved his job by making a boneheaded mistake.
• New Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez talked to David Ortiz about how to be a good designated hitter. It sounds easy, but when you have a lousy at-bat, you don’t have playing in the field to take your mind off it until your next time at the plate.
• Jeff Sullivan argues that the Angels have the best defensive team in baseball. Don’t worry. The Cubs are second in Sullivan’s calculations.
• The Diamondbacks are bringing back the bullpen cart! The Brewers were the last team to ride in from the bullpen in 1995.
• Travis Sawchik had an idea that Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton could be a “super-sub” who wouldn’t start the game but would enter as a pinch-runner on the first good opportunity, even as early as the first inning. Hamilton would then stay in and play the rest of the game. He ran the idea past Hamilton who called it “the stupidest thing I’ve heard in my life.” So I guess this isn’t happening.
• Tryout camps used to be a big thing in baseball, but most teams have abandoned them as scouting has improved and become more extensive. But the Tigers still hold them and Jason Beck has a report from the Tigers tryout. Former major leaguers Steve Clevenger and Nolan Reimold were there trying for one last chance at playing.
• By the way, the Tigers released Travis Wood after his ACL injury.
• Rian Watt wonders how general managers communicate with each other. It’s a lot of texting these days, but not only.
• J.J. Cooper wonders, if in a time of diminishing workloads, if the innings threshold for qualifying for the ERA title is now obsolete.
• On that front, Jonathan Bernhardt looks at the possibilities of moving to a six-man rotation.
• A photo essay on getting the tarp at Miller Park ready for the season. There’s more involved than you might think.
• I’ve said many times how minor-league baseball is some of the best and most affordable family entertainment around. Now I have some proof. A family of four can attend a minor league ballgame for an average price of about $66. That includes tickets, parking, food and drinks. So take the family out to Kane County, South Bend, Peoria, Des Moines, Lansing or wherever.
• Michael Clair looks at eight ballplayers who tried acting in classic Hollywood movies. I’ve seen “The Jackie Robinson Story” and I’ve got to say, Jackie Robinson was not a convincing Jackie Robinson. Chadwick Boseman was much more believable.
• And finally, check out this epic bat flip from a Taiwanese high school player. Too bad it was on a foul ball. (By the way, this kid is apparently a real prospect. But he can make it to the majors and he’ll never live this one down.)

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