MLB Bullets and the war between the condiments

I’m not the first one to make this observation, but yesterday we finally found out who would happen if ketchup and mustard decided to have a fight. (Yasiel Puig would win, mostly likely)

To be clear, the photo that everyone is talking about is this one.

• So the Reds and Pirates had a fight yesterday after Bucs hurler Chris Archer threw behind Derek Dietrich after Dietrich had earlier admired a home run he’d hit.
• Reds outfielder Yasiel Puig tried to fight the entire city of Pittsburgh. Well, almost.
• Emma Baccellieri has five takeaways from the fight.
• Bill Baer makes the case that Archer should receive a serious suspension for throwing behind Dietrich. Archer wasn’t even ejected from the game. The irony is that Archer was part of the “Let the kids play” campaign that argued against his attempt to enforce an “unwritten rule” about admiring home runs.
• This fight took on a new angle because of the ketchup-red and mustard-yellow uniforms the two teams were wearing on Sunday. Nick Greene admires the aesthetic beauty of the whole incident. Other than ketchup and mustard, many think that photo in that Tweet looks like a painting from the Napoleonic Wars.
• Now is dawning of the age of futility. Not just the Cubs, but the Red Sox are off to a terrible start to the season as well. Bob Nightengale talks to the Red Sox who insist that there is no “World Series hangover” and it’s too early to panic.
• Pedro Gomez also speaks with the Red Sox to figure out exactly what is wrong.
• Mike Axisa has some suggestions for the Red Sox to turn their season around.
• How bad are things for the Red Sox at the moment? Utility player Brock Holt, who was a key player on last year’s title team, just hit the injured list after his toddler scratched his cornea when he poked him in the eye.
• Jon Tayler assesses how much trouble the Cubs, Red Sox and other struggling favorites are in at the moment.
• If you want a different take, Michael Baumann writes a piece on the same subject: How much trouble are these struggling teams in at the moment?
• Things literally could not get worse for Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal, who has now tied an MLB record with five straight relief appearances (dating back to 2017) without retiring a single batter.
• Nor could things get worse for Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, who is now 0 for his last 44, two shy of a major-league record for a position player.
• Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez is in a long slump that dates back to the last quarter of 2018, notes Devan Fink.
• On the flip side, Angels outfielder Mike Trout has homered in four-straight games. For everything he’s accomplished in his career, that one is a first for him.
• Normally, if a Mariners DH had two home runs and six RBI in an ordinary Sunday game, I wouldn’t mention it. But it was our old friend Daniel Vogelbach. I suppose this means the Mariners are going to trade him for Trout now.
• Dayn Perry thinks that it looks like White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada is going to have a breakout season in 2019.
• Alden Gonzalez estimates how many seasons the Dodgers would continue to win 90 games if they never added another player from a different organization?
• Stephanie Apstein profiles Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen about his plans to rebuild the Amazin’s.
• Free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel may be lowering his contract demands.
• Mark Feinsand has a list of eight teams that could really use Keuchel.
• Angels first baseman Albert Pujols talked about the negotiations that caused him to leave St. Louis for Anaheim. Pujols said it was tough to leave St. Louis but that he got the impression that the Cardinals didn’t really want him to stay.
• The Orioles signed free agent pitcher Dan Straily to a major league deal.
• And the injury-plagued Yankees signed infielder Cliff Pennington to a minor league deal.
• Diamondbacks catcher Alex Avila ended up on the IL after he hurt himself rounding the bases after a home run.
• D-Backs outfielder Steven Souza Jr. talks about his determination to return next season after suffering a season-ending injury in Spring Training.
• Sheryl Ring assesses umpire Ron Kulpa’s claim that he “can do anything [he] wants.”
• Alfonso Tusa talks to Venezuelans about the impact the political (and otherwise) warfare is having on baseball in that strife-torn country.
• RUN! BEES! RUN! Bees attack the bullpens at Angel Stadium.
• I have an old friend who knows pretty much everything there is to know about the movie Major League. I saw it in the theater with him for the first time 30 years ago and he’s probably seen it another 30 times since then. I mention this because Major League turned 30 on Sunday and because Mike Oz has this story about how former Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager taught the actors to look like real ballplayers. As my friend would tell you, Yeager also played third base coach Duke Temple in that movie. He also stepped for Tom Berenger when catcher Jake Taylor had to make a play and was wearing a catcher’s mask so no one would know the difference.
• Sam Miller talks about all the things predicted in Major League that have come true over the last 30 years. The Indians have even made the World Series since then. You might recall that.
• Athletics first baseman Chad Pinder hit a double off the roof of Minute Maid Park in Houston.
• Heidi Stevens has the story of two 86-year-old Chicago fans, one Cubs, one White Sox, who are planning to visit their 100th minor league ballpark together this summer. They’ve been doing this together since 1996.
• Nationals closer Sean Doolittle talks about how he tries to visit an independent bookstore in every city he visits. Brandon McCarthy wants a review of all of their bathrooms.
• And finally, this is from the minor leagues—the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes to be exact. But you cannot miss this incredible behind-the-back flip for an out from the ground by ‘Topes shortstop Peter Mooney. Words don’t do it justice. When I say that minor leaguers can really play baseball, this is the stuff I mean. Incredible.

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