MLB Bullets is just killing time

Let’s get a win today, OK?

• Jeff Passan writes about how ridiculously absurd that free agent pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel remain unsigned. Passan is particularly critical of the industry’s reluctance to give up a draft pick and he thinks a creative team might want to give up a draft pick to avoid a bidding war.
• Keuchel is reportedly open to a one-year, $18 million prorated deal.
• I don’t think I have to tell any of you this, but Ben Clemens looks at how ridiculously good the Astros offense is this season.
• Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger has been ridiculously good as well and Tom Verducci examines just how good Bellinger has been and argues that he’s made batting average cool again.
• Michael Baumann examines another great hitter, Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo. Baumann writes that Gallo once was the future of baseball and now he’s the present of baseball. He’s also maybe too good for good of the game.
• The Twins have been very good this season after they spent money on free agents over the winter. Now they’ve have a huge increase in attendance, notes Devan Fink.
• The Indians have been falling farther and farther behind the Twins in the standings. R.J. Anderson has three simple things the Indians can try to turn their season around. None of them involve signing a big free agent pitcher.
• Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera was arrested for an alleged domestic violence incident. Michael McCann explains what is going to happen next with Herrera. He’s on administrative leave now.
• We’ve had a lot on the death of Cubs legend Bill Buckner around here including a nice appreciation from Al. There have been many other tributes to Buckner and I’ll list just a few of them here. One of the better ones is Tim Brown on how baseball is going to miss Buckner after never appreciating him as much as they should have when he was still a player.
• Tim Kurkjian wants us to remember Buckner for more than an error.
• Tyler Kepner notes that Buckner never let the error define him.
• Jon Greenberg was likely the last journalist to speak with Buckner, talking to him about that 23-22 game against the Phillies in 1979 just two weeks ago. Greenberg says that Chicago will always remember Buckner as just a professional hitter. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Reds utility player Derek Dietrich has been ridiculously hot recently. Dietrich hit three home runs yesterday against Pittsburgh and his last six hits have all been home runs.
• Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia took one big step closer to retirement as he stepped back from his rehab program. David Roth looks back at Pedroia’s peak and paints a portrait of a ballplayer currently looking at his professional mortality.
• Dan Szymborski evaluates Pedroia’s career and asks if he’s going to be inducted into Cooperstown one day.
• Astros second baseman José Altuve has stepped back from his rehab after he still had issues with his injured leg. No chance Altuve retires, thank goodness.
• Former reliever Sean Burnett definitely has retired. Burnett hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016. He was pitching for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse this season before hanging it up.
• Speaking of the Mets Triple-A affiliate, I’ve tried to ignore Syracuse Mets outfielder Tim Tebow lately, since I don’t often pay much attention to 31-year-old minor leaguers who are hitting .161. But to add insult to injury, Tebow was the first hitter to face a position player who had never pitched before and he struck out looking.
• However, the Syracuse Mets got into a big brawl with the Yankees affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and Tebow was right in the middle of it, trying to break it up. Blessed are the peacemakers . . .
• As the draft approaches, Josh Shafer looks at what kind of life in the minor leagues that Kyler Murray turned down by not sticking with baseball. He’s never going to experience a Motel 6 in Visalia.
• Anthony Castrovince explains how Steven Matz not pitching helped the Angels land Mike Trout in the 2009 draft.
• Fan favorite in Seattle (and around here, to be honest) Daniel Vogelbach just crushed a home run that went all the way to the moon. At least according to the Mariners social media account.
• The Rays Avisail Garcia got the easiest inside-the-park home run you’ll ever see when Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk lost the ball in the roof of Tropicana Field.
• Padres third baseman Manny Machado tried to sell the umpire on a catch of a foul ball that had bounced off the railing. It didn’t work, but nice try.
• And finally, you’ve almost certainly seen this by now but if you haven’t, check out this first pitch at last night’s White Sox game where a woman smacked a team photographer right in the face. But the photographer got the shot, so that’s all that matters. Also, at least half a dozen major league teams offered the woman a minor-league deal, figuring that she’s a better arm out of the bullpen than anything they’ve got currently.

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