MLB Bullets gets ready for another round

So who are the Cubs playing today?

• The Yankees are playing the Red Sox this weekend, which means you’ll be sick of those two teams by Monday, if you aren’t already. (It’s OK, Yankees and Red Sox fans. We know a lot of fans of other teams get sick of the Cubs too.) But in case you want to get ready for the clash, Mike Axisa has a preview of the series and where the two traditional juggernauts stand at this point of the season.
• Coley Harvey and Joon Lee have another take on the Yankees/Red Sox series.
• The big story in baseball has been about the nets and while there are a lot of takes out there on the issue, I think Al covered the story pretty well already. But there’s always room for the thoughts of Doug Glanville. Glanville notes the difficulty that even he, as a former major league ballplayer, has getting out of the way of line drives into the stands. He also says that the players can force a change in the netting.
• Glanville was also on WBUR radio’s “Here and Now” program (heard on many NPR stations) and he discussed the ambiguity of racism (Audio track) in the light of the on-camera incident at Wrigley Field this month.
• Baseball lost an unsung hero with the death of Marc Okkonen this week. It was through Okkonen’s research into historic uniforms that we have things like the uniform databases and even throwback uniforms. He was 85.
• The Braves will host the 2021 All-Star Game.
• In the announcement, commissioner Rob Manfred said that the Braves were awarded the game in part because of their long history of being a well-managed organization. Craig Calcaterra (a Braves fan) asks “Are we talking about the same Atlanta Braves?” noting that the team has been involved in several incidents of rule-breaking in recent years.
• Travis Sawchik notes that Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was a very good player last season. Then he made some adjustments to his swing and Bellinger has been the best player in the game this year.
• Attendance is down in MLB for the fourth-straight year. The ticket prices are too damn high, guys.
• Emma Baccellieri looks at the race for the National League end-of-the-season awards and notes that Bellinger is the runaway favorite for NL MVP right now. Several Cubs are down ballot candidates though.
• The Mets think the Dodgers are stealing signs. Not illegally, mind you. But they think they’re stealing signs.
• Here’s some of the latest news on free agent pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who will likely sign with a team on Monday when it will no longer cost his new team a draft pick. Keuchel’s agent, Scott Boras, said that Keuchel will only need a week to get ready after signing. Sounds optimistic, but that’s what agents do.
• David Schoenfield gives early grades to the big free agents signings of the winter.
• Bob Nightengale lists the top ten players who could be traded this summer.
• Blue Jays closer Ken Giles is not on Nightengale’s list and it’s not clear why not. Devan Fink looks at the changes Giles has made to resurrect his career in Toronto.
• Buster Olney writes that the Mets have to be prepared to trade every player who isn’t nailed down this summer. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Marc Carig notes what a powerhouse the Marlins would be right now if they hadn’t traded away all their good players. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The media reports note he is a retired Giants outfielder, but most of us around here remember Angel Pagan from his stint with the Cubs as well. Pagan, his son and a friend were rescued off the coast of Puerto Rico this week when their boat capsized.
• Astros shortstop Carlos Correa suffered a broken rib getting a massage. He’ll miss 4-to-6 weeks.
• And Astros top prospect Forrest Whitley has been shut down with “shoulder fatigue.” Man, that sounds ominous. Whitley has also been terrible this season, which makes no sense for someone so talented unless there was an underlying injury.
• The MLB Draft is Monday and yes, we’ll have a ton of coverage. But Zach Kram examines Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn and why may be the biggest gamble in the draft. Vaughn, is expected to go in the first five picks on Monday, maybe as high as to the White Sox at number three. Vaughn is by far the best hitter in college baseball. But he’s also a short right-handed first baseman and teams do not like that combination as they do not have a good track record.
• Tim Brown examines Carter Stewart’s decision to forego the draft and sign with a Japanese team and wonders if this could be the future of player development.
• Dave Sheinin takes a look at Driveline Baseball and its mission to make pitchers throw harder than ever.
• Royals pitcher Glenn Sparkman was ejected for hitting White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. Yes, there is a lot of bad blood between the Royals and Anderson because of his bat flips, but is he really going to plunk someone with a changeup?
• Pirates broadcaster John Wehner said that the dead grandfather of Reds utilityman Derek Dietrich is ashamed of him because he flips his bat. He actually said “rolling in his grave.” Dietrich’s grandfather, Steve Demeter, was a scout and roving instructor in the Pirates organization when Wehner played for the Bucs. Still, you’ve got to say it’s a low blow to say someone’s dead grandfather, whom you just had a passing relationship with, is ashamed of his grandson.
• Is the dead grandmother of Oklahoma State softball star Samantha Show ashamed of her for this epic bat flip? NO! (I don’t even know if she has a dead grandmother.)
• Nashville Sounds pitcher Tim Dillard had his Twitter account suspended and no one seems to know why. Especially not Dillard. Dillard is known for his humorous takes on the game on social media. You can still follow him on Instagram.
• We talked a bit about the post-baseball career of Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams a few days ago, but Bernie himself talks about his music and music education career in this interview. Williams says that his music career means more to him than his baseball career does. Also, he says his guitar playing used to annoy Derek Jeter, so that’s another positive to it.
• And finally, I’m loath to finish with a Cardinals highlight, but since it’s our good friend Dexter Fowler, check out this game-ending catch in the stands that Fowler made, along with the smirk he gave to a Phillies fan who was after the ball.

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