MLB Bullets won’t see you tomorrow

Mickey Callaway’s birthday was May 13. The last guy to wish him “Happy Birthday” got a broken nose and black eye for his troubles.

• After yesterday’s loss to the Cubs, there was an incident in the Mets clubhouse where manager Mickey Callaway called Newsday beat writer Tim Healey a bad word and ordered him out of the clubhouse. Mets pitcher Jason Vargas then threatened Healey and had to be held back by Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Gomez. Healey’s crime? He said “See you tomorrow, Mickey” at the end of the press gathering.
• Healey gives his side of the story. The Mets have personally apologized to Healey and have issued a statement.
• Tim Brown believes that the Mets need to fire Mickey Callaway, saying this incident makes clear that Callaway can’t handle the stress of being a major league manager. Plus, the Mets aren’t exactly winning a lot, either.
• Another piece that is getting a lot of attention at the moment is this piece by Kelyn Soong on the deplorable wages that minor league ballplayers earn and how they manage to survive on a sub-minimum wage. What separates that piece from the many others on minor league pay is that Soong got a quote from Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton saying that it was “for the betterment of everybody” for the minor leaguers to be exploited like that. (Every current or former major leaguer I’ve seen on Twitter who has commented on this strongly disagrees with Eaton. Of course, it may just be that those are the ones willing to comment.)
• The authorities in the Dominican Republic are saying that Red Sox great David Ortiz was shot in a case of mistaken identity. As Ray Sanchez notes, few in the Dominican Republic believe that. (h/t Yahoo Sports)
• Let’s turn to some more positive stories. Angels first baseman Albert Pujols returned to Busch Stadium for the first time since the 2011 World Series and Joan Niesen details three days of celebration for the former Cardinals great and what it meant for Cardinals fans to say “thank you” to Prince Albert.
• Pujols hit a home run on Saturday and got the rare curtain call on the road.
• Bob Nightengale wonders what would have happened if Pujols had never left the Cardinals.
• The Dodgers became the first team in major league history to win three straight games on walk-off home runs by rookies over the weekend.
• David Schoenfield looks at the three rookies who led the Dodgers to three walk-off wins over the weekend.
• Baseball comes to London this weekend and Jon Paul Morosi tells the tale of how contrary to general belief, baseball is actually returning to its birthplace this weekend. From the pictures of London Stadium that I’ve seen, it’s not ideal for baseball. The outfield fences are close and there should be a lot of home runs, even by the standards of these two teams. Pitchers will love the fact that the foul territory there makes the Oakland Coliseum look small by comparison. But it won’t matter. It should be a blast. And just one year until the Cubs play there.
• The Yankees have now homered in a team-record 26 straight games.
• Over the weekend, Marlins catcher Wilkin Castillo played in his first major league game in ten years. He had a game-winning two-run double. Castillo now has a hitting streak that is ten years long.
• Speaking of the Marlins, Jon Tayler has a profile of Curtis Granderson, a 16-year veteran and three-time all-star who is finishing his career in anonymity in Miami and he’s fine with that. In fact, it was his choice to play for the Marlins.
• Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley criticized Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman and his on-mound celebrations, calling them “tired.” Really, is this the same Eckersley who used to pump his fist and do finger pistols after a strikeout? Stroman called Eckersley a “hypocrite” and a “clown” and said his comments were “trash.”
• The Braves have demoted pitcher Mike Foltynewicz to Triple-A. Foltynewicz was an All-Star last year, but he’s struggled badly this season.
• Braves pitcher Mike Soroka left his start in the top of the third after getting hit by a pitch.
• Twins pitcher José Berrios left his start on Saturday with a blister.
• The Diamondbacks acquired pitcher Ben Lively from the Royals for cash. Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had Ben Lively in the first place, I’m not sure. I’m also not sure why they needed the cash.
• The Nationals have released reliever Trevor Rosenthal. Rosenthal signed a one-year, $7 million free agent deal this past offseason.
• Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy has struggled as a starting pitcher the past few seasons. So the team moved him to bullpen and as Josh Herzenberg explains, Kennedy has been really good out of the pen this year.
• Elliot Sang has a piece on people who are trying to run private MLB social media accounts.
• Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. scored from third base on a pop up to the second baseman.
• And finally, the Phillies honored Chase Utley over the weekend and for fans of the show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you’ll be happy to know that Mac (Rob McElhenney) finally got a chance to “have a catch” with his idol.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Just don’t tell Mickey Callaway that.