MLB Bullets has been banned from the clubhouse

I’m going to have to swallow my keyboard in order to keep from saying something that will get me into trouble one day.

There’s a lot to digest today. Including my keyboard.

• Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that they are banning players from participating in the Venezuelan winter league this year. This move is being made because it is unclear what the rules are in relationship with a new embargo on Venezuela put in place by the Trump administration. There are fears that players from Venezuela will be treated the same way players from Cuba are currently treated going forward.
• In a somewhat lighter note, MLB has also warned players to avoid over-the-counter pills designed to improve sexual performance, saying that many of them contain banned substances. MLB says that two players have been suspended after testing positive after taking these “unregulated products.” The jokes write themselves, so I suggest you do so because I’m swallowing my keyboard.
• Why would a player take such a pill? Beside the obvious reasons, because the grind of major league baseball is so tough that they don’t even know what day of the week it is most of the time.
• The Houston Astros banned a reporter from the Detroit Free Press from entering their locker room after the game at the request of Justin Verlander.
• The Astros defended this move as “appropriate,” however both MLB and the Baseball Writers Association of America have responded that banning reporters was a violation of both the Collective Bargaining Agreement and agreements between the BBWAA and MLB.
• As long as we’re on the Astros, the Astros loss to the Tigers on Wednesday night (the game with the reporter incident) set a new record for the biggest regular-season upset in MLB over the past 15 years, according to the Las Vegas sportsbooks. The old record was the Astros loss to the Orioles less than two weeks ago.
• Michael Baumann marvels at how good Astros rookie DH Yordan Alvarez has been this year. Baumann makes a comparison to David Ortiz.
• Mike Mazzeo writes about how the Indians have rallied around pitcher Carlos Carrasco after his leukemia diagnosis to play their way back into postseason contention.
• Oakland has climbed themselves into a wild card spot at the moment and Andy McCullough tries to get the Athletics to explain how they’ve managed to stay competitive for 20 years now, despite the team’s massive disadvantages. (The Athletic sub.req.)
• Tom Verducci profiles A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, who is a major reason for the team’s success this year. Verducci makes the case that Chapman is the best third baseman in baseball right now.
• Ben Lindbergh argues that Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani is a terrific pitcher and he’s aghast at the suggestion that Los Angeles turn him into a full-time position player.
• From quality to something different, here’s a ranking of “hopeless” baseball franchises over the next few years, from “maybe they’re not so hopeless” (Angels, Reds) to “give up now.” (Tigers, Royals)
• The Orioles are one of those hopeless teams and in large part because the O’s just set the record for most home runs allowed in a season and it’s not even September yet.
• R.J. Anderson has some fun stats about that record. Not fun if you’re an Orioles fan, I suppose.
• The news got worse for the Orioles as a New York Supreme Court judge upheld the arbitration ruling against the O’s and in favor of the Nationals in the dispute over MASN broadcast rights. Baltimore owes the Nationals $100 million, plus interest.
• Bill Baer makes the argument that the Blue Jays’ decision to increase minor league pay has been a big success.
• Another Blue Jay who has been a big success is rookie Bo Bichette, who is hammering the ball hard so far.
• Anthony Castrovince wonders if a team made up only of players who debuted in the majors in 2019 could compete with the best teams in the game.
• Travis Sawchik wonders if hitting 40 home runs in a season is even a big deal anymore.
• Ben Clemens tries to figure out what would happen to power numbers if MLB were able to magically replace the current ball with the pre-2015 ball. (Answer: home runs would be down, but they’d still be significantly up over 2014.)
• Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe suffered a setback in a rehab game and he’s now out for the rest of the season.
• The Pirates have requested unconditional release waivers on catcher Francisco Cervelli and as soon as he clears waivers, Cervelli is expected to sign with the Braves. This is an example of an impact of the hard trade deadline. Last year, the Pirates would have traded Cervelli to the Braves for a organizational-depth minor leaguer.
• Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija believes that MLB has to put a stop to the way that teams bounce some players back and forth between the majors and the minors. The people who operate the flights between Chicago and Des Moines would never allow that.
• Vince Guerrieri remembers when the Indians proposed playing 30 games a year at the New Orleans Superdome.
• Eddie Matz asks the players in the Little League World Series what they think about MLB today. They like lots of home runs, by the way. And the kid who said if he were made commissioner the first thing he would do is “ban the Yankees” couldn’t do a worse job than Manfred.
• Alex Rodriguez explains to Danica Patrick (of all people) about what he did during his year-long suspension and how it eventually changed him for the better.
• Bradford William Davis (humorously) compares Mike Trout to Derek Jeter.
• Jayson Stark explains the sheer terror that he got to experience operating the hot dog cannon on a truck with the Phillie Phanatic. (The Athletic sub.req.) Also some top-notch reporting on the origins of the hot dog cannon. This is why Stark is in Cooperstown.
• Steve Politi tracked down an umpire he gave the finger to in Little League back in the 1980s to apologize.
• And we’re going to finish with baseball cards today. Dan Mullen has ten of the oddest and most unforgettable baseball cards of all-time. Yes, Billy Ripken is number one.
• And finally, you may remember Keith Comstock as a reliever back in the late-80s, early-90s. Or maybe you don’t. But what everyone remembers about Comstock is a famous minor-league baseball card where he was photographed getting hit in the groin with a baseball. Comstock explains the story behind that card and how ever today people ask him about it. (The ball, his groin. It works on so many levels.)

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