MLB Bullets has the naked truth

Good morning. It doesn’t fall under the “MLB Bullets” aegis, but check out this cool story about Randy Rosario and a fussy baby at an Iowa Cubs game by Tommy Birch in The Des Moines Register.

• As we head into the pennant stretch, Mark Martell has the storylines to watch in September.
• The writers at ESPN.com discuss what they’re looking at this September.
• Andrew Simon looks at 13 players who may play their final game with their current and only team this September.
• The 2019 Triple-A season is over, which was the first season that the highest level of the minors used the current major league baseball. The final results are in and home runs were up 58 percent over 2018. Home runs were actually down in the other three full-season levels. (The Cubs Double-A team, the Tennessee Smokies, only hit 48 home runs all season.)
• Jon Tayler looks at what it means now that baseball is becoming a game of extreme outcomes.
• Gabe Lacques notes that despite MLB’s best efforts, game times are not getting any shorter and there may not be anything that can be done to speed things up.
• Tragic news as Tigers minor league catcher Chace Numata has died from injuries suffered in an electric skateboard accident.
• Some of Numata’s former teammates remembered what a great guy he was.
• Former Cubs outfielder Jorge Soler just broke the single-season Royals home run record. We always knew he could do great things if he could ever stay healthy.
• I’m not going to make you wait any longer. Naked pictures of Christian Yelich! Also, a story by Sam Miller about how Yelich transformed himself into one of the best players in the game. (This is part of the ESPN the Magazine’s “Body Issue,” so Yelich’s you-know-what is strategically hidden, in case you were worried. And now some of you are disappointed.)
• Michael Baumann uses the excuse of naked photos of Christian Yelich to point out that with the Brewers, Yelich has played at a level equal to Albert Pujols or Barry Bonds in their primes.
• Tom Verducci looks at how Astros pitcher Justin Verlander has used a dedication to fitness and analytics to once again become a dominating pitcher in his mid-30s. No naked pictures however. Sorry.
• Devan Fink believes that the strong second-half of Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon has made him a National League MVP candidate.
• A scary moment in Milwaukee as Astros outfielder George Springer had to be carted off the field after hitting his head on the outfield wall.
• The Mets blew a six-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning to the Nationals last night and lost 11-10. Even by Mets standards, that’s brutal.
• The Mets activated infielder Robinson Cano off the injured list and his manager Mickey Callaway noted that Cano must “control his running effort” to avoid further injury. Which is ironic because Cano was benched earlier this season for not hustling to first base.
• Buster Olney believes that the “win-now at all costs” mentality of the current Mets front office is going to backfire. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Andy McCullough writes about the huge impact that Nelson Cruz has had on the Twins clubhouse, (The Athletic sub. req.) with a quote from the coaching staff saying Cruz is the team’s “big brother.” Cruz says he preferred to sign with the Twins over the Astros (who were also very interested in signing him this past offseason) because the Twins gave him more opportunities to mentor young players. (He admits the money played a role, too. But the Twins got a huge bargain.)
• According to baseball-reference’s version of WAR, Rangers left-hander Mike Minor has been the best pitcher in baseball this season. Minor disagrees with that ranking. He does agree that he’s having a very good season, which I think we all can agree on.
• Ben Lindbergh looks at the current fate of the knuckleball and to misquote Mark Twain, the reports of the death of the knuckleball have been greatly exaggerated. Lindbergh notes that the knuckleball has fallen out of favor many times in baseball history. . .until someone decides to bring it back.
• Dan Szymborski has one prospect from each MLB team that has put themselves into their major league team’s 2020 plans with a terrific 2019 season. (ESPN+ sub. req.) (For those who just want to know the Cubs selection and don’t have a subscription, it’s Cory Abbott.)
• Nationals pitcher Aaron Barrett hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2015 because of injuries, so it was an emotional moment when Barrett found out he was going back to the majors.
• See Mets outfielder Rajai Davis knock over umpire Joe West as he tries to avoid a tag sliding into home plate.
• In retrospect, maybe it wasn’t a good idea for Braves mascot Blooper to challenge Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a home run hitting contest?
• And finally, if you don’t think the Cardinals have sold their souls to go on their recent hot streak, check out this ball off the bat of Paul DeJong that curves fair for a base hit. That’s some serious I Dream of Jeannie stuff.

And tomorrow is a better day than today, Buster.