Outside The Confines: Everyone’s on the shelf

Pretend I wrote something clever up here.

• There was a scary incident in a minor league game last night as Durham Bulls pitcher Tyler Zombro was hit in the head by a line drive and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher. Zombro fell face first and was convulsing on the ground afterwards. The game was suspended. The Rays have released a statement saying that Zombro is in stable condition at a local hospital.
• While Zombro isn’t an example of it, James Wagner writes that players really are getting hurt at an unprecedented rate this season. Most people blame the short 2020 season.
• Bob Nightengale has a similar piece on how injuries are way up in 2021, but also gets some people on the record saying that improper muscle conditioning may be playing a role on top of the short season last year.
• One of those injuries is to Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty, who suffered a “significant” oblique strain. Jay Jaffe looks at what losing Flaherty for an extended time means for the Cards.
• Another installment of Baseball Men Behaving Badly. Diamondbacks broadcaster Bob Brenly announced he is taking a week off and will undergo sensitivity training after he mocked Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman for wearing a durag.
• Brenly did apologize for his comment, but he was further criticized by former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez for his commentary (The Athletic sub. req.) when Brenly was the color broadcaster for the Cubs. Ramirez said that Brenly saved most of his criticism for him, Starlin Castro, Geovany Soto and other Latin players.
• Shalise Manza Young writes that Black people have to deal with comments like Brenly’s all the time and it gets exhausting.
• Mike Freeman notes that Brenly’s remarks indicate that MLB has a diversity problem in the broadcast booth as well as on the field and in the front offices.
• The San Francisco Giants are celebrating diversity and Pride Month by wearing special “Pride” uniforms for Saturday’s game against the Cubs.
• A Texas-based organization is suing MLB for up to $1.1 billion for moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver after the Georgia voting law. One expert in baseball and the law is quoted in the article saying “This is the dumbest complaint I have ever read. If this was turned in as a law school exam, you would have given it an F and counseled the student to find a different line of work.” Of course, the plaintiff’s real goal is likely to get attention and make fundraising appeals, not win a frivolous lawsuit.
• Now for some on-field justice. MLB is reportedly getting ready to crack down on pitchers using illegal substances on baseballs.
• Ben Lindbergh thinks that we aren’t appreciating Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani enough.
• Chet Gutwein wonders if Rockies infielder Ryan MacMahon is having a breakout season.
• Bob Nightengale writes that over the next few weeks, we are likely to discover whether the New York Mets are contenders or pretenders.
• Neil Paine writes that the Marlins are proving that it’s better to be lucky than good.
• The Nationals won the World Series in 2019 after starting 19-31 over their first 50 games. They were 21-29 after their first 50 in 2021. But Matt Snyder argues that there is no reason to expect a similar turnaround from the Nats this year and that the team should be sellers at the deadline.
• Mike Axisa has several candidates to be dealt before the trade deadline.
• Sad news as former Cy Young Award winner Mike Marshall died at the age of 78.
• Jeff Passan has an appreciation of Marshall’s career and notes that he revolutionized the way pitchers pitch, both during and after his playing career.
• Devan Fink examines how home run rates have changed in each MLB ballpark from 2019 to 2021.
• Cleveland said that they have narrowed down their search for a new name, although they aren’t revealing what those names are. The Cleveland Throbbing Gristle has to be near the top.
• John Rizzardini explains why it takes so long for a sports team to change its name.
• Canada is in talks with the NHL and MLB on issuing exemptions to allow border crossings. The Blue Jays are hoping to play in Toronto sometime before the end of the season, so don’t expect it anytime soon.
• This was the first Lou Gehrig/ALS Day in MLB, and Jeff Passan has a profile of Bryan Wayne Galentine, the man who was behind the push to get this event created. Galentine unfortunately died of ALS last year, so he’s only around in spirit this week.
• Anthony Castrovince looks at Gehrig’s amazing final season, when he was clearly suffering from the affects of ALS but still hit .295.
• Now some times for fun and games. Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly got into an aggressive game of rock-paper-scissors with a fan in the stands during Wednesday night’s blowout win over the Cardinals.
• Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow went and played chess in Washington Square Park in New York the day after pitching against the Yankees. Glasnow reportedly does this every time he goes to New York.
• And finally, Tim Britton ranks every team’s primary road uniforms. (The Athletic sub. req.)

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