Outside The Confines: Never lost consciousness

I tried to find a picture of Chris Bassitt that showed the seriousness but was also tasteful. I didn’t want to show him down on the ground and I also did not want to use some other closer shots that had some blood in them. I hope this one works even though his face is in a towel and turned away from the camera.

• Athletics All-Star pitcher Chris Bassitt was struck in the face with a line drive in last night’s game against the White Sox. While the play looked terrifying, the A’s said that Bassitt never lost consciousness during the incident and that he was resting comfortably in a local hospital.
• Steve Berman writs that the incident is a reminder of how dangerous pitching can be. (The Athletic sub. req.) Berman also notes that this is a big blow to the A’s struggle to stay in a playoff position.
• Stephanie Apstein notes that despite injuries and COVID, the Yankees are red-hot and are back in the hunt for a playoff spot.
• Yankees first baseman Luke Voit said that he deserves to play even after Anthony Rizzo returns from the COVID list.
• The Yankees are also concerned that recurring vision problems are endangering the career of outfielder Clint Frazier. Doctors are unsure whether the vision issues are related to concussion problems from 2018.
• You may have heard this, but Reds first baseman Joey Votto got his 2,000th career hit on Monday.
• Votto is one of Will Leitch’s 11 players who deserve to get their first World Series championship ring.
• Votto has played himself into MVP consideration and Thomas Harrigan has the leading candidates in both leagues. You know, he could have published this before I wrote last night’s BCB After Dark.
• Maria Guardado reports that the Giants believe that shortstop Brandon Crawford has played his way into MVP consideration.
• Reds outfielder Jesse Winker got some MVP talk, but now the Reds have suffered a blow to their playoff hopes as Winker went on the injured list, notes Jay Jaffe.
• Blue Jays outfielder George Springer has been terrific this season when he’s been healthy. Now the Blue Jays have placed Springer on the IL again with a sprained knee.
• The Dodgers put pitcher Cole Hamels on the 60-day IL, which ends his season. Hamels got $1 million guaranteed from Los Angeles and never threw a pitch for them.
• Nationals pitcher Joe Ross is out for the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, but will not undergo Tommy John surgery. At least for now.
• Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield look at what’s wrong with the Mets. (ESPN+ sub. req.) For one, they’re the Mets. They really shouldn’t have wished on the Monkey’s Paw for the ball to go under Bill Buckner’s legs.
• Schoenfield also notes that the Braves’ strong infield has been the reason they’re in first place at the moment.
• Jeff Passan looks at what contending teams have the easiest remaining schedules and their playoff implications. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• OK, I’ve put off “MLB Men Behaving Badly” long enough. We have details from day one and day two of the hearing on the restraining order placed on Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer.
• Former Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for sexually assaulting a teenager.
• Tigers broadcaster Jack Morris spoke in an offensive accent when talking about Shohei Ohtani in last night’s game. Morris issued one of those “Sorry if you were offended” apology/non-apologies.
• Diamondbacks prospect Kristian Robinson’s career is in some danger after being convicted of assaulting a police officer in Arizona last year. It appears that Robinson had a mental health breakdown that led to the incident, but there’s a Catch-22 involving his visa if he wants to get the felony reduced to a misdemeanor.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that offense has improved since MLB’s crackdown of foreign substances, and other MLB notes. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Neil Greenberg presents the results of a study on umpires and their wildly-different strike zones. Greenberg also notes that some players are being hurt by this more than others.
• Justin Choi has some interesting data about sinkers.
• Dan Hajducky and Tisha Thompson explain the history behind the Honus Wagner T206 card and why it will always be the Holy Grail of card collecting.
• And finally, to finish up on a light-hearted moment, Miguel Cabrera stole a batting glove out of Shohei Ohtani’s back pocket. Even Miggy wants a souvenir of Shohei.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. The Cubs are on a one-game winning streak.