Outside The Confines: Diamonds in the dirt

Let’s roll the videotape.

• Mets infielders Javier Báez and Francisco Lindor apologized before Tuesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field for their “thumbs down” gesture to the fans that Báez had said was a way to “boo” back at the fans.
• Then, in a Hollywood script, Báez scoring the winning run on a mad dash from first to home on a single by Michael Conforto and an error by left fielder Jorge Alfaro.
• Báez also lost a diamond earring on either the play or the celebration and Mets staff, including team president Sandy Alderson, looked for it in the dirt around home plate after the game.
• Hannah Keyser writes that the Mets players seem to be missing the nature of the relationship between the players and the fans.
• Michael Baumann notes that the “thumbs down” controversy is the least of the Mets problems and most of them come straight from management, who have mastered the art of self-sabotage.
• And now for some more serious baseball problems, Jeff Passan looks at what next for pitcher Trevor Bauer in both his legal troubles and his baseball career. Passan doubts that Bauer will ever pitch in MLB again, but that Bauer’s personality won’t let him go down without a fight, either in court or in MLB.
• And Henry Bushnell has a look at where the criminal and civil cases surrounding the death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs stand at the moment. Former Angels communication director Eric Kay is facing criminal charges related to Skaggs’ death.
• J.J. Cooper writes that it is time for every major league ball club to provide housing for all of their minor leaguers. The points Cooper makes are unassailable and the importance of this article is that major league front offices read Baseball America. The question whether or not owners read it.
• Even Drellich has the complicated story of streaming rights and the future of MLB broadcasts. (The Athletic sub. req.) As Craig Calcaterra wrote, anyone who thinks ending the MLB blackout rules would be anything other than a jobs project for lawyers is kidding themselves.
• MLB Network analysts Al Leiter and John Smoltz will not appear in studio after both analysts refused to get a COVID vaccine. They will continue to appear via remote, however.
• In a related note, Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was pulled from Tuesday night’s game after he tested positive for COVID-19.
• And the Astros have put pitcher Zack Greinke and first baseman Taylor Jones on the IL, citing “health and safety protocols.” They didn’t say the two players have COVID, but that phrase is only used in COVID cases.
• Back to action on the field. Hannah Keyser examines how the Giants build the team with the best record in baseball out of familiar veterans and overlooked talent.
• Ken Rosenthal makes the case that the Giants secret is their young coaching staff with unconventional backgrounds. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Carmen Ciardiello writes about how pitcher Max Fried is leading the Braves to a potential division title.
• Ben Clemens has a profile of Dodgers catcher Will Smith and how he’s succeeded. Clemens thinks Smith is the best catcher in the game at the moment.
• Fried is on Will Leitch’s list of Game 1 starters for each playoff contender.
• Mike Axisa ranks the best and worst deadline deals for teams in the playoff hunt.
• The Blue Jays acquisition of reliever Brad Hand has to be among the worst as Toronto has released Hand just a month after trading for him.
• Jonathan Mayo has ten minor league prospects who could help contending teams down the stretch.
• Kevin Goldstein looks at what White Sox first baseman José Abreu’s career might have been like if he was allowed to come to the US as a teenager. Goldstein thinks Abreu would be heading to the Hall of Fame in that scenario, and he remembers when he first saw him play at a showcase in the Dominican Republic in 2013.
• Bradford Doolittle has another list of “What If?” ballplayers who could have been heading to Cooperstown if things had gone differently (ESPN+ sub. req.) in their careers.
• Today is September 1, which means roster expansion. But the rules have changed from years past and Sam Dykstra explains how roster expansion now works in 2021.
• The Angels have admitted that outfielder Mike Trout might not play again this year.
• Neil Paine has the best, worst and weirdest statistics from the current season.
• And finally, things are completely terrible for the Angels. As proof, here’s do-everything superstar Shohei Ohtani stealing home.

Let’s have an even better day tomorrow, folks.