Outside The Confines: Happy 4th of July!

If you were in Canada on Friday and returned to the States for Monday, you could have enjoyed an extra-long weekend. Canada celebrated Canada Day on the 1st, and of course the 4th is today. What this means, of course, is that there might be a little less than average in terms of baseball coverage, but plenty of ugly hats to be derided.

Let’s take a look at what happened over the weekend, while enjoying some time off for BBQs, fireworks, and generally enjoying the start of summer.

• Oops.

• David Laurila thinks Darick Hall is ready to make a splash in Philadelphia.
• Sometimes trades don’t become really meaningful for teams during the season, sometimes we need to wait until October. Henry Palatella looks at 10 times a trade made a big difference in the postseason.
• Jayson Stark offers up 10 things we learned in the month of June. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Perhaps not the kind of record they wanted to set this weekend, but Nick Selbe spotlights the Angels tying the MLB record for strikeouts, as they whiffed 20 times against the Astros. (I have an incredibly clear memory of the last game with 20 K, it was Nationals vs. Tigers and the first time the Tigers were playing against Max Scherzer since his move to the NL, and he struck out 20. It was incredible.)
• Jacob deGrom is working his way back and had a solid first rehab game. (ESPN)
• A League of Their Own is turning 30, and Daniel Brown caught up with actress Megan Cavanagh, the actress who played lovable tomboy Marla Hooch in the film. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Also oops.

• Manny Randhawa offers up a minor leaguer who might have just made the catch of the year.
• Eno Sarris spotlights some hitters who are reaping the rewards of improved batted-ball quality. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• You’ll be hearing a lot of talk about the Trade Deadline over the coming weeks, but Will Leitch offers us one untouchable player for every team.
• With the Trade Deadline in mind, Matt Martell has put together a little primer to help everyone get prepared.
• Just how likely is a Juan Soto extension? Brittany Ghirolli checks the hot stove temperature when it comes to the Nationals making an offer for their star. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Mark “Bud” Budzinski, the Blue Jays’ first base coach, has stepped away from his role for the time being following the unexpected passing of his 17-year-old daughter Julia. The Jays honored Julia this weekend with a moment of silence.
• Okay but I actually kind of like these?

And tomorrow will be a better day, Buster. Make it so.