Outside The Confines: The shame of MLB

If you can’t say anything nice about Major League Baseball, then don’t say anything at all.

But I’m required to do this thing today anyway.

• As noted here yesterday, it appears that the Athletics are moving to Las Vegas. Nothing is finalized, so the deal could still fall apart. But a move appears to be very likely at this point.
• Alex Schultz details how the A’s blindsided the city of Oakland, whose officials thought they were close to a deal to keep the team in Oakland.
• Emma Baccellieri calls the A’s decision to move “The ugly side of Moneyball.”
• John Shea writes that MLB is making a major mistake by moving the A’s to Las Vegas.
• Gabe Lacques writes that even once the team moves to Las Vegas, the stink surrounding the organization and owner John Fisher will remain.
• Marc Carig writes that despite what MLB would like you to believe, the loss of the A’s will be mourned by many fans. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The A’s just keep breaking their fans’ hearts.
• OK, on to the more normal news beat. Mets starter Max Scherzer was suspended for ten games for having a foreign substance on his hand. The whole thing is pretty complicated, so just read the story if you’re not familiar already.
• Or read this story. What you need to know about Max Scherzer’s suspension. (The Athletic sub. req.) Scherzer is not appealing the suspension.
• Hannah Keyser notes that MLB has a consistency issue when it comes to enforcing the foreign substance ban for pitchers.
• Ken Rosenthal writes that it’s understandable that Scherzer is having trouble adapting to the new rules, but he’s going to have to learn to adapt if he’s going to help the Mets win. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Diamondbacks designated left-hander Madison Bumgarner for assignment. Bumgarner still has almost two years and $34 million left on his deal with the team.
• Bob Nightengale notes that by releasing Bumgarner, the Diamondbacks showed that they are serious about winning this year.
• R.J. Anderson looks at what’s next for Bumgarner and has four teams that might be interested in signing him after he’s released.
• There was a time, not too long ago, that California baseball was defined by Madison Bumgarner versus Clayton Kershaw. Juan Toribio celebrates Kershaw’s career as he wins his 200th game.
• Fabian Ardaya asks Kershaw what the milestone means to him. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jay Jaffe breaks down the game that Kershaw won for number 200 and puts it in the context of his career.
• Nine amazing stats about Kershaw’s 200 wins.
• R.J. Anderson looks at the explosive starts from the top two Rookie of the Year candidates in the National League; the Cardinals Jordan Walker and the Diamondbacks Corbin Carroll.
• Jeff Passan has the story of Corbin Carroll’s rise to greatness. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• The Padres Fernando Tatis Jr. was activated after his 100-game PED suspension. Mike Axisa has four things you need to know.
• Tatis went hitless in his first game, but he has full confidence that he’ll be just as good as he was before his suspension.
• Will Leitch has the six most surprising stars of 2023 so far. Can you guess which Cub is on the list?
• One player on Leitch’s list is Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo. Davy Andrews analyzes what Mateo is doing right and also stops to just enjoy the ride.
• Encouraging starts from non-playoff teams from last year.
• Adam McCalvy notes how the Brewers have been building team trust through lunch dates.
• Fabian Ardaya shows how outfielder Jason Heyward spreads positivity through the Dodgers. (The Athletic sub. req.) And also with the Cubs, when he was here.
• Thomas Harrigan and Andrew Simon look at the quests of Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Astros’ Kyle Tucker to have the rare 40/40 season. Last guy to do it? Alfonso Soriano.
• Dan Szymborski believes that the Astros have reasons to be concerned about José Abreu’s slow start.
• Zach Crizer notes that the Angels are going to extreme lengths to try to put a winner on the field while Shohei Ohtani still plays for them.
• This injury to catcher Logan O’Hoppe can’t help the Halos.
• Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton called his frequent trips to the injured list “unacceptable.”
• Paul Casella asks if Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper might return from Tommy John surgery by mid-May. That would be two months ahead of schedule.
• Mike Petriello explains the “sweeper,” the trendy new pitch this season.
• Jack Baer notes that this season, the Yankees are celebrating the 100th-anniversary of a stadium that they tore down 14 years ago.
• And finally, some good news. White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced that he’s “cancer-free.”

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