Outside The Confines: Faster than a speeding bullet

Good morning.

• In our continuing story of misery for the (for now) Oakland Athletics, the A’s swept the Brewers in Milwaukee this past weekend and have now won five games in a row! Ha! You thought it was going to be horrible news for A’s fans, right? I mean, everything else has been horrible news for them this year, so you’d be foolish not to expect that.
• In other “good” news for the A’s—or at least for Oakland—the Nevada State Legislature adjourned until Tuesday without having voted on a bill for a new stadium. Ann Killion says the message is clear: the A’s do not currently have the votes to pass a stadium bill. Of course, that’s what the supporters are trying to do this weekend and they may as yet get there.
• A’s fans, for their part, have organized a “reverse boycott” for Tuesday night’s game. Which means going to the game, but just this one.
• Dayn Perry believes the existing language doesn’t exist to describe how terrible an owner A’s owner John Fisher has been. So he makes up his own words.
• Bob Nightengale talks for former A’s players and without exception, they are upset and saddened by what’s going on in Oakland.
• The A’s are terrible, in part, because Fisher doesn’t spend any money on the team. Mets owner Steve Cohen, on the other hand, spends record amounts an the Amazin’s and they’ve lost eight of their last ten games and sit four games under .500. But Cohen said he’s “not going to blow up” over the team’s poor start and has no intention of firing manager Buck Showalter or general manager Billy Eppler.
• Ken Rosenthal, however, isn’t buying that and thinks changes are likely coming to Flushing if the Mets don’t turn things around shortly. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• If things couldn’t get worse for the Mets, slugger Pete Alonso is expected to miss at least three to four weeks after getting hit in the hand with a pitch.
• One team doing very well this season is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Zach Crizer explains how the Snakes have become the surprise success story of 2023.
• Before I move on, Crizer also has this really wonderful guide on how to identify all the different pitches in baseball. Think of it like a field guide for birding, except you’re looking for pitches and not sparrows.
• Back to the Diamondbacks, here’s a look at the top rookies so far of 2023, (ESPN+ sub. req.) with Arizona’s Corbin Carroll the clear number one.
• Reds rookie Elly De La Cruz is getting a lot of attention as well, even though he’s only been in the majors a week. Jack Baer writes that the impressive De La Cruz took only a few days to go “pro wrestler” when he declared himself “the fastest man in the world.”
• R.J. Anderson looks at how De La Cruz’s speed and power tools compare to some of the best players in baseball. Honestly, I’ll put the speed of my power drill up against any player in MLB.
• Congratulations to the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen, who got his 2000th hit on Sunday. And it feels good to type “Pirates” before McCutchen’s name again.
• Jay Jaffe examines the troubles of Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard and how the team has to hope he can get things straightened out while he’s on the injured list.
• Matt Snyder has 20 players who would have gone to Cooperstown if they hadn’t gotten hurt.
• The most valuable player on each team this year so far. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Ethan Diamandas argues that the most important player on the Blue Jays—and the one they most need to lock up with a long-term extension—is Bo Bichette, not Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Although he does say the team should sign both to extensions, just that Bichette is the top priority.)
• Congratulations to the Oklahoma Sooners softball team, who just won their third-straight Women’s College World Series. They’ve also won a record 53 games in a row.
• Mandy Bell reports that Shane Bieber’s recent string of strong outings is making for some tough questions that the Guardians have to answer by the trade deadline.
• Mark Feinsand has eight potential trade chips who have gotten hot recently. Funny thing is that Marcus Stroman is not on the list but Julian Merryweather is.
• Chase Darden writes that the strong offense by the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is masking a rough stretch for him on the mound.
• Chris Gilligan notes that extra-inning games are down significantly so far this season. It’s not clear why that is the case.
• Phillies players and coaches insist that the pitch clock at Citizens Bank Park is faster than in other parks. (The Athletic sub. req.) Matt Gelb explains that there is some evidence that they’re right.
• A couple more injuries. After beating cancer, White Sox closer Liam Hendricks went on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Hendricks has got to be thinking this is nothing compared to his last stint on the IL.
• Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon goes on the IL with a broken hand. He’ll miss four-to-six weeks.
• It was a rough day in federal appellate court for umpire Ángel Hernández, who is trying to get his discrimination suit against MLB reinstated.
• Former American League MVP Miguel Tejada has signed on to manage a baseball team in Pakistan. This is part of an attempt to build a new South Asian/Middle East league. So far, they have two teams: the Karachi Monarchs and the Mumbai Cobras.
• Jen McCaffery profiles Emma Tiedemann and Rylee Pay, who make up the all-female broadcast team for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And finally, legendary Yankees broadcaster John Sterling got hit in the head with a foul ball. It’s not quite “football in the groin,” but it’ll do.

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