Yes, he’s an asshole. Great player, but he’s always been a dick.
Damn. I hate rooting for guys that are dicks.
The Jays won today and remain in a playoff spot.
Jesus, though, the offensive drought is getting truly staggering. The Jays are tenth in the league in scoring, and have been dropping in the ranks in that regard. They simply cannot hit.
Stephen Strasburg to make a rehab start on Tuesday. I’ve basically written off his chances to be an effective MLB pitcher ever again, but let’s see.
Yankees injury update.
Chad Green’s season is ended. He is scheduling Tommy John surgery.
Green is 31 and has been a big piece of the pull pen in the past.
Luis Gil is also undergoing Tommy John surgery. His is May 24th.
Domingo German is expected to start his rehab assignment this week.
Florial makes his debut tonight. They’ll send him back down, I’m sure - but maybe not until Gallo’s IL stint is over?
If you didn’t see it, Roger Angell died over the weekend. Your Favorite Baseball Writer’s Favorite Baseball Writer: Roger Angell (1920-2022) | FanGraphs Baseball
I enjoyed reading his stuff–often witty and always thoughtful.
I was saddened to hear that, but how wonderful that he lived to 101! Angell was one of the best interview figures in Ken Burns’ baseball documentary. Particularly enjoyed his anecdote about the early Mets’ ineptitude.
And speaking of the Mets…
I haven’t actively followed baseball since I was a teenager. Why? Because I grew up a fan of the Mets and Red Sox, I was 16 when they faced each other in that unbelievable World Series of 1986, and I thought it never could be better than that for me. So I stopped watching.
And then Covid happened.
So with nothing much else to do last year when I was laid off, I started watching the Mets again. I think my timing was good. They were fun last year, and doing really well this year. Like, incredibly well. They’ve won a couple of very unlikely late inning comebacks that made it feel like '86 again. And it’s great to listen to Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling calling the games.
As an older fan, I find what really makes me happy is when the new guys succeed. I feel for the players who come up from the minors, get a taste of the big leagues and then get sent down again. Win or lose, I love it when the young players do well. I was so glad for Patrick Mazeika when he came up as a replacement again this month and had a couple of key hits. I hope he sticks in the majors.
Your timing is really good
To quote from Bull Durham, "This is the damndest baseball season I’ve ever seen. The Mets, without their 2 ace pitchers, can’t lose …
Tyler Anderson went 8 scoreless innings yesterday for the Dodgers. Not bad for a “bullpen” pitcher. Of course, it was against the Nationals. 
well, considering they had someone named Muncy blow a game the other day …
Seems to me that the good ship Yankee is taking on a little water. Injuries, covid, and the Donaldson incident all seem to have taken their toll. Losing 2/3 at home to the White Sox and dropping a home game to the hapless Orioles aren’t good signs.
So Donaldson gets a one game suspension and he’ll appeal it. I don’t know. As much as I’d love to pile on the Yankees and Donaldson, he’s right that Anderson referred to himself as today’s Jackie Robinson. Insensitive? Maybe slightly, I guess. “Jackie” isn’t a slur by any stretch. I realize it was said ironically, but the intention was definitely not to slight Jackie Robinson.
Donaldson is an ass but Anderson statement in the interview was fairly laughable too. Probably more offensive in many ways.
If he did, it wasn’t in that Sports Illustrated article for a few years ago. Anderson said “he feels like Jackie Robinson”, specifically as it relates to feeling like an outsider in an increasingly segregated sport (African American participation the MLB has been on a very sharp decline for years now).
I generally think Anderson is an asshole, but I don’t see anything wrong with making that comparison.
I don’t think Donaldson’s comment was overtly racist, but it’s REAL close.
During last night’s Mets vs. Giants game, with Jeff Mcneil at bat, a fan yelled:
“Hey McNeil, work out those legs, you’ve got no power, no power McNeil”
Guess what happened at the next pitch.
I hope it doesn’t go to his head. Last year McNeil looked lost and despondent when he was at bat. This year he’s among the league leaders in batting average, and they say it’s because he decided to stop trying to hit home runs.
It’s always bemused me that more players don’t take that approach. Why would you want to strike out all the time just to get 30 or so home runs a season? I’ve never had any use for the Dave Kingmans of the world. Put the ball in play, for god’s sake.
Last year we saw Javier Baez change his approach for the better when he was with the Mets. About halfway through he stopped swinging at every bad pitch that came his way and he became much more effective. I realize there’s a lot of positive reinforcement for hitting home runs, but how do these guys reach the majors without somebody teaching them some plate discipline?
Well, you get the picture. Anderson made the comparison himself.
…specifically as it relates to feeling like an outsider in an increasingly segregated sport (African American participation the MLB has been on a very sharp decline for years now).
This is a whole other topic, but you can make the argument that MLB has become increasingly integrated with the growing inclusion over the years of Latino and Asian players.
That is a different topic, certainly. I think there could be a strong argument against the use of the word “inclusion” there - I’ve heard a lot of reports that it is exceedingly difficult for Latin players to fully integrate into the culture. Certainly not impossible, though. One of my favorite players is Salvador Perez. His extremely thick Venezuelan accent can be hard to understand, but he’s not only well-integrated into the team and culture, he’s the clubhouse leader. He’s going to be a successful manager when he retires as well. But there are hundreds (thousands?) of minor leaguers chewed up by the system that doesn’t have a complete support structure for them.
Either way, I’m willing to take Anderson’s word on whether or not there is a cultural divide for Black MLB players. It seems to be parallel to the current movement away from the “unwritten rules” and allowing players to display some individuality without internal and external repercussions.
bolding mine
And that’s why he only got one game. And it speaks to the issue at hand - that as long as one is not overt about it, one can get away with a heck of a lot and get, at most, a slap on the wrist. That’s true not only for ballplayers but in society at large.
Dogwhistles very clearly still work