What is the story about?
Happy Wednesday, everyone, and a very happy Canada Day to any of my fellow Canucks out there! In today’s news breakdown, we’re still looking at the fallout from the big shakeup with the Angels ousting Perry Minasian and the Mets booting Carlos Mendoza.
We also take a look at what’s going on with Aaron Judge, and which AL players might now stand a chance to be the AL MVP because Judge has missed a good chunk of playing time.
Along with all that, we take a look at the unexpected boost baseball is getting
with the influx of soccer fans all over Canada and the US, and how it’s creating a whole new fanbase for the sport.
All that and more, so let’s get right into it.
- Jay Jaffe looks at how Carlos Mendoza is paying the price for the Mets’ lacklustre season.
- Dan Szymborski explains what the new CBA offer would mean for free agency.
- What are the biggest needs at the trade deadline for all the playoff contenders? Story by Mark Feinsand.
- Nicholas Selbe looks at the six bad decisions that sunk Perry Minasian with the Angels.
- While we’re at it, Tom Verducci explains how Minasian made the Angels even worse.
- Ken Rosenthal talks to the Angels’ new interim manager on what comes next. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- A Tale of Two Max Muncys…
- Michael Baumann looks at the joyous experience that is international soccer fans discovering baseball.
- Cody Stavenhagen looks at whether MLB is actually getting an attendance bump thanks to soccer fans. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Sonja Chen reports that Shohei Ohtani’s next start has been bumped back to Friday.
- With Aaron Judge missing a good chunk of time due to injury, the AL MVP race is suddenly much more open to a new contender. Story by Tom Verducci.
- Zach Meisel looks at the long and dramatic saga of Josh Naylor that led to some heated interactions recently with the Guardians. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- You don’t often see an inside-the-park home run that is quite this messy.
- Jay Jaffe breaks down which teams have the best defense so far this season.
- Davy Andrews wonders how the Nationals manage to have such good hitting and such bad pitching.
- Having a superb season, Junior Caminero has announced his participation in the Home Run Derby. Story by Adam Berry.
- Ken Rosenthal explains that the Boston Red Sox being on track to potentially make the postseason is more of a statement about how bad the AL currently is. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Michael Rothstein shares that MLB has lost out in its efforts to trademark “Play Ball.”
- Bryan Hoch looks at the latest potential timeline for Aaron Judge to return.
- And it’s not even the most money one of his cards has sold for.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
