It feels unbelievable to say, but we are already almost halfway through April, and what’s more, we are almost three weeks into this season. We’ve been seeing a lot of injuries, which is nothing new, and also still the case this week. We’re also seeing baseball teams having a very short leash with struggling players.
In our news bites today, we look at some big stories from over the weekend. First, the unveiling of an Ichiro Suzuki statue in Seattle went terribly wrong. Then Shohei Ohtani continues
to build his legacy, of course. And in an “it can only happen in baseball” story, the White Sox announced they would be honoring their most famous fan with a Pope-themed promo night.
All that and more below, so let’s get right into it!
- Ben Clemens breaks down what he liked (and didn’t) last week in baseball.
- Phil Garner, former MLB manager, has passed away at age 76. Story by Brian McTaggert.
- Todd Zolecki looks at how Andrew Painter was scratched for his Sunday start, but still ended up pitching out of the bullpen.
- Madison Williams spotlights a cinematic moment for the Padres just ahead of Gavin Sheets’ walk-off home run.
- Is Mason Miller unhittable? Ryan Phillips thinks he might be.
- Dennis Lin agrees, as he argues that Miller might be in contention for the Cy Young Award. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- The Angels have optioned struggling rookie George Klassen to Triple-A. (AP)
- We love insane choices by new managers. (Here’s a direct link to the BlueSky post for those reading on Apple News)
- David Laurila looks at the wild variety of pitches A’s prospect Braden Nett brings to the table.
- Shohei Ohtani extends his on-base streak to 45 games. Story by Courtney Hollmon.
- Martin Gallagos shares the wild and somewhat scary new home run celebration from the A’s.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on team “don’t play in the cold in April” as he blames his rough start to the season on the chilly weather (Ryan Phillips). However, he can’t blame the weather for his major gaffe on Saturday, which it turns out was due to him simply not knowing a basic baseball rule. (Karl Rasmussen)
- Jayson Stark tries to determine if Jo Adell had the greatest defensive games in all of baseball history. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- The White Sox are meeting fan demand with a Pope-themed night to celebrate their most famous fan. (AP)
- Jorge Castillo reports on some unexpectedly slopping playing from Francisco Lindor.
- Eno Sarris looks at how some MLB pitchers are making adjustments to their arsenals this season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Bit of a snafu unveiling then new Ichiro statue in Seattle.
- Ryan Phillips has more on this major boo boo.
- Tim Stebbins reports that Jose Ramirez has become the first player in Guardians history to collect a home run against all 29 other teams.
- Oliver Marmol played the baseball version of an UNO reverse with his challenge of a challenge. Story by Brendan Schaeffer.
- Blake Snell admitted he needed to watch his language after his colorful response to criticism. Story by Fabian Ardaya. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Ryab Phillips shares that MLB salaries have reached an all-time high ahead of a looming labor dispute.
- George Springer left a game early due to a broken toe. His status is still pending. (AP)
- The Athletic staff do their best to rank all the newly unveiled City Connect uniforms. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- If you get this joke, you either have kids or are chronically online. If you DON’T get this joke, you should consider yourself lucky.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
