The Buscher

And now Gleyber’s replaced Lowe in the ASG @Meacon

22 year old Dolphins DT Kendrick Norton's career is over after being involved in a rollover car accident that required his left arm to be amputated at the scene.

Tommy La Stella was a player ballot pick which means whoever was next up on the player ballot for that position (2B) gets into the game, so that’s why Lowe is in as Torres was on the shortstop ballot.

Former Kentucky Wildcat and Giants backup QB Jared Lorenzen has passed away at 38. He'd always struggled with his weight but embraced his "Hefty Lefty" nickname, flirting with the 300 lb mark which saw him routinely draw fines from Tom Coughlin. Unfortunately though his weight continued to skyrocket as he was weighing nearly 400 lbs playing QB in an Indoor league, and a couple of years ago he was nearly 600 lbs. What's gutting though is a year or so ago I'd heard he actually started making progress, eating clean, exercising, and dropping over 100 lbs in a year. This seems to be a case where the damage was unfortunately already done.

For all the gripes about pitchers killing rallies at the plate, the manager could pinch hit for him if he was really that concerned about it. You have a late lead in a one run game, do you sub out your terrible fielding LF for your defensive stud or do you keep him in to get insurance runs? These are decisions you don't have to make in the AL because the pitcher never comes up to the bat and the LF rarely ever plays the field. It's just not as interesting a brand of baseball, in my opinion. To eliminate the DH, there would have to be a concession, and my concession would be to expand the rosters to 27 players. So you create 60 new jobs and give teams the opportunity to work with an expanded bench, opening up opportunities to specialists with a variety of skillsets. I'd go as far as to give teams a few years to prepare for this as well, so that teams currently paying a full-time DH aren't suddenly going to have a very expensive pinch hitter. But the DH going leaguewide is an inevitabilty. The union wants to keep the DH because of the earnings potential, and Manfred wants it because he has an endless hard-on for offense.

I’m more of the mindset that guys shouldn’t need more than one scheduled day off a month. Playing 155+ games a year was the norm for decades.

Pitchers with Superwins this year (won a game whilst driving in more runs than they allowed) 3/31: Trevor Williams, Pirates 4/2: Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks 4/3: Jacob deGrom, Mets 4/23: Zack Wheeler, Mets (2) 5/2: Noah Syndergaard, Mets (3) 5/10: German Marquez, Rockies 5/14: Kyle Hendricks, Cubs 5/15: Kenta Maeda, Dodgers 5/16: Julio Teheran, Braves 5/21: German Marquez (2), Rockies (2) 5/26: Brandon Woodruff, Brewers 6/4: Pablo Lopez, Marlins 6/12: Jordan Yamamoto, Marlins (2) 6/12: Cole Hamels, Cubs (2) #ScrewTheDH

How big is the in-season price drop for this game usually? Seems Target knocked $10 off the price but not sure if it'll go lower in a week just because of the All Star break.

The Warriors retiring Durant's number after only three seasons strikes me as odd, but then again I could see the Raptors retiring Kawhi's number after one season so whatever.

Yankees sign the top international free agent, 16 year old OF Jasson Rodriguez. He's been referred to as the Dominican Republic's version of Mike Trout.

The Islanders made Robin Lehner a multi-year offer to return only for him to sign a one-year deal in Chicago instead. Been a wonderful few days for the blue and orange teams I support.

That’s fucking horrible

The Mets put a statement on the scoreboard yesterday apologizing for erroneously declaring two players from the 1969 team as dead. In this statement, they spelled one of the players' names wrong.

Yeah I didn't understand Abreu over Voit at all. It's so weird because when you look at who the players voted in, they generally did a really good job in picking guys who had the numbers to make it. I mean they put La Stella and Meadows in, so clearly they're paying attention to the numbers. Ottavino should've made it but the league had to fill three of the four open pitching spots with Detroit, Toronto, and Baltimore reps, and I can't justify Ottavino over Mike Minor as starters are more valuable. That said, he'll most likely make it anyway as a few of these pitchers tend to bow out.

Happy Deferred Payment Day! The Braves still paying Bruce Sutter remains my favorite

And the official All Star rosters. Apparently they did away with the Final Vote this year, and the managers have zero say in the roster at all, the remaining spots are filled by the league. AMERICAN LEAGUE Starters C - Gary Sánchez, Yankees 1B: Carlos Santana, Indians 2B: DJ LeMahieu, Yankees 3B: Alex Bregman, Astros SS: Jorge Polanco, Twins OF: Mike Trout, Angels OF: George Springer, Astros OF: Michael Brantley, Astros DH: Hunter Pence, Rangers Reserves C - James McCann, White Sox ^ 1B: José Abreu, White Sox ^ 1B: Daniel Vogelbach, Mariners * 2B: Tommy La Stella, Angels ^ 3B: Matt Chapman, A's ^ SS: Francisco Lindor, Indians ^ OF: Mookie Betts, Red Sox ^ OF: Joey Gallo, Rangers ^ OF: Austin Meadows, Rays ^ OF: Whit Merrifield , Royals * DH: J.D. Martinez, Red Sox ^ Pitchers LHP: Aroldis Chapman, Yankees ^ RHP: Gerrit Cole, Astros ^ RHP: Lucas Giolito, White Sox ^ RHP: Shane Greene, Tigers * LHP: Brad Hand, Indians ^ LHP: John Means, Orioles * LHP: Mike Minor, Rangers * RHP: Charlie Morton , Rays ^ RHP: Jake Odorizzi, Twins ^ RHP: Ryan Pressly , Astros ^ RHP: Marcus Stroman , Blue Jays * RHP: Justin Verlander, Astros ^ NATIONAL LEAGUE Starters C - Willson Contreras, Cubs 1B: Freddie Freeman, Braves 2B: Ketel Marte, D-backs 3B: Nolan Arenado, Rockies SS: Javier Báez, Cubs OF: Christian Yelich, Brewers OF: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers OF: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves Reserves C - Yasmani Grandal, Brewers * C - J.T. Realmuto, Phillies ^ 1B: Pete Alonso, Mets * 1B: Josh Bell, Pirates ^ 2B: Mike Moustakas, Brewers ^ 3B: Kris Bryant, Cubs * 3B: Anthony Rendon, Nationals ^ SS: Paul DeJong, Cardinals * SS: Trevor Story, Rockies ^ OF: Charlie Blackmon, Rockies ^ OF: David Dahl, Rockies ^ OF: Jeff McNeil, Mets ^ Pitchers RHP: Sandy Alcantara, Marlins * RHP: Walker Buehler, Dodgers ^ RHP: Luis Castillo , Reds ^ RHP: Jacob deGrom, Mets ^ RHP: Zack Greinke, D-backs * LHP: Josh Hader, Brewers ^ LHP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers * LHP: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers ^ RHP: Max Scherzer, Nationals ^ LHP: Will Smith, Giants ^ RHP: Mike Soroka, Braves * RHP: Kirby Yates, Padres ^ ^ Player-elected * Choice of MLB (after fan and player elections)

Meh. Doesn’t do anything to make them a contender. It’s clear at this point that if a player wants to come to NY for marketing purposes, they’re going to Brooklyn. Dolan has run this franchise into the ground.

They traded KP for cap space...AND THEY MISSED ON EVERYBODY!!!!! Much as the Mets are utterly screwed under the Wilpons, the Knicks are screwed under Dolan. There’s no cure for bad owners.

Fuck the Knicks. I’m done.

The Knicks aren’t getting anybody.

The Mets held a nice ceremony for the 1969 Mets team today, During the ceremony, they did an in memoriam for all of the players and coaches from the 1969 team who had passed away in the last 50 years. Two of the players that were featured on the in memoriam, Jim Gosger and Jesse Hudson, are still alive. This fucking organization can't do ANYTHING right.

This London game is a microcosm if everything that is wrong with baseball on 2019.

The problem is with the way the selection process works, the AL manager only has five roster spots to fill and four of them have to be pitchers to meet the 12 pitcher requirement. So if you’ve got three or four teams that don’t have a rep, you invariably have to select whoever their best pitcher is. Same reason Ian Kennedy is in over Whit Merrifield.

The All Star Game starters were announced this week. So I figured I'd maintain my annual tradition of guessing the rest of the teams. As always, it could go any number of ways depending on the player vote and the roster restrictions surrounding every team being represented. NL Announced Staters C Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs 1B: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves 2B: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks SS: Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs 3B: Noland Arenado, Colorado Rockies OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves OF: Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers OF: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers Player Ballot C Yasmani Grandal, Milwaukee Brewers 1B: Josh Bell, Pittsburgh Pirates 2B: Mike Moustakas, Milwaukee Brewers SS: Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies 3B: Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals OF: Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies OF: Marcell Ozuna, St. Louis Cardinals OF: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals SP: Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds SP: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets SP: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers SP: Mike Soroka, Atlanta Braves SP: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals RP: Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers RP: Felipe Vazquez, Pittsburgh Pirates RP: Kirby Yates, San Diego Padres Managerial Selections RP: Amir Garrett, Cincinnati Reds SP: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks SP: Cole Hamels, Chicago Cubs RP: Will Smith, San Francisco Giants 1B: Pete Alonso, New York Mets 2B: Cesar Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies 3B/OF: Brian Anderson, Miami Marlins Final Vote Candidates 3B: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs OF: David Dahl, Colorado Rockies SS: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres UTIL: Jeff McNeil, New York Mets IF: Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers AL Announced Starters C Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees 1B: Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians 2B: D.J. LeMahieu, New York Yankees SS: Jorge Polanco, Minnesota Twins 3B: Alex Bregman, Houston Astros OF: Michael Brantley, Houston Astros OF: George Springer, Houston Astros OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim DH: Hunter Pence, Texas Rangers Player Ballot C James McCann, Chicago White Sox 1B: Luke Voit, New York Yankees 2B: Tommy La Stella, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim SS: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox 3B: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox OF: Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers OF: Eddie Rosario, Minnesota Twins OF: Domingo Santana, Seattle Mariners DH: J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox SP: Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox SP: Mike Minor, Texas Rangers SP: Charlie Morton, Tampa Bay Rays SP: Jake Odorizzi, Minnesota Twins SP: Justin Verlander, Houston Astros RP: Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees RP: Shane Greene, Detroit Tigers RP: Brad Hand, Cleveland Indians Managerial Selections SP: Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins RP: Ken Giles, Toronto Blue Jays SP: John Means, Baltimore Orioles RP: Ian Kennedy, Kansas City Royals 3B: Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics Final Vote Candidates SS: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians 2B: Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays OF: Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles 2B/OF: Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals SS: Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees