July 16, 2021
1. The Yankees vs. Red Sox game was postponed last night because of a COVID outbreak
And so the nightmare 2021 season for these Yankees continues — a first half that ended with a Jose Altuve ripping off his jersey after a walk-off home run, and now the season’s second half starts like this, with the only scheduled game across the league last night (an ESPN broadcast) being cancelled and players being sent onto the COVID protocols list:
2. In more bad Yankees news, Luke Voit is injured yet again
And so the Yankees lineup tonight, against the first-place Red Sox, is looking just a little bit different:
3. In more positive news, the Iowa cornfield “Field of Dreams” game is coming together
On August 12, the Yankees and White Sox will play an actual MLB game at the site of the cornfield scenes in Field of Dreams, one of most wonderful ideas the league has ever had — and so far, that corn has been growing, with an MLB-logo labyrinth as part of the fun:
And as of this week, the lottery for tickets has now opened.
4. Trey Mancini had a good interview on The Dan Patrick Show
The Orioles first baseman, All-Star, runner up in the Home Run Derby, recent survivor of colon cancer — and a nice little conversation from yesterday, if you’d like to listen:
5. The great Gary Thorne is calling Mets games this weekend
Some time off for Gary Cohen, and his replacement could not possibly be better — one of the very best in sports broadcasting.
6. The Oakland A’s “staying or not” situation gets more dire
The whole thing is pretty complicated, but there’s a vote coming up on July 20th that could end up determining what happens for the A’s and Oakland.
These articles explain what all happened today and what’s next:
7. Drew Robinson, the player who shot his own eye out in a suicide attempt and came back to hit a minor-league home run, retires to join the Giants front office
Here’s that home run from earlier this year:
8. Starlin Castro was put on leave today for a domestic violence investigation
Not a good year at all for MLB players and domestic violence issues, as Domingo German, Marcell Ozuna, Trevor Bauer and now Starlin Castro (and possibly more) have made headlines that just never feel good to see.
A summary here, if there’s a paywall on the Athletic’s article:
9. Quote of the day: Gerrit Cole
On the current state of the Yankees, as this second half of the season begins.
10. The ouch of the day: Getting hit in the shin with a line drive
11. Wholesome baseball moment of the week: This little league catcher having a “pit crew”
This should happen in every league, everywhere.
12. And lastly, every game tonight and this weekend will be free to watch on MLB.TV (available through the MLB website)
If you’re interested in watching other teams play and don’t have a subscription, this is your chance to eavesdrop on Ohtani, Vladdy, Tatis Jr., and every other great player around the league.
Great move by MLB.
