June 15, 2021

1. Streak alert: The D’Backs have lost 20 straight road games

If you’re going to be bad, may as well be so bad you set records, raise eyebrows, become a must-follow story. Never sink to mediocre — sink to laughing stock, then rebuild.

2. Bartolo Colon pitches a complete game at 48 years old

Down in the Mexican league. The beer belly still robust. The age approaching 50. And there he is, “Big Sexy”, pitching a complete game:

3. Today’s big MLB news: “Sticky stuff” violators will be suspended 10 days (with pay)

Not only for pitchers using Spider Tack, but even for the traditional “sunscreen and rosin” concoction:

Take it from Charles Barkley last night, 10 days with pay? That is some “harsh” punishment:

4. Vladdy Guerrero Jr. is the lead vote-getter for the All Star Game

Here he is on the field in Montreal, circa 2004:

And last night, he hit yet another home run (#22), with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the game at Fenway Park:

5. Rafael Devers undid the Vladdy HR with a walk-off winner

And the Red Sox have their 40th win of the season, six games ahead of the Yankees but still three behind the Rays.

6. Dodger Stadium is opening back to full capacity tonight

Things continue to come together across America — you love to see it:

7. Tyler Glasnow exited last night’s start with an injury

The Rays won yet again, taking the lead early in a great game in Chicago, keeping the best record in baseball, against baseball’s second-best team:

But the bad news was this:

8. Old baseball photo of the day: Tiger Stadium in the 1930s

If only they still built them like that, with the flagpole on the field, the upper decks hanging over the lower decks, the seats bunched so closely together, fewer aisles, the entire thing. A beautiful photo:

9. Blunder of the night that wasn’t technically an “error”

Ouch.

10. Quote of the day: “Let them snake”

In yesterday’s newsletter, you saw the cup snake of all cup snakes, amid the wild atmosphere all weekend at Wrigley. And so, Crane Kenney, the Cubs’ main business executive — with a great, Marie-Antoinette-esque turn of phrase:

11. Francisco Lindor might be getting back to his old self again

Catch rain drops in the dugout:

And finally hitting well, after those awful first two months of the season:

12. Catch of the day: A kid at an NCAA game grabs a HR ball while filming the whole thing

13. Stat of the day: Patrick Wisdom (Cubs rookie)

Nine home runs, in just 54 at-bats.

14. Lastly, some injury updates: Eloy Jimenez and Shane Bieber

See you tomorrow, everyone.

PS: Leave a comment below, let’s get that going.