Hyde: Bonifacio often confounding, but he can be electrifying

Or as Robothal told Bic-quick Harold Reynolds the other day...“HE CAN’T HIT!...HE CAN’T HIT!”

(BTW...Rosenthal has been a saber-godsend on the MLBobfeller network)

Like it or not, Bonifacio is the exact kind of player this franchise has to mold from clay to succeed. He’s young at 24. He’s cheap at the major league minimum. He’s raw, obviously, and a liability at third base, though that’s the most irrelevant part of the conversation moving ahead. He’s a second baseman.

“Tremendous skills there,” said Washington General Manager Mike Rizzo, who signed Bonifacio out of the Dominican Republic while in Arizona, traded for him with Washington and then watched him shipped to the Marlins this offseason before becoming the GM.

Rizzo says what all baseball people do. “If Emilio can get a .360 on-base percentage, he’d be a terror.”

OK, if you can leap tall buildings, you’d be Superman. But let’s note a couple of numbers. Bonifacio’s on-base percentage is an awful .297. But through May, his on-base percentage was .291; in June it was .319.

Through May, he struck out nearly once every four at-bats (24.4 percent). In June, it was about once every 5.5 at-bats (18.6 percent). Yes, that’s still bad for a speed guy. But still.

“The numbers are moving in the right direction,” Gonzalez said.

GRANEY: Lee Smith’s exclusion from Hall of Fame puzzling

Same with The Canadian Beadles...but that’s just me.

Smith pitched 18 seasons and retired in 1997 with 478 saves, then the most in history. He was among the top five in Cy Young Award voting three times and owned the major league career saves record for a 13-year span. He also has been on the Hall of Fame ballot since 2003 and annually receives between 35 percent and 45 percent of the necessary votes for inclusion.

The guy is Peter O’Toole nominated for an Academy Award, up to this point a sure bet not to hear his name called.

“I think one thing that hurts Smith is that he is not associated with any one club,” said Tim Sullivan, a sports columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune and Hall of Fame voter from 1991 to 2005. “He played for eight teams. To some extent, he is a victim of not being identified with one club like Rivera with the Yankees and Hoffman when with the Padres. I think that helps you gain a base of support from people in those towns and works to your advantage.”

Hard to believe: Smith spent his first eight seasons with the Cubs but pitched in St. Louis only for four. It seemed twice that long. It also seemed Farrah Fawcett was on “Charlie’s Angels” for a decade instead of one season. Go figure.

But not being recognized as wearing one uniform for most of his career shouldn’t exclude a player with otherwise deserving numbers. Jeff Reardon is another closer not in the Hall of Fame. The subjective joke continues.

Detroit News: Rays rise on speed, strength

the Rays’ Detroit coverage is more interesting than anything on the Tampa/St. Pete sites…

The expectations are greater, and so is the competition. But the Rays finally are starting to prove last year was far from a fluke.

After a sluggish start, which fairly can be blamed on injuries—among those placed on the disabled list in May alone, Pat Burrell (neck), Scott Kazmir (quad), Troy Percival (shoulder), Jason Bartlett (ankle), Akinori Iwamura (ACL) and Brian Shouse (elbow)—the Rays had won nine of 10 and were a season-best nine above .500 before losing Wednesday to drop back to five games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.

They’ve revived their season with equal parts speed and strength. Entering Wednesday, they had 121 stolen bases—the Angels (76) are second—and 105 homers, making them the fifth team in history with 100 of each before the All-Star break.

That puts the Rays on pace for 248 stolen bases and 215 homers, which would make them the second member of the 200-200 club (1996 Rockies, 221 homers, 201 steals).

plus, Tigers Notebook: Homers offset June swoon

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A bare market for Melvin

It is no secret Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin is exploring his options to add a player via trade before the July 31 deadline.

There just aren’t many options.

Based on what the Brewers are looking for (probably established pitching) and what potential sellers would want in return (probably younger pitching), Melvin said there are fewer than 10 teams that could potentially “match up” with the Brewers.

That is what happened when Melvin inquired about Mark DeRosa, then with the Cleveland Indians. Melvin was told by Indians GM Mark Shapiro the Brewers didn’t have what his club was looking for and shipped DeRosa to St. Louis.

Translation: It could be difficult to make any kind of significant move, even if the Brewers’ desire is a position player.

“I don’t know,” Melvin said. “Things can change overnight. You prefer not to give up players on your current club.”

But that could be a challenge since Melvin has already deemed Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar as untouchable. So to pull off a deal and keep the organization’s two best prospects, a big-league player would probably have to be involved.

plus, Waste treatment

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Braves’ Kelly Johnson reacts to benching

offered as a break from the upcoming holiday Jeff Francoeur Marathon:

What’s good for Martin Prado is not so good for Kelly Johnson, after manager Bobby Cox said Tuesday night that it was time to give Prado a shot at the everyday second base job.

But the numbers stacked up against Johnson, who has hit only .168 with no home runs and five RBIs in his past 28 games. His season average was down to .216 entering Wednesday night’s game.

...

“It’s just been a tough year,” Johnson said. “It’s certainly uncharacteristic to hit so poorly for two months. It’s just the way the game goes. It can humble everybody.”

Johnson hit .203 in April, .297 in May and .125 in June, but he’s hopeful he can turn himself around the last three months of the season.

two months, three month… who’s counting?

Washington Times: Dukes sent to Class AAA [updated]

...submitted specifically for the quoted segment

“He’s not a finished product,” Acta said. “Obviously, he was in a little bit of a slump the last month here. He needs to get down there and get his swing back. But for the most part, just work on his overall game. He’s still very young and talented, and that’s basically it. I don’t think we were going to be doing him any help by just sitting him here.”

There is one other angle to all this, of course, and that is Dukes’ non-playing issues. There are still plenty of people in the organization that don’t believe he has the right attitude to succeed up here. And that feeling was only strengthened when Dukes reported late to the ballpark this morning. Yep, players were supposed to be dressed by 10 a.m. Dukes didn’t arrive until after that, at which point he was told of his demotion.

Dukes, as is usually the case, would not speak to reporters today.

plus, Chris Needham’s variation on the theme

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Collier: Pirates outfield lacking offensively

No matter which way Pirates management cranks its curious kaleidoscope, there is still only one element clearly evident at the center of every conceivable picture of this star-crossed franchise.

Andrew McCutchen was in center field last night, leading off in manager John Russell’s so-called lineup, just as he has for every game since arriving in Pittsburgh June 4, ending nearly four years of snowballing promise if not persistently tantalizing empirical evidence.

From the moment Bob Nutting took over the chairman’s seat from Kevin McClatchy in January 2007, to the moment he hired Frank Coonelly as team president that September, to the moment Coonelly brought in Neal Huntington as its general manager 12 days later, to the moment of the next inexplicable spasm of Management Vision, McCutchen is the center fielder and the leadoff hitter of the Pirates of the future.

Should that ever get here.

plus, Bob Smizik says the Pirates’ New look not such a good look

Plain Dealer/Livingston: Cleveland Indians baseball: Where change is never in the air

Nearly midseason, and Cleveland is held hostage.

Down and down the Tribe goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Given the expectations for the season, manager Eric Wedge would not make it to the All-Star break in some organizations. But he will with the Indians, who think stagnation is the same as stability.

Given that Wedge has guided the team to only one playoff berth in seven years, he might not last the season in most organizations. But after all the beat-downs lately, all the games when it gets late early, all the other games when the bullpen implodes, he will probably last the season.

Given the stubbornness and loyalty of his boss, partner and apologist, Mark Shapiro, he might be here when Progressive Field becomes Chico’s Bail Bonds Park and Chief Wahoo finally goes to the happy hunting ground.

Wedge and Shapiro are bound to each other, like the mission statement plaques are to the elevator walls at the ballpark. You know, the one about sustaining a contending team.

It is true it is not all Wedge’s fault, which means much of it is Shapiro’s. The bullpen, to cite one particularly lurid example, is his baby.

plus, from the PD’s Bud Shaw: Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro says fan base is ‘traumatized?’ Then what’s the bullpen?

Baseball America: Indians Prospect Faked Age, Identity

Major League Baseball has caught another high-profile prospect from the Dominican Republic misrepresenting his age and identity.

MLB’s latest catch is Indians shortstop Jose Osoria, who signed for $575,000 last year on July 2. Indians assistant general manager John Mirabelli confirmed that Osoria’s real name is Wally Bryan and that Bryan is 20 years old, three years older than he had presented himself. Bryan ranked as Cleveland’s No. 30 prospect entering the season.

“We still like his ability,” Mirabelli said. “We still like his talent. I’m not going to try to pretend there’s not a difference between 17 and 20. There certainly is in terms of projection, but the fact of the matter is he isn’t who he said he was.”

Bryan does look a lot older…

Acorn: Dorman: So Manny reasons to cheer baseball’s non-cheaters

Association of Community Organizations for Refills Now!

There are players who didn’t cheat Major League Baseball during its lie to our faces performance-enhancing drug era, and on this Fourth of July weekend we should take a minute to honor those brave ballplayers instead of hailing the return of a fake like Manny Ramirez.

...Second base: David Eckstein

The 2006 World Series MVP with St. Louis looks like your younger brother and has probably never shaved.

The guy’s career-high RBI total is 63 as a member of the 2002 Anaheim Angels, and he’s never hit more than eight roundtrippers in a season. Others have put up better numbers than Eckstein, but he’s the prototypical overachiever, and every team needs a guy like that.

On the bench: Chase Utley and Ryne Sandberg.

Center field: Willie McGee

Have you ever seen Willie McGee play? Is there any doubt that his 6-foot-1, 175-pound thin-as-a-rail frame was all natural?

This speedster was a National League MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1985, a fourtime All-Star and two-time batting champ. Oh, and he hit a grand total of 30 home runs in the 1990s.

If McGee, who retired after the ‘99 season, was dirty, then everything we know about performance-enhancers must be a lie.

On the bench: Ken Griffey Jr. (only because McGee was less obvious).

Chi Trib: Poll: Most MLB Players Would Not Want to Play for Piniella, Guillen

Sports Illustrated correspondents in every major-league city interviewed 380 players in May for the poll, though many players declined to answer that question. SI did not break down the exact totals but listed Piniella first with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Guillen at 21 percent. St. Louis’ La Russa (10 percent), the Dodgers’ Joe Torre (4 percent), and Cleveland’s Eric Wedge (4 percent) rounded out the top five.

This might be the only time Eric Wedge is ever the fifth name mentioned alongside four World Series winning skippers. 

SNY: Berg: “Some prospects fail, so it’s time to trade every prospect”

Berg with his latest “Items of note"…

Sock Alexis: There have been a lot of recent rumblings about the Mets’ pursuit of Alex Alexis Rios. It’s an interesting move in that Rios would theoretically only cost money, at least according to the rumor. But lest we forget, money is worth something, and Rios is due to earn an absolute ton of it over the next five years. He’s not a terrible player and it’s not my money, so I understand the temptation to say sure, bring him in. But since Rios’ stats are trending downward and the Mets still have finite resources, I’m just not sure he’d be the best pickup—even if it’s only for cash.

It could work out. After all, Rios is still only 28 and could theoretically return to the All-Star form he showed in 2006 and 2007 that earned him his huge deal. On the other hand, there’s an equally good chance that three years from now, Mets fans could be scratching their heads and wondering why they were so eager to bail out J.P. Ricciardi by taking on a player with an albatross of a contract and red flags on the back of his baseball card.

nbcwashington.com/Needham: Defense First for Nats

I didn’t realize Chris Needham had a gig with the local NBC affiliate…

After the number crunching is done, it gives an estimate for how good or bad a fielder is compared to his peers. It ain’t perfect, but it’s a good estimate.

The main Nats centerfielders (Dukes and Milledge) are basically 20-25 runs below an average centerfielder. That’s a lot of balls dropping that others would’ve caught, which can’t help a young pitching staff that’s developing on the fly.

Nyjer Morgan, on the other hand, has some impressive defensive statistics. While he hasn’t played a ton of centerfield (owing to the Buccos having an All-Star there), he’s a wiz in left. And when he’s played center, he’s been on the order of 20 runs better than average.

Even if you assume that he can’t keep that pace up for a full season and he’s only 10 runs better than average, that’s a 30-run improvement over Milledge and Dukes. That’s a lot of extra outs. And that’s why, even if the names going back and forth don’t make much sense, it should help the Nats’ on-field product, and the development of those young arms.

wtop.com: Baseball expands All-Star rosters to 33

Baseball is expanding All-Star rosters yet again.

Each league will have 33 players for the July 14 game at St. Louis, with an extra pitcher added to bring the total to 13. The commissioner’s office said Wednesday the extra spot will be a manager’s choice.

Fangraphs - Cameron : Morgan = Dunn

When the Nationals signed Adam Dunn over the winter to a 2 year, $20 million contract, the reaction from the sabermetric community was almost unanimously positive towards the move for Washington. For a fraction of his original asking price, they got the guy who had become something of a poster boy for the kind of player that statistical analysts have been claiming is undervalued for years. The walks and power skillset produces a lot of runs, and Dunn has a master’s degree in the walks and power skillset.

When the Nationals acquired Nyjer Morgan yesterday, the reaction from the sabermetric community was almost unanimously negative towards the move for Washington. He was routinely called a no-power fourth outfielder, easily replaceable, and a 29-year-old with no upside. The Nationals were destroyed for giving up on a “talent” like Lastings Milledge to acquire Morgan. Analysts I have quite a bit of respect for, like Keith Law, Dan Szymborski, and our own R.J. Anderson, hailed this as an easy win for the Pirates, as none of them see much value in Morgan.

Here’s the problem. Nyjer Morgan and Adam Dunn are nearly equals in value, and the polar reactions from the sabermetric crowd puts the blindspots that have been developed over the last 10-15 years on full display.

John Franco blasts the Mets for a lack of leadership, too much individuality

Mike Silva riffing on Bart Hubbach’s Sirius Twitter jitter…

Harsh words for the Mets today from John Franco: “There’s no leadership there. They’re not having fun and everybody’s on their own page.”

Added Franco to Sirius XM: “Something’s not right there. Hopefully they’ll get it right soon [or] it’s going to be a long summer.

Interesting that this comes out just a few days after Jerry Manuel was clamoring for offensive help through the press. We all know that Franco works for the organization and is friendly with ownership. Could he be communicating the perspective of Jeff Wilpon and company? Quite frankly, this type of situation is more a reflection on the manager than management. It makes you wonder how safe Jerry Manuel’s job is. The problem is that Mets ownership remains more concerned with playing corporate politics (badly) than building a well run organization. Any manager that replaces Manuel (Bobby V?) will have the same issues.

Flushing University: Reality Sets In

Consider this when talking about the Mets prospects for July, assuming they make no major moves over the course of the next few weeks. Reyes says it is unlikely he will be back before the All-Star break, and you have rehab games to consider, while Delgado almost certainly won’t return until after the trading deadline. So the Mets could very well miss both of them for all of next month.

In the base case scenario, Beltran will come back right after the All-Star Break. This means he will miss a little less than half (42%). During June, he missed 36% of the action. That month, the Mets were outscored 140-105; over a 162 game season, this amounts to 64 wins. Worst case, Beltran misses the entire month plus. In the nine games he has been absent thus far, the Mets have been outscored 43-32, amounting to 56 wins. Ultimately, were talking in the vicinity of 9-10 wins in July.

Unless Omar and co. does something big, the Mets are a bad, well below .500 team, and as the sample size increases, the results will bear that essential truth out.

Fraley: A’s GM Beane not so far ahead of the pack

Fraley is some quarters of Garbool Sector 12-NEEB is pronounced Paullebowitz.com

This will also be Oakland’s fourth consecutive losing season. The Athletics’ progress is more the stuff of a comedy than a celebration of big brains with laptops, but the “Major League” franchise cornered that market years ago.

The Beane-led Athletics had good ideas, but the organization was not as far ahead of the pack as the book would have had readers believe. Six years after the publication of “Moneyball,” Oakland is nowhere close to being a playoff club. The Athletics’ new-wave plan is to develop young pitchers and trade them, an approach that keeps the club trapped in a down cycle.

...The irony of “Moneyball” is that while the book relentlessly paints the Athletics as discovering the hidden value of on-base percentage, their lineup has been terrible in that area.

Through June, Oakland ranked last in the AL for on-base percentage at .312. A year ago, the Athletics tied Seattle for last in on-base percentage at .318.

Who would want to watch a movie about that?

Goold: The Pace of Albert Pujols

‘Whew’...I thought Jeter had lost his “Face of” gig there for a second.

1. Pujols is the seventh player to reach 30 homers by the end of June, and he’s the first since two National Leaguers did it in 2001. Here is the list, but not just the list. Included with the names is how many homers they had as of June 30 and … how many homers they had in that season.

* 2001 … Barry Bonds … 39 … 73
* 2001 … Luis Gonzalez … 32 … 57
* 1999 … Sammy Sosa … 30 … 63
* 1998 … Ken Griffey Jr. … 33 … 56
* 1998 … Mark McGwire … 37 … 70
* 1998 … Sosa … 33 … 66
* 1994 … Griffey … 32 … 40
* 1930 … Babe Ruth … 30 … 49
* 1928 … Babe Ruth … 30 … 54

What stands out here — more than the names, more than the stains — is the 64-year gap between Ruth and Griffey. And then not a gap of less than four years until today, when baseball went eight years.

Hughes looking, feeling good as RP

It’s easy to second-guess him because Brian Bruney came in and blew the lead—and got the win; nice scoring rules, MLB!—but Bruney’s been pretty brilliant lately. My problem with taking out Hughes is that every time you use him for just one easy inning, you make it that much harder to get him back into the rotation if the need arises. Why not use Hughes for two or three innings at a time? And if the “problem” is not enough work for the other relievers, here’s a radical idea: don’t carry so many relievers.

E-Bay Item: Magglio Ordonez’ Hair

Step right up
Please allow thirty days for delivery, don’t be fooled by cheap imitations
You can live in it, live in it, laugh in it, love in it
Swim in it, sleep in it,
Live in it, swim in it, laugh in it, love in it

With this auction you get the hair Magglio has won so many great games and awards with, 18 tickets to sit in his personal skybox for the September 15th, 2009 Tigers game, and an autographed bat!

Goldstein: Sony’s Amy Pascal speaks out about ‘Moneyball’

Zaillian’s script was anchored by on-screen monologues by Bill James, the oddball guru of modern-day baseball statistics (who today works in the Boston Red Sox front office). James functioned as a Greek chorus for the film, offering wry, Yoda-like explanations about the complexity of the game.

Zaillian’s deft renditions of James’ maxims were funny and always to the point, allowing the audience the opportunity to see inside the game. In one monologue, James says: “If you score three runs and the other team scores four, you can be inspired as all hell but you still lost. The numbers represent the ineluctable sum of victories and defeats, and that cannot be made one iota larger or smaller than it is by PR campaigns, personal animosities or any of the greater and lesser forms of B.S.” But in Soderbergh’s draft, the James material had all vanished, presumably to be replaced by interviews with Beane’s real-life associates.

...Sony would also have to find a new director who is not only a good fit for the material but would pass muster with Pitt, who has director approval on his films. To find a director with enough stature or buzz to attract Pitt won’t be easy. The most likely options would be for the studio to go in more of a comic direction—possibilities being Jay Roach or Jason Reitman—or toward a more dramatic choice, like Gary Ross or even George Clooney, who is putting the finishing touches on a two-year production deal with the studio. (My own pick would be someone with a sharp, subversive edge, like Pete Berg.)

Pascal insists there’s no bad blood between her and Soderbergh, saying the two plan to meet in the coming days to discuss other possible projects. In the meanwhile, she remains an ardent believer in the film. “We love this movie, we always have and we still want to make it. It’s a completely innovative way to tell a baseball story. It’s about wanting to believe in magic, which is what baseball is all about.”

Thanks to Matt Welch.

Miami Herald: County approves new Marlins baseball stadium financing

At 1:10 a.m. Wednesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners cast the final vote on a set of last-minute changes that cleared the way for the sale of more than $300 million in bonds to pay for construction of a new baseball stadium in Little Havana.

Barring any new surprises, the early morning vote sets the stage for construction of the park, and ends the decade-long quest to build a professional baseball stadium in Miami.

The bond sale agreement is set to be signed at 1 p.m., and Florida Marlins officials said work would begin on site Wednesday, as well.

Denver Post: Bullpen boost now becoming high priority

Forget the standings. The difference between the Rockies and Dodgers can be explained by their bullpens, underlining why the Rockies are actively looking for relief help.

The Dodgers have won nine of 11 games against Colorado. In the head-to-head matchups, Los Angeles’ bullpen owned a 2.66 ERA, compared with the Rockies’ 8.25 performance.

So it should come as no surprise that Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd is trolling for a reliever. Colorado had interest in Washington’s Joel Hanrahan, who was traded Tuesday to Pittsburgh, and would love to bring back Houston’s LaTroy Hawkins, though he’s not yet on the block.

“If something hits us in the face and makes sense, we have to look at it,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

The problem is there are few upgrades available with so many teams still in the playoff chase. Arizona is willing to part with Chad Qualls, whom the Rockies have liked in the past. San Diego is expected to move Cla Meredith, though the Padres are not a common trade partner.

plus, Gold’s Gym Says No To Cankles

Murray Chass On Baseball: SOSA SCOOP AND QUESTIONS IT RAISES

Good thing Murray didn’t get his blogless hands on The Fake List.

If soliciting and obtaining sealed information from a lawyer constitutes breaking the law, the Times would be hard pressed to argue that Sosa’s negative result rises to the level Schotz refered to.

Schmidt did not have an altruistic or noble reason for getting Sosa’s name or any name. He just wanted to get a good story and beat the others covering the steroids scandal. Sports Illustrated had Rodriguez; the New York Daily News had other stories since Schmidt last broke a steroids story. He wanted to get back in the game.

“The whole steroid issue seems to have people looking for information,” Schotz said. “There seems to be a much lower standard. The feeling is any time you can get a scoop you do it.” But Schotz raised a relevant question: “Is any particular name going to surprise anyone any more? Nobody is above suspicion. Is it worth pursuing to unusual means to get one more name?”

Schmidt and the Times evidently thought it was. The Times realized four or five years too late that it had made a major mistake when it ignored the Balco story and ceded coverage to other newspapers, primarily the Chronicle. So getting a name, a big name, if possible, was important, and Schmidt got his Sosa scoop. Now it’s just a question of what he did to get it.

ESPN: DeRosa to Have Tests on Wrist

Will the Cards Chiti the Indians?

DeRosa, hitless in nine at-bats since being acquired from the Indians in a trade, says he felt a “little tweak” while swinging and missing Randy Johnson’s changeup before striking out during his second at-bat in the fourth. He hit off a tee indoors the next inning and “it just didn’t feel right.”

MLB: Hot hitters squeezed out of Reds’ order

Some of the hottest bats the Reds have right now never left the dugout during Tuesday’s game vs. the D-backs.

Outfielders Jonny Gomes and Chris Dickerson weren’t in the starting lineup, nor was backup catcher Ryan Hanigan.

..."You can’t play everybody,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I have a plan on how to keep them sharp and productive for themselves and us at the same time. We knew that could potentially happen when we started. You don’t have a good team unless you have too many good bodies.”

...Hanigan saw his playing time dwindle once Joey Votto returned from the disabled list. Regular catcher Ramon Hernandez (.246 average entering Wednesday) played first base while Votto was out.

“Ramon has been one of our best, clutch RBI guys,” Baker said. “Even though his average isn’t indicative, but his runners in scoring position [.321 average] and his RBI total [32] is.”

Which means...he is going to do it forever and ever and ever and…

WFAN: Eddie Coleman: Enough Is Enough

Weeeee! This contains more seepage than Eddie C’s favorite stool at McGurgitate’s Inn!

Jerry Manuel had seen enough. He had just watched his rag-tag crew of survivors lose their fifth straight game while falling down, kicking the ball around and ultimately not executing at the plate, in the field or on the mound. So he closed the clubhouse doors for a good 30 minutes after the Mets’ 39th loss which put them two games under .500 - and spoke. From the heart. And hopefully reached the hearts of his players, who need to play with a little more heart right now.

Manuel would not reveal much, but he did state the key - “It was to tell them that we have enough. We have enough in here to do what we need to get done. Let’s get it done.” Manuel believes if his team plays the game consistently, competing in the right way, executing the little things - it gives them a chance to win. Manuel went on to say - “I just don’t want us to feel sorry for ourselves. That’s the bottom line. It’s hard not to because of the losses. That’s what we’re based on - wins and losses. You have to check that negativity at the door. Sometimes that seeps in and you have to address it. Because when that seeps in, individualism seeps in, and we can ill afford that as a group the way we are designed right now.” Manuel wanted his team to understand this - “We just need to make sure that we’re all on board with what we’re trying to accomplish, and don’t get separated from that. Period.”

...All players will take the team bus on Wednesday morning and travel to Miller Park en masse to show togetherness and hopefully turn over a new leaf moving forward. All for one - and all aboard.

First College Game Memorial Dugout

Happy Birthday to Roger Connor and Ben Taylor.

MLB: Melvin slated to accept job with Padres

Over from Under the Excrement! Melvin’s back!

Bob Melvin, let go last month as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will accept an unspecified position with the Padres, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

Melvin was in San Diego on Monday and Tuesday meeting with Padres team officials, including general manager Kevin Towers.

It’s not known if Melvin—relieved of his duties May 8 after spending the past four-plus seasons in Arizona—will be an advisor to Towers or a consultant.

...In San Diego, Melvin will be reunited with Padres CEO Jeff Moorad and team president Tom Garfinkel, both of whom were in Arizona as recently as last season.