SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The baseball world seems to believe that the San Francisco Giants will be sellers at the trade deadline, with everyone on the team receiving speculation in some form or another.
Personally, I don’t know if I think that they will actually do that, even if they probably should. This organization rarely tends to make what would be agreed upon as “smart” decisions these days. But maybe this year they will prove me wrong on that.
I’ve seen articles floating trade scenarios about everyone from Logan Webb down to the ball boys, and at this point I think the team should be willing to hear everyone out on everything. But there are always going to be guys that you just don’t want to see go.
I think for me, that would be Jung Hoo Lee. He’s been the most fun thing about watching Giants baseball for me since they traded my last favorite player, Mike Yastrzemski. Which means that it’s almost a lock that they will now trade him too. But I really hope they don’t.
Who is your “hands off!” player as we approach the deadline?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants wrap up this series against the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon at 12:45 p.m. PT.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 07: Ryan O'Hearn #29 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates after hitting his third home run of the game and driving in his 10th RBI setting the Pirates team RBI record in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 7, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Seven umpires are expected to take a buyout and retire at the end of this year. This includes the much-maligned CB Bucknor. Bob Nightengale and Kevin Skiver report. Nightengale also notes that this likely opens the door for Jen Pawol to become the first woman full-time MLB umpire.
Will Sammon thinks struggling Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta is close to getting back his old form (The Athletic sub. req.) Just in time for the Trade Deadline and the no-doubt rumors of him coming to the Cubs.
Jonathan Mayo looks at the three-way debate for who the White Sox should take with the first pick. I saw so many White Sox fans making up fake Roch Cholowsky jerseys after the team won the draft lottery. Now Cholowosky probably has a less-than 50/50 chance of being the South Side pick.
Jim Callis redrafts the 2016 Draft, ten years later. It was a good year for the Cubs to not have a first- or second-round pick, if you ask me.
DENVER, COLORADO - JULY 4: TJ Rumfield #7 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates his ninth inning pinch hit RBI single against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field on July 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
One of the most exciting aspects of every Major League Baseball season is the influx of rookies across the game. We see top prospects fast-tracked to the big leagues, journeymen who have waited ages for their moment, and players from other professional leagues making their mark.
As MLB’s first half comes to a close, the Rookie of the Year race continues to heat up, and the Colorado Rockies find themselves with a player right in the thick of it for the National League thanks to rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield. Since joining the Rockies via trade with the New York Yankees before the season, Rumfield has proven to be a steady contributor in the lineup and on the field, and one of the most productive rookies in the game.
But in a crowded field, does Rumfield have a legitimate chance at becoming just the second Rockie to win the award, joining Jason Jennings in 2002?
A matter of numbers
Let us first consider Rumfield’s statistics in relation to his ranking among qualified rookies in the NL.
Entering Tuesday, this is where Rumfield’s stats rank:
.297 AVG (1st)
.375 OBP (1st)
.486 SLG (1st)
.861 OPS (1st)
94 hits (1st)
20 doubles (2nd)
2 triples (T-1st)
12 home runs (3rd)
47 RBI (3rd)
34 walks (3rd)
51 strikeouts (7th-fewest)
2.1 bWAR (2nd)
The numbers speak for themselves. Rumfield is one of the most productive players among NL rookies across the board. His ability to consistently take good at-bats and make contact is one of the main reasons that he was named the Rookie of the Month in back-to-back months. His batting average is 20 points higher than the next qualified hitter, and his OPS is 30 points higher. He doesn’t rely on his power as much as some other players, but he has plenty of power he can tap into as needed.
What truly stands out is that Rumfield’s 14.2% strikeout rate is the lowest among NL rookies while he sports a very respectable 9.4% walk rate. He gets on base better than any rookie in the NL, and that should carry a lot of weight among voters at the end of the season because of the consistency of his performances. Rookies tend to ebb and flow through a season, but Rumfield has hardly had a rough patch this season. His longest streak of games without a hit is four, and he has only struck out more than once in just seven of his 89 games played.
And before the naysayers claim that it’s only because he plays at Coors Field, well, do I have some news for you. Yes, Rumfield plays well at home, where he is batting .299/.383/.494 with seven home runs, but he is also one of the best hitting rookies on the road. He is hitting .294/.366/.477 away from Coors Field, leading NL rookies in AVG while ranking in the top three in OBP and SLG, and has five home runs.
As for his defense, Rumfield leads all qualified first basemen in baseball with six defensive runs saved while being tied for second among first basemen in general. He has proven to be one of the steadiest gloves at the position despite a more limited range due to his speed.
He is offensively and defensively sound with very little to nothing to nitpick about his game. The most notable thing is that he isn’t very quick on the bases, but that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to all the good things he is doing, which are listed above.
Stiff competition
Despite all the incredible things Rumfield is doing, he is going to have a hard time winning the award over some of the other rookies in the NL. His main competition among position players at the moment appears to be JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals, Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds, and Konnor Griffin of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wetherholt has been fantastic for the Cardinals this season. The seventh-overall pick in 2024 is slashing .266/.360/.411 with 13 home runs for the Cardinals this season. He leads NL rookies in WAR thanks to his offensive production and ability to steal some bases, but he also has displayed Gold Glove-worthy defense at second base. Those factors are why he has 4.1 bWAR and has emerged as a leading candidate in the race.
As for Stewart, the 32nd overall pick in 2022, has burst onto the scene with the Reds with his 17 home runs. Slashing .254/.339/.466 with 61 RBI, Stewart is a run-producing machine for the Reds in the heart of their order. He has also proven quite capable of getting on base with his 44 walks, but can also swipe bags with 11 on the year. He, too, has proven reliable at both corner infield positions and was named an NL All-Star this season. He currently has 1.4 bWAR for the season.
Konnor Griffin has the hype of being the number one prospect entering the season and has shown off his spark in Pittsburgh. In 59 games, he is batting .276/.332/.404 with just five home runs but also 20 stolen bases. He has been susceptible to strikeouts, but he is adapting well to big league pitching. He also plays stellar defense at shortstop, which is partly why he has 1.6 bWAR on the season. However, injuries have hindered him this season, including the recent news that he has a torn tendon in his finger that could cause him to miss a month.
Of course, there are plenty of other names across the league that will garner votes, but it’s been apparent that Rumfield does not get as much attention from the media as these other players do. Part of it is that Rumfield plays in an ignored market for a team that has a reputation for not being very good. These other players are certainly deserving, but it’s difficult to trust that awards voters will do their due diligence in considering his case.
Build upon the case
There is no doubt that Rumfield will receive Rookie of the Year votes, but where he will place is up in the air. The Rockies have only had a couple of position players place second in voting, while the most recent finish was Nolan Jones in 2023, when he finished fourth.
An All-Star nod would have helped his case (I’ll hold out hope for a replacement opportunity), but Rumfield can take matters into his own hands with a replication of his first half. If he can get his home run swing a bit more consistently while doing everything else he already does, it can give the voters no choice but to pay attention to how much he has done to deserve it.
The Albuquerque Isotopes took an early 4-0 lead, but ended up losing 6-5 after the game was called with two outs in the seventh inning due to rain and lightning. The Isotopes only had three hits, with Jordan Beck driving in a run with a sacrifice fly and both Zac Veen and Adael Amador both driving in a run. Mason Green made the start and allowed two runs on three hits over his three innings of work. Domingo Acevedo followed in relief with 2.2 innings of work, during which he allowed three runs on three hits. Andrew Baker took the loss after allowing the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Despite matching the Binghamton Rumble Ponies with nine hits, the Hartford Yard Goats suffered a disastrous eighth inning, resulting in the 10-4 loss. After starting, Griffin Herring allowed four runs in 1.2 innings in his start. Cade Denton held down the fort with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief. Austin Smith eventually entered in the eighth inning and was hit hard, recording just one out as he was responsible for six runs, four earned, to take his third loss. Trailing early, the Yard Goats tied the game up with two runs in the fifth and one in both the sixth and seventh innings. Andy Perez led the night with three hits, including two doubles, and three RBI. Meanwhile, Cole Messina and GJ Hill each had two hits.
The Spokane Indians threw out 12 hits as they took the victory against the Eugene Emeralds. Jacob Humphrey led the charge with four hits, including two home runs, and drove in five runs. Roynier Hernandez and Ethan Hedges each had two hits while Robert Calaz drove in a pair of runs. Jordy Vargas made the start and went six innings, allowing just three runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Francis Rivera followed with three innings of one-run ball to secure his fifth save of the season.
The Fresno Grizzlies kept pace early but couldn’t keep up as they fell to the Stockton Ports. Easton Marks made the start for Fresno and allowed six runs over four innings while walking six and striking out three. Jhon Medina was then roughed up out of the bullpen as he allowed five runs on three hits over 2.2 innings with four walks and five strikeouts. Fresno’s defense didn’t help much as two errors resulted in four unearned runs. Roldy Brito led the offense with two hits, including a solo home run, and two RBI, while Derek Bernard hit his seventh home run of the season. Carlos Renzullo and Ashlu Andujar each had two hits as well.
This week, Evan Lang and I chat about TJ Rumfield and Hunter Goodman’s recent accolades, preview the upcoming draft, and hand out our June Players of the Month.
Since getting called up, Cole Carrigg has been electric for the Rockies. He has brought an edge that the team has sorely needed. After an incredible performance on Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Carrigg is embracing every moment with the big league club.
CINCINNATI — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler described his 14-strikeout outing in a victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night a “reminder for whoever needs to be reminded” that Major League Baseball erred in leaving him off of National League roster for next week’s All-Star game.
“It pisses me off and it’s kind of BS,” Wheeler (9-1) said in postgame comments broadcast by NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The 36-year-old Wheeler’s career high-tying strikeout performance in a 4-1 victory came mere hours after Major League Baseball announced that three other National League pitchers — Riley O’Brien of St. Louis, Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo and Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft — had been tapped as All-Star replacements.
The three late additions to the July 14 All-Star game — being held this season in Philadelphia — replaced Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Miami’s Max Meyer, who are all scheduled to pitch for their teams this weekend.
Wheeler, too, is scheduled to pitch this weekend against Detroit, and was given the impression that is the reason he wasn’t selected as a replacement. “Just because I pitch on a certain day, I get — you know — I don’t even know the right word,” Wheeler said. “Because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch in the All-Star game or even be there or get the recognition.”
Wheeler said that if a deserving pitcher wants to participate in the All-Star game, they should at least have the opportunity to be named to the roster, regardless of when they’re scheduled to pitch for their own team.
“Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” Wheeler said. “There’s certain ways to do it and you figure they would have a clue about it by now — how many All-Star games they’ve had.”
Wheeler said he even would have been willing to pitch an inning in the All-Star game on two days’ rest, when he’d normally be throwing anyway in a bullpen session.
“It’s kind of a BS rule that just because I pitch on a certain day I get punished,” Wheeler continued. ”I’ll be fine throwing an inning. But it’s not even an option, I guess.”
Kyle Schwarber, who helped power the Phillies’ offense with his major league-best 31st home run of the season, said he understood Wheeler’s frustration.
“When someone deserves it, you want them to get that acknowledgment,” said Schwarber, a four-time All-Star who was selected to this season’s National League roster as a designated hitter.
“We’re only in this game for so long,” Schwarber said. “You want to be able to look back and feel like you have some things that put some feathers in the cap.”
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 300th career homer on Tuesday night, a leadoff shot against Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen that made him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach the milestone.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar blasted a 409-foot line drive to center on a 2-0 pitch for his 20th homer of the season. Center fielder Cole Carrigg could only watch it fly out.
“It was quite the homer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was 119 (mph exit velocity) off the bat, low-launching, it was squared up, got out in a hurry. I just marvel at him every day. Three hundred is a big number.”
Ohtani is the fifth-fastest in history to reach 300 and the 170th member of the club. It took him 1,102 games between playing for the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers; New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was the quickest at 955 games.
It was Ohtani’s 31st career leadoff homer and seventh this season. He also homered in the Dodgers’ 8-7 victory in 11 innings on Monday night to highlight a 3-for-4 performance.
Roberts believes there’s a lot more homers within reach for Ohtani, who turned 32 last Sunday.
“He just had a birthday, still young, still strong, so I definitely think 500 is in his future,” the manager said.
Teammate Freddie Freeman bowed as Ohtani made his way back to the dugout.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 6: José Fermín #15 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an RBI single against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning at Busch Stadium on July 6, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I was already leaning towards writing about this before the Brewers series, but after last night’s game, it really hammered the point home. So, through the lens of my own bullpen rankings, I will compare which teams are really thriving with a light’s out, effective bullpen, and which teams are bleeding wins because of theirs. In 2026, baseball continues to evolve, and I have a feeling that bullpens are more important than ever. It could end up that I reveal teams wasting resources on amazing bullpens, or maybe all the best teams will have the best bullpens; we shall see…
I’m going to do this in an odd sort of way, using something I am going to call Correlation Points. I am looking at team reliever stats on fangraphs, with a variety of different stats, including rate stats and fWAR.
There are 12 teams with a bullpen ERA under 4, and those teams are actually 3.8 ERA or lower. The rest of MLB is over 4 ERA. There are 10 MLB bullpens with an ERA 4.0-4.5. Then, the worst, most neglected bullpens are over 4.50 ERA, with only a handful of MLB bullpens performing at 5.0 ERA or worse. I am using a three tier system, assigning 3 CP (correlation points, remember?) to tier 1 teams, 1.5 CP to the mid-tier teams, and .5 CP to the worst teams. But wait, what about the absolutely elite bullpens? Don’t they mean something? Only 4 MLB bullpens have an ERA under 3.5. I’ll go ahead and assign those teams 3.5 CP. It ended up convenient that by my ratings sytem, the 4 best bullpens weighed out the 4 worse bullpens as the outliers. Instead of half a CP, the 4 worst get absolutely no Correlation Points. And that’s how I’m doing ERA.
Including xERA is a way to include a balance to the flukiness of ERA. I’ll again be assigning 3 CP to teams with a rate under 4.0. No bonus points this time because the teams are more tightly packed. In this case, the middle teams with an xERA under 4.40 will get 2 CP, and the worst bullpens of MLB will get .5 CP.
And then of course, you should look at it from a Fielding Independent Pitching perspective, normalizing and leveling the playing field when it comes to fielding/defense masking the effectiveness of a bullpen. I’ll use the same system for xERA here. Under 4.0 FIP = 3 CP. Mid teams get 2 CP, and the worst bullpens only get .5 CP. I’m going to skip using xFIP because you don’t want your bullpen giving up a lot of home runs and then trying to normalize that.
And because it’s good if your bullpen can eat a bunch of innings while also performing well, I’ll simply be using fWAR totals as correlation points, so the most valuable bullpens by counting stat WAR will have quite an effect on my Correlation Points system. But not all winning bullpens are used frequently, so I want to level that playing field by not just using fWAR. I want to see what teams have good bullpens across the board.
After I totaled the Bullpen Correlation Points, I listed teams’ Winning Percentage and then assigned Record Correlation Points, mirroring the Bullpen CP totals but assigning according to record. I was then able to tell what percentage of teams records match up with the performance of their 2026 bullpen.
Tiering MLB Bullpens
Tiers by ERA
Elite Tier: Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers
Top Tier SEA NYM SDP MIA TEX CLE TOR LAD
Mid Tier CHC DET ARI CHW STL BAL PHI HOU TBR PIT
Bad Bullpens SFG LAA CIN COL
Dumpster Fire ATH WSN KCR MIN
Tiers by xERA
Top Tier NYY SDP PHI MIL ATL LAD NYM MIA TOR DET BAL
Mid Tier HOU BOS CLE ARI TEX SEA LAA CHW ATH PIT SFG
Bottom Tier TBR MIN COL CHC STL KCR WSN CIN
Tiering Bullpens by FIP
Top Tier SEA ATL PHI NYY LAD MIL MIA NYM BOS SDP CLE TOR BAL
Mid Tier ARI TEX DET STL CHW PIT COL SFG
Bottom Tier HOU ATH LAA TBR MIN CHC WSN CIN KCR
Just to give you an idea on how these rankings can fluctuate depending on what stat we are using. Notice how the Cardinals bullpen is either mid-tier, or bottom tier by xERA. Compare and contrast teams, if you’d like.
Now, for the Bullpen Correlation Points! The more CP, the better the bullpen across all categories, also including bullpen fWAR.
Tiering MLB Bullpens with Bullpen Correlation Points
Elite Tier: Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Diego! All are among the best across the board using all major stat categories. The cream of the bullpen crop.
Top Tier: only a small step down. If your favorite thing in baseball is a very effective bullpen to shut things down for the starting pitcher or just keep you in the game, you might want to be a fan of the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Yankees, Mets, Marlins, or Phillies, if that’s your thing (a second favorite team, of course!)
Mid Tier: The mid bullpens are ones like the Red Sox, Guardians, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Pirates, Rockies, or Astros. These ‘pens get the job done well enough. You might have noticed, none of these teams are among the very best in Winning %. The best you can hope for in this mid tier is a team like the Mariners, or Guardians, two teams who have the same record just above .500. Which is good enough in their divisions, strangely enough.
Bottom Tier: The Cardinals bullpen is the best of the bottom tier, but what has weighed them down a bit is their low fWAR total. They are probably a more mid tier team, hopefully, but for now I’ll just have to rank them as among the bottom of the bullpens. The Giants, Angels, first place Rays, Athletics, Cubs, Twins, and Reds join them. The Reds of course have a much worse bullpen than the Cardinals, but let this be a cautionary tale that the Cardinals deserve some bullpen help!
Dumpster Fires: The Nationals and Royals bullpens are just dumpsters filled with napalm on a hot summer day. Fans of these teams must turn off the TV once the starter is out, unless they are up by 7+ runs or something.
And now for the fun part! Do bullpens really matter a lot? How much do bullpens correlate with a team’s winning percentage? Bullpens after all are almost like bench players, in many ways. The pitchers don’t play as much overall, and are a bit of a hodge podge motley crew of journeymen and prospects. What I found may surprise!
I was surprised to find SEVEN teams had a DIRECT correlation between their record and bullpen. By that I mean their bullpen correlation points exactly matched their ranking according to their winning percentage.
11 teams had either a direct or a very strong correlation between bullpen effectiveness and wins and losses.
Over half the teams had a close correlation between bullpen and winning. That’s sort of impressive, all things considered.
21 teams had some correlation between their bullpen’s goodness and their record. I think that says a bullpen is pretty important.
Only three teams appeared to have really no correlation between their bullpen and their win/loss record. Can you guess who they are? The Mets really damn good bullpen cannot save them from whatever is happening in NY… while the Cubs and especially the Rays cannot be dragged down by a bad bullpen. I don’t want to see how good the Cubs would be with a bullpen.
The Cardinals are another team that is outplaying its bullpen, saved by defense and some hitting. There is only a weak correlation between the team’s bullpen and its record. The flip side of the coin is the Padres having an absolute top tier bullpen, while playing under .500 baseball. One of the best bullpens cannot save them. Same with over half of the AL East: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles are floundering despite effective bullpens.
Teams with a direct correlation between bullpen effectiveness and record: Brewers elite ‘pen means a top tier team (while they do everything well), Marlins bullpen making them a contender, Rangers and Diamondbacks midrange bullpens making them around .500, and the Athletics bottom tier bullpen keeping them towards the lower reaches of MLB.
I don’t think the Braves would be as good as they are without a top tier bullpen. Playoff ready teams the Dodgers and Yankees have bullpens that are not preventing them from winning many games.
The Mets should probably trade away most of their bullpen to make their team better but I have no idea how they could do that.
Given how tough a bullpen can be to pin down, I think 21 teams having some kind of correlation between their record and their bullpen is interesting enough to draw a conclusion that maybe teams shouldn’t skimp on their reliever corps. A good to elite bullpen is very difficult to assemble, but there is some evidence that you shouldn’t blow off the assembly of it. Sure, you will have freak teams like the Rays that can win a lot despite an ineffective bullpen (and to a much lesser extent, the Cardinals), but overall bullpens might be a little underrated.
So last week I ran out of time and only got through 15 of the 30 (non heavy metal) albums I had selected for review. I am nearly out of time this week, but I will howl at the moon a bit tonight and reveal 15 more! Night owl here…
Medicine – ‘Shot Forth Self Living’ I would describe Medicine as USA’s answer to the UK’s My Bloody Valentine, even more distorted and over the top but different, in some ways also more mellow. A shoegaze genre classic from the band that would later appear on the Crow soundtrack and gain many more fans.
Boredoms – ‘Wow2’ the Boredoms (perhaps one of the most uniquely captivating bands of all time, or at least from Japan) also released the more well known ‘Pop Tatari’ in 1992, but I have enjoyed Wow2 even more! You cannot go wrong either way if you love avant garde rock, experimental music, and weirdo punk.
Lush – ‘Spooky’ another album of shoegazer goodness, but also a bit dreampop and even goth or punk at times, the UK’s Lush made a splash in 1992 with Spooky, a really fun but dark album. Top song picks: Tiny Smiles, Superblast!, Laura, and Starlust.
Gang Starr – ‘Daily Operation’ all time hiphop classic, file somewhere between conscientious rap and gangster rap, with strong hiphop production elements. Guru and Premier at their best!
Thinking Plague – ‘In This Life’ totally mental, super advanced prog rock of the highest order. Only a few preview tracks on their bandcamp, so you’re just going to have to buy this one. I did years ago, and trust me, it’s worth it!
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – ‘Mecca and the Soul Brother’ stumbled across this excellent early 90s hiphop album and I think you should listen to it. It’s certainly going into my hiphop collection!
Ruins – ‘Burning Stone’ another highly original band from Japan, the contrast between Ruins and the Boredoms being that Ruins was a duo on this album, and are much more tightly controlled and focused on the music genre known to humans as Zeuhl. A band like no other. I have had the fortune of seeing them multiple times in Chicago. Flat out astounding!
Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Core’ I had this tape before they blew up, and before anyone else I knew. They were being promoted at some mall record store, on an end cap. They were opening for Megadeth so I gave it a try, and loved it! And they were even better live. That didn’t matter to the Megadeth fans though, they booed at the end. I thought it was funny, and it was my first concert. STP’s debut album!
Meat Beat Manifesto – ‘Satyricon’ Jack Dangers and MBM began to move away from noisy industrial hiphop party music to something a bit more nuanced… However, this album still retains much of that early Meat Beat Manifesto energy and is perhaps their most signature release, bridging the band into new sonic territories.
Frontline Assembly – ‘Tactical Neural Implant’ similar to MBM, Frontline Assembly delivered an all time industrial dance classic in 1992, all the while being more futuristic sounding than just about anyone else at the time outside of NIN and Skinny Puppy.
Showbiz and A.G. – ‘Runaway Slave’ and another classic hiphop release from 1992! Definitely adding this one to my hiphop collection as well.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – ‘Mother Of All Saints’ I may end up moving this up the list further some day *same goes for Showbiz and AG* but for now, let me just say I’m intrigued and I want to hear more! Bandcamp link, go buy a lesser known bands tunes! Good stuff.
High Rise – ‘Dispersion’ Japan really exploded onto the scene in 1992 at least in my mind, with releases by the Boredoms and Ruins, but High Rise may have been the most impressive in the intensity department, taking psyche rock to new levels and loudness, soloing all over the place with no fucks given. One of the louder live shows I have scene, incredible. The most in-your-face stoner rock possible. (bandcamp)
Naked City – ‘Grand Guignol’ and ‘Leng Tch’e’ bandcamp and youtube links, respectively. I couldn’t choose just one album from 1992 Naked City by John Zorn. Grand Guignol includes covers of 20th century avant classical composers while Leng Tch’e is a longform sludge metal/drone release. Neither sound alike or like the previous Naked City album. All three albums completely necessary.
Steven Jesse Bernstein – ‘Prison’ little known “rapper” Bernstein reminds us of one of the roots of hiphop here, spoken word and beat poetry to a sampler collage. A piece of art melding a uniquely crafted vision, and one of the hidden gems I’ve unearthed doing this project. You won’t even remotely understand what I’m talking about until you hear this masterpiece.
Ween – ‘Pure Guava’ part of Ween’s early evolution into what they would later become, I’d describe this as one of my favorite Ween albums but I pretty like all of them, so I’m not sure what to say other than that Ween occupy their own corner of the music world and this is them becoming who they are.
Screaming Trees – ‘Sweet Oblivion’ and to round out my 1992 picks for music listening, I don’t think any list about 1992 is complete without Sweet Oblivion. Stacked with classic songs that conjure up that time period rather effectively. Music as time machine, no need to invent one. I could listen to the song “Nearly Lost You There” every day of the week. “Dollar Bill” is another classic track. The whole album is stacked, really.
And last but not least I actually have the complete 1992 (non heavy metal) playlist ready! Link here
1992 Heavy Metal Playlist next week! At some point I’ll just list a bunch of years youtube playlists.
Thanks for reading all that, if you did! You rock. Special all star break edition next week… stay tuned.
Jul 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) dumps water on first baseman Ryan O'Hearn (29) after O’Hearn recorded three home runs and ten runs batted in against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates had a huge 11-4 win in their series opener against the Atlanta Braves, with Ryan O’Hearn leading the charge from the very first inning.
Hurston Waldrep was on the bump for the Braves and did not start off his night great as in the first inning the Pirates had quickly loaded the bases. With one out and bases loaded O’Hearn came to the plate. With a 1-1 count Waldrep gave up a regrettable looking curveball that O’Hearn turned on and smashed into the right field stands. With that grand slam the Pirates were quickly up 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, O’Hearn was back at the plate with two runners on and no outs. Waldrep again gave O’Hearn an off-speed pitch in the lower part of the zone that ended up being crushed off the back drop in center field. Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez were driven in and the Pirates went up 7-2 with 7 RBIs and two homers on the night from O’Hearn.
Connor Thomas would relieve Waldrep but the momentum that the Pirates offense had started with at the beginning of the night had no end in sight. In the bottom of the sixth inning there was two outs with Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe on the base pads. With a 3-1 count O’Hearn took advantage of yet another off-speed pitch and armed the cannon with another cannonball into the right field stands. The Pirates went up 10-2 at that point in the game and O’Hearn had officially set a new record for most RBIs in a game by a Bucco, breaking Johnny Rizzo’s record that he set back in 1939 when he had nine in a game against St. Louis. With his 10th RBI he set the mark for most by any player in a game this season, and became the 17th player to have 10 RBIs in a game in the modern era.
O’Hearn would take a crack at getting a fourth homer on the night in the bottom of the eighth. He didn’t drive one home, but he did hit a line drive single into right field before exiting for a pinch runner and receiving a huge standing ovation from the fans at PNC Park. He would finish the night with four hits, 10 RBIs, three homers, upped his batting average to .293 and increased his season total of home runs to 16 which is just one shy of his career high of 17 that he had last season.
Although he was snubbed of a spot on the All-Star team, O’Hearn is having what could end up being the best season of his career. At 32-years-old it would be reasonable to see him start to decline, but he has enjoyed a career year with the Buccos so far and we’re only halfway through the season.
The Detroit Tigers opened up their final homestand before the All-Star break with a 6-2 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night. Tarik Skubal limited the visitors to just one run over five frames while striking out nine and the home team benefited from a two-out rally in the sixth inning to give them their fifth win of July and sixth in the last seven games.
With a chance to clinch their third-straight series on Wednesday, the Motor City Kitties send right-hander Troy Melton to the mound to do battle. The 25-year-old has thrown three straight quality starts since late June, posting a microscopic 0.98 ERA while the FIP gods are still a bit bearish at 3.39 over that stretch. His strikeout numbers have trended in the right direction as well, sending five or more batters back to the dugout over his last five outings.
Melton’s last start against the New York Yankees in the Bronx was among the best of his young career, tossing 6 1/3 frames of shutout ball on two hits and a walk while matching his career-high in strikeouts with seven en route to a no-decision in a 6-2 team victory in extras.
For the Athletics, left-hander Jeffrey Springs will toe the rubber looking to even the weekday series in a season that has seen his performance drop off precipitously after a strong start. Over his first four appearances of the 2026 campaign, the 33-year-old posted a 1.46 ERA and 2.46 FIP; in his 14 outings since, he has produced a 7.34 ERA and 7.09 FIP. Woof.
In Springer’s last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he surrendered six runs on eight hits (two home runs) and four walks while striking out for his eighth loss of the season. Hopefully, the Tigers can give him his ninth on Wednesday night.
Here is how Melton and Springer match up on paper.
Detroit Tigers (41-50) vs. Athletics (41-50)
Time (ET): 6:40 p.m. Place: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan SB Nation Site:Athletics Nation Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 92: RHP Troy Melton (4-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. LHP Jeffrey Springs (3-8, 5.79 ERA)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The Phillies led 3-0 after three innings. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
I do believe that Zack Wheeler pitched that game with a decent sized chip on his shoulder. Actually, multiple chips on his shoulder – one from not being selected to the All-Star Game and one for Don Mattingly taking him out early from a game he wanted to stay in.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 06: Kevin Herget #57 of the New York Mets pitches in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 06, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kareem Elgazzar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Noah Hall tossed a terrific game, and following scoreless inning after scoreless inning, the Cyclones finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth to make him the potential winning pitcher. Kevin Herget promptly allowed a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, and that ended up being that.
Not only did St. Lucie knock around Jupiter starter Jonas Uzcategui, but they kept the pressure on, scoring deep into the ballgame. Antonio Jimenez was a big part of that, with the infielder having his best game as a professional, logging four hits including two doubles and a home run, and stealing a pair of bases.
· SS Antonio Jimenez: 4-6, 4 R, 2 2B, HR (4), RBI, K, 2 SB (11, 12)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 07: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 07, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
It’s tough to win a game in which you have zero extra base hits and go just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Orioles proved that on Tuesday night as they lost 5-2 to the visiting Cubs. Andrea SK recapped the action for us, in case you missed it.
If you’ve seen one Orioles game this season, you have pretty much seen them all. The Tuesday night loss was boiler plate for this squad. Shane Baz was…fine. He provided a quality start and gave his team a chance to win. The bullpen, which is falling apart with injuries, did not hold up their end. Anthony Nunez coughed up a pair of runs in his two innings. And then the lineup, outside of Adley Rutschman, who drove in both of the team’s runs, failed to come through when the pressure was high.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw the O’s get the first two hitters on base. That was followed by three consecutive strikeouts. The seventh inning is where Rutschman came through with his two-out, two-run single. But then Gunnar Henderson went down on three straight strikes at the bottom of the zone to end the threat.
The loss (paired with another Red Sox win) sunk the O’s further down the standings. They are now at the bottom of the AL East, 12.5 games back of the division-leading Rays and 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot. It’s getting more difficult to make a case for the Orioles to truly “go for it” in 2026.
There could be a lane for the team to both buy and sell. That is, move players due to hit free agency this year or that you don’t see a role for in 2027, while also seeking out talent that is under team control beyond this season that would be an upgrade for a turnaround next summer. That can be a tricky proposition, but the Orioles are one of the rare teams where it might make sense.
That’s a problem to figure out in a few weeks. Right now, the focus has to be on winning games. They need to do something they haven’t done yet this year, which is to go on an extended winning streak. Bouncing back and going into next week’s all-star break on a heater would be pretty neat. Fingers crossed.
Links
Orioles Notes: Akin, Helsley, Selby, Detwiler | MLB Trade Rumors The Orioles bullpen has had some moments of brilliance, but in general the unit has fallen apart this season. Injuries have been killer, and that has only gotten worse recently. Mike Elias made some comments recently that indicated the club was intrigued by Félix Bautista’s progress, but any possible return there is still a ways off. And by the time he could be ready, it may not make too much sense to force him back into action.
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko Lots of little nuggets in this one, including the fact that Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward have combined for the third-highest hit total for a duo that is in its first season with the Orioles. It’s a very specific stat, but still interesting given some of the great hitters the O’s have had. Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez are first with 213 hits. Alonso and Ward are at 172.
Danny Ardoin turns 52 today. He played in five games for the 2006 Orioles.
Jerome Walton is 61 years old. The outfielder spent 26 games with the O’s in 1997.
The late John Powers (b. 1929, d. 2001) was born on this day. He made his way into 10 games for the Orioles in 1960.
This day in O’s history
1969 – The Orioles beat the Yankees 4-1 as Mike Cuellar throws a complete game three-hitter. All three hits come off the bat of Yankees centerfielder Ron Woods, who singles twice and hits a home run.
1970 – Using a ninth-inning rally that includes a home run from Frank Robinson and a two-out single from Don Buford, the Orioles come back from an 8-6 deficit to beat the Yankees 9-8.
2011 – The Orioles lose 10-3 to the Red Sox, sunk by a disastrous first inning. But that didn’t prevent some fireworks late. In the eighth inning, David Ortiz charges the mound after O’s reliever Kevin Gregg brushes him back twice and then yells at him as he fails to run out a pop out. Benches empty. Ortiz, Gregg, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jim Johnson are all ejected.
Happy birthday to Jerome Walton, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1962 – With home runs in his first three at bats, 41-year-old Stan Musial of the Cardinals not only becomes the oldest player to hit three in a game but also ties the major league record of four straight home runs, as the Cards whip the Mets, 15-1. His home run in the second game the day before won the game, 3-2, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1907 – Bombarded by pop bottles in Brooklyn, irate Cubs manager Frank Chance throws one back into the stands where it cuts a boy’s leg. Chance is mobbed and leaves the park in an armored car with a police escort after the Cubs’ 5-0 victory. Three-Finger Brown emerges with the shutout win.
1918 – Although Babe Ruth‘s blast over the fence in Fenway Park scores Amos Strunk, as the Red Sox win 1-0 over Cleveland, prevailing rules reduce Babe’s home run to a triple. He will tie for the American League title with 11 homers, even though he plays just 95 games.
1927 – In a matchup of the NL’s top two teams, the Cubs extend their slim lead to one and a half games by edging the Pirates, 1-0, behind Charlie Root‘s one-hitter.
1945 – The Cubs take the National League lead by winning two from the Phillies, 12-6 and 9-2. They never relinquish first place, despite losing 16 of 22 games to the Cards.
1950 – Red Schoendienst of the Cards goes 5 for 5 against Pittsburgh, but the Cards lose, 7-6, to drop the Birds into second place, a game behind the Phillies.
1951 – Red Schoendienst hits a home run from each side of the plate in the second game, as the Cards beat Pittsburgh, 9-8, after losing, 6-2.
2009 – Andruw Jones hits three home runs to lead Texas to an 8-1 win over Los Angeles, breaking a tie between the two teams in the AL West race. Jones is now hitting .250 with 14 homers, putting his career back on track after a disastrous last season with the Dodgers almost forced him into retirement.
1693 – New York City authorizes the first police uniforms in the American colonies.
1776 – Colonel John Nixon gives the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to an assemblage of citizens in Philadelphia.
1889 – John L. Sullivan successfully defends the last officially sanctioned bare-knuckle world heavyweight prizefighting championship when Jake Kilrain’s trainer throws in the towel after 75 one-minute rounds near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1913 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert‘s patent for the Erector Set is issued, one of the most popular toys of all time.
1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
2014 – FIFA World Cup: Germany defeats Brazil by a record 7-1 in the semi-finals to make it to the final; Miroslav Klose of Germany breaks the World Cup career goal scoring record with 16 goals (surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2026)
Jul 5, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt (12) walk back to the dugout after talking with umpires and Guardians officials about the field conditions before the game between the Guardians and the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Another night when watching the Guardians was more of a chore than a pleasure. They still can’t score. They still can’t put the ball in play when a runner is on third base. They still employ Grant Fink.
A Hoskins home run was their only run; Chase DeLauter was their only baserunner (three times.)
JOEY CANTILLO DID NOTHING WRONG.
But it shows that he made a million pitches and gave up runs!? Yeah, because the defense behind him could not have been worse. This team just is not showing up and playing good baseball.
Around baseball
• Ryan O’Hearn went out and had himself a Lonnie Chisenhall Game last night
• Konnor Griffin is out 8-10 weeks
• Byron Buxton was also placed on the IL
• How easy was it to hit in New York last night? The Royals scored 16 times, the Mets scored 12, and
Jun 30, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice (22) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images
ESPN: The All-Star Game and Home Run Derby are upon us, and after finding out he’ll be making his first Midsummer Classic, Ben Rice also accepted an invite to participate in the derby. The 27-year-old enters play today with 25 dingers on the season and has continued raking after a breakout campaign last year. Rice announced that he’ll have his dad, Dan Rice—who threw for Brown University in the 1980s—be his pitcher for the derby.
The Rays’ Junior Caminero is the only other announced participant so far, but as outlined, there’s a good case for either to win even before knowing who else will be involved. The last Yankee to take home the trophy was captain Aaron Judge at Marlins Park during his memorable 2017 rookie campaign. (Remember when he broke physics and hit the roof? Good times.)
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: A franchise as storied as the Yankees is bound to have a lot of records, but sometimes they’re on the bad side of history. During this recent skid, things have looked pretty bleak for Aaron Boone’s squad, but all that came to a head on Tuesday. The Yankees matched Monday’s miserable 17-strikeout total on Tuesday to give them 34 over a two-game span, which beat their previous team record of 31 in two games. Congrats, team!
NBC Sports | George Bissell: If you’re looking for a glimmer of hope, or at least just fun, Max Fried looks ready to start working his way back to the rotation. On Saturday, Fried is scheduled to face hitters in another live batting practice session at Double-A Somerset. The bone bruise in his elbow has kept him out since mid-May, but if things progress well, he could be in line to return before the end of the month.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: While many fans are undoubtedly tired of Anthony Volpe’s lack of production and want to see José Caballero get more playing time at shortstop, it likely won’t result in much of a boost to the lineup. Though Caballero’s two home runs on Monday helped drive the team to a win they seemingly can’t buy these days, overall his numbers the past three or so weeks have been pedestrian and comparable to Volpe’s (indeed, he struck out four times in an 0-for-4 yesterday). Hey, at least he has a different face than Volpe though, right?
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2025/10/26: A person walking past a Blue Jays MLB team exhibit inside the Rogers Centre stadium. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) | LightRocket via Getty Images
The 2026 MLB draft kicks off this Saturday, at 1:00pm ET. Because of MLB’s ironclad commitment to preventing this from becoming an event, it will occur while several teams are playing actual MLB games, although the Jays specifically will be in San Diego and don’t go until 8:40pm.
Day one includes the first four rounds, while day 2 on Sunday will cover rounds 5-20. That’s an upgrade over last season, as the event isn’t unnecessarily split into three days. Day 2 will also stream on MLB.com and the apps.
The Blue Jays will have a fairly quiet day one. Their first pick, which would normally be 29th overall as the World Series losers, will be bumped back 10 spots to #39 because they tried to hard to win spent over the second luxury tax threshold last season.
They also forfeited their second round pick for signing Dylan Cease after he turned down the Padres’ Qualifying offer. He’s been more than worth it, posting what’s shaping up to be arguably his best statistical season and making a strong case to be in the Cy Young mix, but given the state of the rest of the team they’ll miss the opportunity to strengthen the farm.
After #39, they’ll pick again at #103 at the back of the third round and #131 in the fourth. On day two, they’ll select #164 in the fifth round, and 29th in each round thereafter.
Their bonus pool of $5,543,100 is the second smallest ahead of only the Dodgers, who both pick after them and took two Qualifying Offer penalties in addition to the luxury tax knock back. Nearly half that money, $2.57 million, is attached to the #39 pick. As a reminder of the rules, teams pay a 50% surcharge for exceeding their bonus pool by up to 5%. About 20 teams, including the Jays, always use that 5% overage. But by crossing 5%, the penalty jumps to a 75% surcharge and the loss of a future first round pick. Nobody has ever paid that penalty, and the Jays won’t start now, so 105% of the pool less a dollar ($5,820,254) is functionally a hard cap.* That pool has to cover all of their picks in the first 10 rounds, plus any bonus amounts in rounds 11-20 larger than $150,000. If a player in the top 10 rounds fails to sign, the team forfeits the entire bonus amount associated with that pick, which can wreak havoc with plans if they’d expected to move money around between picks. For that reason, expect that teams almost always have had tentative contact with players taken in the first few rounds and know what it’ll take to land them.
*Teams can also give prospects a $2,500 roster bonus that doesn’t count against the pool. That allows the Jays to move $22,500 around, but doesn’t materially change the situation.
Strategically, their lack of resources puts them in a bit of a bind. Normally, teams have three general draft strategies available. First, they can offer an over slot bonus in the first or second round, picking up a single prospect they love at the cost of having to find some bargains later. The Jays did that in 2020 for Austin Martin and in 2022 for Brandon Barriera, but I don’t think it’s likely here for a couple of reasons. First, Austin Martin and Brandon Barriera, and the guys behind them didn’t exactly rescue those strategies. Second, because in those years they had a lot of draft capital (the 5th selection in 2020 and three second round picks in 2022), so even with a deficit to make up they could land multiple significant prospects. That’s very different from 2026.
Second, teams can play it roughly straight, giving them the “expected” amount of money to work with later on. The Trey Yesavage, Gunnar Hoglund and Alek Manoah picks in 2024, 2021 and 2019 fit that mold for Toronto, with pretty good success.
Third, they can cut a deal for a player willing to sign for less than the slot bonus at their pick to move some money down the draft, maybe getting multiple solid prospects instead of one top guy. Jojo Parker and Arjun Nimmala represent moderately under slot deals in recent years. The Jays won’t have a specific player in mind at #103 or 131 if they go that route, just the expectation that someone exciting will be around when they next pick that they can use money on. They might also wait and take a shot after the 10th round on a top tier high schooler who slides because a high bonus demand or a strong commitment to go to college make them too risky to take with a slotted pick. That was the play last year, trimming money through most of the top 10 to give $1.7 million to Blaine Bullard in the 12th round.
My sense is that the Jays are opportunistic, rather than having a clearly discernible philosophy. They were tied pretty heavily to Jojo Parker last year at #8, but Yesavage, Arjun Nimmala in 2023, Barriera, Hoglund, and Martin were all somewhat out of the blue. Those six guys represent all four major demographics in the draft (two college pitchers, a college hitter, a high school arm and a pair of high school bats), and signed at different prices relative to the slot where they were chosen. They also have totally different profiles, from a command artist in Hoglund to Yesavage’s nasty stuff and from ultra-polished hit tool over everything Martin to tool shed with swing and miss concerns Nimmala. The only common thread is that if you had been watching public scouting draft boards in the weeks before each of those drafts you’d have expected them to go sooner than they ultimately did.
That seems likely to continue in 2026. They’ll let who’s on the board at #39 dictate the shape of the remainder of the draft, probably with a preference to cut some money but a willingness to go to or above slot for the right player.
Speaking of players, this is normally where I’d take a second post to profile a half dozen likely options. That’s an exercise in futility when the first pick is outside the first round, though. Instead, tomorrow I’ll take a look at each of the four demographics and a handful of names I think might be out there for their first pick.
