Breaking up is hard to do. Cleveland broke up with Leonys Martin, and so must Pottymouth. Patti and the Nationals say goodbye to Trevor Rosenthal, he of the formerly infinite ERA.  

The Chicago White Sox and the Washington Nationals are the first to take the next step in extending protective netting. In the same week that another fan seated just beyond the dugout netting in Dodger Stadium was hit in the head by a foul ball, this one off the bat of the hottest hitter in the league, Cody Bellinger, teams are finally moving to improve fan safety. The White Sox were first to announce foul pole to foul pole netting, to be installed later this summer. The Nats plan to install new high-tech mesh during the All-Star Break reaching well into the outfield.

Manny Machado drops f-bombs and flings his bat, the Umpire’s union plays fast and loose with loaded hashtags and legal terms, and Joe Torre cries foul.

Tampa Bay Rays were given permission by the League to explore splitting time with Montreal. Never gonna happen for so many reasons, but points for thinking outside the box, and making “Tampontreal Ex-Rays” a thing people say out loud.

We did Just Fine with our primary all-star picks. 

So much better than Just Fine is the wise and wonderful Perry Barber: umpire, role-model, advocate for girls and women participating in baseball in any and all capacities. Perry took time off during her cross-country drive between the Girls Breakthrough Series in Florida, and the SABR conference in San Diego, to report out from the Breakthrough Series and share some life lessons.