Brett Lawrie has a problem with Royals fans
During the A's weekend series against the Royals in KC last week, Yordano Ventura and Kelvin Herrera took issue with Brett Lawrie's slide into second base that took out Alcides Escobar. Both pitchers targeted Lawrie over the course of the series, and he took issue with how the fans reacted to it after Herrera received a suspension.
That was probably the worst series of baseball that I've ever played. I don't think you can even call it baseball, because it wasn't. I've never been a part of anything like that in three days in my entire life. It wasn't baseball. It didn't feel like baseball.
And the way their fans approached everything, I hated it. The way their fans were antagonizing everything, you know, I got a first-pitch missed curveball up in my head and everyone leaps up in their seat like Bruce Buffer is about to come out. That's not how we're doing things.
Shame on their fans for antagonizing everything that went on there, because that had a lot to do with it. Shame on the players and their team that went with it. I'm just glad it's all over and we're moving on. We don't have to see them till June, and we're just going to continue to go out and continue playing baseball.
Yordano Ventura sparks brawl vs. White Sox
Ventura is certainly earning a reputation as a hothead. First, he mouthed off at Mike Trout; then he plunks Brett Lawrie; now, he's instigated a fight against the White Sox.
Five players in all were ejected: both starters (Ventura and Chris Sale), Lorenzo Cain, Edinson Volquez, and Jeff Samardzija. After the ejections, reports say Chris Sale approached the Royals locker room wanting to fight Ventura.
Joe Nathan to have elbow surgery, says he won't retire
Tigers pitcher Joe Nathan suffered a torn UCL in a rehab stint and will require TJ surgery. Nathan is 40 years old, but says he doesn't yet have plans to retire. Nathan wasn't all that good in 2014 despite 35 saves; he had a 4.81 ERA in 58 innings. This will be his second surgery.
Josh Hamilton to return to Texas
Josh Hamilton time in SoCal has been rough. He's hit just .255 since signing a five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels prior to the 2013 season and appeared in only 89 games last year. He also suffered a drug relapse which has caused the team further trouble, but now is on his way back to the Texas Rangers. The trade will be made official on Monday, and the Angels have agreed to pay $68 million of the $83 million remaining on his contract.
Scott Boras wants a panel to determine a prospect's readiness
Like him or not, Scott Boras is good at his job. This, however, seems like a really dumb idea.
For example, I would say that the union or somebody may come in and say that they've made a claim that this player is major-league ready, and that to place him in the minor leagues would not be appropriate from a skills standpoint. And then all of a sudden, it's subject to review by a panel of former managers or baseball experts...It's objective in the sense that they're neutral. The only way subjective turns objective is that you've got the best-known experts who are going to make an evaluation of what they do.
The bottom line is this: it's the team's job to determine when a prospect is major-league ready, not an outside panel of "experts". This is all because Boras and the PA threw a hissy fit when the Cubs sent Kris Bryant, a Boras client, to the minors.