Top News:
Alden Gonzalez / ESPN:
Sticky stuff 101: Everything you need to know as MLB's foreign-substance crackdown begins — Beginning with Monday's games, pitchers will be ejected and suspended for using illegal foreign substances to doctor baseballs as Major League Baseball ramps up its enforcement of an area that has been the talk of baseball in recent weeks.
RELATED:
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Some MLB teams plan to ask umpires to check pitchers for foreign substances, sources say — Baseball's rule against the use of foreign substances has been buried for decades underneath a gentlemen's agreement held among managers, who almost uniformly refused to ask umpires to check opposing pitchers …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
Chipper Jones awaits pitcher regression as MLB's banned substances ban begins: ‘You had fair warning’ — As Major League Baseball's honest-to-goodness, we're-gonna-enforce-it ban on foreign substances takes hold across the big leagues on Monday, one Hall of Famer will have his popcorn ready …
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
Matthew Roberson / New York Daily News:
Jacob deGrom dominant in first game of MLB's grip crackdown, extends scoreless streak to 30 innings; Mets and Braves split — 100. 99. 100. — If there were any concerns about Jacob deGrom's arm heading into his start on Monday, those radar gun readings on his first three pitches quieted them immediately.
Discussion:
Newsday and Associated Press
RELATED:
Anthony DiComo / Mets News:
Nimmo nears return; Cohen on extensions — WASHINGTON — The Mets took a significant step closer to being whole on Sunday, when outfielder Brandon Nimmo began a Minor League rehab assignment for Triple-A Syracuse. Nimmo had been sidelined since May 3 due to a torn ligament near the base …
Discussion:
Talking Chop, MLB Trade Rumors and New York Post
Deesha Thosar / New York Daily News:
Mets bats still unhelpful, Nationals take four-game series — Not even the 90-degree heat in the nation's capital could thaw the Mets' ice-covered bats. — The Mets collected just nine runs and 21 hits in the four-game series at Nationals Park over the weekend, culminating in a 5-2 loss to the Nationals in the finale on Sunday.
Discussion:
Newsday
Nick Vlahos / USA Today:
Ex-Cubs star Ben Zobrist claims wife Julianna had affair with their pastor, lawsuit says — About a year after he took a leave of absence from the Chicago Cubs, Ben Zobrist discovered his wife was having an affair with their minister, according to court documents.
Discussion:
Awesemo.com, Chicago Tribune, New York Post and Deadspin
Matthew Robeson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Players, experts, and doctors agree: Rob Manfred is putting pitchers in harm's way with new sticky stuff regulations — “I'm choking the s— out of my pitches.” — Tampa Bay Rays' pitcher Tyler Glasnow was nearing the halfway mark of the best season of his career until his elbow started barking.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
ESPN:
Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton fractures left hand on HBP days after return from lengthy absence — In just his third game since returning from an extended absence, Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton suffered a left hand fracture when he was hit by a pitch during Monday night's 7-5 extra-inning win …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:
The Yankees think their bad season start is over, but Gerrit Cole is not so convinced — The Yankees won their second straight series Sunday, taking two out of three from the American League West-leading A's. They have won five out of their last six games since a brutal stretch that included …
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley
Mick Akers / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
A's look to narrow list of possible Las Vegas ballpark sites — The Oakland Athletics return to Las Vegas this week for more talks about possible relocation to Southern Nevada. — The focus of this trip, led by A's owner John Fisher and team president Dave Kaval, is the potential location of a stadium.
Discussion:
Mercury News
Kat O'Brien / New York Times:
I Am Breaking My Silence About the Baseball Player Who Raped Me — Kat O'Brien is a former journalist and baseball writer for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Newsday. — I was 22 years old and working as a sports reporter when I was raped by a Major League Baseball player.
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter, The Boston Globe, New York Post, MLB Baseball News … and Lone Star Ball
