Jeffrey Loria's message after odd hire: 'A Marlin isn't a flounder'  —  The telephone started ringing in the early morning, from former players, managers, baseball executives, all with the same response.  —  “This is a joke, right? “Tell me this is a joke. “Come on, they can't be serious.”

Red Sox Outright Allen Craig  —  The Red Sox announced this afternoon that first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, meaning that he is no longer on the club's 40-man roster.  —  That Craig cleared waivers unclaimed isn't necessarily a surprise …

Montreal's Denis Coderre to confer with MLB commissioner  —  Mayor heading to New York for May 28 talk with Rob Manfred  —  Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre says he's looking forward to meeting with the commissioner of Major League Baseball at the end of the month in his ongoing quest to see the sport return to the city.

Coming in Cold 2: Lifting the Pinch-Hitter's Penalty  —  Mark Sweeney made a career of being a pinch-hitter.  (via Loreal Reid)  —  Last month, I indulged myself in some looks at the more notable pinch-hitters in baseball since the 1960s.  While I was concentrating on individual performances …

With two managers down, who will be the next to go?  —  FOX Sports  —  Who's next?  —  Faithful readers will note that I have written frequently in the past about “The Curse of Samuel Joseph.”  Sam, the oldest of my three children, was born on May 21, 1991.  Each of the first three days of his life, a manager was fired.

Juan Lagares finds home in center field  —  1h - MLB JUAN LAGARES NEW YORK METS + more  —  Relive the top three catches from Mets' center fielder Juan Lagares so far in 2015.

Rangers GM: Josh Hamilton progressing, likely to return next week  —  1h - MLB JOSH HAMILTON TEXAS RANGERS + more  —  The Baseball Tonight crew breaks down its expectations for Josh Hamilton once he returns to the lineup.

Pirates Stop 4-Game Slide With 3-0 Win Over Cubs  —  CHICAGO — A.J. Burnett worked around five walks while pitching seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates stopped a four-game losing streak by cooling off the Chicago Cubs with a 3-0 victory on Sunday.  —  Burnett allowed three hits …