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.”

Chase Whitley To Undergo Tommy John Surgery  —  Yankees right-hander Chase Whitley will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  Whitley had previously been diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow …

Astros Acquire Int'l Bonus Slots From Orioles For Chris Lee  —  The Orioles have announced a deal that will send a pair of 2014-15 international bonus slots to the Astros.  Baltimore will pick up left-hander Chris Lee in return.  —  Houston will pick up the 46th and 76th overall slots …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

How Holliday survives ‘grind’ that got Carpenter  —  As Matt Holliday made his way through the minors more than a decade ago, the future All-Star saw many supremely gifted ballplayers with their gleaming tools and glistening athleticism, but he did not marvel only at their ability to play the game.