Yasiel Puig removed from today’s game for disciplinary reasons

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By Craig CalcaterraAug 28, 2013, 4:47 PM EDT

Yasiel Puig was removed in the fifth inning of today’s Dodgers-Cubs game. He’s sitting on the bench, however, and is not having an injury tended to. It appears, actually, that he’s being disciplined for something:

Not watching the game so I’m not sure if he missed a cutoff man, made a base running mistake or jumped into a conga line. Some are tweeting that he didn’t slide when he should have in the first inning. But when we hear, we’ll update.

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UPDATE, 7:08 PM ET: Here’s the scoop from the clubhouse after the game:

Rockies acquire Pat Neshek from the Phillies

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By Bill BaerJul 26, 2017, 10:49 PM EDT

The Rockies announced on Wednesday night that the club acquired relief pitcher Pat Neshek from the Phillies in exchange for three minor leaguers: infielder Jose Gomez, pitcher J.D. Hammer, and pitcher Alejandro Requena.

Neshek, 36, made the  National League All-Star roster and currently owns a 1.12 ERA with a 45/5 K/BB ratio over 40 1/3 innings. He’ll help bolster the 58-44 Rockies’ bullpen as they vie for one of the two Wild Card slots realistically, and hope to overcome the Dodgers’ 12-game lead in the NL West.

Gomez, 20, is the Rockies’ No. 21 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He was signed out of Venezuela in July 2013. At Single-A Asheville this season, Gomez hit .324/.374/.437 in 351 plate appearances.

Hammer, 23, was selected by the Rockies in the 24th round of the 2016 draft. Between Asheville and High-A Lancaster this season, the right-hander owns a 2.36 ERA with a 65/14 K/BB r atio over 42 innings of relief.

Requena, 20, was signed as an international free agent by the Rockies in September 2013. With Asheville this season, the right-hander carries a 2.85 ERA with a 97/25 K/BB ratio in 117 innings across 19 starts.

Cameron Rupp, who criticized Odubel Herrera for bat-flipping, flipped his bat on a home run

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By Bill BaerJul 26, 2017, 10:24 PM EDT

Earlier, Craig wrote about the negative reaction within the Phillies’ clubhouse after outfielder Odubel Herrera A) flipped his bat on a fly out, and B) failing to run out a dropped third strike. Manager Pete Mackanin was one of Herrera’s critics, unsurprisingly, but so was catcher Cameron Rupp.

Via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Gelb, Rupp said that the Phillies’ frustration with Herrera is “not a secret.” He said, “Pete is the manager and what he asks us to do, we’re supposed to do. It’s a team thing and one guy can’t just not follow the rules. It’s not the first time. It has happened before and that’s something we don’t want to see. We want him in the game. He’s a good player. It’s hard for us. He’s a grown man. He has to learn on his own. We can only say so much.”

Though Rupp didn’t directly say his criticism of Herrera pertained to bat flips, we can logically deduce it as such. Herrera doesn’t commonly fail to run out dropped third strikes, but he does commonly flip his bat, particularly on non-homers.

Rupp had a good game against the Astros on Wednesday night, blasting a pair of two-run home runs. The problem? Rupp flipped his bat. In a 9-0 game.

The MLB.com video doesn’t really give a chance to see the full extent of Rupp’s flip, so here’s a .gif from Chris Jones:

And just in case anyone feels I’m interpreting the situation through a biased lens, Phillies beat writer Ryan Lawrence of The Philly Voice also saw it the same way.

We should probably expect Mackanin to bench Rupp for the next two games like he did Herrera, right? What’s that, you say? Certain players were more likely to be criticized for expressing emotion and perceived lack of hustle? Really makes you think.