Rico Brogna for hitting coach? Really?

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By Craig CalcaterraNov 12, 2013, 5:33 PM EDT

And now your weird rumor of the day:

 

This is not weird simply because Brogna was a pretty bad hitter with a pretty bad approach to hitting for much of his career. I mean, there are a lot of hitting coaches who weren’t themselves good hitters. It’s more about communication and identification of others’ flaws. By the same token, just because you could hit doesn’t mean you’d make a good hitting coach. You want Manny Ramirez to coach your hitters? Does he even know why he murdered baseballs so effectively? Not gonna bet a lot on it!

But it is weird in that Brogna has spent almost his entire post-playing career coaching high school football and basketball and stuff. He spent a year managing in minor league baseball, but for the most part he’s been a multi-sport journeyman coach, making tons of stops. The lack of obvious hitting coach bona fides and the fact that he’s been mostly away from the game for a decade plus is what makes this weird.

But hey, it’s just the assistant hitting coach’s job. And that’s a job that didn’t really exist a couple of years ago, so let us not get too hung up about it.

Derek Jeter is a Dad

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By Craig CalcaterraAug 18, 2017, 1:35 PM EDT

I’m sure you’ve all been wondering about this — actually, someone in the comments the other day was wondering about it — but the wondering is over: Derek Jeter and his wife Hannah are now the proud parents of a baby girl. Her name is Bella Raine Jeter. She was born yesterday. The delivery, sources within the New York press corps tell me, was “classy.”

You’ll be shocked to learn that the news broke via the Twitter feed of The Players Tribune, which Jeter owns. I eagerly await a ghostwritten column from the baby in the next couple of days. Something like “Being Born Was an Amazing Experience, by Bella Jeter.” Or maybe one of those “Letter to My Younger Selves” feature they do sometimes.

Anyway, congratulations, Captain. Now get to the business of proving your sister wrong.

Nationals owner Mark Lerner had his left leg amputated

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By Craig CalcaterraAug 18, 2017, 12:29 PM EDT

Mark Lerner, son of Ted Lerner and a co-owner of the Washington Nationals, had his left leg amputated earlier this month. He was diagnosed earlier this year for a rare form of cancer that a attacks connective tissue and treatment had been ineffective, so doctors removed the limb.

The news was revealed in the form of a letter Lerner wrote to Washington Post columnist Barry Svrluga, who had inquired about Lerner’s uncharacteristic absence from the ballpark of late. Lerner:

“With my doctors and medical team, we decided that amputation of that leg was my best choice to maintain the active and busy lifestyle that I have always enjoyed. The limb was removed in early August and I’m healing well, cancer-free, and looking forward to my eventual new prosthetic.”

Lerner, 63, has been known to dress up in a Nats uniform and shag fly balls with the team during batting practice. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and, if his prosthetic allows, some more BP shagging at some point in the future.