Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage, and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
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Gabe Kapler seemed like a given as the next Dodgers manager, and that feeling arose essentially from the moment that the team parted ways with Don Mattingly. Kapler was a former player that the new front office made a point to bring into the organization when they took over, and he already had a relationship with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman from a time before either were Dodgers. He might still be the favorite for the role, but he’s certainly not alone, competition-wise, for the job.
The Dodgers reportedly interviewed Dave Roberts -- another former player, and one with much more coaching experience than Kapler -- for the job. Word is, too, that it went splendidly, and while this wouldn’t be the reason Roberts is hired, there is also the opportunity for the Dodgers to make some organizational history by doing so, as the 43-year-old is half African-American, half Japanese-American. The Dodgers have never had a minority manager before, and as has been discussed in this and other spaces before, the dugout is in dire need of diversity.
There is also Bud Black, who is available to hire once again now that the Nationals turned to Dusty Baker as their next manager. Darin Erstad, former MLB player and current Nebraska baseball coach, is also in the mix, as are Dodgers’ coaches Ron Roenicke and Tim Wallach -- Wallach, like Roberts, Erstad, and Kapler, would be a rookie manager, while Roenicke managed the Brewers until this past May. That’s a lot of options, but at least the Dodgers are shopping around instead of just appointing someone to the role -- a path they could have easily chosen with Kapler once Mattingly was gone.
- The Nationals screwed up by lowballing Bud Black, but they might have ended up with the right manager for the team in the process.
- Too soon, Mets. Too soon.
- Everyone in Kansas City was at the Royals' parade, and every single one of them was wearing blue.
- Jonny Gomes wasn't on the World Series roster, but he showed off his veteran celebration presence at the parade.
- A drone filmed the Royals' parade, because it's 2015 and you have no secrets.
- If the Royals' style of play seems familiar, that might be because it was used against Kansas City in the 1985 World Series.
- Alex Anthopoulos is gone, and it's time for Blue Jays' fans to accept the start of the Mark Shapiro era.
- Speaking of the Jays, they picked up the options on Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and in more of a surprise, R.A. Dickey. Pitching isn't cheap, though, and Dickey might still have a solid year left in him, so it's a move that makes sense.
- The Red Sox picked up their 2016 option on Clay Buchholz, and that's a lovely price tag for a guy who could throw anywhere from 100 to 180 innings of productive ball. Well, lovely for a team with Boston's deep pockets, anyway.
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SB Nation presents: What the Royals went through since their last World Series title
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