I might be on my own here, but I am happy about this. I wasn't quite ready to throw him away.

Phew!

We dodged a bullet on this one.

I hope the possible PTBNL is at least decent prospect. Otherwise the Indians probably didn't get enough for Byrd. I think a compensatory draft pick (probably in the #50 to #70 range) is worth more than the $2M salary savings.

LaPorta was hit IN THE HEAD by a pitch in the top of the 7th inning of the 9-1 US win over China today. He seems like he is OK and was able to leave the field under his own power. The beaning was in retaliation for a home plate collision that he had with the Chinese catcher that knocked the catcher out of the game with a knee injury. LaPorta was one of five US players to be hit by a pitch.

The lone Chinese run in the game came on a solo HR where the hitter kept his right arm raised in the air the entire time he circled the bases.

Lefebvre really put together a class act organization over there. Nice job.

UPDATE: Hoynes is reporting that LaPorta suffered a concussion but apparently nothing more serious, based on a CAT scan and other tests. (Hat-tip to palcal.) It's not clear if he'll play again in these Olympics, but without him, Team USA wold be down to just one bench player. My guess is that he'll sit out the next game but will play in the medal round if we advance.

I also cleaned up the wording to clarify that China did not "bean" five different players, since "bean" means "hit in the head." [Jay]

This guy looks pretty phenomenal so far. He'll probably be represented by Boras and everything. I really hope that wouldn't deter Shapiro.

Here's hoping our epic failure is enough to get him.