Hey, look! It’s that proverbial wall …. again.

Little of my writing has felt right over the last few days. Writing has felt like a chore, like I’ve just been going through the motions.

I wrote nearly 1,500 words on Friday that I simply scrapped.

Another 1,000 on Sunday went right into the trash.

And there were a few hundred more on Monday that I just deleted.

None of it felt right to publish. Let’s hope it’s merely a temporary bump.

Some of the lack of motivation (and enjoyment) is probably/likely a little professional frustration spilling over. That is a longer story for a separate time, though, but things here at TBNL haven’t exactly grown as I had hoped. Case in point: since January, I have unintentionally lost more weight (in pounds) than I’ve gained in support (subscribers). Let’s call that a partial victory (it’s not like I’ve lost subscribers, either).

And yet, I’ve promoted the site more since January than I did in the entire first year I ran this newsletter (both in frequency and in the number of locations). Self-promotion has always been a struggle for me, but seeing zero impact can significantly undermine one’s motivation.

It’s tough to push ahead when I’m gaining zero momentum.

And it’s not like this has earned me any supplemental income (or brought about any job prospects) along the way.

I have to remember that I do this because I enjoy it more than anything else, even when that enjoyment might be waning.

San Diego signed Ozzie Guillén as an international amateur free agent in December 1980. Four years later, the Padres shipped the young shortstop and three other players (left-hander Tim Lollar, right-hander Bill Long, and infielder Luis Salazar) to the White Sox for 1983 AL Cy Young Award-winner right-hander LaMarr Hoyt and two minor leaguers (right-handers Kevin Kristan and Todd Simmons). Hoyt was an All-Star in his first season in San Diego, but drug problems and a rotator cuff injury would end his career just a year later.

Guillén won Chicago’s starting shortstop job to start the 1985 season. He’d hit .273/.291/.358 (74 OPS+) in 513 PA with 21 2B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, and 7 RBI (totaling 2.3 bWAR) en route to winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

In all, Guillén would spend 13 seasons holding down the infield on the South Side. A three-time All-Star, Guillén slashed .265/.286/.339 (69 OPS+) over his career with the White Sox.

He’d briefly play with Baltimore, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay before wrapping up his playing career.

In 2004, Chicago hired Guillén to manage the big league club. He’d go 678-617 (.524) over his eight seasons in the role, leading the White Sox to a 99-63 mark in 2005 and then an 11-1 record in the postseason en route to winning the World Series.

Miami traded a pair of right-handers (Jhan Mariñez and Osvaldo Martinez) to the White Sox for (minor league right-hander Ricardo Andres and) the right to hire Guillén to manage the Marlins in 2012 (he was still under contract in Chicago for one more season). The Marlins finished a disappointing 69-93 and fired Guillén despite there being three years remaining on his new contract.

A long-time favorite of White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Guillén returned to the organization in recent years as part of the team’s broadcast crew. Last week, during the team’s home opener, Reinsdorf orchestrated a surprise announcement after the third inning that the the franchise would retire Guillén’s No. 13. Former White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik — who made his lone All-Star appearance during that WS-winning 2005 season in Chicago and now also works on the broadcast team — got to read the release to his former manager live on the air, rendering the frequently-vocal Guillén speechless and in tears.

Guillén receiving the honor may seem like a surprising decision — and rightfully so. There is little, individually, about his career that stands out and screams for such a distinguished achievement. This is happening purely because of Reinsdorf’s personal affinity for Guillén.

Guillén was never on my radar for having his jersey retired. I took a stab at picking which player might be next for each franchise back in January 2025; I picked José Abreu as the likely choice for Chicago, with an honorable mention to Robin Ventura.

Two of my selections — Seattle retiring No. 51 for Ichiro Suzuki (last summer) and Randy Johnson (this summer), New York retiring No. 52 for CC Sabathia (this summer) — have already proven accurate.

It didn’t take long for Hyun-Jin Ryu to make an impact on the KBO. The left-hander debuted with the Hanwha Eagles in 2006 at the age of 19 and immediately dominated the league, finishing that first season with an 18-6 record, a 2.23 ERA, and 204 SO over 201.2 IP. He won the pitching Triple Crown and was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP (the only player in KBO history to win both awards in the same season).

Ryu spent seven years with the Eagles, leading the league in strikeouts five times, before the Eagles agreed to make him available to MLB teams through the posting system after the 2012 season. Ryu had long been pushing for an opportunity to pitch in MLB and finally received it, ultimately agreeing to a six-year, $36 million contract with the Dodgers (who paid Hanwha a $25.7M posting fee).

The southpaw was 54-13 with a 2.98 ERA (129 ERA+) over 740.1 IP during his time with Los Angeles (missing the 2015 season after shoulder surgery for a torn labrum). He was an NL All-Star and finished second in Cy Young voting in 2019 (losing to Jacob deGrom).

Ryu left Los Angeles after that season, agreeing to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Blue Jays. He’d challenge for the AL Cy Young Award in 2020 (finishing third) and was 24-15 with a 3.97 ERA (110 ERA+) in 315.0 IP during his time in Toronto.

After spending a decade in the big leagues, Ryu opted to return to Korea for the 2024 season. The Eagles signed him to the largest contract in league history: for eight years and 17 billion won (roughly $11.5M USD).

Now 39 years old, Ryu has continued to collect accolades as he climbs the KBO’s career leaderboards. His most recent start on Tuesday against the SSG Landers marked the first time he’s struck out 10 or more hitters in a start in almost 13 years, but he also topped the 1,500 career strikeout mark. Ryu is just the seventh pitcher in KBO history to reach the mark, and did so in fewer games than anyone else (246 games; the next quickest was 301 by Dong-yol Sun).

Speaking of career milestones, Yusei Kikuchi became just the sixth Japanese pitcher in MLB history to reach 1,000 career innings pitched during Tuesday’s 7-2 loss to the Braves (a game which was overshadowed by a bench-clearing brawl in the fifth inning after DH Jorge Soler got upset over a pitch thrown by right-hander Reynaldo Lopez). Kikuchi could move up to fourth on the list by the end of the 2026 season.

Kikuchi will turn 35 in June and will be a free agent after the season.

A ninth-round pick in 1995 by the Brewers out of Washington State University, Mike Kinkade slashed .256/.350/.399 (100 OPS+) in 222 PA over a six-year career with the Mets, Orioles, and Dodgers.

Kinkade has notably maintained strong ties to USA Baseball throughout his career. The left fielder/first baseman was a part of the Gold Medal-winning team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and on the roster for the team that helped the U.S. qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Kinkade has held several coaching roles with USA Baseball (as well as in the minor leagues and at the collegiate level) since his retirement.

Kinkade has been named as the manager of the U.S. Women’s National Team, according to a release from USA Baseball. He will lead the team at the Women’s World Cup Group Stage from July 22-26 in Rockford, Illinois (which will be the home this summer to the WPBL).

Jason Sekany returns as the team’s pitching coach. Sekany “helped Team USA claim five gold medals in international competition in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, and most recently in 2022” and has spent the last few years working primarily with the U-18 National Teams.

A second-round pick in 1996 by the Red Sox out of the University of Virginia, Sekany spent six years in the minor leagues but never reached the majors. He’d post a 4.85 ERA over 666.0 IP, topping out at Triple-A.

Tanner Vesely, a long-time high school coach in Arizona, returns for his sixth time as an assistant coach with the team. Kristin Caldwell rounds out the staff as the other assistant coach. Caldwell won three medals as a player with Team USA and is a three-time Delaware state champion as a coach of her high school’s baseball team.

The official attendance for Wednesday’s Dodgers vs. Blue Jays game in Toronto came in at 40,971 (per the box score). Per Reddit, the team sold a record 100,189 hot dogs during the game (yes, this is really something that they track). That is somehow almost 2.5 hot dogs per person.