Elephant Rumblings: Puk Roughed Up, Cotton Seeks Second Opinion

A’s Coverage:

• Jharel Cotton seeks second opinion after MRI shows sprained UCL...
• Puk’s rough outing dims hope of rotation spot...
• A’s might have gem in Franklin Barreto, but is 2018 his time to shine?
• Oakland hoping to buy Alameda County’s half of Coliseum complex...
• Oakland Athletics spring coaching Q&A: Aaron Nieckula...

MLB News:

• Reds Extend Eugenio Suarez...
• Yairo Munoz flashes versatility in bid for roster spot
• Ed Charles, member of the Miracle Mets and baseball poet, dead at 84...

Baseball Interest Stories:

• MLB season preview: Will baseball’s new pace-of-play rules actually work?
• Sullivan: The Era of Experimentation...
• Will former No. 1 pick Dansby Swanson blossom into a star?
• 100 years ago, Babe Ruth became Babe Ruth with a 500-foot homer into an Alligator Farm...

Today in Baseball History:

• 1969 - A plane crash in Maracaibo, Venezuela kills 155 passengers including highly touted prospect Nestor (Latigo) Chavez, en route to the San Francisco Giants spring training camp. The 21-year-old pitcher, who posted a 1-0 mark in his rookie season with the Giants, was 12-5 with Double-A Waterbury in the Eastern League in 1967, including seven shutouts. Also on board were minor leaguer Carlos Santeliz and Venezuelan League executive Antonio Herrera Gutiérrez.
• 1972 - Oakland Athletics holdout Vida Blue announces that he has rejected the team’s latest contract offer and will retire to work for a company that makes toilet fixtures. The “retirement” won’t last long, as Blue will eventually come to terms with Oakland and begin his season in May. A 24-game winner in 1971, Blue will have a 6-10 record in 1972 but redeem himself by saving Game 1 of the World Series.

Best of Twitter:

• Blackburn appears a near-lock for a rotation spot...

• Notes on Puk’s rough start...