TBLA Saturday morning links: Aug. 31, 2019

Dodgers news ...

The Dodgers lost their series opener to the Diamondbacks on Friday night. You can read the TBLA game recap here.

Molly Knight with The Athletic writes about a story you never thought about regarding baseballs this year — how many are being used in total?

... The league is on track to use a staggering 1,140,000 regular-season balls. This does not include 132,000 practice balls, 168,000 spring training balls and an untold number of playoff baseballs. Part of this rise is due to the glut of baseballs being hit over the fence. Another factor is the sheer number of baseballs pitchers discard because they feel too slippery to grip (a common gripe about the balls this year). But the final and perhaps biggest factor is the big business of authenticating as many baseballs as possible for re-sale.

Around the league ...

In devastating news, Tyler Skaggs’ autopsy revealed the late pitcher died from aspiration of gastric contents after mixing alcohol and drugs. The Los Angeles Times has more details on this story.

The death, according to the report, was ruled an accident. He was found on his bed, fully clothed, and there were no signs of trauma.

The Southlake, Texas, Police Department is investigating the death, and a statement from Skaggs’ family issued Friday mentions that an Angels employee may have some involvement.

The Kansas City Royals have new owners after being sold yesterday! Yahoo Sports has more details on this story.

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark were the first to report that a deal was on the table. On Friday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that a sale to Sherman, who currently holds the position of vice chairman for the division-rival Cleveland Indians, had been agreed to.

The Dodgers remain to be No. 1 on the ESPN Power Rankings list, but see how the rest of the teams fell.