Detroit Tigers links: The New York Mets can't keep their pitchers healthy

Despite the usual amount of losses, the last couple years have been an exciting time in New York Mets baseball. They have seen several top prospects reach and thrive at the major league level, including Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, and now lefthander Steven Matz.

Unfortunately, the Mets have also seen three of those four pitchers suffer major injuries. Both Harvey and Wheeler have undergone Tommy John surgery, while Syndergaard has remained unscathed (so far). Matz's elbow is fine, but he was diagnosed with a tear in his lat muscle on Thursday and will be shut down for three weeks before he is reevaluated. No big deal, right? With so many pitcher injuries in the game nowadays, this is little more than bad luck.

Except it might not be. The Mets have a long history of downplaying player injuries before they become more severe later, and have been borderline negligent in some cases. Wheeler pitched through elbow pain in 2014 and was initially diagnosed with a muscle strain earlier this year, before another examination revealed a UCL tear. Matz reported some discomfort in his back (that headline emphasizes part of the problem) after his first start, but still made another scheduled start on July 5 before his injury was diagnosed on Thursday.

This is an "I'm not saying, I'm just saying" case, so I'll say this: I'm thankful that the Tigers were very conservative with Justin Verlander this year.

I'll just leave this here. pic.twitter.com/EGJv58Jnmy

— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) July 8, 2015

Jefry Marte relishes big day in Tigers victory - The Detroit News, Chris McCosky
I still love Marte's casual bat flip on his first career home run. Like "Yeah, I know that's gone."

Shane Greene to start final Detroit Tigers game before break, Anibal Sanchez first game after it - MLive, Chris Iott
Depending on how many innings the bullpen throws on Friday and Saturday, the Tigers may have Buck Farmer available to pitch multiple innings in relief.

Royals finish off sweep of Rays with 8-3 harpooning - Royals Review, J.K. Ward
The Royals swept four games with the Tampa Bay Rays, who are pretty much my least favorite team in baseball at the moment.

Francisco Lindor home run highlight's third straight win for Cleveland Indians - Let's Go Tribe, Jason Lukehart
The Indians took three of four from Houston, who now has just a one-game lead in the AL West.

White Sox 2, Blue Jays 0: Samardzija shuts down Toronto - South Side Sox, Josh Nelson
IT'S SHARK WEEK!

Texas Rangers rumors: Neftali Feliz may have cleared waivers - Lone Star Ball, Adam J. Morris
Feliz was once one of the better closers in the game, but has struggled to get back on track after having Tommy John surgery in 2012.

Dodgers, Giants may ink top international name - MLB.com, Jesse Sanchez
The Tigers have been rumored by some as a potential suitor for Eddy Julio Martinez, but Sanchez does not list them as an interested party, and their track record suggests they won't pay up for his services.

The Secret Behind Twins' Pitching Success - Twins Daily, Parker Hageman
The Tigers saw this improvement firsthand last night, as Mike Pelfrey worked 7 2/3 innings while striking out just four batters.

The perfect baseball game is 19 hours long and has lots of crying - SB Nation, Jon Bois
Jon Bois should be required reading anyway, but he wrote about baseball this time so I get to link it.