Morning Marquee: Robinson Cano breaks toe; Maddon reaches out to Renteria

The argument against international games will only get stronger after the Seattle Mariners star Robinson Cano suffered a broken toe in Japan. Cano was hit in the foot by a pitch in the seventh inning. X-rays revealed a broken pinky toe. Teams have been known to keep players from the All-Star game to help avoid injuries. Games that have no importance other than entertainment value may see even fewer participants as incidents like this occur. It is expected Cano will be out three to four weeks before resuming “baseball” activities.

New Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon has reached out to former skipper Rick Renteria, but the effort has yielded no results thus far. Maddon has tried to speak with him to help him understand his thinking behind the decision, and let Renteria know it was never anything personal. Renteria has not made any public statements since the change, and it may be a while before we hear from him. Clearly there is bad blood, and it may not be as much with Maddon as it is with the Cubs organization.

With the five-game series already decided, the MLB team was simply looking for a moral victory against Samurai Japan. They got it in the form of great defense and outstanding production at the top of the lineup. Justin Morneau–the reigning NL batting champ–drove in four, including a three-run home run to lead the MLB All-Star team. Evan Longoria added a solo home run to help close the 6-1 win. The first four hitters in the MLB lineup combined to go 9-for-16 with four doubles and two home runs. There is one game remaining in the series, and then a final exhibition game to follow.

Here are some of the stories from yesterday you may have missed:

‘Robinson Cano leaves Japan series with broken toe’ – Sodo Mojo

‘Cubs’ Joe Maddon wants to be Rick Renteria’s ‘friend’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Morneau helps MLB get back on track in Tokyo’ – MLB.com

‘The 2014 FanSided Faux-Winter Meetings’ – Cubbies Crib

‘AFL Championship Recap’ – Kings of Kauffman