Happy Independence Day! Hope it’s a fun and safe one for you.

• Tony Gwynn will be on the National League All-Star team as an “honorary member,” which means he’ll suit up but not play in the game. It also means he won’t be taking up a roster spot better occupied by someone more deserving. A sensible solution, I think.
• If Izzy Alcantara can’t make it in baseball, he might try his hand at kick-boxing or pro wrestling. That was a hellacious flying kick to the neck of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre catcher he threw last night. Move over Steven Seagal, there’s a new action hero in town.
• I’m headed up to Lake Elsinore tonight to watch Ben Howard again. Fireworks after the game. Report tomorrow. Just bought a digital camera; if I can figure out how to work the thing, I might post some pictures, too.