Thursday, September 16, 2010

SweetSpot Roundup 9/16

Austin's 290 Astros Blog: Norris Toughs it out, CJ airs it out, Astros win again
"Brett Wallace sat again because it’s more important to try to get to .500 than trying to help a young player learn how to hit major league pitchers. It’s what managers of the year do. You wouldn’t understand."

Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): I Like This Bullpen
Jack is bullish on the Brew Crew's pen in 2011.

Redleg Nation (Reds): Titanic Struggle Recap
"Is there anything Jay Bruce can’t do?" Apparently not.

The View From the Bleachers (Cubs): Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders
Rob takes us all out for ice cream every time we plug one of his books. Can we go to Dairy Queen this time? I've got a hankering for a mint Oreo Blizzard.

Dodger Thoughts: Obscure but memorable cleanup hitters
"Jay Gibbons is batting cleanup tonight for the third time as a Dodger. That would not have seemed likely a month ago, but Gibbons is far from the most unlikely Dodger cleanup hitter of the past seven seasons." I call Shea Hillenbrand!

Mets Today: Mets win ugly over the Pirates
"Thankfully, there weren’t too many impressionable kids in the stands, and hopefully, there weren’t too many aspiring youngsters watching the game on TV — because the Mets and Pirates put on a clinic on how NOT to play baseball."

Nationals Baseball: Adjusting or not
Is Ian Desmond really improving? Harper isn't so sure.

Ducksnorts (Padres): Wednesday Links
A comprehensive list of Padres-related links from the last week.  Geoff expects you to read every single one.
 
Crashburn Alley (Phillies): What a 10 game swing looks like
Bill looks at the Phils recent success in beautiful graphic form.

Weaver's Tantrum (Orioles): Scoring Explosion
Appreciating, at long last, some success against the Jays.

Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Drew and Who?
Andrew breaks down the field of potential outfield-mates to join the underappreciated J.D. Drew in 2011.

Sox Machine (White Sox): It's all over but the math
Summing up the apparent end of the Sox's season with a song and some funny quotes. There's also a great Oregon Trail-related picture linking to this article on the front page, but it's not reproduced in the article itself.

The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Cabrera Victim of Circumstance in MVP Race
Mike thinks Cabrera deserves the MVP award, but won't get it because of circumstances out of his control. (I tend to think the opposite -- he shouldn't get it, but he might. But Mike makes a good case.)

Royals Authority: The September Tease
Kyle Davies seems to look great every September. Clark urges you to remember that we already know who he is, and it's not good.

Nick's Twins Blog: Straightening Out the AL Cy Young Race
Nick analyzes the race and gives you his pick (nope, it's not Liriano).

It's About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): Questioning Girardi's Decision
"Yes, the team used a bunch of pitchers in the prior night’s 13 inning game and they are in the midst of a crazy tough stretch. Yes, I am sure he wanted to see his pitcher get through the 5th so he’d be eligible for a Win. Yes, I am sure he wanted Nova to gain some battle scars and come through it successfully. However… this team had lost four straight and seven of eight, this was a game the team had to win.
And Girardi let Nova battle through it."

The Ray Area: 142 Reasons Crawford's Gamble Was Worth It
Another newcomer to SweetSpot, The Ray Area makes a great first impression, defending Carl Crawford's widely criticized decision to attempt to take third on a fly ball with two outs in the ninth. The number refers to...well, you'll just have to click through and find out!

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