SweetSpot Roundup 9/6

By The Common Man and Bill

Austin's Astros Blog: Happ continues to defy critics
"I’m still not sure upon what metric the critics are judging him. True — he’ll never be a No. 1 or 2 pitcher because of his his tendency to work short starts (only two of his eight starts as an Astro have gone seven innings or more). But, he does his No. 3 or 4 thing and he does it well."

Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): Appreciating Gallardo's Hitting and Expanding on Gallardo's Offensive Value
In two parts, Jack looks at the value of having a good hitting pitcher like Yovani Gallardo.

Fungoes (Cardinals): Cardinals Revive
"The Cardinals are not dead yet." I politely disagree, but don't want to upset Pip too much in his delicate state.

A View From the Bleachers (Cubs): GirlieView
And now, a word from the ladies...(YAY!) on the Cubs... (NOOOOOOOOOO!)

Dodger Thoughts:  With Jonathan Broxton struggling, just how radical will the Dodgers' 2011 reconstruction be?
"Add Broxton to a separate list that includes [Russell] Martin (declining performance), James Loney (disappointing power) and Matt Kemp (you know the drill). Four players that at the start of 2009 were cornerstones of the Dodgers' future, with combined 2011 salaries in the neighborhood of $25 million. In my mind, the question is not whether the Dodgers will trade one of them, but whether they will trade all of them."


Mets Today: Mets 18 Cubs 5
Joe is jubilant at the sudden reappearance of the Mets' offense.
 
Nationals Baseball: Best Case Scenario
If everything breaks right, Harper thinks the Nats might be in the Wild Card hunt next year.
 
Ducksnorts (Padres): Nine Thoughts for Nine Losses
Geoff is, understandably, a little depressed.
 
Crashburn Alley (Phillies): The End of the Jayson Werth Era
"The Werth-Brown dilemma, from the Phillies’ perspective, then comes down to devoting $70 million or so over four years to the 31-year-old Werth, or pay the 23-year-old rookie $400,000 for relatively equivalent levels of production. That makes the decision-making seem awfully easy. Everybody and their grandmother would choose the cheaper option."
 
Pro Ball NW (Mariners): Confusion Surrounds Lueke’s Acquisition
Jon looks at the controversy around Josh Lueke, who was charged with raping a woman but pleaded out to false imprisonment while with the Rangers, and whose acquisition in the face of the M's President Jack Armstrong's excellent Zero Tolerance policy regarding violence has left many wondering who knew what, and when.
 
Weaver's Tantrum (Orioles): Orioles Managers' Wins
Inspired by Buck Showalter's 900th win, which he reached this weekend:  In looking at career wins by O's skippers, the interesting result is not who comes in first, but who's second.
 
Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): Monday Morning Rangers Notes
Joey's still hot over the call that ended the Twins/Rangers game on Sunday, where Michael Young allegedly touched 3B coach Dave Anderson, and was called out.  He thinks the rule was interpreted incorrectly, and recaps other egrigious calls by the umpries in the Twins sweep.  As a Twins fan, all I can say is that I agree with him about the umpiring and "neener, neener, neener."
 
Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Adrian Beltre Has Played His Way Out of Boston
But in a good way.  Darryl explains: "I’m sure when Theo Epstein signed Beltre in the winter, he hoped for a rebound and some health from the former Seattle Mariner. What Theo received was an ironman performance, a 5.2 WAR and a $21 million dollar return on his $10 million dollar investment.  Good buy on Beltre, but goodbye Beltre. It’s Scott Boras time!"
 
Royals Authority: Building a Better Beast
"What struck me during the recently completed three game set against the Rangers was how the heart of their very formidable lineup was actually assembled. Would it surprise you to know that Michael Young is the only key player (I’m ignoring Jeff Franceour and Cristian Guzman because I want to) in that batting lineup that is making more money than David DeJesus? Or that only Vlad Guerrero is really the only high profile free agent acquisition?" 
 
The Daily Fungo (Tigers): A Mea Culpa Trio
Mike owns up to some of his predictions for 2010 that have gone awry.
 
Nick's Twins Blog: A Bad Night
Nick tics off the litany of Twins errors and problems, but that was on Friday.  He's probably happier this morning.
 
Sox Machine (White Sox): Who wants s'Morel? Sox do, Sox do!
Jim examines the anatomy of how a Sox prospect gets to the Bigs a little ahead of schedule.
 
It's About the Money Stupid (Yankees): Here Comes the Cavalry, But Is It Too Soon?
"ARod and Pettitte are preparing to return, but do the Yanks need them and is it too soon? Well, of course this team needs them, in the big picture, but unless they are 100% ready to play all out, the team should take its time and be certain these two are really ready to roll."