Tuesday, October 12, 2010

SweetSpot Roundup 10/12

Austin's Astros 290 Blog: Oh No! Disas-ex-stros!
Autin looks at the tough weekend for former Astros.

Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): A Quick Look at the Brewers on the DL
The Brew Crew had a disappointing season but, as Jack points out, you can't blame injuries.

Fungoes (Cardinals): Bad Mistakes, Mo's Made a Few
"The 'unexpected injuries' excuse is valid but only goes so far. We don’t expect Mozeliak to offer up a public mea culpa or attend the winter meetings in sackcloth and ashes. But some acknowledgement of reality — and, yes, culpability — would go a long way toward healing a disappointed fan base, not to mention addressing player-acquisition strategy in an effort to improve it this winter."

The View From the Bleachers (Cubs): 2010 Cubs Report Card, Outfielders
"Instead we saw a guy that played hard every day, got on base more than he did in 2009, and played the most games in a season in his entire career. I like what I saw from Marlon Byrd and I’m excited that he’s not signed for a terrible albatross of a contract. Grade: A"  Interesting.  Starlin Castro got a B and Geovanny Soto a B+. 

Dodger Thoughts: This, I like
On current Braves goat Brooks Conrad being cheered by Braves fans during warmups today: "See, there is an alternative to booing. And ask yourself, if Conrad makes it into tonight's game, is he more or less likely to screw up now that he knows his fan base has his back?"  Would they have had his back if he were in the starting lineup though?

Bay City Ball (Giants): Sanchez's Slider
"Sanchez’s slurve boasted a whiff rate (misses/swings) of 78.5%. Batters took 14 cuts against Sanchez’s slider/curve and missed the ball completely 11 times. The 3 times Braves hitters did make contact resulted in foul balls. Not a single Braves hitter put Sanchez’s slider/curve into play."  Nasty.

Mets Today: Jeff Wilpon to be Interviewed by Sandy Alderson
"Miraculously, the Mets have found an individual who is universally accepted by the rabid fans, the blogosphere, the statheads, and the professional media."  Now, Joe implores Jeff Wilpon not to mess it up.

Nationals Baseball: I'm Back
Harper's back from vacation, and lays out his thoughts on the upcoming offseason in Natsville.

Ducksnorts (Padres): Dances with Spreadsheets
As Geoff points out, this may be one of the best Padres teams of all time.  The Common Man picked them to lose 110 games before the season started.  Oops.

Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Halladay-Oswalt-Hamels could be historically great
Bill looks at how the Phillies' Big Three handled themselves compared to other great tandems in MLB playoff history.

Redleg Nation: A Fun Season
Twins fans, take notes: "The Nation really needs to send our thanks and appreciation for a fun season to the Cincinnati Reds. It all ended more suddenly than we had hoped, but I have no complaints. I got more enjoyment out of this baseball season than I’ve experienced in at least a decade."

Pro Ball NW (Mariners): Look Ahead to the 2010-2011 Offseason, Part 3
Conor looks at some of the players that Jack Z might target via trade this winter.

Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): Josh Lewin Out as Rangers Play-by-Play Man
How do you lose on your day off?  Good luck to Josh, wherever he goes from here.

The Ray Area: Senior Night
"Rather than go quietly into that good night (“good night” = Scott Boras’s war room) Pena stoked the troops with a an apparently passionate speech about remembering this club’s humble beginnings.  Then he turned around and found his groove."

Royals Authority: Easy Monday
"With the Twins losing again in the first round of the playoffs, would you as a Royals’ fan want to be like them and always be in contention for the post-season but never really have much of a chance to advance?   Or, would you go the Marlins’ way and build to truly compete with the big boys once every seven or eight years, knowing that in between you will be pretty awful?"  Is this making the assumption that being like the Royals and Pirates, and never truly competing, is the worst fate of all?

The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Inge and Peralta are more alike than you think
"If you’re still coming to grips with the notion of Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta manning the left side of the Tigers’ infield next season, here’s something I noticed that will either make you feel better or worse – and nowhere in between."

Nick's Twins Blog: E-Z Passed
"As it would turn out, the arrogance was well warranted. The Twins brandished home field advantage and a $100 million payroll this time around, but the result was no different from past meetings with the Yankees: complete and utter failure."

It's About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): Grandpa Simpson Thinks Umpires Unfairly Criticized
"The bottom line here is that there’s no going back. Television replay is a basic aspect of the modern sports fan’s life, and that means we’re going to see every single blown call. The problem for baseball is that the sheer number of incorrect calls damages the game’s integrity…and the umpires’ credibility....  The arguments against doing so from people like Robinson and Bud Selig are venturing into the realm of self-parody now."

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