UPDATE: Extreme apologies to Jason Rosenberg of the excellent It's About the Money, Stupid, for accidentally omiting his site from this roundup. Jason and his crew have been knocking it out of the park in examining the Yankees' power structure in the wake of the Soriano deal and the Pavano non-deal, and the team's new payroll. Check them out. And sorry, Jason.
Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Looking Ahead to Interleague Play
It's never too early to preview the most frustrating and pointless part of the MLB schedule. The Sox-Philly matchups will be fun this year, though.
Sox Machine (White Sox): Sox Machine: Feb. 1, 2006 - Jan. 19, 2011
That's a remarkably long time for a blog. Jim closed down his site on Wednesday, and will keep doing his excellent work over on South Side Sox. Sox Machine was an excellent blog, even if it was about my least favorite team in the world, and it will be missed.
The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Robert Fick: Ultimate Friend and Teammate
The headline is sarcastic, poking some fun at a famously prickly former Tiger, but the post is mostly about Matt Anderson's attempted comeback, which is a pretty awesome story.
Royals Authority: What to Expect from Luke Hochevar
"Over time, I have gotten over the angst of what could have been in that 2006 Draft (after all, I thought the Hochevar pick was a good one at the time) and taken Luke Hochevar at face value. He will never live up to what we think a overall number one pick should be, but there are signs that Hochevar could be a solid major league starter."
Nick's Twins Blog: Insanity
Nick with some strong words about the Twins' $7 million+ contract with Matt Capps. Words that have the approval of...well, I don't want to speak for TCM, but at least 50% and very probably 100% of this Twins-fan-run blog.
Pro Ball NW (Mariners): Non-Roster Invitees
Some more interesting/familiar names than you'd usually expect to see on this list, including Gerut, Robertson, Kennedy and Langerhans.
The Ray Area: Baseball Prospectus schools the Ray Area on the value of "closers"
Discussing a very informative post by Colin Wyers at BPro, and what it means for the famously bullpen-challenged 2011 Rays.
Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): On Michael Young's "Flexibility"
The plan, post-Beltre, is for the displaced and defensively challenged 3B to DH and shift around the infield when guys need a day off. Joey is understandably a bit concerned about how many times Young's limitations might get exposed this season, especially at second or short.
Ghostrunner on First (Blue Jays): The First Step in the De-Citofication Process
The AL SweetSpotters are having a pretty sweet headline day. "I come today not to bury Cito. Nor do I plan to excrete anything on or around his grave. I hope to pose a simple question1: should Vernon Wells continue as the Blue Jays cleanup hitter? The easy answer is no."
Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): Kenshin Kawakami vs. Nate McLouth
"Why is Nate McLouth essentially being handed the starting center field job in 2011 while Kenshin Kawakami is being shown the door?" Given the terrible 2010 each player had, it's a fair question.
View From the Bleachers (Cubs): Don't Quote Me On That
Chet reacts to the latest news from Wrigleyville, including the possibility that the Cubs might have messed with Sam Fuld's development.
Dodger Thoughts: Dodgers invite Gabe Kapler to Spring Training...
In with a lot of Dodger transaction news comes word that LA has signed one of the more beloved players in baseball.
Bay City Ball (Giants): Bad Soup
The Jeff Suppan signing underwhelms Otis: "Add him to the list of guys you hope don’t pitch meaningful games for the Giants this year."
Mets Today: Mike Pelfrey Named Mets Opening Day Starter
Things that Joe worries about: "The pessimistic side of me has two concerns about this decision to make him the #1 starter. First, I hope it doesn’t jinx him; can’t you just imagine something freakish happening in spring training to prevent Pelfrey from beginning the season? Sorry, as a Mets fan I always assume I’m walking on thin ice. Second, I’m a little concerned about Pelfrey regularly going up against the #1 starters of every other team." First, sacrifice a goat or something and everything should be fine. Second, he's only going up against aces for the first couple weeks of the year.
Nationals Baseball: Coffey and Hairston
A couple of minor signings that strengthen the Nats if the players are used properly. Harper is cautiously optimistic.
Ducksnorts (Padres): What's a Few Million Dollars Among Friends?
Surprise, the Padres seem to be wildly profitable.
Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Should Phillies Fans Cheer Logan Morrison?
"A certain segment of Phillies fans on Twitter think the @LoMoMarlins love has gone too far, and worry that Philadelphia’s reputation as a tough sports town and the Phillies’ home field advantage are in jeopardy if fans openly cheer for Morrison at home games." As Bill points out, those people are morons.
Bonus Crashburn: You won't find a funnier salary discussion than the one Bill dreamed up between Ruben Amaro and Kyle Kendrick. It's funny because it's true.
Redleg Nation: Reds sign Johnny Cueto for 4 years/$27 million
Here's hoping that some of Kicky McCueto (can this be his new nickname, please?)'s newfound fortune makes its way into Jason LaRue's pocket.
2 comments:
Note: I did link to the Kendrick post in the last roundup (and pointed that out to you via Twitter yesterday). But it's definitely funny enough to be featured twice. :)
My love for you guys, in a totally plutonic way, remains unchanged.
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