Tuesday, February 1, 2011

SweetSpot Roundup 2/1

Today's SweetSpot Roundup is, as you might expect, full of tributes to the SweetSpot Network's progenitor. Here's hoping the new boss, is the same as the old boss...

Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): Cheers
Peter is a recent convert, who traces his Rob-assisted sabermetric rebirth all the way back to October of 2007, those heady days when I had already graduated from law school and bought the house I'm currently living in. Which isn't any kind of slight to Peter (it's amazing how quickly he's become the great baseball mind he is)--it's a testament to how long and how deep Rob's influence goes.

The View from the Bleachers (Cubs): GirlieView (01/31/2011)
"Today (or, rather, last night) officially starts “Superbowl Week”. So what? This isn’t a football blog! Here’s why it’s relevant. Superbowl Week, to me, has always felt like the very, very beginning of baseball. It’s not a football celebration. It’s a “yay football is over now baseball can start” celebration!"

Redleg Nation: Janish freed, Renteria miscast
"For what it’s worth, our new utilityman has played 17,390 innings in the major leagues.  He’s played 17,389 at SS, and 1 at 1B."

Austin's Astros 290 Blog: Trouble on horizon for Wandy?
Austin discusses an ESPN S&I blog post that finds some reasons for concern regarding Wandy's best pitch, the curve.

Dodger Thoughts: Best of Luck, Rob Neyer
The Rob tribute is pretty quick this time, with the usual interesting collection of Dodgers-related links.

Mets Today: 15 DUPACR: Jerry Grote
There's interesting stuff on Mets Today today about the Mets being for sale, you know, topical stuff, but I'm partial to the DUPACR series, counting down the number of days until pitchers and catchers report by celebrating one Met who wore the corresponding uniform number.

Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Rob Neyer Is Movin' On
"It meant the world to me when I opened up my Gmail account in late September of 2009 to find Neyer reaching out to me, even going so far as to compliment my work, inviting me to join his SweetSpot blog network. I joined a team of bloggers whose work I had long admired and have watched as others joined the team."

Ducksnorts (Padres): Thank You, Rob Neyer; Best of Luck
Geoff's offering is a heartfelt thank you, and then a collection of links to other tributes around the blogo- and twittersphere.

Bay City Ball (Giants): Neyer Moving On From ESPN
"It goes without saying that I wish Rob the best in whatever he does next. It’s not a stretch to say that, for me, Rob has always been a writer that I looked up to. When I started blogging sometime around 2006 on this website, Neyer was one of my main inspirations. And it’s no lie to say that I’ve got more than just a few books with his name written on the spine sitting in my office right now. To me, as an infant blogger, Rob’s writing was the kind of stuff that I wanted to write. It was always accessible, smart, funny, and thought provoking."

Fungoes (Cardinals): Five headlines that we expect (not necessarily want) in 2011
More inspiration from the United Cardinal Bloggers, something more teams' bloggers need to emulate. Here, Pip looks into the future and sees some headlines and story summaries (none too bad for Cards fans, until you get to #5).

Nationals Baseball: Re-entry Post
Harper took over a week off, so he has some thoughts on Tom Gorzelanny just to get back into the swing.

Baseballin' on a Budget (A's): An arm for an arm: why it’s good to have Ethan Hollingsworth instead of Clay Mortensen
"This a good trade because Hollingsworth could be worth something to the A’s. Mortensen clearly wasn’t going anywhere in the A’s depth chart after the flurry of offseason acquisitions fortifying the bullpen and his track record wouldn’t justify giving him a chance to win the fifth starter role for Oakland."

Ghostrunner on First (Blue Jays): Stuck Between Stations
"Ultimately, I think this town will forget Vernon Wells in a hurry. Despite logging thousands of innings in the middle of Rogers Centre, his legacy will not last. Other insane contracts will shove his from the memory, other affable & well-adjusted athletes will attract our undeserving scorn."

Pro Ball NW (Mariners): So long, Rob, and good luck
More Rob love, this time from writers who he indirectly influenced.

Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): Michael Young, the Baseball Media, and What's Gone Wrong
Joey comes out swinging at the way the alleged Michael Young trade rumors have been reported, and chastizes writers for creating rumors out of whole cloth.  A very good piece.

The Ray Area: Take Me Out With the Crowd
Has TV coverage gotten so good that it's actually better to watch games in HD than it is to go to the ballpark?  Maybe only in Tampa.

Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Ranking the Division Starters
Josh Beckett's health worries drop the Red Sox to #2 in these AL East rankings.

Royals Authority:  Chasing Emil Brown
Remember the Emil Brown era?  You probably don't, but I do.  And so do Royals fans.  And it probably wasn't as bad as you remember.

The Daily Fungo (Tigers):  Today's Tiger, Dave Stegman
Happy Birthday, Dave Stegman, former #2 overall pick in the amateur draft.  One of the great failures of the early draft years.

Nick's Twins Blog: Musical Chairs
Nick fisks the three pitchers vying for the final two spots in the Twins' rotation and thinks that Brian Duensing will (again) get the short end. 

It's About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): Rob Neyer to Leave ESPN
Jason looks back on his time as a Rob Neyer reader and colleague.  He's still a bit shocked, like the rest of us.

And on the Platoon Advantage: Check out Bill's recap of Doug Melvin's talk at SABR Day Milwaukee and the guys' own farewell and thank-you to Mr. Neyer.

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