Tuesday, May 24, 2011

SweetSpot Roundup 5/24

In today's roundup, Colby Rasmus makes history by not really doing anything, Chase Utley comes back, closers Papelbon and Feliz struggle, and bunts still kind of suck.

Austin's Astros 290 Blog: Most memorable Astros homerun ever
Austin ranks the top five.  A good trip through happier times for the struggling Astros

Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): Transaction Analysis-Julio Lugo
"Gut reaction: he can’t be worse than Diory/Hicks.  More thoughtful reaction: Well, he actually could be worse than Diory/Hicks."
 
Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): Putting the Fielder Walkoff Win in Context
New writer Jordan Mader sees a lot of hope after the Brewers' sweep of the Rockies.

Fungoes (Cardinals): Rasmus and the Cardinal Walking Men
13 walks in one game. Gotta be honest, that might be the only way to get me to walk out on a ballgame.

The View From the Bleachers (Cubs): GirlieView
"I think you guys that keep giving the Cubs a B-/C+ have been drinking way too much Old Style."

Dodger Thoughts (Dodgers): Tornado spares Elbert's family
Dodgers reliever Scott Elbert is from Joplin, but his family is ok.  A lot of other families aren't.  Please donate if you can.

Bay City Ball (Giants): Eric Sur-K-amp
Rory's got a long look at the next starter in line to be called up to San Fran.

Nationals Baseball: Monday Quickie
Harper looks back on the Nats' recent performance.

Ducksnorts (Padres): At Least the Burgers Were Delicious
Geoff is mildly disturbed by the first quarter of the Padres campaign.

Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Measuring Chase Utley's Impact
"Hey, have you heard the news? Chase Utley is back."  Will he make a difference?

Redleg Nation: The long-awaited Joey Votto Sportscenter ad
Pretty funny.  Turns out Karl Ravech is as good as picking the winner of mustache-growing contests as Steve Berthiaume is at picking the winner of the NL Central. (Hi Steve!)

Blake Street Bulletin (Rockies): Rockies finally come clean about Ubaldo
"I think [Troy Renck's] probably asked Tracy and Apodaca about Ubaldo’s health at least 100 times and every time they have sworn he was completely healthy.  For some reason, they deemed it necessary to keep this a secret."

Baseballin’ on a Budget (Athletics): Hurting Their Own Cause

The A’s infield defense is making a lot of errors, but it’s surprising who is making those errors.

Ghostrunner on First (Blue Jays): Second Guesses on First Pitches
“It is what happens next that defines hitters: can they show some patience and stay in hitters counts or are they aggressive in way that hurts them?”

It’s pronounced “Lajaway” (Indians): Speaking of Players We Hijacked From Seattle…
My fantasy team agrees—Asdrubal Cabrera is awesome.

Pro Ball NW (Mariners): The Title of this Article, Which Is All About Dustin Ackley, Contains a Pun
I was never sure why people got down on Ackley during either of his slow starts, and I think he’ll be fine. I just can’t figure out what the pun is.

Camden Depot (Orioles): The Science of Baseball: May 22, 2011
Some interesting tidbits from scholarly articles about baseball, mostly related to injuries.

Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): Is Neftali Feliz Broken?
Man, I hope not.

The Ray Area: The ‘Pen is more valuable than …
Anytime anyone wants to elucidate on why spending a lot of money on relievers is dumb, I’m all for it.

Fire Brand of the AL (Red Sox): The Future for Jonathan Papelbon
A few months ago, it seemed Papelbon was on his way out of Boston with everyone wanting Daniel Bard to be closer. Now? Not so much.

Royals Authority: More Than One Game
On Sunday, the Royals walked 13 Cardinals. From Wednesday through Sunday (5 games), the Braves walked 10 times total. I’m not sure which is worse, but either will get you writing a long post about it.

The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Armando Galarraga Blows His Top
“Fortunately for Galarraga, the D-backs aren’t brimming with pitching depth so they’re likely to ride it out with him for a while. Which is, as Tigers fans can attest, unfortunate for Gibby and the dozens of D-backs fans.”

Nick’s Twins Blog: Rebuilding the Bullpen
“On the bright side, the Twins' crappy relief pitching won't have a chance to derail their season, as team-wide failures over the first two months have already effectively accomplished that feat.” Yeesh.

It Is About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): The Rational Guide to Bunting (Curtis Granderson Edition)
You mean there are good bunts? No one tell Tony La Russa (Cardinals lead baseball with 29 sacrifice bunts).

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