Happy Sunday everyone! Here’s a quick and dirty rundown of this week’s links.
Around the Red Sox blogosphere:
- In case you missed something this week at Fire Brand…Troy examined John Lackey’s tendency to struggle in April, and the return of Beckett’s curve; Darryl reviewed Clay Buchholz’s long ball tendencies; Charlie wondered if it was time for Dice-K to get moved out of the rotation and when the Sox’s sleeping bats will awake; and I looked at the new contracts for Clay Buchholz and Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford’s value, and a potential position controversy on the horizon.
- Matt Kory of Red Sox Beacon wrote a tremendous piece about a fan’s struggle between the heart and the brain. A must read.
- Jared Stegall of Over the Monster wonders if it’s time to bench Jarrod Saltalamacchia against lefties.
- Denton at Surviving Grady has this to say about Dice-K. He’s “uglier than Kathy Bates double feature in HD.” Yeah, that sounds about right.
- Ted Grevelis of Bottom Line Sox discusses pressure and the Red Sox rotation.
- Allan at Joy of Sox provides some reassuring news about the Red Sox. Even with the awful start, he explains that there’s very little chance the team ends up with a losing season.
Around the Yankee blogosphere:
- More great stuff over at IIATMS this week. Larry discusses Phil Hughes’s “dead arm” and payroll disparity among the divisions; Josh analyzes the disappearance of Hughes’s formerly “plus” curveball; and Brien roots hard for A.J. Burnett.
- I’m pulling this one out. Mark at IIATMS wrote an excellent piece about the enjoyment of baseball and statistical analysis. This is probably my favorite piece this week, so I suggest you read it. As a side note, Mark and I are plotting to get him “trending” on Twitter. If you’re on Twitter, please include @Mark_L_Smith in every tweet. I know it’s silly, but it would really amuse us.
- Over at Yankee Analysts, Moshe laments that we’re nothing but dollar signs to sports franchises, and explains the secret behind David Robertson’s success. Larry ponders an interesting question…Should the Yankees rethink their philosophy on developing pitchers?
- Joe Pawlikowski at River Avenue Blues wondered if the lost games were worth the gamble with Hughes on the mound.
Tales from the Sweet Spot at the ESPN mother ship:
- Fire Brand’s Charlie Saponara discusses the ambitious clash between the Orioles and Indians.
- Bill Parker of the Platoon Advantage wonders if it’s too early for the Twins to worry about Mauer and Morneau.
- Do you love to second guess managers? Dave Schoenfield decides to join in on the fun.
- Christina Kahrl writes about Trevor Cahill and the sabermetric discontents.
- I’m going to echo Schoenfield here. Once and for all, get Jason Heyward out of the number six spot!
Best of the Rest:
- This week at Fangraphs…Dave Cameron opines if it’s time to panic in Minnesota and wonders why power hitters have stopped striking out; Joe Pawlikowski shares his thoughts on Francisco Liriano’s shaky start; Jonah Keri wishes for a better playoff system; and Chris Cwik discusses the White Sox issues with closing the deal.
- Evan Brunell at CBS Eye on Baseball wrote an epic piece on Barry Bonds and his recent conviction. Also, he examines Johnny Damon’s chances of making the Hall of Fame.
- Craig Calcaterra of NBC Hardball Talk shares his legal expertise in discussing not only Barry Bonds’s verdict, but also his post-trial strategy.
- Joe Posananski wonders if anyone will stand up for Manny Ramirez. I certainly hope so, but I’m not expecting miracles.
- Rob Neyer explores a topic worth further examination…has Troy Tulowitski passed Albert Pujols as baseball’s best player? Maybe, but he has to prove he can stay off the DL.
- The Common Man at the Platoon Advantage shares his thoughts on “tainted championships,” and Bill explains why he loves Jackie Robinson but feels Jackie Robinson Day cheapens his legacy.
- Rich Lederer of Baseball Analysts also thinks that Troy Tulowitski is the most valuable player in baseball.
- Hardball Times has a roundtable discussion with regards to Manny’s chances of making the Hall of Fame.
- Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley explains that the Phillies will miss Chase Ultey and Jayson Werth more than they realize.
- Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness breaks down the Dodgers in haiku form.
- Daniel Moroz of Camden Crazies breaks down the Orioles game-by-game.
- New site alert! Garrett Wilson of the Outside Corner wonders who could possibly be against instant replay?
- Julian Levine has won me over. Freddy Sanchez should be leading off for the Giants until Andres Torres comes back. Bruce Bochy needs to stop putting low-OBP guys (that only Dayton Moore could love) like Aaron Rowand and Migues Tejada in that role.
- Pip of Fungoes joins the fight against the Chicken Littles of the world! Albert Pujols will be just fine.
- Dave at Weaver’s Tantrum talks about small sample sizes.
- Nick at Nick’s Twin Blog discusses the always controversial concept of pitching to contact.
- Lee Panas wonders what the Tigers do if Austin Jackson doesn’t hit better.
- Craig Brown at Royals Authority explains Joakim Soria’s swing and miss issue.
- Is the AL East wide open? Two weeks ago, I would’ve thought this question was crazy, but Mr. Negative of DRaysBay explains why it might not be so insane.
- Mark from The Ray Area shares the legend behind the magical Sam Fuld.
- Rory Papp explains why Tim Lincecum’s slider is both a dream and a nightmare.
- What can two weeks do to ZiPS projections? Satchel Price of Beyond the Boxscore examines.
- R.J. Anderson of the non-ironically titled site the Process Report goes searching for some first base replacements for the Tampa Bay Rays.
- J.T. Jordan of McCovey Chronicles takes a look at J.T. Snow’s defense.
Categories: Weekend Round-Up
