It’s a little late in the day, but there’s a lot of good stuff out there today. I don’t want you to miss any of it. I’m separating today’s links into two groups, so be sure to check them both out. Let’s jump right in!
Bobby Valentine
- Today’s first link comes from Marc Normandin of Over the Monster. In this incredibly well written piece, he explains that we should be thrilled to have Bobby V as the Red Sox manager. I know what you’re thinking. I was pretty apprehensive upon hearing Valentine’s name mentioned as a potential candidate early in the process. Over time, he started to grow on me. After reading this article though, I think I like him a lot more than I did originally. At the very least, he’ll be entertaining. Everyone should check this out.
- Also on the Bobby V bandwagon is the incomparable Peter Gammons of mlb.com. While those in certain media circles are trying to paint Valentine as “Luchhino’s guy,” Gammons explains that Cherington is not only on board with the hire, but also will make an excellent partner with Bobby V.
- If you didn’t think I was going to post this 90 second video of Nick Cafardo’s expressing restrained jubilationover Bobby Valentine’s hiring, you just don’t know me very well. I may kid about Cafardo’s non-sexual “man crush” for Bobby V, but he makes several good points in this clip. I think he’s overstating the need for discipline in the clubhouse, but I don’t want to split hairs. Also, I just want to congratulate Nick on sticking to his guns on Valentine even when everyone thought he was crazy. It took a lot of balls to stand his ground, and I respect that considerably. Hats off to you, sir.
- Matt Collins of Red Stockings Thoughts welcomes the Nation to the Bobby V era…and tries to talk them off of the ledge.
- Red of Surviving Grady doesn’t know if Bobby Valentine will be a good manager for the Red Sox, but he’s willing to give it a try. As he says, “All I know is in a world in which Walpole Joe Morgan can win his first twelve games as Red Sox manager and Grady Little can take a team to game 7 of the ALCS, anything can happen.” Sage advice from a wise man.
- In hopes of providing fair and balanced commentary, Dan Lamothe of Masslive.com is dreading Bobby V’s arrival in Beantowne. His chief concern? The likelihood of a spectacular fallout. While I sympathize with his concerns, I’m not terribly worried. Furthermore, a chance of a fallout isn’t enough for me to advocate hiring someone else. Terry Francona was thought to be a very low maintenance manager (and he was). For eight years, no one expected a massive fallout upon his departure, yet it happened. Sure, Valentine has a big personality (and ego), but let’s not judge his exit before he’s finished day one on the job.
The Best of the Rest
- Crazy Crabbers of Sabeanmetrics returns with a hilarious Xtranormal video recapping an actual conversation between Giants GM Brian Sabean and CEO Larry Baer. You have to see it to believe it.
- The Common Man at The Platoon Advantage explains something all of the cool kids already know: Twitter AND Brandon McCarthy are awesome.
- Brien of It’s About the Money Stupid wonders if Matt Garza is the right answer for the Yankees. He’s certainly not the wrong answer. Plus, Garza is a Red Sox killer, so he has that going for him. Honestly, I think he’d be a solid choice if they can get him without emptying the farm to obtain his services.
- Matt Swartz of Fangraphs explains the manner in which compensation picks stifle free agent salaries. It’s a fascinating article, and I highly recommend checking it out.
- It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that people are suspicious of Barry Bonds’s on-field achievements; especially those occuring after 1998. As Tom Tango explains, voters using Baseball Reference’s ELO rater, have evaulated Bonds as a player worth nearly 80 WAR less than his actual career total. Jack Moore of Fangraphs also provides an interesting take on the situation. Personally, I think the voters are insane. They’re essentially stripping Bonds of his entire career from 1998 through 2007. Regardless of your opinion on the impact of steroids on baseball, he still deserves credit for much of the production he provided. In all likelihood, he would have provided significant value to the Giants even without the steroids. I can see stripping him of 30 WAR or even 40, but 80? That seems incredibly unfair.