Sunday, January 9, 2011

Around the Internet in 80 Seconds

Today's links are being brought to you by Rex Ryan's mouth.  If you want to keep him from talking, shove a foot in his face.
  • Rob Neyer writes a particularly lucid piece on the perceived difference between steroid and amphetamine use.  Within his article, he links to an excellent piece by Jeff Caple, which you should definitely read as well.
  • Keeping in the same vein, Craig Calcaterra points out the inherent flaw in the BBWAA's self-righteous attempt to keep steroid users out of the Hall of Fame.  In all likelihood, there are a few already inducted.  He references a rarely reported aspect of the Mitchell Report that indicates steroid use has been prevalent in baseball since the 1960s.
  • Joe Posnanski does an incredibly in depth recap of the Hall of Fame voting--as if we'd expect anything less.
  • Fire Brand's Charlie Saponara takes a look at the 2011 projection for Jacoby Ellsbury.  It doesn't look pretty.
  • Mark at IIATMS takes a look at Kevin Brown's Hall of Fame bid.  Does he belong in the Hall of Fame?  Probably not, but his case is on par with Curt Schilling (minus the postseason heroics), and more convincing that Jack Morris's (including his postseason heroics).  Brown deserved better than one and done.
  • Joe Pawlikowski and Dave Cameron of Fangraphs both provide excellent takes of the Matt Garza trade. 
  • Fangraphs' Alex Remington has a little fun with Barry Stanton's insane HoF ballot.  If you vote for Tino and Suroff, you have to vote for everyone. 
  • Larry Granillo at Hardball Times is one of the better writers within the baseball blogosphere.  This time he writes about human nature and the HoF vote.  He doesn't disappoint.
  • What would Hall of Fame week be without an article about the connection between Bert Blyleven and Rich Lederer?  With Blyleven finally in the Hall of Fame, this will likely be the last one.  
  • Bill Baer of Crash Burn Alley makes five bold predictions about the Phillies for 2011.  The top four I can accept, but Raul Ibanez will not put up a .360 wOBA.  You can take that to the bank.
  • Is there ever a bad time for Kids in the Hall?  Of course not.  Luckily, Wezen-Ball feels the same way.  He posted a fantastic clip of Scott Thompson's softball version of Casey at the Bat.
  • I can't believe I missed this, but J.C. Bradbury of the recently defunct Sabernomics did a great piece titled "What's Wrong with Replacement Level Players."  While I disagree with his assessment, he certainly gives us a lot to consider.
  • Should the Dodgers go after oft-injured Eric Chavez?  I wouldn't, but Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness makes an interesting argument for signing him. 
  • Bernie Williams does not belong in the Hall of Fame, but Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues argues that he should stay on the ballot for a little while.  His career eerily mirrors Dale Murphy's.  He probably won't get quite the love because Murphy has two MVPs to his credit.
  • This link is great just because of the picture.  Thank you to Aaron Gleeman for finding it.  It's...well...unique.

    4 comments:

    1. I don't see what's so bad about Ellsbury's projection. Keep in mind, the projection has him batting 9th. The 52 RBI's hurt and I would like to see double digit HR's, but 7 isn't the end of the world so a #9 hitting CF with 60+ SB's.

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    2. @John - Good call on the number nine hitter playing CF. The problem is that he's going into his age-27 (when he should be peaking), and he's neither made any real improvement in terms of plate discipline, nor in terms of converting his raw power into game-time power. It's only a projection, and I have serious hopes he busts out this year. Still, I'm guarded.

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    3. @Chip - That's certainly fair, but one of the stated assumptions is that certain areas won't progress from 2009 due do the missed time last year. This is admittedly a conservative estimate. There is a very real possibility that his plate discipline continues on the developmental track it was on before the rib injuries, in which case Ellsbury would be a huge asset in the #9 spot.

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    4. @JB-3 - Excellent point, but he wasn't taking walks in the nine games or so prior to injuring his rib. Yes, I know. Nine games is a terribly small sample size, so perhaps we should strike that remark from the record. Still, I'm a little apprehensive because he didn't show marked improvement in his walk rate from 2008 to 2009 as well. I'm very curious to see how the CHONE and MARCEL projections come out. Perhaps those will be a little rosier.

      Love the comments JB-3. Keep them coming!

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