Weekend Round-Up - 2/27/2011

Sorry these links are a little late today.  I had to go work off the lobster and brie grilled cheese, duck fat fries, and two heavy, hearty stouts I had last night, at the gym.  It was delicious and definitely worth it.  Without further adieu, here are the links.

• Co-link of the Week:  While the Platoon Advantage had control of the ESPN Sweet Spot on Monday, Bill wrote a piece titled “People Still Don’t Get Moneyball.”  He’s absolutely right.  Moneyball wasn’t about sabermetrics, OBP, and extreme ground ball pitchers.  It was about identifying marketplace inefficiencies and exploiting them.  Unlike Monte Poole and Joe Morgan, Bill actually understands the meaning of the book.
• Co-link of the Week:  Over at the Platoon Advantage, Bill and the Common Man are taking a tag team approach to predicting the Hall of Fame over the next 25 years.  Here’s 2012-2016, 2017-2021, 2022-2026, 2027-2031, 2032-2036.
• Have you ever wondered how the 20 to 80 scouting scale worked?  Eric Schultz of the Yankee Analysts shares the goods.
• Jesse Wolfersberger of Fangraphs takes another detailed look at HR/FB ratio (pitchers) and identifies the true outliers.  Anyone who plays fantasy baseball should read this article before drafting.
• Our very own Evan Brunell doesn’t like that Zach Greinke dogged it last year, and he’s not afraid to tell you why.
• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs takes a look at the financial cost of Adam Wainwright’s injury, and how it could affect the Cardinals ability to re-sign Albert Pujols.
• Double dipping with Cameron today.  In this article, he takes on Kenny Williams’s remarks about Pujols’s demands.  Just as a brief editorial…I don’t understand how $30M per season for a 7 WAR player (Pujols) is asinine, but $26M for 4-5 wins out of Dunn and Konerko is a solid business plan.  Can anyone explain this to me?
• Joe Posnanski does it again.  Somehow he manages to hit it out of the park every time–something for which I can strive!  This time, he discusses Roland Hemond winning the Buck O’Neill Award.
• Rob Neyer’s take on the news that Jonny Gomes celebrated after hearing Adam Wainwright would miss the season.
• Brien Jackson at IIATMS wrote two tremendous pieces last week:  (1) he takes on topics like competitive balance, salary caps, labor climates, etc. in his counterargument to Mike Florio’s piece on former MLB labor boss Marvin Miller; and (2) he takes on Mitch Williams’ piece about the Michael Young situation.
• Over at Fire Brand, Charlie takes my Ortiz article from a few weeks ago a step further as he lays out potential platoon partners for Papi.
• Patrick Sullivan of Baseball Analysts takes a detailed look at the 2011 Cubs.
• Vince Carmela of Hardball Talk discusses the education of Pedro Alvarez, and wonders if his September power surge was for real.
• Which Phillies story line are you following?  Bill Baer examines the top five.
• Is Bud Selig trying to force Dodger owner Frank McCourt out the door?  Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness thinks so.  This article is worth it just for the picture.
• How did I miss this?  Ozzie Guillen attacked Bobby Jenks again?  Ben Buchanan of Over the Monster breaks it down.
• Who are the AL East sleepers?  Stephen Rhodes of River Avenue Blues shares his thoughts.
• Nick Scott of Royals Review takes a look at television rights and the MLB territory map.
• How much does the AL East hurt the Orioles?  Daniel Moroz of Camden Crazies shares his opinion.
• Weaver’s Tantrum examines the Orioles 2011 rotation.
• Random Link of the Week:  Not for the faint of heart.  This picture may keep you up at nights.