Weekend Round-Up - 2/13/2011

This week's links are brought to you by Ferris Bueller who does not condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in his opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself.  He would like to quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus.  Ferris could be the walrus.  He'd still have to bum rides off people.

• Link of the Week - Larry Granillo's recent article with Baseball Prospectus titled "Ferris Bueller's Day Off at Wrigley Field" has brought him a little bit of fame.  On Tuesday, it was not only the lead story on Yahoo, but also discussed on Around the Horn.  If you're a fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and you haven't read the article, you should.  It's clever, enjoyable, and most definitely written by the blogger also known as Wezen-Ball.
• The Common Man from the Platoon Advantage gives his take on the Michael Young situation, and comes to the conclusion that the Rangers are not disrespecting him by asking him to change positions.  He's an employee, it's his job to do what his employers say.
• Joe Posnanski takes a comprehensive look at Hall of Fame pitchers by decade of birth.  As always with JoePos, it's a great read.
• Chris Jaffe of Hardball Times identifies the worst World Series champions of all time, but with a twist. 
• Darryl Johnston at Fire Brand reviews the left-handed relief pitching options for the Red Sox.  Oh, and some brilliant new writer makes his debut a little earlier than expected.  (Yes, it's a repeat post from something I posted here.)
• With Francisco Liriano in the news, Jason, Mark, and Brien (at IIATMS) discuss the young lefty, and wonder aloud if he's worth trading for.
• There's been a lot of talk about A-Rod's original landmark 10 year $252M contract in light of Orioles president Andy McPhail's claiming it was the worst contract ever.  Dave Cameron disagrees, and I agree with him.  The Rangers weren't bad because of A-Rod's salary.  They were bad because the Rangers had a ton of money tied up in replacement quality players.
• How does a player finish the year with the sixth best offensive numbers and 36th in WAR?  Defense.  Joe Pawlikowski takes a look at seven players who's poor defense adversely affect their value.
• Rich Lederer at Baseball Analysts graphs all of the hitters in baseball (that qualify for the batting title) in terms of plate discipline, and comes up with some interesting results.
• Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley discusses in detail the "bad and the ugly" of the Bleacher Report.  Take my advice, stay far, far away from BR.  It represents the lowest common denominator of sports journalism.  
• Do you remember all of those comparisons between James Loney and Mark Grace?  So does Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness.  He shows those are really unfair to Mark Grace.  WAR graphs rule.
• Fungoes explains why there's no room for Edmonds in STL.
• Logan Leitz of Over the Monster denounces fan elitism.
• Interested in Yankee prospects?  Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues takes a detailed look at prospects 1-30. 
• Nick from Nick's Twin Blog gets it.  One year for Liriano is a huge mistake.
• Lee Panas of Tiger Tales discusses filling the gap between FIP and ERA.