More photos » Elise Amendola - AP

Okay, the hyper-competitive guy is smiling. NOW will some of you back off the cliff?

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And I'm really tired, so these links are going to be rapid fire - and there's going to be a lot. I'll put the ones with commentary up first:

Theo: 'I think we're good' - Extra Bases

"It's important that they finish the season in good health and we've had good news lately in that regard."

Yes, they are charging admission - Extra Bases

Some of you have already voiced your displeasure with this. Take this as a venting opportunity.

Diamondbacks unlikely to deal Stephen Drew - MLB Daily Dish

The Diamondbacks need to make some changes this offseason, but it won't come in trading their young shortstop.

So I guess we're stuck with Jed. Too bad... /sarcasm

Candid Theo - Extra Bases

On whether it's gratifying that his in-season acquisitions -- Victor Martinez, Alex Gonzalez, and Billy Wagner -- have all panned out:

Epstein: "I think it's more gratifying for the organization because of the process that's in place. Virtually any trade you make is a crapshoot. When things don't work out, people like to give us a hard time. That's their right, and I would do the same thing as a fan. But reality is that we're not shooting for perfection. In baseball, we're shooting to shift the odds of being right from maybe 50-50 to 55-45. Because we're in the business of predicting future human performance. You simply can't do that. What we try to do is put thorough processes in place with really good people and stick to our organizational ideals and try to shift the odds from 50-50 to 55-45. To me, I believe in our process. I believe in our people. We're looking to be right 55 percent of the time, especially on a midseason deal in which you're getting two months' worth of a player, and the fact that these deals have worked out make you feel really good, I think it was an important part of getting to the postseason this year. But I don't sit there and pat myself on the back and say, 'Oh, wow, we went 3 for 3, great.' Instead, I think we try to take a step back or 10,000 feet and say, 'OK, the processes we used were sound, is there any way we can improve the processes going forward and maybe shift the odds to 56 percent instead of 55 percent, and how do we learn from it and go forward? But the exact same processes we used in these deals were the same we used in the Eric Gagne deal. I think that was a good deal. It didn't work out, because he went from a really good pitcher to a really bad pitcher the second he showed up here. But . . . I'm proud of the organization, I'm proud of the people, I'm proud of the way we approached these deals. But the fact that they all worked out this year doesn't mean that I'm puffing my chest because I know how fickle it is."

After the jump, a lot more links, including a Wake appreciation, a realization about JD Drew, and some history lessons.

Dear Fenway: Give Wakefield a standing O tonight - The Bottom Line

Obviously this link was about yesterday's start, but it's still a good read for those of you who want to tar and feather poor Timmeh.

Billy Wagner is Unsure About 2010 - Fenway West

Yes, that J.D. Drew - Chad Finn's Touching All The Bases

Why is this so shocking? I mean, REALLY, he's a pretty damn good player, and people are always shocked when they see good numbers from him.

POLL: No. 3 starter? - Fire Brand of the American League

Obviously, Evan's grandmother has an awesome arm. Seriously though, I went with Clay. Dice-K's the number 4 at this point, and everyone else is in the pen or not on the roster at all.

The Blue Jays Blueprint: Toronto’s Way to Beat Clay - Full Count

So: two homers on early-count fastballs, and three on late-count changeups. The Blue Jays appeared to follow a blueprint in their fourth game against Buchholz, and they unloaded on his off-speed offerings with two strikes.

Of course, if that formula is a little too correct, then we may have to switch the two.

No. 9 - YFSF

Since the baseball strike ended the 1994 season, the Red Sox have made the playoffs nine times in the subsequent 15 years.

History favors the Red Sox, not Yankees - The Bottom Line

Using a graphic from the awesome site flipflopflyin.com, Bottom Line theorizes that the Sox are in a great position.

Chatting with Chris McGuiness - Fire Brand of the American League

Casey Kelly makes pitch for play - BostonHerald.com

Victor Martinez has taken on leading role - BostonHerald.com

Call Of The Year - MyNorthwest.com

Mariners' broadcasters produce an AMAZING called shot.

LOHO Can Be Yours! (for a small fee) - A League of Her Own

Interesting concept - highest bidder gets to choose who a blog, A League of Her Own (Cubs blog), roots for. Not sure this doesn't count as bandwagoning, even if it is to raise money. Would be cool if it was for a charity though...

Measuring top free agents: Bay vs. Holliday -Yahoo! Sports
Decent comparison - apologies to the user who pointed me to this post, I don't have the ability to match email addresses to user names yet.

Comment on this stuff - I'm leaving most of it up to you to interpret and discuss. Feel free to drop links in the comments too.