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STILL NO EMOTION?!!?!?

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Not a lot of stuff today - blame the back to school schedule. Great win yesterday to sweep the series and head into the long homestand on a big hotstreak. The links start with the new father who made it back in time to help finish off the Jays - this, after making it back to Boston in time to witness the birth of his first born, taking drastic measures to do so.

"Dude, I will give you $100 if you get me to Mass. General as fast as possible …" - BostonHerald.com

And, some news about The Large Father as well:

@Amalie Benjamin

Ortiz has a big wrap around the right side of his hip. Just went through treatment. Said he's been a little sore for a bit. #redsox

Please be something to do with running the bases too much.

Several links from The Book's blog, some minors and draft news, and an interesting proposition for a new bullpen piece, all after the jump.

So, that Smoltz thing is getting really confusing. Most say he's done, while some say he still has something left in the tank. And then there's this...

Sample size and granularity of data - Inside The Book
MGL explains why we can't draw too much info from Smoltz's performances so far. Same link that VEP shared in yesterday's Laundry. I'd wager that Pitch F/X data, simply because of the large number of pitches thrown, could be used somewhat effectively after 40 IP - then again, I'm young and generally unwise, so maybe one of the better informed people could tell us?

Speaking of players who we're paying to play for the Cards...

If you have been disappointed in a player for a long time, and legitimately so… - Inside The Book

like Frenchy, is a recent uptick in performance cause for optimism?

No.

Also applies to a recent string of shortstops we've seen, namely the aforementioned Lugo, as well as Green and Gonzo.

Another segue - some of us have been trying to explain that Green > Gonzo defensively, among other things, so maybe this could help:

Bellmore's Lichtman shows his baseball knowledge through UZR - Newsday
Yay, sabermetrics in mainstream media. Same defense of UZR we've seen before. And, since the reporter's well known, it's got to be something worth looking into, right?

Oh, well, maybe we'll have a superstar shortstop coming up through the minors soon. But, will we have overpaid to draft him?

Spending Vs. Slots - BaseballAmerica.com

How much money each team spent in the first 10 rounds of the 2009 draft, and how it compares to their estimated slot allowance from the commissioner’s office:

More minors news: Lugo has officially been crap for us.

Chris Duncan, player acquired for Julio Lugo, is released - Projo Sox Blog

No transition for this, really. Umm... it's a good discussion point.

Should Sox import Billy Wagner? - Fire Brand of the American League

Yes. Absolutely, unequivocally yes.

I've seen reports of Wagner losing velocity, which would make his secondary pitches less effective. So, maybe as a reclamation project? He'd have to get a lot of appearances in the minors quickly before we have to set the playoff rosters. Not enough time, in my opinion.

Hoyer staying put and other notes - BostonHerald.com

So, besides the headline, there's this:

Varitek reiterated that he could play tonight if absolutely needed, but said he and the team were taking the cautious approach. Varitek’s still not sure if he’ll have an MRI when he returns to Boston.

"I don’t know what we have to do to find out, but we’re not going to do it in Canada," Varitek said. "I’m not going to leave the team. We’ll figure out something this homestand as far as what we’re going to do. And if it gets better, we’ll do it later."

And, finally:

BtB Power Rankings: Through Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 - Beyond the Box Score

*sigh* Defense = costing us important runs. Anyway, find stories, post links, discuss.