Funny to see how similar opinions are starting to form on separate sites. Of course, some sites form the opinions more in the posts, rather than the comments. Could be a function of how the sites are set up though. Anyways, here's two quick, random links:

Rising star, prospect win Boston honors - redsox.com

Buch and Lavarnway are the best. Anyone have issues with these awards?

Projected WAR and Contract Values for Free Agent Position Players - BtB

Interesting - Beltre is projected almost equal with Figgins. Oh, and Holliday is far ahead of Bay (yes, UZR issues, but still).

Now I can show you how other sites are coming to the same conclusion as we have.

Will the Sox Acquire Adrian Beltre to Replace Lowell? - Fire Brand of the American League

Wow, that's a lot of writing. Pretty much consolidates all the stuff we've been saying.

Working out the Beltre Theory - Yawkey Way Academy

So it appears everyone agrees: this isn't an easy decision - especially when there's this option:

Report: Tigers' Miguel Cabrera Available Via Trade, Red Sox Listed as Prime Candidate - NESN.com

We discussed this shortly in the Mauer MVP thread, but here's the official story.

Miguel Cabrera? No thanks - Extra Bases

The Tigers are owned by pizza magnate Mike Ilitch and have a pile of money. If Cabrera is being shopped, it's not for budgetary reasons. It's because they decided they would be better off without him. That should give teams plenty of pause.

Oh snap.

Comparison shopping sluggers: Miguel Cabrera and Mark Teixeira - Boston Herald

Okay... and your point is?

Some sites don't really come up with new stuff, and then some sites find random ideas that actually might work:

Have Homicidal Tendencies, Will Travel - Surviving Grady

Hmm... interesting. Not sure where'd he fit, but it's definitely worth looking into if we somehow manage to need MORE players.

After the jump, some coaching staff items, a bit of alarming news, and trying to get everyone caught up.

Continue reading this post »

Okay, so I lied about the Filter being daily this week. Yes, I realize this situation's stupid. Let's move on to the links, shall we? As an experiment, I'm not going to say much about most of the links - except these:

This Dirt Is Free - A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory

Not completely relevant, but I figure that some people are going to want to be on the lookout for this. Doesn't bother me too much, but I don't own a blog and I don't see most advertisements anyways. That's more of an aesthetic choice than a political one though - I don't enjoy explaining the presence of certain ads to anyone that glances over my shoulder. However, there is a political aspect to blogging that I'd love to discuss:

ESPN is a bunch of morons

I don't particularly like Mr. Simmons's work. Most of it isn't entertaining, to me. But that doesn't mean I think that ESPN should be able to control what he can and can't say. (Yeah, I know, the stupid kid is ranting about stuff that he's not old enough to understand, but just bear with me.)

For one, maybe it's the young and naive view that needs to be considered here; I haven't been around long enough to be corrupted into thinking money is the only thing that matters. That'd be why I tend to over-romanticize simple stuff like curfews - but I digress. To me, there isn't a thing in the world more valuable than my voice. Without it, I wouldn't be able to write this post. Without it, I wouldn't be able to further my education through questioning the material. Without it, I wouldn't be able to express my many, hormone-driven emotions, I wouldn't be able to share my faith, and I wouldn't be able to be the die-hard fan I am. In short, I wouldn't be me without my voice.

Unless Mr. Simmons shares my flair for the dramatic and decided to sign an iron-clad contract with Lucifer so that he could have his voice amplified, I don't see how ESPN can justify censoring someone who was simply defending himself. Even though he probably could have found a more intelligent way of doing it than name-calling via Twitter, Mr. Simmons was not in the wrong to speak his mind. It may be part of the conditions that he agreed to when he signed onto ESPN, but I'm sure an insanity plea wouldn't be that hard to make for Mr. Simmons' case.

And now, onto the other links: some interesting, in not confusing, stuff about different parks and their effects upon stats; a couple of takes on recent Sox news; and plans for MLB domination!

Continue reading this post »

A couple of awards were announced this week, and a few remain for next week - when I should be able to produce a lot more content, since I'll have a week off from school. (Thank you, beyond-stupid school district.) Anyways, the first few links are about the recent controversies that have been occurring in baseball.

The Carpenter Travesty - Wezen-Ball

Excellent satire. Ironically, the BBWAA got almost as mad about Law and Carrol as the sabermetric community gets when the rest of the writers mess up awards.

The Current State of Baseball Economics - Fire Brand of the American League

Good breakdown of how the arguments are being made. So sad that the game has become so corrupted, too.

McAdam: Yankees won’t bid on Bay/Hollliday - The Bottom Line

Didn't someone report this about Teixeira last season? Just saying', doesn't mean much.

Theo Epstein, Here's My Christmas List - Bleacher Report

I really hope this is one of those lists where you demand a load, and expect Santa/(I'm ignorant of what fictious person is supposed to deliver gifts in other religions, I'm sorry)/Theo to get you one or two.

Of course, that strategy never really worked out for the greedy little bugger version of me from years past; I usually ended up with a nice pack of socks, maybe a new toy car or something. Best lesson I learned: When you ask for books, you end up getting a lot more of your wish list. Basically, I blame the commercialization of a holiday for my nerdom.

Red Sox call PawSox manager Johnson up - The Providence Journal

Wait, what's Tito going to call him? Johnsie?

After the jump, some rumors and catching up on course work for our sabermetrics course.

Continue reading this post »

Terry Francona Hopes Red Sox Re-Sign Jason Bay - NESN.com

Of course. He's a player's manager, and he wants to support the guy who he thinks will be signed, right? I mean, he's one of those guys that believes heart and sportsmanship wins games...

Coaches Tim Bogar, DeMarlo Hale to Step Up Following Departure of Brad Mills - Terry Francona - NESN.com

Wow, he explains why "team chemistry" is a load of bull. Maybe I was wrong about Tito...

Our Manager is a Closet Stat Geek? - Yawkey Way Academy

Tito needs to talk about stuff like this more often - I was totally wrong when I said Tito was loyal to a fault. My bad. I really hope we get to see the saberfriendly Tito in action a lot more this season, so that we'll at least know what the thought process is if there's a controversial decision.

VORP v RARP - Inside the Book

Since ESPN has decided that VORP can be grasped by our feeble minds, you might as well find out how it compares to Baseball Prospectus's OTHER value stat.

What John Henry Can Learn From Belichick’s 4th and 2 - Fire Brand of the American League

Still, despite the loss, the second-guessing, and the media advocating for everything short of an all-out lynching of BIll Belichick, John Henry should use this occasion as an opportunity to learn something from Robert Kraft.

Since there's a couple Pats fans on here, this link will probably mean more to y'all.

After the jump, a look at the pay scale for the 2009 free agents, "modern" Moneyball, and some recognition for some of the most important Sox of the decade.

Continue reading this post »

Still trying to catch up. Hopefully, I'll have a short night of homework sometime this week and I can post a bunch of links. Anyways, here's a bunch of more recent links (I'll save the still-relevant ones from earlier this week for later).

First, since I promised it to ferret:

Criminals of WAR - THT

I'm guilty of several of these offenses. Good reminder that it's not the end-all stat.

And now, some fielding fun:

How the Gold Gloves Work - Inside the Book

Try to avoid puking.

2010 UZR Projections - Beyond the Box Score

And guess who's projected as the worst CF?

With the Jumping and the Diving and the Whole Thing - The Baseball Analysts

Web Gems counting, for giggles.

Why Jason Bay is still unsigned - Extra Bases

Kinda old, but it still applies; it's not like he's signed somewhere yet.

After the jump, money, plans, and the minor leaguers.

Continue reading this post »

I'm back from my vacation/travels/schoolnight-curfew. And, I brought LINKS. I'll have to dig through a whole pile of them that I built up while away, but this should hold y'all over till then.

(My apologies if I link to something that's already been linked to before; I don't recommend cramming a week of OTM into 90 minutes.)

The triumph of Moneyball - THT

What was the impact of the book that Billy Beane didn't write?

Did it cause OBP and salary to correlate better, as is popularly believed?

MLB Exec: Moneyball is a Flop - New York Baseball Digest

Chances this is a MFY executive? Seriously, the person who said this isn't going to win over any sabermatricians by justifying his position with the results of sabermetric GM's teams.

Fun With The Elias Rankings - Lookout Landing

A very brief glance at the awful awful Elias free agent rankings.

This is just sad. So very, very sad. In fact, I need something to cheer me up...

Guest Harry Pavlidis examines Bard’s breaking ball - Fire Brand of the American League

BARD!!!! Always fun to talk about him.

Trades Of The Decade: Hanley Ramirez For Josh Beckett & Mike Lowell - MLBTradeRumors.com

Who didn't see this one coming?

After the jump, arbitration notes, examinations of the old guys on the team, and slightly less rumors than your standard high school (assuming my observations from the bottom of the social ladder are correct).

Continue reading this post »

Sorry about the lack of posts for the past few days - apparently, parents don't like realizing that they've raised an insomniac. Posts might be a little further spaced out, but with more links in each edition, depending on how much I can get done before I literally lose my Internet connection on school nights. Hey, that's what you get when a teenager is your news aggregator. Now, with that out of the way, here's the first set of links:

Does Boston's Trade for Jeremy Hermida Mean the End for Jason Bay in Beantown? - Bleacher Report

Though Hermida is by no means a middle-of-the-order slugger, this could very well signal the end of Jason Bay's tenure in Boston. Bay recently shot down a four-year, $60 million offer from the Sox, and his worth will only increase as the offseason wears on.

Among other reasons why Bay might not be returning, but if this sticks out to someone as a red flag of sorts, we'll have to see if they're right.

Marlins Trade Jeremy Hermida To Red Sox: A Sign of Things To Come - Bleacher Report

Due to the economy, these are the types of trades you are going to see this winter. Teams who can’t afford to wait on young players or can’t afford a player’s salary will be forced to trade them to teams who can.

Lots of different spins on this whole deal. Of course, Hermida was also part of another trade the Sox were involved in, or at least an attempt at one:

Let the Offseason Begin: Boston Red Sox Steal Hermida from Florida Marlins - Bleacher Report

That proposal didn’t gain any traction, and Hermida stayed with the Marlins, but despite missing out on his services, Boston remained infatuated with him and his potential, hoping he would someday be part of their quest for a World Series championship.

Totally forgot about the Manny-Marlins rumor. Although, now I do remember seeing a mockup of what Manny would look like in "fishstripes" on a Marlins' broadcast (don't remember why I was watching that). It was amazing how quickly they jumped on that rumor.

Jeremy Hermida: Bust Or Breakout - Bleacher Report

Seems to be more common view of the trade.

Yeah, I know, not much variety so far; it is interesting to see the variety of opinions available from relatively unconnected authors, as opposed to here, where the discussions can help figure out how we should feel about certain issues. After the jump, some more "independent" writing, an important discovery from YWA, and more general Hot Stove linkage.

Continue reading this post »

I declare it so. I don't care that I don't have the authority to do so, in my world, it's officially Pedro Day again in the Nation.

Game 6 script perfect for [Pedro] Martinez - The Boston Globe

Oh, man, this is going to be SWEEEEEEET: it's the first time that we've had a really good reason to not care what logo is on Pedro's cap since he left us. In fact, more than just one reason...

Jim Donaldson: 27 reasons to root against the Yankees - The Providence Journal

In case anyone was leaning towards Mazz's crazy side.

Now, in more directly related news:

Red Sox pitcher Buchholz prepared to play mind games - The Boston Globe

Sounds like he's maturing. I would absolutely love to see Buch prove me wrong and become the ace that replaces Beckett as Lester's partner in crime. Also, we're pretty damn spoiled to be able to talk about phasing one of a pair of aces out with another one. Of course, we'd be rotten to keep all three, right?

Valuing Josh Beckett - Yawkey Way Academy

Going against popular opinion here; an argument FOR signing Beckett to a relatively large extension.

After the jump, more links, likely in rapid fire mode, because it's hard to focus with it being a national holiday and what not.

Continue reading this post »