We need some good discussion today. Topics to choose from include:
Will Jed Lowrie Ever Get His Job at Shortstop Back? - NESN.com
Answer the question. Or, if you'd prefer...
Jason Bay, Not Matt Holliday, Is the Red Sox' Answer for 2010 - NESN.com
Any thoughts here? Perhaps this will affect your decision:
The story behind how Jason Bay started stealing bases - Full Count
Oddly, when I went to check the EqBRR's of each of the choices, Bay (0.86577) beat Holliday (-0.90399). I would have expected the opposite, but I guess this is one of those cases where the guy without speed learns better techniques.
And, for the less confrontational, here's a less controversial topic...
Guess the postseason roster - Extra Bases
Fire away - after you check to see how the current rotation schedule sets up:
Friday Sept. 25: Jon Lester
Saturday Sept. 26: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Sunday Sept. 27: Paul Byrd
Monday Sept. 28: Josh Beckett
Tuesday Sept. 29: Clay Buchholz
Wednesday Sept. 30: Tim Wakefield
Thursday Oct. 1: Jon Lester
Friday Oct. 2: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Saturday Oct. 3: Josh Beckett
Sunday Oct. 4: Clay Buchholz
After the jump: Schill shares his wisdom, Dice-K shows off, Beck feels confident, the Instructional League rosters are revealed, I try to rewrite Papi's stats, we reminisce about the past decade, and thank the injury bug for staying away this year, for the most part.
Schilling: ‘There Are No Fakes and Frauds In October’ - Full CountJust the ones who manage to have a great series because of random variance, and then are regarded as clutch for years to come.
Matsuzaka’s Feats of Strength - Full Count
Beckett: ‘I definitely think I threw the ball better today than I have in a while’ - Full Count
Fall Instructional League Rosters - SoxProspects.com
USG shared this yesterday, but it's good to make sure everyone's up to date.
The DH Rules - Fire Brand of the American League
Maybe Papi's OPS is so low because of the HORRIBLE first two months of this season? I would hesitate to even say that was Papi batting during that time, but some imposter instead. Seriously people, stop looking at the stats without making an effort to analyze them correctly - consider whether the change in performance was random, an a actual change in skill, or the result of an injury. The eye condition thing? Sounds like the last of those 3 to me.
Red Sox represented in All-Decade honors - Fire Brand of the American League
Not sure if Evan was trying to link to the Sporting News page that actually had all this info, or if was just an auto-mention. Fun to think back on the past several years - anyone want to share a favorite moment (aside from the obvious)?
Injuries Among the Contenders - Fire Brand of the American League
Even with the injuries to Jed, Youk, Wake, Green, and Lowell, we really haven't been hit as hard as we could have.
And, finally, for those of you who happen to have one of a certain series of devices:
FanGraphs iPhone App - FanGraphs Baseball
NICE. Too bad I lack the hardware.
Let the debates begin! If you'd rather just comment or share links, don't feel pressured. It's just what all the cool kids are doing, that's all.