Daily Links - Non-Laborious Edition

For some unknown reason my wife has decided she wants me to grow a mustache. The only truth more hidden in the depths of the morass that is time is why I agreed. I now have, no kidding, the worst mustache ever in the history of mankind. This includes all twelve year olds who thought a mustache would help them look older so they could buy porn at the local inconvenience shop and all octogenarian women who, through no fault of their own, have more than a passing resemblance with Rollie Fingers and as such stopped trying to impress decades ago.

Link time!

If the Sox end up facing the Texas Rangers in the post season, NESN's Peter Gammons thinks the Red Sox primary worry is the Rangers pitching staff. Yes, the Rangers starters have been particularly good against the Red Sox this season, but those numbers aren't in line with how they've pitched against other teams (read: they had some good games but they aren't this good). I'll take Lester, Beckett, and Bedard over CJ Wilson, Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis in a short series, so would most Ranger fans, and so by the way, would Peter Gammons. Beyond that, we've got almost 140 games that says the Red Sox offense is better than the Rangers. The old cliche (it's a cliche now, right?) about how anything can happen in a short series is true, but that doesn't mean the smart money isn't on the better team and the Red Sox are the better team, regardless of what the nine games these two teams have played against each other this season says. Nine games, which to belabor the point, the Red Sox were outscored 54-53.

Should David Ortiz be in the MVP discussion? As WEEI.com's Alex Speier points out, only two players in the AL have a higher OPS+, though this means that, as a DH who provides no defensive value, Ortiz can objectively rank no higher than third in the MVP race. Still, it's an impressive season Ortiz is having for a number of reasons, none of which has anything to do with his new-found interest in playing cupid.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post has a nice retrospective piece on the miracle that is Tommy John surgery. Actually, it's really ligament replacement surgery. Replacing your ligament with Tommy John would be awkward!

Sox Prospects has a scouting report on new Sox draftee, current Lowell Spinner, and twitter star Jackie Bradley, Jr. Spoiler alert: Bradly has a ton of potential and the fact that the Sox were able to 'buy low' on the guy kinda makes you wonder what all those other teams were doing during draft day. Canasta? Baking a souffle? Watching Silver Spoons?

Dustin Parkes at The Score and The Common Man at The Platoon Advantage both highlight in their own ways the 100% pure American futility that is the Baltimore Orioles. As someone who grew up a few hours south of Baltimore, I'm aware how the Orioles have been sabotaged from the inside for the past decade plus. I guess the best thing you can say about the Orioles in reference to articles such as these is that, hey, at least someone is still paying attention. I'm not sure the Orioles deserve that anymore, but tone deaf team destroying beggars can't be choosers

Russ Smith at Splice Today has an interview posted with the various writers of a site that doesn't yet exist. It's called The Classical and it sounds like Grantland but with lots of great writers. As someone who has read the work of at least a few of them, I hope I can link to some of their work one day. For now, we'll have to settle for this interview.