It's now 1am and I just got a tweet favorited by A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy. So, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about my life right now.
Link time!
This is hour 6,471 (and a half) of the Great Starting Pitcher Search-Off of 2012. So far the Red Sox have come up empty-handed, but at least they're moving in the right direction now that the huge roster anchor that was Marco Scutaro has been removed. Trading Scutaro is like taking off your sweaty clothes and feeling the cool breeze on your naked skin from that little air blower thing above your seat, right folks? Even flush with post-Scutaro cash, the Red Sox haven't been able to get anything done yet. It isn't for a lack of trying though. They've been in touch with Roy Oswalt and with Edwin Jackson. It seems Oswalt doesn't have much interest in coming to Boston, however. It's far away and he prefers tomatoes in his chowder. It's unclear if his strikeout rate would survive the journey anyway. Peter Abraham mentioned the possibility that pitching a year in the AL East in preparation for signing a free big contract might not be the smartest idea ever in the history of the universe. So there is that.
In more positive news, the Red Sox have, in theory, signed outfielder Cody Ross to a one year contract. Ross is in an odd roster purgatory though, as the Red Sox 40 man roster is all fulls up and fulls up and fulls up. The result is the aforementioned roster purgatory, a waiting game for a space to open up. While we're waiting, we can all benefit from the experience of others, specifically by reading the owners manual. In this case the Cody Ross Owners Manual by Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation. And no, it isn't written in Chinese, Japanese, and Swedish like the instructions to assemble your bed, or how to pay your parking ticket..
Today requires a double dose of Dustin Parkes. Writing at The Score (it's a Canadian site, so translated to English, it would be The Scoer), Mr. Parkes digs deeper into the whys of Jose Bautista's 16 drug tests in a piece he calls The 16 Drug Tests of Jose Bautista. Then he gets all this-is-nuts-o when looking at the Prince Fielder deal. Which is totally understandable.
I'm telling you kids, this Sam Miller guy is going places. He's still, I think, writing for the sinking ship that is America's newspaper industry, but he's got this awesome gig at Baseball Prospectus (you must read his piece at BP on Scott Boras) and now he's showing up at places like the front cover of ESPN the Magazine with a great piece (insider required) about Albert Pujols. Next thing you know he'll be writing for The Score and kicking my butt in fantasy baseball. *gulp*
Writing for Sox Prospects at ESPN Boston, Jon Meoli discusses the off-season training work put in by many prospects.
It is kind of a shame that Andre Ethier doesn't play for the Red Sox. That isn't to say he's a great player. He isn't. He's fine, but his skills on the field aren't important. What is important is his ability to fool Dustin Pedroia, live on the radio.
Our long national nightmare is over. Yoenis Cespedes is a free agent. So, speedy outfielder, likely to hit more homers in batting practice than games, 26 years young and may need time in the minors, all for $50 million (or more)? Where do I sign up?
Finally, a picture of the screw that screwed New England.