Daily Links: Connor Wong Is Looking Good

We’re still a long way off from the hot stove, but for the Sox, the action on one particular position may not be quite as hot as we assumed a month ago. That’s because Connor Wong, like Reese McGuire, is making a case that he’s a big league catcher. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

With the new rule changes officially being adopted by MLB last week, here’s a good break down about which Sox players will be affected the most. TL;DR: Matt Barnes is really going to have to pick up the pace. (Chadd Jennings, The Athletic)

Matt Strahm really doesn’t like the new rule changes, saying, amongst other things, that “[t]he one beautiful thing about baseball, to me, is there’s never been a clock in the game.” Look, I understand that change scares people. But if the one beautiful thing about baseball to you is that it doesn’t have a clock, then maybe you don’t like baseball as much as you think. Maybe you just really hate clocks. (Ryan Gilbert, WEEI)

Portland’s David Hamilton wound down a huge year on the base paths by setting the Sea Dogs’ single season record with 65 stolen bases. If you’re just now hearing his name, his a nice background piece on him from spring training. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

The Sox released Hirokazu Sawamura yesterday. It’s a somewhat surprising move, considering that he’s probably better than a couple of arms currently sitting in the bullpen right now, but word on the Tweets is that he requested it. (Scott Neville, NESN)