Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Fig-Thing Irish may be one of the great fantasy football names of all-time

- Tom Brady consoles Tim Tebow after learning he was cut - cruel but I laughed

- Very interesting - NASA finds Grand Canyon sized canyon in Greenland.

- Interesting look at Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout and WAR by Joe Posnanski

- Tough not to like Justin Verlander

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Cool Dave Matthews hitchhiking story

- Fantastic profile of comedy genius Jack Handey

- The handyman who stole millions of Picasso's

- I'm not the grammar police but this would make the Internet a better place

- Ha hah - Dustin Pedrioa gets trolled by Miguel Cabrera

- 44 fictional characters you might not know the names of

- I would so buy a Sharknado hockey jersey.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 60th birthday to Dwight Evans. The 8-time Gold Glove winning Dewey should have gotten much more Hall of Fame consideration then he got... Promising Assistant GM's want nothing to do with the Orioles - that's why it could be opportunity for someone like Dan Duquette who once was a big deal but now has trouble even getting interviews... Best part about the Baseball-reference.com front page update is the disclaimer... So was real reason Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block was smoking that cigarette in that commercial post coital related?... Today would have been Charles Bronson's 90th birthday. In his dreams Chuck Norris wishes he'd be as badass as Charles Bronson... Big Adrian Gonzalez fan and big Red Sox fan but Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers should have won Silver Slugger for 1st base... Awesome beer map... On this day in 1913 the US introduced the income tax. A day that will live in infamy... Yesterday was Palindrome Day (11/02/2011) and I just wanted to note that best palindrome ever is "Lisa Bonet ate no basil"... 10 Retro Illustrations of Pop Culture Icons... Today is Michael Dukakis' 78th birthday. Funny how you never hear anyone wistfully thinking of how great a Dukakis Presidency would have been.

The Person Who Really Cost Armando Galarraga a Perfect Game

I haven't seen anyone make this point regarding Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game last night so I'll make it because it is a pet peeve of mine.

Miguel Cabrera - not Jim Joyce - cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game. Watch the replay. Cabrera ranges too far away from 1st base to snag a ball that should have gone to the 2nd baseman - Carlos Guillen - who was in perfect position. Cabrera should have stayed at home. If he did that then Cabrera simply takes the throw and the game is over. Instead he ranged too far away from the bag which forces the pitcher to cover which sets in motion the events which will live in baseball infamy.

Jim Joyce will get the blame but Miguel Cabrera is the real culprit.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Going into the season many thought that offense would be a problem for the Padres but going into today San Diego holds the best team batting average in the NL with a .282 mark. In fact the top 5 hitters in the Padres line-up are all over .300. San Diego just needs to convert those hits into runs - the Padres are 13th out of 16 teams in runs scored.... 16 years ago today Boston's Matt Young pitched 8 innings of no-hit ball at Cleveland and still lost 2-1. Matt Young wasn't Chan Ho Park or Mike Hampton bad a s a free agent signing but he's up there in terms of the worst free agent signings by the Red Sox... Speaking of bad free agent signings - Barry Zito is now 0-3 for the Giants... Sophomore slump? Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki is hitting just .175 for the Rockies... The adult thing would have been to ignore the story. It was stupid to begin with... Symmetry - both Orlando Cabrera and Miguel Cabrera are hitting .182 for the season. Orlando has more RBI though. That has to be making fantasy baseball owners who took Miguel with their first pick real happy...

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I think the Yankees will be forced to include Philip Hughes in any package for Johan Santana and I think that's a mistake by the Yankees. The Red Sox would be forced to include Jacoby Ellsbury and that too would be a mistake. Why would it be a mistake? Consider that CC Sabathia led all AL pitchers in win shares this season with 24. Ichiro Sazuki had 33 and I would project Ellsbury to be Ichiro-lite but at a fraction of the salary cost. It would be a mistake for the Yankees to include Hughes because I think he's that good. I think the Red Sox brass know including Ellsbury is not worth it (I don't buy those recent reports that they have included him) but I do think the Yankees hand can be forced to include Hughes... Here's an excellent projection on how the Yankees could fare in 2008 if they acquire Santana for a package including Melky Cabrera and Philip Hughes. It projects the Yankees to 96 wins next season... Most people are calling the Marlins greedy for turning down the Angels trade offer for Miguel Cabrera but David Pinto doesn't blame the Marlins one bit. I have to agree with David. This deal smacks of 5 nickels for a quarter type of deal and those never pan out for the guy getting the nickels... Would anyone be surprised if the Orioles traded Miguel Tejada quickly before the Mitchell Report comes out?... I would love for the Red Sox to wind up with Dan Haren but Billy Beane drives a hard bargain and they may be asked to give up too much. I would love for the Red Sox to wind up with Erik Bedard but the Orioles would be hard pressed to trade him within the division. I would love for the Red Sox to come away with just one of Santana, Haren or Bedard but the reality is they probably won't overspend in prospects and you can't blame them for that...