THT Links: Blogosphere, Where Art Thou?
by Bryan TsaoFebruary 13, 2007
A nice mix of links today, with a little business of baseball action, a little projection action, some transaction action and of course, frivolous baseball stuff.
Yankees/Mets Fans, Start Your Engines - Carlos Zambrano announced yesterday that without a contract before the beginning of the season, he would walk as a free agent. Mets and Yankees fans immediately begin fighting over who's more entitled to him.
Wisdom of Crowds - USS Mariner is doing an interesting project, where they're having Mariners fans project players' performances for the upcoming season and averaging out the predictions for a community projection. This project builds on the concept of the Wisdom of Crowds, which was interestingly laid out in this 2004 bestseller by James Surowiecki, which was a fun read in the mold of Blink or The Tipping Point.
Check out the entry to see what Mariners fans think Jose Lopez will do next season.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Mariano Rivera wants the Yankees to "respect" him with a new contract after this season, or else, you guessed it, he'll walk. It's hard to imagine Rivera in anything other than Yankees pinstripes, so I'm sure they'll get a deal done.
Four Finger Brannan? The Padres signed right hander Cooper Brannan yesterday, a 22-year-old Marine who lost his left pinky while serving a tour in Iraq.
Postseason Roster Rules Tweaked - Teams now won't have to submit postseason rosters until lineup cards are exchanged before the first game of a postseason series after the Mets claimed that they would have carried 12 pitchers had they known their first game against the Cardinals would be rained out. In other news, my fourth grade English teacher just rolled over in her classroom.
Liberty Braves - Reports indicate that Liberty Media Group has reached an agreement with Time Warner to buy the Braves, along with some magazines and a billion bucks, for 60 million shares of Time Warner stock. Yes, Time Warner is selling the Braves and getting its own stock back. In the words of the immortal Turkish, "There's something very wrong about this. It was us who wanted a caravan."
Daily Fix - Just in case you haven't read enough about steroids lately, the MLB Players Union is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling which allowed investigators access to the names and test results of MLB players.
Ahead of the Curve - Balls, Sticks and Stuff profiles outgoing Phillies trainer Jeff Cooper, someone ahead of his time in terms of predicting and preventing pitcher injuries.
Trachsel to Replace Benson for O's - This move was so futile, that I almost didn't link it, but apparently half the blogosphere is on vacation today, so it's a slow news day. If anyone has good theories as to why that is (bloggers not publishing today, not the Orioles making futile moves), email me and I'll print any interesting responses in Thursday's Links column.
Herges Signs Minor League Deal With Rox - Speaking of futile moves, I definitely wasn't going to link this one until I came across this entry from Jon Weisman, who noted that if Herges makes the Rockies' roster, he will have played for all five NL West teams.
Today at THT
Walt Bond - Hemingway put it so: "All stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you."
The Best Young Second Basemen of 2007 - Robinson Cano, Howie Kendrick and Rickie Weeks lead this list of 15 promising young second basemen in the majors and the minor leagues.
THT Links represents the best efforts of our editors in scouring the various tubes of the interweb for both relevant and irrelevant news items. If you have happened upon a story that we have overlooked or wish to give feedback of any sort, please notify us at THT Links.
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Bryan Tsao is the editor of The Hardball Times website. He welcomes comments, questions, and suggestions for both himself and the site via email.