BBA Linkfest: General predictions

<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Welcome to another round of the BBA Linkfest, where I circle the globe and bring you links from the General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. We have terrific writers all over the place that deserve attention and so pour yourself a coffee, have an English muffin and start clicking!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">We have two new member sites! That is exciting! So we welcome them by leading them off on the list:</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">True Baseball Fans Blogging</em> is an affiliate of the MLBBlogs Network, which is exciting. Check out a <a data-mce-href="http://truebaseballfansblogging.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/mets-bullpen/" href="http://truebaseballfansblogging.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/mets-bullpen/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">sample of their writing here</a> in a piece about the Mets' bullpen.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Destination: October</em> is a very attractive site with lots of content. For the site's first appearance on our links list, check out <a data-mce-href="http://destinationoctober.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/baseball-on-steroids-1998-ped-heavy-versus-2013-ped-lite/" href="http://destinationoctober.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/baseball-on-steroids-1998-ped-heavy-versus-2013-ped-lite/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a comparison</a> of 1998 baseball with today's game.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Sean Morash of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Off the Bench</em> has some <a data-mce-href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/04/05/contenders-in-need-of-catcher-upgrades/" href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/04/05/contenders-in-need-of-catcher-upgrades/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">catching situations</a> we need to watch. Good stuff.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Payoff Pitch</em> has an <a data-mce-href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/03/los-angeles-angels-of-anaheim-2014-team.html" href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/03/los-angeles-angels-of-anaheim-2014-team.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">extensive preview</a> of the 2014 Angels.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hit More Line Drives</em> has a videographic <a data-mce-href="http://hitmorelinedrives.com/" href="http://hitmorelinedrives.com/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">look</a> at softball and baseball swings.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Kenneth Matinale of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Radical Baseball</em> wonders why catching <a data-mce-href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/04/catchers-squat-to-give-signs-then-stand.html" href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/04/catchers-squat-to-give-signs-then-stand.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">has not evolved </a>as a position. Interesting!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">David of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">BaseballRoundtable.com</em> has a fascinating <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/baseball-lore-teenager-girl-strikes-out-ruth-and-gehrig-using-drop-learned-from-dazzy-vance/" href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/baseball-lore-teenager-girl-strikes-out-ruth-and-gehrig-using-drop-learned-from-dazzy-vance/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">historical piece</a> about a girl who struck out <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Babe Ruth</a></strong> and <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gehrilo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gehrilo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Lou Gehrig</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">How do you pick just one item from <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">High Heat Stats</em>? The place is just packed with terrific content. But if I have to choose one, I'll choose <a data-mce-href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/04/into-the-deep-end-debuting-as-an-opening-day-starter/" href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/04/into-the-deep-end-debuting-as-an-opening-day-starter/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this one</a> on players who make their debut on Opening Day.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLBeef</em> made that site's 2014 baseball <a data-mce-href="http://mlbeef.com/2014/03/30/2014-season-predictions-stone-cold-guesses/" href="http://mlbeef.com/2014/03/30/2014-season-predictions-stone-cold-guesses/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">predictions</a>!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Clayton Richer of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseball Hot Corner</em> shows <a data-mce-href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/toronto-blue-jays-brett-lawrie-proves-gold-future/" href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/toronto-blue-jays-brett-lawrie-proves-gold-future/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">an example</a> of why <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lawribr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lawribr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Brett Lawrie</a></strong> has a Gold Glove in his future.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Justin Millar of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">insidethemlb</em> made his <a data-mce-href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/04/03/2014-season-predictions/" href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/04/03/2014-season-predictions/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">season predictions</a> in a massive post.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The ever reliable <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB Reports</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/04/05/the-nats-restructured-bullpen/" href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/04/05/the-nats-restructured-bullpen/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a look</a> at the restructured Washington Nationals bullpen.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">For another really in depth preview of the 2014 season, check out <a data-mce-href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/03/2014-mlb-season-preview.html" href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/03/2014-mlb-season-preview.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this one</a> from <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cover Those Bases</em>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">From one of our two Italian baseball blogs, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Quarta Base</em>, comes this <a data-mce-href="http://quartabase.mlbitalia.it/2014/03/19/ryan-double-face/" href="http://quartabase.mlbitalia.it/2014/03/19/ryan-double-face/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">interesting story</a> of <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rowlary01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rowlary01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ryan Rowland-Smith</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Pepper: A MLB Blog</em> is different and it says so right in its title page. This is <a data-mce-href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/04/pepper-show-e-18-live-from-studio-2.html" href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/04/pepper-show-e-18-live-from-studio-2.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">an example</a> of the kinds of things they do there.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Only on Shawn Anderson's great site, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hall of Very Good</em>, can you find stuff like <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reddijo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reddijo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Josh Reddick</a></strong>'s <a data-mce-href="http://hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/josh-reddicks-wrestlemania-30-picks.html" href="http://hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/josh-reddicks-wrestlemania-30-picks.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Wrestlemania picks</a>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Michael Holloway's Baseball</em> is always on the search for the perfect Internet Scorecard system. He didn't find it with this <a data-mce-href="http://baseball---blog.blogspot.com/2014/04/an-html5-canvas-at-bat-box-with-scoring.html" href="http://baseball---blog.blogspot.com/2014/04/an-html5-canvas-at-bat-box-with-scoring.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">last one he t</a>ried.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">I love the new look of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">85% Sports</em>. It is very clean and easy to navigate and use. Well done, people! In <a data-mce-href="http://www.85percentsports.com/?p=15395" href="http://www.85percentsports.com/?p=15395" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this piece</a>, the Cardinals are doing something completely new and it is exciting!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Over at the aptly named <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Off Base Percentage</em>, Amber Hllywa is <a data-mce-href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2014/03/angels-soft-guide-to-big-as-facilities.html" href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2014/03/angels-soft-guide-to-big-as-facilities.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">goaded</a> into doing a report about the best women restrooms at the Angels' stadium. Heh.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Taylor of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Diamond Hoggers</em> <a data-mce-href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/04/06/rank-relief-the-pinnacle-may-have-been-reached/" href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/04/06/rank-relief-the-pinnacle-may-have-been-reached/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">has a look</a> at a decidedly not very good relief appearance. Indeed.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">JD Mathewson was recently asked to participate in Daniel Shoptaw's great Playing Pepper series. Mathewson <a data-mce-href="http://www.rationalpastime.com/2014/03/playing-pepper-washington-nationals.html" href="http://www.rationalpastime.com/2014/03/playing-pepper-washington-nationals.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">links the results</a> at his <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Rational Pastime</em> site. Plus, if you like college basketball, he is all over it.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Dugout 24</em> comes a <a data-mce-href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/charlie-brown-mit-ersten-homerun-seit-43-jahren/" href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/charlie-brown-mit-ersten-homerun-seit-43-jahren/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">special piece</a> about <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownch01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownch01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Charlie Brown</a></strong>'s first home run. I love it!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Old Time Family Baseball</em> has been in my top five list of baseball sites for a long time now. The trouble with success is that people notice and the good people get grabbed up to other gigs. So Micheal writes a <a data-mce-href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/81694834505/a-kind-of-goodbye" href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/81694834505/a-kind-of-goodbye" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">sort of goodbye</a> in this piece. I'll be over here gnawing on my knuckles.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Sully of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Sully Baseball</em> still has the best podcasts. Here is <a data-mce-href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-march-6-2014-2/" href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-march-6-2014-2/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">his latest</a> one.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">My buddy, Jonathan Mitchell of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB Dirt</em> recently <a data-mce-href="http://www.fieldrush.com/team-team-2014-mlb-predictions-positive-edition/#.U0FwLfldU90" href="http://www.fieldrush.com/team-team-2014-mlb-predictions-positive-edition/#.U0FwLfldU90" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">posted</a> his team by team predictions. Check them out.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">In one of my favorite posts of the week, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseball Sisco Kid Style</em> <a data-mce-href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/04/hank-aaron-ties-babe-april-4-1974.html" href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/04/hank-aaron-ties-babe-april-4-1974.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">celebrated </a>the anniversary of <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Hank Aaron</a></strong> tying Babe Ruth.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Mario Salvini of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Che Palle!</em> <a data-mce-href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/04/05/linizio-di-chris/" href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/04/05/linizio-di-chris/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">celebrates </a>Chris Colabello of the Twins. Nice story.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Buddy, Daniel, of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Ball Caps Blog</em> <a data-mce-href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2014/03/30/my-national-league-picks-for-the-2014-baseball-season/" href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2014/03/30/my-national-league-picks-for-the-2014-baseball-season/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">made</a> his National League predictions.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">R. Lincoln Harris of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Through the Fence Baseball</em> <a data-mce-href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/for-cubs-fans-wrigley-field-is-the-franchise/42156" href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/for-cubs-fans-wrigley-field-is-the-franchise/42156" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">argues </a>that Wrigley Field is the Cubs' franchise.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Replacement Level Baseball Blog</em>, my buddy, Bryan, has a <a data-mce-href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/2014-season-preview/" href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/2014-season-preview/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">different way</a> of ranking how baseball teams will finish. Great read.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">For Baseball Junkies</em> team makes their <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseballjunkies.blogspot.com/2014/03/baseball-junkies-annual-predictions_19.html" href="http://www.baseballjunkies.blogspot.com/2014/03/baseball-junkies-annual-predictions_19.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">second round</a> of predictions for 2014. It's fun to see the different opinions.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Theo of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hot Corner Harbor</em> takes <a data-mce-href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2014/04/american-league-west-predictions-2014.html" href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2014/04/american-league-west-predictions-2014.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a look</a> at the American League West in his latest post.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Matt Whitener of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cheap.Seats.Please.</em> <a data-mce-href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/2014-mlb-postseason-awards-predictions/" href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2014/03/31/2014-mlb-postseason-awards-predictions/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">predicts </a>the 2014 post season and the award winners for the year.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Chris Carelli of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Baseball Stance</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-york-yankees-michael-pineda-sharp.html" href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-york-yankees-michael-pineda-sharp.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a review</a> of <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pinedmi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pinedmi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Michael Pineda</a></strong>'s first start for the Yankees.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Justin Jabs has a <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseblog94.com/from-cubs-insider-who-played-in-wrigleys-first-game/" href="http://www.baseblog94.com/from-cubs-insider-who-played-in-wrigleys-first-game/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">trivia-filled post</a> of who played the first game at Wrigley Field. Fun over at his <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseblog</em> Site.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">And last and definitely least, <a data-mce-href="http://itsaboutthemoney.net/archives/2014/04/04/bullpen-arms-and-anti-regression-velocity/" href="http://itsaboutthemoney.net/archives/2014/04/04/bullpen-arms-and-anti-regression-velocity/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">I pondered</a> this week how some relievers are getting older and yet still increasing their fastball velocity.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Enjoy the new season, everyone!</div>

BBA Linkfest: General predictions

Welcome to another round of the BBA Linkfest, where I circle the globe and bring you links from the General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers...

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BBA Linkfest - General Marchmellow

<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: justify;"><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Welcome to another installment of the BBA Linkfest where I take a romp around the sites of the General chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. The General chapter is not beholden to any team or theme, but writes about baseball from all angles. So pour another cup of coffee and get ready for some good reading because here they come!</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Shawn Anderson's <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hall of Very Good</em> has always served up interesting things on his site. This week, he <a data-mce-href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/march/bryce-harper-is-a-good-samaritan.html" href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/march/bryce-harper-is-a-good-samaritan.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">catches</a> <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harpebr03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harpebr03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Bryce Harper</a></strong> being a Good Samaritan.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">TheNaturalMevs has been heavily <a data-mce-href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/03/14/its-ottoneu-draft-day-lifes-other-plans-are-on-hold/" href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/03/14/its-ottoneu-draft-day-lifes-other-plans-are-on-hold/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">preparing</a> for this season's fantasy baseball drafts over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Diamond Hoggers</em>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Sports Banter</em>, Mike Spiciarich <a data-mce-href="http://thesportsbanter.blogspot.com/2014/03/trade-of-week-cubsmets-swap-prospects.html" href="http://thesportsbanter.blogspot.com/2014/03/trade-of-week-cubsmets-swap-prospects.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">dreams</a> of what to him would be the perfect trade.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Hans Weisse of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Dugout 24</em> <a data-mce-href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/4-geheime-schlagtechniken-von-4-der-besten-hitter-der-welt/" href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/4-geheime-schlagtechniken-von-4-der-besten-hitter-der-welt/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">looks at</a> four great hitters to help you to become a better hitter yourself: <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ty Cobb</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=rosepe02,rosepe01&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=rosepe02,rosepe01&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Pete Rose</a></strong>, <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Hank Aaron</a></strong> and <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=rodrial01,rodrig011ale&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=rodrial01,rodrig011ale&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Alex Rodriguez</a></strong>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hernali01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hernali01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Livan Hernandez</a></strong> officially retired this week. Michael Clair of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Old Time Family Baseball</em> <a data-mce-href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/79657555530/praise-the-glory-of-livan-hernandez" href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/79657555530/praise-the-glory-of-livan-hernandez" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">recaps</a> Livan's career "highlights."</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Sully of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Sully Baseball</em> has to be the most consistent and prolific baseball podcaster of all time. There is nobody even close. And the quantity does not hurt <a data-mce-href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-march-15-2014/" href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-march-15-2014/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">the quality</a>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseball Cisco Kid Style</em> really <a data-mce-href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-braves-are-locked-in-and-loaded.html" href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-braves-are-locked-in-and-loaded.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">likes</a> what the Braves did to lock up their young talent.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">My buddy, Dan, of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Left Field</em> really <a data-mce-href="http://left-field.blogspot.com/2014/03/long-live-daylight-savings-time.html" href="http://left-field.blogspot.com/2014/03/long-live-daylight-savings-time.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">loves</a> Daylight Savings Time.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Mario Salvini of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Che Palle!</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/03/08/centanni-fa-il-primo-fuoricampo-di-babe/" href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/03/08/centanni-fa-il-primo-fuoricampo-di-babe/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a story</a> of a <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ruthba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Babe Ruth</a></strong> homer that occurred one hundred years ago.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Dan Day of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Ball Caps Blog</em> has come <a data-mce-href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2014/03/02/agreed-the-tribe-should-retire-chief-wahoo/" href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2014/03/02/agreed-the-tribe-should-retire-chief-wahoo/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">full circle</a> on the Chief Wahoo debate.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">For a <a data-mce-href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/chicago-white-sox-preview-getting-better-long-way/41789" href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/chicago-white-sox-preview-getting-better-long-way/41789" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">great preview</a> of the 2014 Chicago White Sox, Mike Viso's of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Through the Fence Baseball</em> is thoughtful and well done.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Very few people have done more high-quality thinking on the Hall of Fame than Bryan O'Connor. His <a data-mce-href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/the-26-standard/" href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/the-26-standard/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">post</a> on <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Replacement Level Baseball</em> on the subject is outstanding.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitema03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitema03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Matt White</a></strong>ner of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cheap.Seats.Please.</em> has a very thorough <a data-mce-href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/csps-2014-american-league-east-preview/" href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/csps-2014-american-league-east-preview/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">2014 preview</a> of the AL East and is very informative and interesting.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Nobody can replace <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riverma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riverma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Mariano Rivera</a></strong>. But somebody has to be the Yankees' closer. Chris Carelli of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Baseball Stance</em> gauges <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roberda08.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roberda08.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">David Robertson</a></strong>'s <a data-mce-href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/03/yankees-david-robertson-will-succeed-as.html" href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/03/yankees-david-robertson-will-succeed-as.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">chance of succeeding</a> in the role.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Justin Jabs of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseblog</em> introduces us to a <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseblog94.com/hardball-passport-has-80-potential/" href="http://www.baseblog94.com/hardball-passport-has-80-potential/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">new website</a> that piques my interest.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">We have already seen a preview of the AL East. Now we have the AL Central <a data-mce-href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/03/14/season-preview-al-central/" href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/03/14/season-preview-al-central/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">covered</a> very well by Sean Morash of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Off the Bench</em>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Speaking of the AL Central, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Payoff Pitch</em> <a data-mce-href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/03/kansas-city-royals-2014-team-breakdown.html" href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/03/kansas-city-royals-2014-team-breakdown.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">drills down</a> to give a preview of the 2014 Kansas City Royals.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">I have misspelled Kenneth Matinale's name three straight times. His very good addition to the General Chapter, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Radical Baseball</em>, doesn't deserve that. Sheesh. Anyway, check out <a data-mce-href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/03/barry-bonds-made-money-for-himself-and.html" href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/03/barry-bonds-made-money-for-himself-and.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">his post</a> on <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Barry Bonds</a></strong>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Spring has <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/bbrts-spring-if-officially-here/" href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/bbrts-spring-if-officially-here/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">finally arrived</a> for David over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">BaseballRoundTable.com</em>. I am jealous as I look out at 18 inches of fresh snow delivered over the last three days. David's post is fantastic though.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">The always entertaining, highly informative <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">High Heat Stats</em> is also educational. For an example, check out Doug's <a data-mce-href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/03/run-shares-measuring-offensive-value-in-a-team-context/" href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/03/run-shares-measuring-offensive-value-in-a-team-context/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">college seminar</a> on Run Shares.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Taylor of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLBeef</em> <a data-mce-href="http://mlbeef.com/2014/02/27/mlb-tv-officially-renewed/" href="http://mlbeef.com/2014/02/27/mlb-tv-officially-renewed/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">made sure</a> he will be watching baseball this summer.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">I was tempted to link Clayton Richer's link to Keith Olbermann and that jerk's tirade on Barry Bonds. But instead, I went with a <a data-mce-href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/jose-reyes-raps-sportsnet-connected-analyst/" href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/jose-reyes-raps-sportsnet-connected-analyst/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">more fun link</a> to a <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=reyesjo01,reyesjo02,reyes-016jos,reyes-004jos&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=reyesjo01,reyesjo02,reyes-016jos,reyes-004jos&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jose Reyes</a></strong> rap linked on <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseball Hot Corner</em>.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=milleju01,miller007jus,miller005jus,miller008jus&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=milleju01,miller007jus,miller005jus,miller008jus&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Justin Miller</a></strong> of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">insidetheMLB</em> has a <a data-mce-href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/02/26/how-many-stars-do-you-need-to-win-a-championship/" href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/02/26/how-many-stars-do-you-need-to-win-a-championship/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">very interesting look</a> at how many stars a team has to have to win the World Series.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">I do not understand how baseball betting works. As such, Chuck Booth's <a data-mce-href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/03/14/alnlodds2014mlb/" href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/03/14/alnlodds2014mlb/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">piece</a> over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB Reports</em> on the Tampa Bay Rays' odds of winning the AL East confused the heck out of me. But if you get that kind of stuff, this post is for you.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cover Those Bases</em> has a <a data-mce-href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/03/a-look-back-at-rick-ankiels-career.html" href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/03/a-look-back-at-rick-ankiels-career.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">nice retrospective</a> on <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ankieri01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ankieri01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Rick Ankiel</a></strong>'s career. Ankiel recently announced his retirement.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Pepper</em>'s Niko Goutakolis had a <a data-mce-href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/03/peppers-in-big-leagues.html" href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/03/peppers-in-big-leagues.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">major announcement</a> on his site the other day. Very cool for him and congratulations!</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Last but the least, my <a data-mce-href="http://passion4baseball.blogspot.com/2014/03/are-indians-this-good.html" href="http://passion4baseball.blogspot.com/2014/03/are-indians-this-good.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">last post</a> was on the Cleveland Indians. Thank you kindly for your attention and I hope you clicked on a lot of these links because they deserve your support.</div><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: start;">Have a great weekend.</div></div>

BBA Linkfest - General Marchmellow

Welcome to another installment of the BBA Linkfest where I take a romp around the sites of the General chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alli...

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BBA Linkfest - bring a deer generals

<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Welcome to another chapter of the BBA Linkfest. You may know that I am the current president of the general chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance and one of the things I like to do is feature our chapter's work. We have some new members, which is great.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">"General" means that our chapter members do not have a team focus nor feature a specific topic such as fantasy or others. Our chapter members write about everything, which is sometimes harder to gain a foothold for pageviews. But it is who we are. Well, almost all of us except that Carelli guy who writes about the Yankees for Yahoo Sports. Heh.  Here are the links:</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">I start from the middle alphabetically and work my way around:</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Matt Whitener of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cheap.Seats.Please.</em> has a <a data-mce-href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/category/mlb/" href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/category/mlb/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">really entertaining rundown</a> of the ten best closers in baseball. Hint: #1 just got a nice contract.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">All kidding aside, Chris Carelli of Yahoo still dabbles at his <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Baseball Stance</em> site. <a data-mce-href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/02/mlb-30-spring-training-questions.html#more" href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/02/mlb-30-spring-training-questions.html#more" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">This entry</a> looks at the questions facing each of the 3o teams.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Justin had some birthday and anniversary celebrations this this past week (congrats!) but <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseblog94.com/mlb-14-the-show-might-not-hit-the-ps4-until-may/" href="http://www.baseblog94.com/mlb-14-the-show-might-not-hit-the-ps4-until-may/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">is frustrated</a> by the wait of this year's <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB The Show</em> over at this <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseblog</em> site.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">For one of our newer sites (welcome!), <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Off the Bench</em>, Sean Morash <a data-mce-href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/01/31/is-homer-bailey-here-to-stay/" href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/01/31/is-homer-bailey-here-to-stay/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">looks at</a> what the Reds might do with <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/baileho02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/baileho02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Homer Bailey</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">On another of our newer sites, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Payoff Pitch</em> (welcome!), a very thorough examination of the 2014 Tampa Bay Rays <a data-mce-href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/02/tampa-bay-rays-2014-team-breakdown.html" href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/02/tampa-bay-rays-2014-team-breakdown.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">is undertaken</a>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Kenneth Matinale of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Radical Baseball</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/02/in-ranking-jeter-why-ignore-banks-yount.html" href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/02/in-ranking-jeter-why-ignore-banks-yount.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a terrific post</a> as he struggles to place <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Derek Jeter</a></strong> in context with other post-WWII shortstops.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">One of my <a data-mce-href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/six-pitchers-no-baserunners-one-perfect-spring-training-afternoon/" href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/six-pitchers-no-baserunners-one-perfect-spring-training-afternoon/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">favorite posts of the week</a> is by David of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">BaseballRoundTable.com</em> and tells the story of a Spring Training no-hitter started by none other than <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=martipe02,martipe03&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=martipe02,martipe03&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Pedro Martinez</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">When stopping over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">High Heat Stats</em>, the problem is not finding a post to choose. Rather, it is finding which gem among Smaug's prizes to pick over the others. Doug has a <a data-mce-href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/02/quiz-alex-cobb/" href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/02/quiz-alex-cobb/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">really neat post</a> on something <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbal01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbal01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Alex Cobb</a></strong> did in a game.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">At <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Baseball Hot Corner</em>, Timmy Kennedy <a data-mce-href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/toronto-blue-jays-ervin-santana-or-ubaldo-jimenez/" href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/toronto-blue-jays-ervin-santana-or-ubaldo-jimenez/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">tries to help</a> the Toronto Blue Jays decide on <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jimenub01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jimenub01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ubaldo Jimenez</a></strong> or <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santaer01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santaer01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Ervin Santana</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The terrific <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=milleju01,miller007jus,miller005jus,miller008jus&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=milleju01,miller007jus,miller005jus,miller008jus&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Justin Miller</a></strong> who writes for three different sites including his own, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">inside the mlb</em>, has <a data-mce-href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/02/13/best-one-year-deals-in-recent-memory/" href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/02/13/best-one-year-deals-in-recent-memory/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a nice entry</a> on the best recent one-year deals. Any time <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pettian01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pettian01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Andy Pettitte</a></strong> is in there, I'm happy.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The always prolific <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB Reports</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/02/16/sfpay2014/" href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/02/16/sfpay2014/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">a great post</a> by Chuck Booth on the San Francisco Giants and a look at the team's payroll and contracts going forward. Be sure to check out Sully's videos every day too.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Another of our newer sites, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Cover Those Bases</em>, looks like a really good one. Especially if <a data-mce-href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/02/breaking-down-the-phillies-rotation.html" href="http://www.coverthosebases.com/4/post/2014/02/breaking-down-the-phillies-rotation.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this breakdown</a> of the Phillies' rotation is any indication.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">We have a second baseball site in Italy! How cool is that? It is especially cool for me since the better half of my genetic makeup is Italian. The site is called <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Quarta Base</em> and in <a data-mce-href="http://quartabase.mlbitalia.it/2014/02/04/qbb-in-bba/" href="http://quartabase.mlbitalia.it/2014/02/04/qbb-in-bba/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">this post</a>, the author introduces himself to the BBA.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Another of our new sites, <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Pepper</em>, <a data-mce-href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/02/2-16-spring-training-plus.html" href="http://peppermlb.blogspot.com/2014/02/2-16-spring-training-plus.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">celebrates</a> the start of Spring Training. Welcome!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Eugene Tierney is not new to us, but he sure is nice to have around. In his <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">85% Sports</em> <a data-mce-href="http://www.85percentsports.com/blog/2014/02/04/braves-ink-jason-heyward-2-year-deal/" href="http://www.85percentsports.com/blog/2014/02/04/braves-ink-jason-heyward-2-year-deal/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">post</a>, he talks about <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heywaja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/heywaja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jason Heyward</a></strong>'s new deal.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The always interesting Shawn Anderson of the <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hall of Very Good</em> has <a data-mce-href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/february/writer-has-interesting-idea-for-the-bbwaa.html" href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/february/writer-has-interesting-idea-for-the-bbwaa.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">an interesting idea</a> for the BBWAA. He also has a story on a two-star athlete you may know.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Mike Hllywa on <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Off Base Percentage</em> (one of my favorite blog names) <a data-mce-href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2014/02/trolling-jose-canseco.html" href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2014/02/trolling-jose-canseco.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">trolled</a> <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cansejo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cansejo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jose Canseco</a></strong> for a day.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">My buddy over at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Diamond Hoggers</em> has a <a data-mce-href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/02/16/deadspin-gives-us-baseball-heckling-stories/" href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/02/16/deadspin-gives-us-baseball-heckling-stories/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">great new post</a> on the fine art of baseball heckling and how sometimes it backfires.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Hans Weisse is another of our overseas writers at <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Dugout 24</em>. <a data-mce-href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/blackcaps-statt-white-sox/" href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/blackcaps-statt-white-sox/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">This post</a> tells you what he has been up to lately.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Ben's Baseball Bias</em> has a wonderful <a data-mce-href="http://www.bensbaseballbias.com/2014/02/yankees-roundtable.html" href="http://www.bensbaseballbias.com/2014/02/yankees-roundtable.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">roundtable discussion</a> of the New York Yankees. Loved it.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The always fun Michael Clair of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Old Time Family Baseball</em> had some last minute <a data-mce-href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/76629001429/last-minute-baseball-valentines" href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/76629001429/last-minute-baseball-valentines" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Valentine's Day cards</a> for you.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">For my post of the day choice, Paul Sullivan of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Sully Baseball</em>, <a data-mce-href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/sully-baseball-salutes-jim-fregosi/" href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/sully-baseball-salutes-jim-fregosi/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">wrote a tribute</a> to <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fregoji01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fregoji01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jim Fregosi</a></strong>. I sure wish I could have met the guy. RIP.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">The Sisco Kid of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Baseball Sisco Kid</em> <a data-mce-href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/02/derek-jeter-as-our-generations-mickey.html" href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/02/derek-jeter-as-our-generations-mickey.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">has a tribute</a> to Derek Jeter, who just announced that 2014 is his last season.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">My great friend, Jonathan Mitchell of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">MLB Dirt</em> <a data-mce-href="http://www.fieldrush.com/with-adjustments-jason-hammel-could-be-a-bargain-and-trade-chip-for-the-chicago-cubs/#.UwEmGfldU90" href="http://www.fieldrush.com/with-adjustments-jason-hammel-could-be-a-bargain-and-trade-chip-for-the-chicago-cubs/#.UwEmGfldU90" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">actually thinks</a> that <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hammeja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hammeja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jason Hammel</a></strong> can help the Cubs. Maybe I like the writer so much because he is even more of an optimist than me!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Our original Italian writer, Mario Salvini has a <a data-mce-href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/02/13/montanini-racconta-earl-weaver/" href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/02/13/montanini-racconta-earl-weaver/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">great Spring Training story</a> on <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/weaveea99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/weaveea99.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Earl Weaver</a></strong> on his <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Che Palle!</em> site.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Dan Kirby, a self-professed draft junkie, <a data-mce-href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-mock-draft/41164" href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-mock-draft/41164" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">gives his top 100 draft pick predictions</a> on the ever-prolific <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Through the Fence Baseball</em> site.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Bryan of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Replacement Level Baseball Blog</em> gives us a <a data-mce-href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/the-26-standard/" href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/the-26-standard/" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">truly terrific post</a> on the Hall of Fame standard and which current players are on their way. Epic post!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"><em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">For Baseball Junkies</em> is thinking along Bryan's line and <a data-mce-href="http://baseballjunkies.blogspot.com/p/all-decade-teams.html" href="http://baseballjunkies.blogspot.com/p/all-decade-teams.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">lists</a> the All-Decades Teams from the 1920s to the 2000s. That's a lot of work!</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">Theo of <em style="border: none; line-height: 1.5;">Hot Corner Harbor</em> bids a <a data-mce-href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2014/02/lance-berkman-michael-young-retire.html" href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2014/02/lance-berkman-michael-young-retire.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">fitting adieu</a> to <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/berkmla01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/berkmla01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Lance Berkman</a></strong> and <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=,youngmi02&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=,youngmi02&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Michael Young</a></strong>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">And lastly and leastly, you can read my look at the conservative projections of <strong style="color: black; line-height: 1.5;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=fernajo01,fernajo02,fernan008jos,fernan015jos,fernan014jos&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=fernajo01,fernajo02,fernan008jos,fernan015jos,fernan014jos&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.flagrantfan.com" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">Jose Fernandez</a></strong> <a data-mce-href="http://passion4baseball.blogspot.com/2014/02/jose-fernandezs-conservative-projections.html" href="http://passion4baseball.blogspot.com/2014/02/jose-fernandezs-conservative-projections.html" style="color: #743399; line-height: 1.5;" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">And remember, as you look out at the frozen tundra like that outside my window, it has to be spring somewhere...</div>

BBA Linkfest - bring a deer generals

Welcome to another chapter of the BBA Linkfest. You may know that I am the current president of the general chapter of the Baseball Bloggers...

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BBA Linkfest - General snow drifts

Welcome to another edition of the BBA Linkfest, where I scour the earth for links from my fellow members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance general chapter. "General," here means that the sites that make up our chapter do not focus on one particular team, but all of baseball and in some cases, all of life. The title of this post comes from staring out my window at another gray, wintry day where the wind is howling and it seems like I live in the frozen tundra. Reading these writers at the very least makes me think of spring and better times when baseball again will be here.<br /><br />Before I start linking to our sites, special mention has to be given to Michael Clair and his <a href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/" target="_blank">Old Time Family Baseball</a>. Clair, a hilarious individual who gives me great pleasure from his writing and his Twitter persona, completed his third annual blogathon last weekend to benefit Doctors Without Borders. Not only did Clair exceed his goal by a landslide, but he also brought together hundreds of the best baseball writers in the land who submitted work for him for the weekend. I salute Michael Clair and all those writers that made the goal just a stopping point on the final total. Great work, everyone. And trust me, you could spend an entire day reading all those excellent posts. So do it! I also love his <a href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/74394148794/when-there-is-no-more-room-in-hell-jose-castillo-will" target="_blank">recent post</a> on one of his favorite players of the past.<br /><br />And here we go with the links!<br /><br />Justin Miller is a good baseball guy and I like his articles and his prospect scouting reports. <a href="http://insidethemlb.com/2014/01/23/the-return-of-grady-sizemore/" target="_blank">This post</a> talks about the recent signing of Grady Sizemore, a guy who most of us are rooting for in his comeback. <i>InsideTheMLB</i> is the site's heading.<br /><br />Over at the <i>Baseball Hot Corner</i>, Jason Leary has a great post titled, <a href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/5-tattoo-ideas-tortured-fan/" target="_blank">5 Tattoo Ideas for Tortured A's Fans</a>. You have to check that out, right?<br /><br />I am so pleased that <i>High Heat Stats</i> has joined the general chapter. This is a world class site that started on baseball-reference.com as that site's blogging crew. They have only gotten better as they left B-R and have gained new writers (many from our crew here in the general chapter!). Their <a href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2014/01/schreck-as-in-heck-of-a-pitching-staff/" target="_blank">post I am featuring today</a> is written by Doug and is so packed with information, you need to set aside some good quality time. But read it!<br /><br />David, over at <i>Baseballroundtable.com</i> has a <a href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/mlb-prospects-bbrt-will-be-watching-in-2014/" target="_blank">great post</a> about prospects to watch in 2014. Great stuff.<br /><br />Over at <i>Know Hitter</i> (I love that title), there is <a href="http://knowhitter.com/2013/12/13/kingdome-crossover-seattle-mariners-this-week-in-walk-up-music-news/" target="_blank">a suggestion</a> for what the Mariners' new acquisition, Corey Hart, should play.<br /><br />Kenneth Matinale of <i>Radical Baseball</i> has an<a href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2014/01/yanks-should-have-filled-holes-not.html" target="_blank"> interesting post</a> in which he takes issue with the Yankees' off season strategy. I'm not sure I agree, but that's what makes baseball so great!<br /><br />The <i>Playoff Pitch</i> site has had a series going with breaking down 2014 teams, which is always a fun exercise. The <a href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2014/01/boston-red-sox-2014-team-breakdown.html" target="_blank">latest one</a> is on the 2014 Red Sox.<br /><br /><i>Off the Bench</i> is an interesting and fairly new site not afraid to make bold stances. Take, for example, <a href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/01/24/dodgers-ink-chone-figgins-in-brilliant-under-the-radar-move/" target="_blank">this post</a> and then <a href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2014/01/25/how-i-lost-my-first-twitter-war-about-chone-figgins/" target="_blank">the response</a> gotten from that post. Makes for fun reading.<br /><br />I enjoyed <a href="http://www.baseblog94.com/im-excited-for-rick-renteria/" target="_blank">the post</a> over at <i>Baseblog94</i> on the Cubs' new manager, Rick Renteria.<br /><br />Even though it is not a recent post, I am constantly moved by Stevo-sama's <a href="http://xtrabasehit.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-last-talk-with-pop-baseball-story.html" target="_blank">post</a> about his father over at <i>The Baseball Enthusiast</i>. It was reposted from <i>Baseblog94</i> with additional pictures. Very moving.<br /><br />One of the great things about my affiliation with the BBA is watching all these folks who become friends who go on to better things. Chris Carelli is a great guy and a great writer whose <i>The Baseball Stance</i> featured his stuff. The site now provides summaries and <a href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-york-yankees-alex-rodriguezs.html" target="_blank">links to his work</a> for Yahoo Sports along with the occasional full piece. Very cool and I am happy for him.<br /><br />Matt Whitener of <i>Cheap.Seats.Please</i> takes <a href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/the-top-10-shortstops-in-baseball-today/" target="_blank">a stab</a> and listing the top ten shortstops in the Major Leagues today. How many do you agree with? Matt and I definitely agree on the number one name.<br /><br />In his <a href="http://grubbyglove.com/?p=5614" target="_blank">latest post</a>, <i>Grubby Glove</i> talks about where he has been. I'm just glad he's back!<br /><br />Theo of Hot Corner Harbor has another of his usually <a href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2014/01/predicting-hall-of-fame-hitters.html" target="_blank">thoughtful posts</a> on predicting the Hall of Fame. Interesting stuff.<br /><br />Speaking of the Hall of Fame, <i>For Baseball Junkies</i> <a href="http://www.baseballjunkies.blogspot.com/2014/01/questionable-hall-of-fame-ballots-year.html" target="_blank">compiled a list</a> of the most questionable votes by the writers.<br /><br />Chuck Booth of the always reliable <i>MLB Reports</i> <a href="http://mlbreports.com/2014/01/25/week1/" target="_blank">talks about</a> the the first week of the season and Australia. BTW, I always appreciate the site's #FF support each week.<br /><br />My buddy, Bryan O'Conner, of <i>Replacement Level Baseball</i> <a href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/which-hall-is-actually-the-hall-of-stats/" target="_blank">also talks about</a> the Hall of Fame and the Hall of Stats. Did you know that he is better looking than Ben Affleck?<br /><br /><i>Through the Fence Baseball</i> has really continued to expand and get better each year I have done this. They have become a don't miss site! For example, here is <a href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/college-baseball-preview/40824" target="_blank">one-of-a-kind content</a> on the best freshmen college baseball players of 2014.<br /><br />Dan at <i>The Ball Caps Blog</i> had an interesting take on Richard Sherman's bombastic interview. But if we stick to baseball, <a href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2014/01/11/phillies-fans-are-a-passionate-lot/" target="_blank">his amusing take</a> on Phillies fans is a fun read.<br /><br /><i>Call to the Pen</i> is another site that has grown tremendously since I have been doing this. They are now part of the <i>Fansided</i> network. Cool on them. Dan Zinski's <a href="http://calltothepen.com/2014/01/24/tony-la-russas-hof-logo-decision-offends-cardinals-fan/" target="_blank">report</a> on Tony La Russa's HOF logo is a case in point of why they are where they are.<br /><br />Italy's <i>Che Palle!</i> by Mario Salvini <a href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2014/01/25/il-lanciatore-di-yale/" target="_blank">shares</a> an amazing picture he found on Twitter. It is amazing too.<br /><br />Another site that has come a long way is <i>MLB Dirt</i>, which is now part of the <i>Field Rush</i> network. Alas, I used to write there semi-regularly and have great guilt that I no longer have the time to do so. Jonathan Mitchell is one of the greatest guys on the planet and <a href="http://www.fieldrush.com/grant-balfour-back-with-rays-to-be-closer-c-word-tampa-bay-rays/#.UuQPchAo6M8" target="_blank">his feature</a> recently covered Grant Balfour returning to the Rays and that C-word.<br /><br />Another great bud is Dan from the <i>Left Field</i> site who also writes for <i>High Heat Stats</i>. Dan is a real interesting guy with a great family and what I like about his site is that it features baseball, his favorite music and his love of craft beer. Check out his <a href="http://left-field.blogspot.com/2014/01/2013-playlist.html" target="_blank">recent playlist</a>.<br /><br />The Sisco Kid of <i>Baseball Sisco Kid Style</i> <a href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-picks-for-hall-of-fame-class-of-2014.html" target="_blank">hit the nail on the head</a> with his HOF picks, which is pretty amazing. Whether I agree that it should have only been three or not is neither here nor there.<br /><br />The always interesting Sully of <i>Sully Baseball</i> has probably <a href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/hall-of-fame-plaque-will-have-the-players-last-cap-a-sully-baseball-solution/" target="_blank">the best solution</a> I've heard to the problem of which hat to wear to the Hall of Fame for those chosen. Good solution! Interesting post!<br /><br /><i>Ben's Baseball Bias</i> <a href="http://www.bensbaseballbias.com/2014/01/mazel-tov-frank-thomas-tom-glavine-and.html" target="_blank">salutes</a> the three HOF inductees.<br /><br />If you've ever wondered how a baseball is made, <i>Dugout 24</i> has <a href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/wie-wird-ein-baseball-gemacht/" target="_blank">just the video</a> for you!<br /><br /><i>The Sports Banter</i> posted some interesting, sometimes hilarious and random thoughts in a <a href="http://thesportsbanter.blogspot.com/2014/01/update-post.html" target="_blank">recent post</a>.<br /><br />Clint of <i>Diamond Hoggers</i> is part of one of my favorite baseball podcast teams. And I don't just say that because they invited me to join them once. The latest installment is <a href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2014/01/22/thursday-night-on-the-baseball-show-bip-roberts/" target="_blank">linked here</a>.<br /><br />Mike Hilywa has a <a href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2014/01/baseball-australian-brawling-fight.html" target="_blank">real fun post</a> over at <i>Off Base Percentage</i> on Australian baseball. I love the pic and the heading too.<br /><br />Apparently, Jack Morris is tired of getting scrutinized by baseball writers. Shawn Anderson of <i>The Hall of Very Good</i> gives us <a href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2014-articles/january/jack-morris-i-m-tired-of-getting-scrutinized.html" target="_blank">all the details</a>.<br /><br />There are the links, but before I go, I figured I would leave you with one toot of my own horn. Your favorite Fan recently garnered <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/43347/jerry-colemans-1957-world-series" target="_blank">his first ESPN byline</a>. Very cool for me!<br /><br />See you next time and stay warm! Baseball season will get here eventually.<br /><br /><br />

BBA Linkfest - General snow drifts

Welcome to another edition of the BBA Linkfest, where I scour the earth for links from my fellow members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance g...

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BBA Linkfest - General holiday greetings

<div style="text-align: justify;">I have not done this in a while and it is time to get back at it. I am the president of the General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. General is such a bland word. I think of generic when hearing the word. But that is far from the case as you see the links below. General simply means that the writers of this chapter write about everything baseball and are not specifically a site about one team or fantasy baseball or something like that. They are a great group of people writing about baseball because they love it. This post is about their work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I do is go to each site and pick out one of the posts I find there. It is a time-consuming thing to do, but there is a lot of rewarding reading that occurs because of it. I have done the work for you, so all you have to do is click the link and enjoy yourself. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from this Flagrant Fan to you wherever you are.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The links:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A radio personality has issues with <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harvema01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Matt Harvey</a></strong>. <i>The Hall of Very Good</i> rightly <a href="http://www.hallofverygood.com/2013-articles/december/radio-host-matt-harvey-has-done-nothing.html" target="_blank">pokes a few holes</a> in the stupidity of what the radio guy said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In its most recent post, <i>Off Base Percentage</i>'s Mike Hllywa <a href="http://www.offbasepercentage.com/2013/12/yankees-sign-carlos-beltran-capping-big.html" target="_blank">took a look</a> at the Yankees' spending spree this off season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over at <i>The Golden Sombrero</i>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rosemi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Mike Rose</a></strong>nbaum <a href="http://thegoldensombrero.com/wordpress/archives/6535" target="_blank">posted some video</a> from the recent Arizona Fall League featuring <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hedges000aus&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Austin Hedges</a></strong>, a Padres' prospect catcher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://grubbyglove.com/?p=5499" target="_blank">This post</a> from <i>Grubby Glove</i> is the oldest of the link list, but it was such a fine piece and such a noble thing, that I linked it anyway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If podcasts are your thing (and I like them a lot), Eric and Jana from <i>#Off the Bat</i> presented by <i>Number One Baseball</i> had <a href="http://numberonebaseball.com/2013/12/off-season-extravaganza/" target="_blank">a great time</a> discussing the off season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">TheNaturalMevs of <i>Diamond Hoggers</i> has some <a href="http://diamondhoggers.com/2013/12/20/a-rumor-ill-print-about-prince-fielders-wife-avasail-garcia-and-miguel-cabrera/" target="_blank">real juicy gossip</a> for you concerning the Tigers and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fieldpr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Prince Fielder</a></strong>. I needed a napkin for this one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My friend, J-Doug is a brilliant, brilliant guy. His <a href="http://www.rationalpastime.com/2013/11/world-series-probability-added-papi.html" target="_blank">most recent post</a> at <i>Rational Pasttime</i> gives us a real cool win probability map of the most recent World Series and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ortizda01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">David Ortiz</a></strong>'s role in it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mike, over at <i>The Sports Banter</i> <a href="http://thesportsbanter.blogspot.com/2013/12/new-york-mets-2013-14-offseason-plan.html" target="_blank">left a blueprint</a> of what the Mets' off season should look like. At least one of his suggestions has already come true.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our German entry, <i>Dugout 24</i>, has <a href="http://www.blog.dugout24.de/was-ist-ein-bbcor-baseballschlager/" target="_blank">an interesting article</a> (once translated - thank you Internet!) about aluminum bats.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ben, of <i>Ben's Baseball Bias</i>, gave <a href="http://www.bensbaseballbias.com/2013/11/peter-bourjos-for-david-freese.html" target="_blank">his thoughts</a> on the trade between the Cardinals and Angels that swapped <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/freesda01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">David Freese</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bourjpe01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Peter Bourjos</a></strong>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Did you know that the Mets have a Santa Claus curse? Just ask <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wrighda03.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">David Wright</a></strong>. Michael Clair of <i>Old Time Family Baseball</i> <a href="http://oldtimefamilybaseball.com/post/70594179815/the-new-york-mets-santa-claus-curse" target="_blank">has all the details</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I don't always agree with Sully of <i>Sully Baseball</i>. But he is easily one of the most entertaining podcasters in baseball today. Here is <a href="http://sullybaseball.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/sully-baseball-daily-podcast-december-21-2013/" target="_blank">one of his latest</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Sisco Kid put a <a href="http://baseballsiscokidstyle.blogspot.com/2013/12/looking-back-at-robinson-cano-contract.html" target="_blank">lot of thought</a> on the recent mega-contract of <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/canoro01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Robinson Cano</a></strong> for his most recent post at <i>Baseball Sisco Kid Style</i>. Definitely worth the read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I met Dan, the author of <i>Left Field</i>, over the summer at a minor league game. He is not only a multi-talented writer and beer connoisseur, but a great family man and a terrific guy. And he is making head way in the baseball writing world and now writes for <i>High Heat Stats</i> and has his articles featured in a major newspaper. This post <a href="http://left-field.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-year-in-music.html" target="_blank">I have linked</a> is also his work and it caps the year in music. Awesome stuff.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lot has happened in the past year for my good friends at <i>MLB Dirt</i>. They are now part of the <i>Field Rush</i> network and are teeming with great writing talent. I am still a part of their roster, but haven't had time to write for them in forever. Here is one of their <a href="http://www.fieldrush.com/chris-martin-former-boston-red-sox-prospect-reflects-recent-trade-to-colorado-rockies-and-career/#.UrXSZPRDs90" target="_blank">latest and greatest</a> from Andrew Martin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mario Salvini of <i>Che Palle!</i> has <a href="http://chepalle.gazzetta.it/2013/12/15/il-triplete-di-kemp/" target="_blank">some fun</a> with the <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kempma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Matt Kemp</a></strong> gossip that has been keeping TMZ happy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lot has also happened with <i>Call to the Pen</i> over the last year as they have become a part of the <i>Fansided</i> network. They also have a large crew of talented writers.<a href="http://calltothepen.com/2013/12/21/phillies-orioles-jonathan-papelbon-trade-rumor/" target="_blank"> Here</a>, one of them reports on the latest <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/papeljo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Jonathan Papelbon</a></strong> rumor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite buds, Daniel Day of <i>The Ball Caps Blog</i>, has <a href="http://ballcapsblog.com/2013/12/07/whos-worth-more-a-baseball-player-or-the-doctor-keeping-your-wife-or-child-alive/" target="_blank">some perspective</a> of our weird money distribution in light of the Robinson Cano deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Through the Fence Baseball</i> has to be one of the hardest working baseball blogs in our chapter. One of their terrific team of writers, Jake Mastroianni, has a <a href="http://throughthefencebaseball.com/white-sox-transformation/40671" target="_blank">fine piece</a> on the rebuilding of the Chicago White Sox.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also met Bryan at a minor league game this past summer and I came away so impressed. In one of the <a href="http://replacementlevel.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/hot-stove-parenting/" target="_blank">best posts I have read this year</a>, Bryan talks about the 2013 Red Sox and his son. An amazing piece of writing over at <i>Replacement Level Baseball Blog</i>. Like Dan, Bryan also now writes for <i>High Heat Stats</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chuck Booth of <i>MLB Reports</i> (one of the most faithful #FF guys on Twitter!) has a <a href="http://mlbreports.com/2013/12/20/tjsurgeries/" target="_blank">terrific piece</a> on <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnto01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tommy John</a></strong> Surgeries over the years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the last three years, Graham Womack has invited the public to list the greatest 50 players not in the Hall of Fame. Theo of <i>Hot Corner Harbor</i> has a <a href="http://hotcornerharbor.blogspot.com/2013/12/50-Best-Not-in-Hall-of-Fame-2013.html" target="_blank">very interesting post</a> about his selections.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a really enjoyable piece, Matt Whitener of <i>Cheap.Seats.Please</i> has a great <a href="http://cheapseatsplease.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/cut-the-check-mlb-signings-report-and-recap-3/" target="_blank">run down</a> of free agent signings. I was torn between picking this piece or the previous one on what all second place teams needed. Cool idea!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Christopher Carelli has neared the big time as he is writing for Yahoo Sports. He deserves every success. His <i>The Baseball Stance</i> blog is a good place to keep up with his various writings and <a href="http://thebaseballstance.blogspot.com/2013/12/new-york-yankees-giant-fork-in-road.html" target="_blank">this one</a> shows that he has been watching closely at what the Yankees are doing this off season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of all the links here, and I love them all, you HAVE to read <a href="http://xtrabasehit.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-last-talk-with-pop-baseball-story.html" target="_blank">this one</a> over at <i>The Baseball Enthusiast</i>. You just HAVE to. Unbelievable writing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nik of <i>Nik's Baseball Corner</i> made all his <a href="http://niksbaseballcorner.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/top-82-free-agents-with-predictions/" target="_blank">free agent signing predictions</a> back in November. It is fascinating to look back. Nik hits the nail on several and was way off on several. But it's all fun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The heading of <a href="http://offthebenchbaseball.com/2013/12/18/braves-acquire-ryan-doumit-for-some-strange-reason/" target="_blank">this piece</a> about the Braves acquiring <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/doumiry01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Ryan Doumit</a></strong> (or Dumbmitt as I call him) drew me in immediately. And it gave me a good laugh. But the article is good except for the part about Doumit being a respectable catcher. Check it out at <i>Off the Bench Baseball</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A discussion of the 2013 season's best pitchers is <a href="http://payoffpitches.blogspot.com/2013/12/breakdown-of-2013-walter-johnson-award.html" target="_blank">the topic</a> of the latest post over at <i>Payoff Pitch</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Radical Baseball</i> is one of our newer sites and is written by Kenneth Matinale. I love posts like <a href="http://radicalbaseball.blogspot.com/2013/12/worst-lefty-batters-against-lefty.html" target="_blank">this one</a> on the worst left-handed batters against left-handed pitching over time. Great job.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another of our newer sites is <a href="http://knowhitter.com/2013/12/13/kingdome-crossover-seattle-mariners-this-week-in-walk-up-music-news/" target="_blank">not happy</a> with the Seattle Mariners' off season and not for the reasons you'd think. Check out Ben's entertaining post over at <i>Know Hitter</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dave, over at <i>Baseball Roundtable</i> has some Hall of Fame <a href="http://www.baseballroundtable.com/bbrts-2014-hall-of-fame-selectionspredictions/" target="_blank">predictions and thoughts</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Did the BBA really get <i>High Heat Stats</i>!? In my chapter!? Woo! That site is the bomb! They used to be the blog for baseball-reference.com until that site stupidly cut it loose. <a href="http://www.highheatstats.com/2013/12/seth-smith-and-the-almost-lost-art-of-pinch-hitting/" target="_blank">This post</a> by Doug on <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithse01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Seth Smith</a></strong> shows why the site is so great.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another great new site to the BBA is <i>Baseball Hot Corner</i>. Here is that <a href="http://baseballhotcorner.com/shin-soo-choo-agrees-7-year-130-million-deal-texas-rangers/" target="_blank">site's take</a> on the Rangers' new deal with <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/choosh01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Shin-Soo Choo</a></strong>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There you have it. Phew! I had forgotten how much time that takes. I was a young man when I started this post. Have a wonderful holiday season and here's to a very good baseball New Years to all of us. </div>

BBA Linkfest - General holiday greetings

I have not done this in a while and it is time to get back at it. I am the president of the General Chapter of the Baseball Bloggers Allianc...

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