It's getting close to spring training so there were a large amount of baseball related links to make. In this edition, among the links we get "Good Connections" Griff and "Mediocre Analyst" Griff, a look at what happened to the best farm system in 2012 (it's not good at all), the effect of the Loony Loonie and some ballpark food that looks different and tasty unlike the stuff we get from the current 'Dome supplier.
JAYS LINKS
The Blue Jay Hunter: One Last Time: Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez?
Looking at whether Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana is a better fit for the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays' GM Alex Anthopoulos never that close to acquiring Ian Kinsler: Griffin | Toronto Star
Rangers coveted Edwin Encarnacion with second base a Jays priority but Kinsler no-trade meant a deal was never close enough to "fall apart"
The Blue Jay Hunter: The Blue Jays Starting Rotation is in Rough Shape
Without any offseason signings, the Blue Jays 2014 starting rotation is looking pretty rough.
Blue Jays’ projected 2014 lineup features mostly familar names: Griffin | Toronto Star
It seems GM Alex Anthopoulos has been able to convince himself not as many changes were needed as he once thought.
The Blue Jay Hunter: Takeaways from the Blue Jays State of the Franchise
Ian's recap of the Blue Jays State of the Franchise with Alex Anthopoulos, Paul Beeston and John Gibbons.
Blue Jays may benefit from compensation rules - Sportsnet.ca
It’s not a coincidence that five of the top free agents available are all linked to draft pick compensation. Any team hoping to sign Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana, Stephen Drew, Nelson Cruz or Kendrys Morales must be prepared to surrender a top draft choice, which frustrates players, agents and interested teams alike.
Blue Jays Notebook: How late is too late? - Sportsnet.ca
As the Blue Jays continue playing the waiting game for starting pitching, Roy Halladay talks to the organization’s prospects. Plus notes on other potential moves by the Toronto front office.
Jose Reyes is so ready for baseball season that he’s playing catch in the snow | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: After a disappointing 2013 season — both for himself and his new Toronto Blue Jays team — Jose Reyes is looking for redemption in 2014. In fact, he's itching so much for baseball that he's playing catch in the snow.
Sinking loonie threatens teams' bottom lines - Sportsnet.ca
For the first time in years the dollar is hovering around 90 cents, with some predicting it could fall much lower. It’s a prospect that Canadian sports owners and executives fear.
MLB LINKS
Cory Luebke And Difficulties In San Diego | FanGraphs Baseball
Remember this was less than three years ago. A "top" ranked farm system is a frangible thing. Who was 2nd and 3rd? Both are in the AL East.
Tommy John Surgery: Major Surgery | FanGraphs Baseball
Of course, it’s not that automatic, and of course, there’s still the year-long rehab, but Tommy John surgery isn’t feared the way it used to be, and the results tend to speak for themselves.
For the Birds "
Grantland's Jonah Keri looks at an AL East bird team with issues.
Flawed system leads to MLB waiting game - Sportsnet.ca
In theory, the concept of compensating a team that loses a significant free agent with a draft pick makes a lot sense. Suffer some pain in the present? Here’s a little promise for the future to ease the sting. Call it social justice, baseball style.
Tool: Basically Every Hitting Stat Correlation
By popular demand (OK, one guy asked for it), my first offering in the re-envisioned THT is this batting version of my pitching statistic correlation tool (newer version here).
So You Want to Be a Beat Writer…
So you say you want to be a beat reporter. Do you know what the life is really like? Are you ready to travel? You’ll have to travel like you never have.
What Kind of Hitters are Volatile?
Ever since I began writing publicly about baseball, I’ve been looking into the topic of player volatility. Two main questions have motivated this research: 1) To what degree do players’ performances from game to game vary from their overall seasonal performance, and 2) What accounts for differences in this variation?
Price Ceilings and the New Posting System
Masahiro Tanaka was set to be the third pitcher to produce a hefty posting fee for a Japanese baseball team until Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball agreed to make the maximum posting fee $20 million.
Giants are giving away an awesome R2-D2 beanie at this year’s ‘Star Wars Day’ | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: This is the droid you're looking for. The San Francisco Giants are giving away these awesome R2-D2 beanies on Aug. 31 as part of their "Star Wars Day."
ODD LINKS
Card Corner Plus: Cito and the ’74 Nationals
A look at the baseball card of the most successful (and at times stubborn) Jays manager.
Houston Astros target of painfully accurate Olympic rings joke | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: As you've undoubtedly heard or seen by now, the opening ceremonies at the Sochi Winter Olympics didn't get off to the best start on Friday night.
Minor league team may sell mashed potato hot dogs, chicken and waffle sliders this year | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: The West Michigan Whitecaps, the Single-A team for the Detroit Tigers, are one of minor-league baseball's top teams for unusual food. Last year, they introduced a bacon-shell taco to go along with their already popular Fifth Third Burger
Russian Police Choir Sings "Get Lucky" Before Sochi Opening Ceremony
The Russian police choir, which has become rather famous for its wonderful covers of popular pop songs, made an appearance before the Olympic opening ceremony in Sochi today. It was delightful.