Back In The Saddle

Today's links are brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Spiderman...

There is nothing like waking up in the morning and going "Yeah, I agree, but I am too lazy to change things right now..."Ok, so maybe those are not the first things that generally come out of someones mouth after a nice long sleep, but you get the idea. OPS is not the be all and end all of offensive (though at points it can be offensive) discussion in baseball, but I think it gets the job done more often than not (even if that job is half-assed and makes you feel like a mid-level federal government employee)....http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/blogosphere_question_of_the_day_06_24_or_why_should_ops_die/

Ok, the link is almost a week old...sue me.

One thing that always goes unnoticed, maybe because we do not get to vote on them (which is a good thing) is who is going to pitch in the All-Star Game. While it is clear at the moment that Dan Haren should get the start for the NL (the only other worthy recipient at the moment in Tim Lincecum who missed the game last year due to the flu bug...or a bad NYC street vendor hot dog) who else should be on the staff. One man who could slowly gain support is John Lannan, the quiet anchor of the Washington Nationals pitching staff. Since every team needs a rep (and Zimmerman already has that on lock down for the Nats) could Lannan be the second? Probably not, but I think he is worth keeping an eye on as he is someone who is going to put up solid numbers for a bad team. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/29/stoppers-role-suits-nats-lannan-again/

I generally like what Ken Rosenthal has to say. As far as reporters go he is definately one of the best, maybe the best out of everyone not paid by The Worldwide Leader...but I have to call shenanigans on this title. Aramiz Ramirez is good, but he wont make Fukudome hit or make Milton Bradley a positive influence. I will say that if Rich Harden can stay healthy, and Big Z keeps plugging away (and doesnt retire as he already has threatened to do) the Cubbies might make a run at another playoff sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/9748082/Forget-trades,-Cubs-have-enough-to-win-right-now

I am currently reading Leigh Montville's biography of Ted Williams. While some people (like me for instance) believe that Ted Williams was the best hitter of all time, no one can deny that he took hitting as seriously as anyone who has played the game. Anyways, teams used to employ a shift against Ted because he used to try and pull the ball to right field every at bat. He said this was the most effective strategy for power hitters to hit more home runs and collect more hits. Fast forward to the 21st century and now we have Hit F/X, which tracks speed of the ball off the bat, launch angle, where the ball lands, and all sorts of goodies. Thanks to The Hardball Times we can now see that Ted, and every other dead pull hitter in baseball is on to something. It seems like a simple idea, but to have data that will support the theory is always a nice ace in the hole. Oh yeah, the article is about measuring skill and luck, which also helps support the BABIP stats that are much easier to generate...http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/using-hitf-x-to-measure-skill/

The one question that has been in my mind since the A-Rod steroid report has been this...WHO HAS THE LIST? Well, I doubt it is this guy, but I will post the link anyways, seeing as at the time about 1/10th of the list are Red Sox players and, well, I am really not that surprised at any name on the list (though there are a few that made me chuckle)...http://rotoinfo.com/read_article.php?articleId=318

Enjoy!