I'm saddened by the fact that yesterday was, historically, the hottest day of the hot stove and the only news the Astros announced was signing Casey Diagle to a minor league contract and offering him an invite to spring training.  The plus side to this, is that anyone who does attend Spring Training is likely to get a lot of Jennie Finch sightings (does Diagle resent the fact that his wife has about 100x more success than he does or does she resent him for having a legitimate professional league?).

The derth of meaningful transactions didn't mean that there weren't rumors swirling around what Ed Wade will do with his allowance.  Although davoag posted to this link yesterday, the distinction I'd like to draw from the Brett Myers rumors is that the Astros want to sign him as a relief pitcher (see the emphasized portion of the photo caption).  Since the Charlie Brown Christmas Special was on TV the other night, I have only this to say: Good Grief.  What does it say about your team and your relationship with it, when even in rumors, that apparently have no substantiation, they manage to annoy you? Oh yeah, and we're also giving J.J. Putz the once over.

In exciting things to hear about, the Astros are seriously considering Placido Polanco as a candidate to solve our infield woes.  Even more exciting, is that RJ Anderson broke Palanco down and deemed him one of the most interesting-under-the-radar free agents of the offseason.

Remember when we did that whole community projection project thing last year? I do because it ate through hours of my life.  Well FanGraphs is raising the bar with their version of community projections this year.  The more participation, the cooler this will be...(I just pushed my glasses back up my schnoz, inadvertently, but perfectly timed).

Also, while we're talking projections, every system has it's reputation.  Bill James is too hitter friendly, PECOTA hates pitchers, etc.  The gentlemen at Walk-off Walk indulge our fascination with projections, but poke fun at both the systems and ourselves.  As a disclaimer, if you laugh at this, you're a giant baseball-nerd too.

I know that there are an disproportionate amount of lawyers, law students, former laywers/law students in the audience, so this legal analysis of how booth reviews are systemically structured in sports should appeal to you.

Put these links on your list of "I will reference these often as we discuss free agents this offseason":

1. Projected WAR and Contract Values for Free Agent Position Players - Beyond the Box Score
2. The Baseball Analysts: WAR, Salary, and Service: Estimating Dollars Per Win