Fun Friday Links 20 August 2010

It's Friday and TCB crew is here to help you stave off boredom, as you struggle to get through the rest of your workday. In this post the writers have compiled a list of links we found for your viewing pleasure. If you found an interesting article that's not posted here feel free to post it below in the comments section.

Before we get into these fine links, I wanted to hijack Timmy's post real quick to share two links I got via email in the past week. The first is a documentary that two guys did on the Lancaster JetHawks. It's seven minutes long but very well-done. They touch on some of the issues about playing in the minor leagues, but it's also very visually appealing. Liked the talking heads with Jeff Lasky and Brian Pelligrini, as well.

The guys over at Stadium Journey also recently reviewed Whataburger Field. It wasn't as glowing a review as I gave it back in June, but it's definitely worth your perusal, if only for some more great pictures of that stadium.

Hall of Fame

POLL: Craig Biggio and the Hall of Fame - Baseball-Reference Blog
Baseball Reference runs down Biggio's career accomplishments, and then asks whether or not Biggio is Hall of Fame worthy.

Taking a closer look at Jeff Bagwell's case for the Hall of Fame - Big League Stew - MLB  - Yahoo! Sports
What's a link of Biggio's Hall of Fame candidacy, with out a link about Bagwell's.

The Baseball Analysts: Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell: Two Peas in a Pod
This article contends that Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell are almost identical players, from a Hall of Fame perspective.

Statistics

THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball
This thread at The Book Blog raises the interesting question of "when to go from the eyes to the numbers." When are scouting reports more useful than stats, and vice versa.

Aggregate Defense Evaluations | FanGraphs Baseball
The more people continue to probe defensive metrics, the more they are starting to seem like the emperor's new clothes.

THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball
MGL explains some common misunderstandings about DIPS. Some pitchers (like Mariano Rivera) may be able to produce lower than league average BABIP on a consistent basis--the standard deviation around the BABIP mean tells you that. However, the probability is small that any given pitcher's below average BABIP for a handful of seasons represents the pitcher's true talent.

The Baseball Analysts: The WAR Against Age – The Pitchers
An analysis and comparison of how pitchers and hitters age. Some interesting observations, notably that pitchers have more variability as to when they put up peak seasons, compared to hitters. A pitcher is much more likely to continue pitching at a high level after age 37 than a hitter will perform well after that age. Also, something I have noted, hitters and pitchers who have reached their peak may have a few down seasons before they rebound with several good seasons---perhaps an adjustment period.

Minor Leagues

Baseball America | Blog | Baseball America Prospects Blog | Multiple Suspensions Linked To “Jack3d” Stimulant
John Manuel digs a little deeper into the multiple suspensions of minor leaguers for Methylhexaneamine.

2010 Houston Astros Top 20 Pre-Season Prospects in Review - Minor League Ball
This isn't an update of the Top 20 prospects in the Astros farm system. It is a look back at how the Top 20 prospects have fared this year.

Deep Leagues Farm System Rankings Part II: Teams 21-25 | Deep Leagues

The guys over at Deep Leagues review the Astros farm system, ranking it 23rd overall in the majors. I'm not sure where exactly I'd put the team, but it'd probably be anywhere from 17 to 25, so I'm okay with this. I definitely don't think I'd list DDJ as the second-best prospect in the system, but again, that's just nitpicking.

'Cats Corner: ValleyCats Playoff Odds

In case you missed the memo, the guys writing about Tri-City are really, really smart. If we can get Stephen AND Kevin/Evan Valenti all placed in the Astros front office? Hello World Series titles...

Draft

BaseballAmerica.com: Draft: Draft Winners & Losers
While it will take us years to find out who the best players were in this year's draft, we can already judge how teams performed in bringing in talent at the signing deadline.

First Round Compensation (Part One) | FanGraphs Baseball

First Round Compensation (Part Two) | FanGraphs Baseball

First Round Compensation (Part Three) | FanGraphs Baseball

More interesting theories on the draft. I don't like the idea of a trading team giving up its rights to compensation, because I think you'll find a sharp decrease in these half-season rental trades. That will ultimately hurt the team that's trying to rebuild.

Around the League

Rays will travel in style this week ... | The Heater | tampabay.com, St. Petersburg Times
This blazer is awesome. When the Astros are a good baseball team again, I hope they do this kind of thing.

BJ Upton in his brayser

The Franchise Player | FanGraphs Baseball
Who do you think is the best young franchise player in MLB? Dave Cameron thinks its a young player in Washington DC. I bet it's not the one you're thinking of.

Astro Blogs

Tag's Lines: Panel denies Chacon grievance
The wheels of justice sure do move slowly.

TCB Follow Friday

Twitter / Stephen Higdon:
Standing in line for free lunch on day one of law school orientation listening to people discuss immigration reform, etc. #imgoingtohatethis

Twitter / David Coleman:
@stephenhigdon What, no one was discussing the merits of the designated hitter or whether Hunter Pence should hit second or third?

Twitter / Stephen Higdon:
@MDavidColeman I wish.