Today's Link-O-Rama comes via the home office in Cicely, Alaska …
• Lest anyone blame
Jason Bartlett for getting thrown out at home in the seventh inning of Game 5, let's establish something for the record:
Bartlett was waved home by third-base coach Tom Foley. Sure,
Chase Utley made a great play, faking the throw to first. And yes, Foley could have played it safe and held Bartlett. But as Foley says, "We don't play that way."
• Until the
Brewers hired Ken Macha, I'd forgotten just how incredible a record he's got. In four seasons, his Athletics
averaged 93 wins. In his (or rather, their)
worst season they won 88 games. The A's fired Macha two years ago after a 93-win season and a 3-4 postseason (Division Series sweep followed by an ALCS sweep). Apparently it just wasn't a good fit. But you simply cannot argue with the man's credentials.
• Among the many interesting things about my friend, Rich Lederer:
He coached against Chase Utley in Little League. That was yesterday. Today Lederer writes about the
new Fielding Bible Awards, the voting for which I participated again this year. My choices differ with the actual awards at only two positions, second base and center field.
Brandon Phillips is No. 1 at second; I had Utley winning, with Phillips second. And
Carlos Beltran is No. 1 in center; I had Minnesota's
Carlos Gomez winning, with Beltran second. So while I share Lederer's concern about one of the voters, I heartily endorse the final results.
• During my postseason in-game chats, one question kept coming up again and again: Will the Rays be broken up after their great season like the Marlins were? Twice? My answer on the fly was always the same: No, because all of their key players are either signed already for 2009 or due to get only modest raises next season. Today in the Times, Alan Schwarz
goes into a great deal more depth and essentially agrees with me (but read to the end for one of Joe Maddon's nifty proverbs).
•
According to Matthew Cerrone (who would know), the Mets have picked up their $12 million option on
Carlos Delgado's contract for next year. This makes sense, because it was either $12 million for 2009 or a $4 million buyout for nothing. Getting a season of Carlos Delgado for $8 million extra? Gotta do it. However, Cerrone also suggests that management could trade Delgado if a better first baseman presents himself.
• Pitching 101: Matt Lentzner offers, with cool drawings, a
mechanical model of pitching. Also at The Hardball Times, Craig Brown looks at what teams have already done this month
to prepare for 2009.
Rob Neyer
