Sunday Links: Home Run Charts, Steinbrenner and El Guapo

(Photo by Chris Cook)

Here are some links for Sunday afternoon. Let's hope that Beckett and the Sox can win the rubber game of the series in Seattle today.

Paths to the Top of the Home Run Charts (Interactive!) [New York Times]

In case you missed it, Conde Nast and the NY Post (among other publications) ran stories this week about the deteriorating health of George Steinbrenner. I don't usually poke fun at the poor health of 77 year old men, but the thought of Steinbrenner as a "befuddled, bloated old man in dreadful shape" who responds "Great to see ya" to every question he is asked is just too much.

Sean O's Guide to Fenway: Seating [Fire Brand of the American League]

El Guapo could be making a comeback! [Boston.com]

(Photo from Boston.com)

Trading Places: Red Sox Have Become the Yankees [NY Times]
Don't read this article if you have high blood pressure. Yanksfan vs Soxfan and Joy of Sox have posted great criticisms of the article if you are in need of relief.

Why do sinking fastballs cause groundballs? [The Hardball Times]

An ad, ad, world [Boston Sports Blog]

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Links!

Photo by mattie b

Even this can of Budweiser looks tempting right about now. It's wicked hot out here in Seattle -- 98 degrees ahh! Anyway, here are a nine links to tide us over 'til baseball is back tomorrow:

The Yankees are still America's favorite baseball team according to a recent Harris Poll. Eeew. The Red Sox pulled in at #3.

There was one classic All-Star game face-off that Joe Buck and Tim McCarver did not actively discuss last night. [The Sports Hernia Blog]

I had a conversation eerily similar to this with my fantasy baseball team today. [McSweeny's]

It is a work-in-progress, but Joy of Sox has created the ultimate Red Sox nickname glossary.

Matt Ufford has a great piece over at AOL Fanhouse: How to Give Blogs Credit: a Handy Guide for the Mainstream Media. [Hat tip to The 700 Level]

Red Sox 16 year old uber prospect, Michael Almanzar, participated in his first scrimmage as a member of the Red Sox organization.

Baseball Prospectus looks ahead to the second half of the MLB season.

The NY Daily News "experts" dream up a team for the new Yankee Stadium in '09. Hint: there are lots of overpriced, aging free agents.

The Boston Bruins 2007-08 schedule is here! Besides our new goalie, we pretty much have the same team that was 35-41-6 last year, don't we? Sigh.

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Sunday Links: Boggs, Youk and the $7 Brewskie

Here a whopping ten links for your Sunday afternoon:

Lowell: NY was my school of hard knocks [Boston.com]

Boggs and current Sox first baseman share perspectives [Nashua Telegraph]

Youk has a blog! [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

Curt Schilling blogs about his outing Saturday. [38 Pitches]

Memories of the Impossible Dream Season Part One and Part Two [Peter's Red Sox Forever]

The $7 Ballpark Brewskie [The Hardball Times]

Leveraging Ballparks [Fire Brand of the AL]

Johnny Damon might play some first base for the Yankees. Yikes. [ESPN]

Roger Clemens won't start for the Yankees Monday. [ESPN]

If Only War Reporting Were More Like Sports Reporting [Washington Post]

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Sunday Links: Clemens, Taco Bell & Ball Busters

Photo by Flickr user yusheng

Here are seven links for Sunday afternoon. Don't forget to dig your anti-Clemens gear out of the bottom of the closet. (I just did.)

"Clemens announces return at Yankee Stadium" [SI.com]

"Trades have been hit or miss" [Boston Globe]
Gordon Edes takes a close look at recent Red Sox trades.

"Yankees and Red Sox May Open 2008 in Asia" [NY Times]

"Taco Bell Wants You To Propose During an MLB Game" [Fanhouse]
Note to guys: Bad idea.

"The Best/Worst of..." [Matsuzaka Watch]

"Lines Are For Suckers: How To Get Into a Baseball Game" [The Consumerist]

"Ball Busters" [Wired Magazine]
The story of the "lonely engineers who keep baseball honest."

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Sunday Links: Values, Standards & Glovology

Photo by Flickr user rodbegbie.

Wow! We've witnessed a great weekend of baseball so far. Tonight, the Red Sox will go for the sweep. Here are seven links to tide us over 'til 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Go Sox!

Over at 38 Pitches, Curt Schilling breaks down Friday's Red Sox win.

Forbes released it's 2007 list of MLB franchise values. The Yankees top the list at 1.2 billion. The Red Sox are at #3 with a franchise value of $724 million. (The current ownership group bought the Sox for $380 million $660 million in 2002.)

Fenway Park has "low standards" and is populated by a "pack of drunks" according to NY Beat writer, Peter Abraham. Why? Red Sox fans stood and cheered Josh Beckett when he was removed from the game Saturday. (I have never witnessed an extraneous curtain call at Yankee Stadium. Never.) Hat tip Yanksfan vs Soxfan.

"Glovology" [TCS Daily]
Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of the baseball glove.

"Red Sox celebrity lookalikes" [Bugs & Cranks] Julian Tavarez and...

Bill Nye the Science Guy answers questions about the gyroball.

The Cincinnati Reds are running a clever ad for Bronson Arroyo bobblehead night. Via Red Hot Mama.

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Sunday Links: Jackie, Japan & A Bear Suit

Here are ten links for your Sunday afternoon. This is the extended blizzard/nor'easter/excessive rainfall/strong winds/coastal flooding edition for our friends on the East Coast.
"Before and After Jackie" [YouTube]
Sean Pamphilon, director of the documentary "playing with RAGE," on Jackie Robinson. (via Ballhype)

"Making Sox-Yanks hit home in Japan" [Boston Globe]
"In the days leading up to this week's inaugural Red Sox-Yankees matchup for the 2007 season, four major Japanese newspapers will run promotions from Major League Baseball asking readers to pick a side. Boston or New York? Matsuzaka or Matsui? Monster or Godzilla?"

"Is MLB destroying Japan's national pastime?" [Japan Times]
There are two sides to every story.

"It's Not What You Think" [ESPN Commerical]
Wally the Green Monster catches David Ortiz wearing a Yankees hat.

"Mets Playing 'Sweet Caroline' In 8th Innings" [Joy of Sox]
Did the Mets rip off a Fenway tradition?

"Best Gear Ever for a Cold Day" [Boston Dan]

"Mnookin: Another Crazed Night At Fenway" [Deadspin]

"Bonds is wrong to wear No. 42" [ESPN Page 2]
"Now in his 22nd major league season, Bonds' track record in areas of race and sports is, to be polite, abysmal. Here is a man who, according to infinite associates and peers, has rarely -- if ever -- gone out of his way to assist a rookie African-American teammate trying to find his way; who sees young black fans not as potential heirs to the game, but as autograph-seeking gnats to be insulted or dismissed."

Alyssa Milano has a baseball blog. Wheee!

Pack your bagel on a CD spindle. Isn't this just the greatest idea since sliced bread?

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Sunday Links: Cupcakes, Hoaxes and Balls

Photo by Flickr user M@

On Opening Day Eve I feel like a kid strapped to a chair in front of a tray of freshly baked Red Sox themed cupcakes. Or something. I'm not so good with the analogies. Anyway, here are seven links for your Sunday afternoon:

"Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time" [Museum of Hoaxes]
Which hoaxes do you remember? I was fooled by the Sid Finch article and the Taco Bell / Liberty Bell hoax.

"Interview with John Henry" [Boston.com]
47 questions for John Henry, the principal owner of the Red Sox. (JH has his own blog, but he won't give out the url. Oooooh.)

"Just another day for female umpire" [MLB.com via ARSFIPT]
Wow! It will be cool if Ria Cortesio can make it to the Major League level as an umpire this season.

"The Papi Monologues" [Boston Magazine]
Boston Magazine has an entertaining excerpt from Big Papi's forthcoming autobiography. (via Joy of Sox)

"Dice-K does not impress Pat Burrell" [Bugs & Cranks]
The Phillies' Pat Burrell appears to be giving Terry Francona the finger in yesterday's exhibition game.

"He's Got Balls" [SI.com via The Jaunt]
Meet the man who has collected "more than 2,900 major league baseballs at games over the past sixteen years."

"10 great places to relish fine stadium fare" [USA Today]
I was hesitant to include this link because the author forgot my two favorites: Fenway Franks and Garlic Fries from Safeco Field.

Go Sox!
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Sunday Links: Curt Schilling, Haiku and Peyton Manning on SNL

Photo by Flickr user Finn (I want this house.)

Have you staked your claim to Hans Island? Good! Here are seven links for your Sunday afternoon:

"Solo by choice, Schilling acts as his own agent" [Eagle Tribune]

Sox-inspired Drawings [Blue Cats and Red Sox]
If these drawings ever become "in print," I'll be first in line for this series by Boston Fan in Michigan.

"Baseball Season Preview: Boston Red Sox" [Deadspin]
"Is it just me, or does this year's Red Sox team feel a lot like the team from Major League II? They're both motley crews of total weirdos trying to make it back to another World Series...."

"Haiku Contest" [Boston.com]
This link is for a friend of mine who is a world class haiku-er. Tim, you should submit an entry!

"Schilling Unfiltered" [SI.com]
Curt Schilling chats about his venture into the blogosphere.

"You might want to sit down" [The LoHud Yankees Blog]
Concerned about the Red Sox rotation? At least Carl Pavano won't be our opening day starter. The good news for Yankees fans is that "Pavano would be pitching on 643 days of rest."

"Peyton Manning on SNL" [YouTube via Cursed to First]
"Spend time with your kids so that Peyton Manning doesn't have to." So funny.

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Nuts!

I'm hoping that one of the guys who reads this blog can explain this phenomenon.

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Sunday Links: A Graph, Deer Meat and Psychoanalysis

Huh? (Photo from Yahoo Sports)

We're wicked late with the Sunday links, but here they are. We promise that we weren't out late last night at Lebowski Fest although we're 42% sure that it would've been fun.

Graph of the Day: The Boston Soap Opera [Humbug Journal]
Now we have a brand-new way to visualize "Manny Being Manny."

Ellsbury a rare talent [Boston Globe]
Ya-ah-teh. Count us among those who didn't realize that Sox uber prospect, Jacoby Ellsbury, is of Navajo descent. We also weren't aware that he once dressed up as Johnny Damon for Halloween.

Sheffield wanted in: 'Boston was my first choice' [Boston Herald]
Gary Sheffield wanted to play for the Red Sox? If it had happened, we'd have cheered for him, but we definitely don't know any Red Sox fans who were "talking good about Gary" when he was a Yankee:

"When I was out in public, Boston fans would say, ‘Why are you hanging out with Jeter? We hate the Yankees, but we respect you.’ And Jeter would say, ‘Man, when we go out in Boston, no one messes with Gary. Everybody’s always talking good about Gary.’ I used to wonder why, too. Maybe it’s the style of play or something else, but I always sensed the respect factor, even when I came to the plate.”

Excited Red Sox Fans Eagerly Await Debut Of Matsuzaka's 'Ultimate Galactic Dragon Gyroball Pitch Power Explosion' [The Onion]
We're 97% sure that only the Onion could come up with the phrase "ultimate galactic dragon gyroball."

Top Ten Bizarre baseball injuries of the last decade [Tufts Daily]
What do deer meat, a tanning salon and a can of dog food have in common?

How to Appeal to Baseball Fans? Advice: Don't Try [NY Times]
The psychoanalyzation of A-Rod continues. He's just "too sensitive."

Last, but not least -- here's the diverting non-baseball link:
Pick Images and This Program Will Tell You About Yourself [via Digg]
Here's how it works: You pick images based on your personal preferences and at the end of the "quiz" you will receive a description about yourself. (We don't know why it is so much fun to have a computer generated program "tell us about ourselves" even though we probably already "know ourselves" because we "are ourselves," but it is...)

PS. The sun won't set until 7:09 tonight in Seattle. Yikes, it's practically summer! Too bad it's raining....
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Sunday Links: Papelbon, Papi and Killer Sheep

There's (almost) nothing but good juicy Red Sox news out of Fort Myers this weekend. On Friday, Daisuke Matsuzaka threw two scoreless innings in his debut - 25 pitches, 19 strikes. This morning we got up, made toast and read that Jonathan Papelbon "the starter" fanned the NL MVP on Saturday. It's tough not to get pumped for these 2007 Sox!

Here are five links for Sunday afternoon:

"Papi a fatherly figure: Advice has helped young Pena" [Boston Herald]
How great are these stories about Big Papi as "mentor" to Wily-Mo Pena? This article even refers to Papi as the "Supreme Allied Commander" of the Red Sox. Nice.

"The evolution of pitches" [Sporting News]
The Sporting News chronicles the evolution of pitches in Major League Baseball starting with the introduction of the curve ball and change-up in the 1860's.

"A Chat with Red Sox Assistant General Manager Jed Hoyer" [The Baseball Analysts]

"NBA Highight Mixer" [NBA.com]
NBA.com has an interesting new feature where you can "mix and mash" NBA video and photos to create your own NBA highlight films. It would be nifty if MLB adopted a similar feature. Imagine being able to sort through current and historical Red Sox game footage to create your own highlight reel.

"Black Sheep Trailer" [Apple Trailers]
This link is in no way Red Sox-related, but try to watch this movie trailer without laughing. Just try.


"City of Palms Park" photo by my little sister, Jill.
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Links: Another Lunar Eclipse, Wily Mo and a Wall Talker

There hasn't been a lunar eclipse since October 27, 2004, the night that the Red Sox won the World Series, but there will be a visible eclipse this Saturday night. It would have been an intriguing coincidence if Daisuke Matsuzaka was slated to make his first start on Saturday instead of Friday, don't you think? There's a 10% chance of rain in Fort Myers on Friday, so you never know...

Anyway...here are five good pieces from around the web today:

• "Relationship with elderly couple shows Manny's softer side" [The Eagle Tribune] - Finally, a positive article about Manny Ramirez. (Whoa!)
  

• "The Wily Mo Dilemma" [Fire Brand of the AL] - What should the Red Sox do with Wily Mo Pena?

• "Un-Cranky Yanks" [New York Observer] - "Jeter Bumps A-Rod, Brian Cashman Takes Charge: They’re the 2007 Post-Steinbrennerian Yankees—Cheaper, Svelter, Lovable Bunch of Rich Lunks*" (Uh...right)

• "Ramirez talks to wall, hoping to improve on rookie season" - [St. Augustine] - Thankfully, this article is about Hanley, not Manny.

• "Top Ten Tips for Seeing a Sox Game in Baltimore" - [Red Sox Superfan]
  

*"Lunk" is a great word. I vow to use it more often.
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Sunday Links: Interpreters, Video Games & Bugs Bunny

Here are five links for your Sunday afternoon:

"Interpreters in Baseball Making Sure Nothing Is Lost in Translation" [New York Times] Everything you ever wanted to know about Japanese interpreters (and a little bit more).

"Bats and Bytes Part 1: Early Baseball Video Games" [Bugs & Cranks]
Bugs & Cranks takes a look back at pre-1982 baseball video games. If you've ever held an Atari joystick, this is a must read.

"Measuring Spring Training Cliches" [Roto Authority]
Roto Authority is "systematically tracking" all MLB players who have arrived at spring training either "bulked up" or "slimmed down" to find out which players actually perform better in 2007. For the record, Red Sox second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, will be among the tracked.

"Wells weighs in on Boston" [Boston.com]
David Wells offers some insight into what life is like "off the field" as a Red Sox player: "It was the worst. You go to a mall with your kids and you have people always wanting to take pictures. They should call it 'Picturetown' not 'Beantown.'" Ouch.

"Bugs Bunny, greatest banned player ever" [U.S.S. Mariner]
As a good citizen of Seattle (I finally converted to a Washington State drivers license!), I try to keep up with a few Seattle Mariners blogs in addition to my daily Red Sox blog/news intake. In one of my all-time favorite blog posts, U.S.S. Mariner analyzes (in excruciating detail) Looney Tunes' "Baseball Bugs" (1946) -- Gas House Gorillas vs Tea Totallers. The post is almost a year old, but it was recently selected for the 2007 Best American Sportswriting annual so I thought I'd post a link to it. Congrats U.S.S. Mariner!

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Sunday Reading

("Batting Practice Balls" photo by Flickr user Boston Fan in Michigan)

Here are five links for Sunday afternoon while we all try to recover from seeing Britney Spears bald:

"From Pearl Lagoon to Back Bay" [ESPN]
"From Cessna airplane to motorized canoe to Pearl Lagoon, the journey isn't for the weak." Amy K Nelson visits Red Sox pitcher, Devern Hansack, in his hometown in Nicaragua.

"Rule Changes" [Baseball Musings]
David Pinto breaks down the recently announced MLB rule changes.

"It will be fun rolling out Dice-K" [NY Newsday]
Ken Davidoff looks at "the Rivalry's newest wrinkle" -- and he doesn't believe in the gyro ball.

"Crap Sandwich" [Dan Shaughnessy Watch]
Thank the stars that "the Watch" reads Shaughnessy's drivel so that we don't have to.

"59Fifty Surgery" [Bugs & Cranks]
Bugs & Cranks offers step by step instructions on how to perform "surgery" on a new hat. (I usually just send mine through the dishwasher with a rubber band around it, but these instructions are better.)

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Sunday Afternoon Reading

Well...it's been a little while since we've stopped by here to put up any new material. In response to the "Are you dead?" emails we've received in our inbox: No, we're not dead. Let's just call it post-Christmas / pre-Spring Training writer's block. We're all geared up now though for the 2007 baseball season. How many days until the equipment truck leaves Yawkey Way?

Here are a few links for a cold Sunday afternoon:


("Gyroball" photo from SI.com)

"Unwinding the gyroball" [SI.com]
Brett Bull of SI.com explores "The physics behind the mysterious pitch and the burning question of whether Matsuzaka throws it."

"Seeking Edge in China, Yankees Put Baseball First" [New York Times]
The Evil Empire goes to China.

"Displaced Package" [Boston Sports Blog]
Major League Baseball has done a good job of making those of us who are "displaced" really "mad." I hope I can talk my brother into letting me Slingbox NESN from his cable. What is family for, right?

"Trade? Ask for Manny" [Denver Post]
Woody Paige is a lunatic.

"Who is the Official Mr. Ugly?" [View from the Bleachers]
Who is the ugliest man in baseball history? Randy Johnson has my vote...or maybe Jeff Weaver.

"The Power of Baseball Blogging" [Most Valuable Network]

"Long Term Shortstop" [Boston.com]
Amalie Benjamin visits Julio Lugo in Santo Domingo.

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