Possibly the last Filter for a few days - FanPosts get lots of discussion if anyone wants to talk about a few links in the meantime (like who is offered arbitration before tomorrow's deadline). Anyways, let's hit the links!

Apparently, journalists like to make their own stories (SHOCKING).

@clarkspencer

There is no truth to the rumor that the #Marlins are in trade talks with the #Red Sox -- or anyone else -- for shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Oh, and this should have been our number one hint as to why this was a non-story. But, since it came up...

Red Sox Reportedly Eyeing Hanley Ramirez - Bleacher Report

The package would have to be pretty overwhelming, and would presumably deplete their farm, but if they could somehow get the Marlins to take Kelly, Bowden, Westmoreland, and another prospect not named Reddick, Bard, or Buchholz, I would pull the trigger.

So, basically, this guy only like prospects that have reached the majors. I understand putting Bowden below Buch and Reddick, since he's been struggling of late, but below Bard? I think I'd put Kelly and Manifest Destiny above at least Bard, probably Reddick as well.

More Bleacher Report laughs later; first, some other stories.

Free Agents: Saito, Nishi, Kobayashi - NPB Tracker

Since I can't translate very well, I'll go with the English news; Saito could be lost as well, it appears. Thoughts?

Theo May Get Burned on Saito Too - Fenway West

Nevermind, first comment says it for me. Next topic.

Commissioner plans to step down after 2012 -- chicagotribune.com

GET OUTTA HERE, BUD. So... anyone want to revisit the Bush idea from last year? (Disclaimer: That FanPost probably makes me look really stupid. Enjoy it if you want to find it.)

History Unblurred: The 10 Best Starting Pitchers from the 2000s - Bleacher Report

Interesting methodology. Any issues with the rankings?

Elias Numbers For Type As - MLBTradeRumors.com

With an excellent explanation as well.

More links after the jump, including some projections, complaints, and an opportunity.

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First, we're going to get the stuff that hasn't been covered before out of the way. THEN we can come back to the same old topics.

Cost and Value: Economic Realities (Part 1 of 3) - Pinstripe Alley

Cost and Value: Salaries and Future Value (Part 2 of 3) - Pinstripe Alley

Evaluating the financial efficiency of the Yankees' lineup.

Yeah, I know, MFY fans, eww. But that's no excuse not to read these.

Black Friday Baseball Bargains - Fenway West

Nothing shocking or crazy, just a reminder of what's out there.

Rivals bicker over Red Sox relic - Boston Herald

A coveted piece of Red Sox lore sits deep in Yankee country with an uncertain future as a pair of rival collectors bitterly feud over who will profit from a potential sale of the Olde Town Team’s 1912 World Series trophy.

STORY TIME!!!! And don't give me some excuse about having to hear about Pilgrims and Indians all week - we all know that no one talks about that after the kindergarten plays with construction paper outifts.

The Brain: Humanity's Other Basic Instinct: Math - DISCOVER Magazine

Thanks to Tommy at BtB for this link.

Discussion: The Trade Of The Decade - MLBTradeRumors.com

Torey Lovullo to be named manager of Pawtucket - SoxProspects.com

After the jump, a whole bunch of stuff about assorted Blue Jay players (and a Detroit Tiger as well).

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It's not that difficult to imagine Tito being the guy holding all the bags and sitting on the bench outside the store where Theo's shopping. Then again, maybe I had a little too much eggnog. Anyways, not a lot of links:

Another Thing I'm Thankful For: Baseball Reference - Brew Crew Ball

Trades Of The Decade: A-Rod For Soriano - MLBTradeRumors.com

The one that nearly sent Rodriguez to the Sox; how different would the baseball world be if Selig had let it go through?

The Price Tag For Roy Halladay - MLBTradeRumors.com

I swear, this is like trying to convince someone that they save 100% off the price by NOT BUYING what they don't need.

Hard to hold AL West at Bay - Boston Herald

This offseason, the competition with the West is expected to take a different form, with the Angels a prime contender for free agent left fielder Jason Bay.

That wouldn't be weird, for them to be rooting for Bay after how well he played against them in the 2008 ALDS.

Looking Forward to the Holidays in Boston, Not a Holliday or a Halladay! - Bleacher Report

I think this guy takes his logic a little too far.

Holliday open to playing in any part of the country - newsday.com

As he sits atop the free-agent market, Matt Holliday says he can envision playing anywhere.

The Sox Try to ReHash ‘09, Tug Hulett Who? - Fire Brand of the American League

Links, comments, etc. Good luck to anyone who has to fight crowds of people today.

Enjoy your cooked birdies today folks, even if it's not a celebration native to your country. I mean, why not be thankful? Links:

Poll Results: Fans say Bay isn’t worth more than $60M - The Bottom Line

Hmm. What's the max you'd offer?

Holliday-Bay: Visual Scouting Reports 1.0 - The Baseball Analysts

Less about the debate than the visuals, but still cool. Pause the Maple Leaf Flag stuff for now though.

Interviewing Alex Wilson: 2009 draft pick closest to the bigs - Fire Brand of the American League

Just something to read while drifting off to sleep after turkey time.

Latest buzz from the MLB offseason - FOX Sports

Source: Red Sox interested in Duchscherer — 3:26 p.m.

Apart from their interest in Toronto ace Roy Halladay, the Red Sox are checking on a long list of possible pitching upgrades.

Justin Duchscherer, an All-Star as recently as 2008, is one of them. The Red Sox are interested in Duchscherer as a starting pitcher, one major-league source said Wednesday. The right-hander didn't pitch in the majors at all this year — in part because of clinical depression — and is now a free agent.

Duchscherer pitched out of the A's bullpen from 2004 through 2007, before moving into their rotation in 2008. He went 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA in 22 starts during what was his second All-Star season.

Duchscherer underwent hip surgery in 2008 and arthroscopic surgery on his throwing elbow this March. He has been on the disabled list five times in the past four years.

MVP voting confirms Utley as most underrated - Circling the Bases

Ungrateful BBWAA members.

Daydreaming for Adrian Gonzalez...Again - Yawkey Way Academy

After the jump, lots of stuff at the bottom of the Filter.

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Funny to see how similar opinions are starting to form on separate sites. Of course, some sites form the opinions more in the posts, rather than the comments. Could be a function of how the sites are set up though. Anyways, here's two quick, random links:

Rising star, prospect win Boston honors - redsox.com

Buch and Lavarnway are the best. Anyone have issues with these awards?

Projected WAR and Contract Values for Free Agent Position Players - BtB

Interesting - Beltre is projected almost equal with Figgins. Oh, and Holliday is far ahead of Bay (yes, UZR issues, but still).

Now I can show you how other sites are coming to the same conclusion as we have.

Will the Sox Acquire Adrian Beltre to Replace Lowell? - Fire Brand of the American League

Wow, that's a lot of writing. Pretty much consolidates all the stuff we've been saying.

Working out the Beltre Theory - Yawkey Way Academy

So it appears everyone agrees: this isn't an easy decision - especially when there's this option:

Report: Tigers' Miguel Cabrera Available Via Trade, Red Sox Listed as Prime Candidate - NESN.com

We discussed this shortly in the Mauer MVP thread, but here's the official story.

Miguel Cabrera? No thanks - Extra Bases

The Tigers are owned by pizza magnate Mike Ilitch and have a pile of money. If Cabrera is being shopped, it's not for budgetary reasons. It's because they decided they would be better off without him. That should give teams plenty of pause.

Oh snap.

Comparison shopping sluggers: Miguel Cabrera and Mark Teixeira - Boston Herald

Okay... and your point is?

Some sites don't really come up with new stuff, and then some sites find random ideas that actually might work:

Have Homicidal Tendencies, Will Travel - Surviving Grady

Hmm... interesting. Not sure where'd he fit, but it's definitely worth looking into if we somehow manage to need MORE players.

After the jump, some coaching staff items, a bit of alarming news, and trying to get everyone caught up.

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Okay, so I lied about the Filter being daily this week. Yes, I realize this situation's stupid. Let's move on to the links, shall we? As an experiment, I'm not going to say much about most of the links - except these:

This Dirt Is Free - A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory

Not completely relevant, but I figure that some people are going to want to be on the lookout for this. Doesn't bother me too much, but I don't own a blog and I don't see most advertisements anyways. That's more of an aesthetic choice than a political one though - I don't enjoy explaining the presence of certain ads to anyone that glances over my shoulder. However, there is a political aspect to blogging that I'd love to discuss:

ESPN is a bunch of morons

I don't particularly like Mr. Simmons's work. Most of it isn't entertaining, to me. But that doesn't mean I think that ESPN should be able to control what he can and can't say. (Yeah, I know, the stupid kid is ranting about stuff that he's not old enough to understand, but just bear with me.)

For one, maybe it's the young and naive view that needs to be considered here; I haven't been around long enough to be corrupted into thinking money is the only thing that matters. That'd be why I tend to over-romanticize simple stuff like curfews - but I digress. To me, there isn't a thing in the world more valuable than my voice. Without it, I wouldn't be able to write this post. Without it, I wouldn't be able to further my education through questioning the material. Without it, I wouldn't be able to express my many, hormone-driven emotions, I wouldn't be able to share my faith, and I wouldn't be able to be the die-hard fan I am. In short, I wouldn't be me without my voice.

Unless Mr. Simmons shares my flair for the dramatic and decided to sign an iron-clad contract with Lucifer so that he could have his voice amplified, I don't see how ESPN can justify censoring someone who was simply defending himself. Even though he probably could have found a more intelligent way of doing it than name-calling via Twitter, Mr. Simmons was not in the wrong to speak his mind. It may be part of the conditions that he agreed to when he signed onto ESPN, but I'm sure an insanity plea wouldn't be that hard to make for Mr. Simmons' case.

And now, onto the other links: some interesting, in not confusing, stuff about different parks and their effects upon stats; a couple of takes on recent Sox news; and plans for MLB domination!

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A couple of awards were announced this week, and a few remain for next week - when I should be able to produce a lot more content, since I'll have a week off from school. (Thank you, beyond-stupid school district.) Anyways, the first few links are about the recent controversies that have been occurring in baseball.

The Carpenter Travesty - Wezen-Ball

Excellent satire. Ironically, the BBWAA got almost as mad about Law and Carrol as the sabermetric community gets when the rest of the writers mess up awards.

The Current State of Baseball Economics - Fire Brand of the American League

Good breakdown of how the arguments are being made. So sad that the game has become so corrupted, too.

McAdam: Yankees won’t bid on Bay/Hollliday - The Bottom Line

Didn't someone report this about Teixeira last season? Just saying', doesn't mean much.

Theo Epstein, Here's My Christmas List - Bleacher Report

I really hope this is one of those lists where you demand a load, and expect Santa/(I'm ignorant of what fictious person is supposed to deliver gifts in other religions, I'm sorry)/Theo to get you one or two.

Of course, that strategy never really worked out for the greedy little bugger version of me from years past; I usually ended up with a nice pack of socks, maybe a new toy car or something. Best lesson I learned: When you ask for books, you end up getting a lot more of your wish list. Basically, I blame the commercialization of a holiday for my nerdom.

Red Sox call PawSox manager Johnson up - The Providence Journal

Wait, what's Tito going to call him? Johnsie?

After the jump, some rumors and catching up on course work for our sabermetrics course.

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Terry Francona Hopes Red Sox Re-Sign Jason Bay - NESN.com

Of course. He's a player's manager, and he wants to support the guy who he thinks will be signed, right? I mean, he's one of those guys that believes heart and sportsmanship wins games...

Coaches Tim Bogar, DeMarlo Hale to Step Up Following Departure of Brad Mills - Terry Francona - NESN.com

Wow, he explains why "team chemistry" is a load of bull. Maybe I was wrong about Tito...

Our Manager is a Closet Stat Geek? - Yawkey Way Academy

Tito needs to talk about stuff like this more often - I was totally wrong when I said Tito was loyal to a fault. My bad. I really hope we get to see the saberfriendly Tito in action a lot more this season, so that we'll at least know what the thought process is if there's a controversial decision.

VORP v RARP - Inside the Book

Since ESPN has decided that VORP can be grasped by our feeble minds, you might as well find out how it compares to Baseball Prospectus's OTHER value stat.

What John Henry Can Learn From Belichick’s 4th and 2 - Fire Brand of the American League

Still, despite the loss, the second-guessing, and the media advocating for everything short of an all-out lynching of BIll Belichick, John Henry should use this occasion as an opportunity to learn something from Robert Kraft.

Since there's a couple Pats fans on here, this link will probably mean more to y'all.

After the jump, a look at the pay scale for the 2009 free agents, "modern" Moneyball, and some recognition for some of the most important Sox of the decade.

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Still trying to catch up. Hopefully, I'll have a short night of homework sometime this week and I can post a bunch of links. Anyways, here's a bunch of more recent links (I'll save the still-relevant ones from earlier this week for later).

First, since I promised it to ferret:

Criminals of WAR - THT

I'm guilty of several of these offenses. Good reminder that it's not the end-all stat.

And now, some fielding fun:

How the Gold Gloves Work - Inside the Book

Try to avoid puking.

2010 UZR Projections - Beyond the Box Score

And guess who's projected as the worst CF?

With the Jumping and the Diving and the Whole Thing - The Baseball Analysts

Web Gems counting, for giggles.

Why Jason Bay is still unsigned - Extra Bases

Kinda old, but it still applies; it's not like he's signed somewhere yet.

After the jump, money, plans, and the minor leaguers.

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