Good morning.

Here are several links from the past week that will make your Monday a bit more bearable:

• Once upon a time, Jim Johnson could do no wrong when he took the mound in a save situation. Recently, Johnson has been plain awful. Bill Chuck of Baseball Analytics wrote last Tuesday that Johnson’s lack of control is the primary reason for his recent spate of poor performances. (He blew another save opportunity on Sunday.)
• Cole Hamels is undoubtedly the recipient of anemic run support but Crashburn Alley’s Bill Baer notes that the southpaw is having a subpar year regardless.
• The staff of Baseball Nation ask, “What is the worst conversation in baseball?” Here’s Grant Brisbee’s No. 1 peeve:

The DH debate is stale. I don’t think anyone will debate that. Yet for some reason, whenever a DH/no-DH argument comes up on the Internet, it becomes a holy war.

Here’s what the debate boils down to:

If your grandfather took a job in the St. Louis area in 1932, moving his whole family across the country: You don’t like the DH.

If your grandfather moved to Dallas in 1932 because he could crash on Cousin Ralphie’s floor for a while: You like the DH.

That is, you’re probably a fan of an American League or National League team because of events out of your control. Where you were born. Where you grew up. Who your parents rooted for. And because of that, you’re going to like or dislike the DH, and no one will ever, ever, ever, ever change your mind.

But by all means, argue about it on the Internet. You’ll convince people to change their minds, I’m sure.”

• Astros skipper Bo Porter informed Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle that batting average is the “most overrated statistic in baseball.”
• Jonah Keri of Grantland profiles David Ortiz, who entered Monday evening’s game with an uber-impressive .433 weighted on-base average in 142 plate appearances. Keri notes, among other things, that Big Papi, at 37, is having incredible success against fastballs at or above 93 miles per hour.
• Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci covers the “10 early-season trends to watch,” which is headlined by the paucity of offensive production in the bigs:

When you go to a baseball game today you will see fewer hits on average than at any time since 1972 — and yet the game is taking more than 20 minutes longer to play. That’s more than 20 minutes of added dead time without the ball put in play.

• Utilizing wOBA differential, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs argues that the 2013 Cubs are considerably better than their won–loss record (20–30) indicates.
• According to ESPN Sweet Spot’s Mark Simon, the Diamondbacks have the best defensive team on the diamond, leading the majors in defensive runs saved.

• First-base umpire Jeff Nelson said that, in all of his years of umpiring, he had never seen anything like the above play in a game between the Rangers and Mariners game . In acknowledging the blown call, Nelson explained how he missed the pitcher jumping in front to take the throw: “When you umpire that play, your focus goes to the bag, and you watch the foot touch the bag and listen for the ball hitting the mitt.”

That’s it. Have a walk-off week!