Good morning!
Here are several go-to links to make your Monday a bit more bearable:
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No first baseman has had a more impressive start to this season than the Cubs’ Bryan LaHair (.459 wOBA). Bradley Woodrum of Fangraphs examines whether the late bloomer’s performance is sustainable.
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Two Mariners home runs marred Andy Pettitte’s return from retirement. In a game Seattle won, 6-2, the Yankees southpaw went 6 1/3 innings, throwing 94 pitches, 60 for strikes. He walked three and struck out two.
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I am not buying “The Worst Trade of the Past 5 Years (Not That One)” claim, but SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee does remind us of a lopsided deal — James McDonald to the Pirates and Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers — that has received far less attention than the Mike Napoli and Mark Teixeira trades.
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Thanks to Mel Antonen of Sports Illustrated, we learn about Jonathan Papelbon’s take on cosmopolitan life:
“Philadelphia has a cool feel to it, man,’’ Papelbon says. “It’s a vibe that the city produces. It makes you feel like you are in Paris. I’ve never been to Paris, but I’ve seen it in a lot of movies. I think [Philadelphia] is going to be a great place to live.”
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Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron bemoans decisions by managers Don Mattingly and Eric Wedge to utilize the sacrifice bunt earlier this week.
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Tom Tango of Inside the Book triggers a discussion on Stephen Strasburg’s supposed 160-inning limit for this season.
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I am guessing that we will not see a better play this season from a third baseman than the one Brett Lawrie made yesterday on this play. Not too surprisingly, Lawrie is leading all big-league defenders with 15 defensive runs saved.
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David Wright hasn’t had much in the way of lineup protection in 2012. With a .400/.489/.591 slash line, he doesn’t seem all that bothered.
That’s it. Have a walk-off week!