It's the weekend.

It's also time for links.

Some Royal and general baseball reads:

Royal Heritage: Royals Ding Dongs Home And Away
-- Stilley plays with the new splits available at Baseball Reference.

Pine Tar Press: The Five Best "Batting Fifth" Seasons In Royals History
-- Watson is making his way through the Royals lineup.

Kings Of Kauffman: Market Fresh - Javier Vazquez
-- I'm afraid this one is past it's sell-by date.

The Hardball Times: 10 who did the most to help their Cooperstown cases in 2012
-- What? No Royals made this list?

Baseball Prospectus: In A Pickle - That Blank Expression
-- Looking for Hall of Famers on this year's ballot and finding no one worthy.

Links of general interest:

Politico: Conservatives rebel against Boehner
-- Conservative opposition to John Boehner’s reelection as speaker on Thursday was more determined than it originally seemed. Guest starring a representative from Kansas.

Grandland: Norm Macdonald's Keeping Resolutions
-- Norm Macdonald on gambling? I'm there.

Mental Floss: 12 Historical Speeches Nobody Ever Heard
-- From a goodbye to stranded astronauts to Nixon's refusal to resign, here are a dozen speeches that were never delivered.

The New Yorker: There's Still Hope for People Who Love Les Miserables
-- I don't think this is a positive review.

The Dish: New Year, New Dish, New Media
-- This will be interesting as Andrew Sullivan goes behind a paywall.

The Economist: Norman’s conquest
-- How the first Gulf War continues to shape US policy.

The Economist: Daily chart - Birth right
-- A chart listing the best places to be born in 2013. If you're reading this, you've already been born. You're screwed.