When did Trey Hillman start managing the Orioles? (via @Ry_Hudson)
"Beast Mode," Monsters, Inc., Air Quotes, or just mocking his teammates? Actually, I don't care. I wish I could quit you, Zack Greinke, you crazy, awesome S.O.B. H/T: Dave Brown
A few weeks ago, kcdc1 and I made a "bet" (Ithere were no stakes, so I'm not sure it really qualifies, but I did commit myself to a side, so there). If I remember correctly, he took the position that Francoeur would finish at least 2 WAR (he wouldn't commit to more... heh). I took the under. Well, as you can see from the screeen shot above, from this morning, Jeff Francoeur is at 2 WAR now. Sure, he could play at below replacement level the rest of the season (he's still Jeff Francoeur), but the chances are against that... So I'm not sure whether I'm conceding or not (given that I assumed Francoeur would start hot), but I didn't think it would go on long enough to come to this. Plus, since this is the first time I've ever been wrong, I thought you'd all want to see evidence of this historic moment. Congratulations kcdc1, Jeff Francoeur, and, of course, Dayton Moore! 3/20 now! Legible size.
As if the lure of hearing my dulcet tones discuss Jason Kendall and the other lesser stars of the 2011 AL Central along with host Dave Gershman and special guest Nick Scott of Royals Authority wasn't enough, Dave also interviews Phillies prospect Jiwan James. And yes, sorry in advance for the blatant self-promotion.
Is a joke even needed?
Insider content, but the title and first paragraph or two will let regular RRers know why it's linked.
Jim Bowden and GM Corner are back with a roundtable on sabermetrics, featuring , as you'd expect, Theo Epstein, Jon Daniels, Justin Upton (!), my boss Dave Cameron, Kevin Goldstein, and, hey, it wouldn't be a sabermetrics roundtable without... you guessed it... Dayton Moore. No, that is not a joke. Among Dayton's favorite stats are, and this is a quote as close as I can remember "runs created, runs scored... it's about runs scored and runs driven in." The whole thing is worth watching, although mostly for unintentional comedy. Watch all the way to the end for pure Bowden-y comedy.