Caught Looking 1/21

Here are some links from my fellow BBA General Chapter brethren to help you make it to your lunch break on Fridays.

*I was excited for my friend Mike at The Golden Sombrero when I heard he was getting direct messages from 2010 third overall pick Manny Machado. Turns out Manny just wants him to buy Apple products. I could use an iPad with MLB.tv already loaded on it if you're buying.

*The great Larry Granillo at Wezen-Ball wonders why TV sitcoms in the 80's and 90's told us that diet or caffeine pills were bad for us but greenies were fine for ballplayers. And he provides an awesome video mash up including the famous Saved By The Bell clip. I'm so... scared.

*In a great post at The Platoon Advantage, Bill looks back and forward at Bill James' Hall of Fame predictions from 1995 through 2019. Then Bill drove me drink with his 3 Questions about the Angels.

*The Hall of Very Good has a very good post on Vinny Castilla's retirement from baseball. He apparently took the Rickey Henderson approach to retiring from baseball.

*Jason from the aptly titled Jason's Baseball Blog does a pretty thorough job reviewing prospects. In this one, he looks at the Angels Jean Segura. I plan on spending most of the 2011 Angels season obsessing over Segura and Mike Trout. And cursing Tony Reagins and Scott Downs.

*Figure Filbert takes a look at how ridiculously consistent Jason Hammel was over the past two seasons except for ERA.

*Flagrant Fan makes a case for Jose Bautista having an even better 2011 season if he can just muster a few more multi-hit games. Toronto might want to get this linked blocked in Canada during the arbitration process.

*Rational Pastime has some interesting data on construction trends of stadiums between the NFL and MLB.

*Aaron make a case for Andy Pettitte's HOF candidacy using the always fun Player A through Player F comparison game. I thought I was going to get more right in that game. For more BBA General Chapter links, check in with Blogging From The Bleachers.

*Finally, our own Derwood's dad played in the Cubs' minor league system back in the day (or has a crazy imagination). Sometimes he shares some stories with us. You don't won't to miss the one about the onion picker girl.

Caught Looking

Caught Looking is MTD's links that thought that curveball was just a bit outside.

*There can be only one Highlander. MLB Trade Rumors reports the Cubs have claimed Max Rameriz. That leaves the struggling Taylor Teagarden as the only catcher left in the once vaunted Rangers' backstop trio. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was dealt to the Red Sox during the 2010 season and they also briefly claimed Ramirez.

*Back to MLB Trade Rumors for a sec, the Angels are still in on Scott Podsednik. My thoughts on this potential signing involve a combination of a toilet flush and bicycle horn which I haven't been able to find on Youtube or created on my own yet.

*Our friend Mike over at The Golden Sombrero looks at what the signing of Will Ohman means for Chris Sale's future in the White Sox rotation. He makes some very good points but I think Sale is an asset in the bullpen right now and would hate to see him get the "Joba treatment."

*You all know how good Larry Granillo is at writing about baseball. Well, Wezen-Ball has a new look and it's finally time to rank the Kids In The Hall. My vote is Dave Foley (loved News Radio), Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch and then Scott Thompson.

*The guys over at The Platoon Advantage had a blog fight over Jack Morris' HOF worthiness. And the Common Man might have won me over with his Mona Lisa example but I was already loaded on Absinthe and half way through figuring out Da Vinci's code that's going to lead me to a pot of gold.

*Our BBA General Chapter pres is doing this much better than I am right now. So in the meantime, enjoy Blogging From The Bleachers roundups here and here.

I promise I'll get better at these once somebody shows me when this 7 a.m. happens.