Links Links and More Links

Before I start with the links, I would like to take a moment and say thank you to all of my fellow service members, past and present, who serve (or have served) our great nation.  Today while you’re enjoying a day off from work, take a moment to remember all of the men and women who have made sacrifices (both large and small) in service of our country.  Happy Veterans Day.

It’s the off-season.  There are no day games to watch when you’ve scammed your way out of work for the afternoon, there are no evening games to fill the mindless hours between work and sleep.  What is a baseball fan to do?  If the free agent market isn’t enough to keep you happy, Maija Varda (@kirbyslefteye), over at Kirby’s Left Eye, has some ideas to keep you busy while you wait for pitchers and catchers to report in April. I’m currently making my way through #1 on her list.

As most all of you know by now, the Twins fired GM Bill Smith with his predecessor Terry Ryan; Jim Crikket (@JimCrikket), over at Knuckleballsblog.com, takes a look at the winners and losers of the flip-flop.

Over at Baseball Nation, (@sbnbaseball) they have a really neat free agent tracker to help keep you up to date on all of the signings that are happening; make sure to bookmark the link so you can check back hour after hour, day after day, or week by week (depending on your level of insanity).

Over at Fangraphs.com there are a few interesting articles; Jm Breen (@berniescrew) thinks that hard slotting is bad for baseball, and Dave Cameron tries to figure out Mark Buehrle, a must read for any Twins fans who think that Buehrle should be pitching in a Twins uniform next season. Lastly, over at the NotGraphs part of Fangraphs, Carson Cistulli (@cistulli) wants you to know what Yogi Berra will have to drink.  Cistulli also hosts a pseudo-weekly podcast filled with goodness, make sure to check it out on Itunes.

For more links, including what a $100mill payroll will means for the Twins, follow me after the jump.

If you’re still with me, you’re probably a dedicated baseball fan, but just for fun, check out these BCS style NFL Power rankings by Steve Mahne (@cashmahne).  I don’t like the BCS in NCAA, but using the same style ranking system for the NFL is a neat idea, and I think it’s a lot of fun.  With such a limited schedule in the NFL (compared to MLB), I think it’s a pretty useful tool.  Also in the NFL-sphere, Jason Lisk (@JasonLisk) over at the Big Lead breaks down the finer points of the Reggie Bush for Pizza deal from the WAY over played Pizza Hut commercial.

Cody Christie, aka the NoDak Twins Fan (@NoDakTwinsFan) takes a closer look at what a 100mil payroll will mean for the Twins.  Also over at NoDakTwinsFan.com, Cody shares 5 predictions for the Twins new direction.

Over at The Bat Shatters, Adam Krueger (@a_krueger) thinks that the Twins should pursue Jose Reyes, whether or not you agree, check out his post here.

While everything that Camilo Pascual did on the field for the Twins was well before my time, Joe Christensen (@JoeCStrib) thinks that Pascual should be in the Twins Hall of Fame, and after reading his post it’s hard to find arguments against doing just that.  Also over at the Star Tribune, Howard Sinker (@afansview) discusses Joe Buck’s pirating of his father’s 1991 WS Game 6 call.  Howard thinks we should give Joe a break, what do you think?

Jesse Lund (@TwinkieTown) wants to know where the help for the farm system is going to come from (me too!).

The San Diego Padres unveiled their new uniforms for 2012.  Over at Big League Stew, Kevin Kaduk (@bigleaguestew) takes a look at the five best uniform changes of the last 20 years.  Check out his post to see if the Padres new digs made the list.

The discussion about realignment in MLB has not gone away, Drew Fairservice (@drewGROF) takes a look at the topic and discusses the Houston Astros move to the AL.

It’s November, and men all over the nation are growing mustaches for Movember to raise awareness for male specific diseases. Chris Creamer, over at The Score, takes a look at Movember Mascots. My vote goes to Williamsport Crosscutters.

Bill Petti, (@BillPetti) over at Beyond The Box Score, takes a look at foul balls as a skill.  I’m still undecided on the topic, but go read the arguments for yourself.

And in case you’ve been missing the NBA during the lockout (there’s an NBA lockout?! Gasp!), the following link should get you all the basketball you need.  Early this week, LeBron James participated in a charity game, Eric Freeman (@freemaneric) has a short post of LeBron’s newest move, “The Eel,” along with a video where you can see him in action.

That’s all I have for this week’s links.  Thanks for visiting, and if you still need something else to click on today, check out Pucketts Pond on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@puckettspond).

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