Friday, January 6, 2012

Friday Afternoon Sick Day Linkapalooza

My annual cold that didn't come in 2011 decided to grace me with its presence over the past 36 hours, so I left work early to spare my co-workers from my gross congestion.  With no job to do this afternoon, this seems like the perfect time to take another spin around the Yankosphere.  Join me, won't you?

- First up, a pair from RAB.  Joe Paw looked at the current 40-man situation earlier in the week and tried to figure out who would be the next to go to make room.  At least not signing Nakajima makes that situation a little more clear.

- Today, Larry Koestler crunched the numbers on the A-Rod contract to find out just how much he's being overpaid right now.  It's not pretty when you get to the end of it, but definitely an interesting read.

- Speaking of The Horse, Rasheeda Cooper at Bomber Boulevard was in the mood to talk about him earlier in the week and she's very optimistic about his chances for a bounce back 2012.  I can't say I'm quite as optimistic as Rasheeda, but when your post is titled "Let's Talk About A-Rod," you're speaking my language.

- Delia E. over at Yankees Fans Unite is already looking for improvements in 2012, and names her 6 Yankees that need to do just that.  Love the inclusion of Girardi on that list.

- Over at Pinstripe Alley, Brandon C. has gotten over the harsh pain of losing out on Nakajima and is already looking for possible replacement utility options.  I have to admit, I never would have considered Willie Harris, but I could see that working.

- Brien at IIATMS discusses the value that Ian Kennedy still brings to the Yankees, even though he's no longer in the organization at a time when they could use another quality starter.

- Michael Eder, one of the new additions to the TYA team, gives us some reason to be optimistic about Phil Hughes in 2012 by examining the link between his fastball velocity and his FIP values.  If Phil can get the heater back up to where it was in '09, that could go a long way to strengthening the rotation.  Not bad for a debut post.