Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 11/16

Ahh the holiday season.  It's back, people.  Stores are inexplicably playing Christmas music far too early, the football seasons (college and pros) are starting to become important, the weather is cooling down, and I get to make the first of my 2 yearly trips back to good old D-Block, Danbury, CT.  Going home for the holidays has become increasingly stressful in the last year or so, not because I hate Christmas or don't want to see my family or anything, but because when I'm home I live in fear of how much shit is going to get screwed up at work while I'm gone.  Now I'm the first to admit that I do a job that a smart high school kid could do, but I'm the only one at my company who does it.  And the end of the year happens to be the busiest time of year in our industry, so missing 3 days is basically like going on a religious sabbatical for me.  I really try to not give a shit, but it's always there, in the back of my mind.  Because I'm getting older and more mature and have to care now.  Being an adult sucks.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard discussed the undesirable path the Yankees might have to go down to address the rotation if they aren't able to re-sign Kuroda and Pettitte.

- On Tuesday, Brien Jackson of IIATMS pointed out the fallacy in the Manager of the Year award voting and made a case for why Joe Girardi was worthy of far more consideration than he got.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog took an interesting stance and argued for why Mike Napoli and Kevin Youkilis would be good fits for the Yanks.  Definitely worth a read if you're on the fence about either of those 2.

- On Wednesday, Robert Casey of Bleeding Yankee Blue made a call for the widening gap between player and fan relationships to be closed.  I'd love to see it happen, but doubt it will in today's world.

- El Duque of It Is High... made his pitch for going after Melky Cabrera for the open right field spot.  I don't agree that a 1-year deal will get it done, but Melky brings a lot of things to the table that the Yankees lineup needs.

- Donnie Collins of The SWB Blog had all the details (and the new logo) on the Yankees' new Triple-A nickname, the RailRiders.  Porcupine train conductors FTW!

- Matthew B of Yankees Fans Unite is on board with pursuing Justin Upton as Nick Swisher's successor in right field.

- On Thursday, Chad Jennings of LoHud debated the candidates for Yankee team MVP in 2012, correctly concluding that Robinson Cano was the most deserving of the distinction.

- Vizzini of NoMaas pointed out the early effect that the Yankees' $189 million goal is having on the offseason strategies of their AL East competition.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes put together a logical list of reasons for why Robinson Cano can't and won't be traded this offseason, even if the idea is one worth giving a second thought to.

- Andrew Mearns of Pinstriped Bible compiled a list of the most underappreciated individual seasons by position in Yankee history, starting with the infield.

- On Friday, Mike Eder of TYA explained the real reason behind Miguel Cabrera's landslide MVP victory yesterday.  It's not one that many of us agree with, but it's probably the closest thing to a logical explanation.

- Mike Axisa of RAB continued their season review series by looking back at my main man David Phelps' successful debut season.

For this Friday's jam, we got "Toxicity" System Of A Down.  Great album, great song, better than "Chop Suey!" even though that's what pushed them into the mainstream rock scene.  I had a chance to see them when they headlined the last real Ozzfest, the tour where they made so much money that they could take 5 years off, and I didn't go.  Major regret.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.  I'll be blogging back from the EST next week.