Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 4/19/13

I really don't know what to say about the manhunt situation in Boston only to just say that I can't stop watching it.  I started last night, stayed up way later than I should have, and was right back online watching this morning at work.  I actually took a half-day to go back home and continue watching because I really wasn't of any value work-wise just casually faking my way through my job with one eye on my other computer screen.  It's an incredible, strange, and incredibly strange thing to watch play out in real time, like an episode of "24" come to life.  Never seen a multi-faceted law enforcement operation quite like this.  I just hope it ends soon and ends without any more American lives lost.  And now, since I'm trying to keep some kind of normal routine going, onto the links.

- On Monday, Chad Jennings of LoHud broke down the early storylines, both good and bad, and addressed what we still don't know about this team.

- On Tuesday, Dan Barbarisi of The WSJ followed the life of David Aardsma after his Yankee release and gave a really cool look into what happens for players in those situations.

- Mike Ashmore of Thunder Thoughts profiled Trenton OF Neil Medchill, an injury-plagued former quasi-prospect who's been quietly mashing under the Heathcott-Austin-Flores radar.

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes wondered about Ichiro and what's in store for him after his slow start.  Like Bryan, I expect a bounce back, but not a big one.

- Mike Eder of IIATMS/TYA analyzed the small changes to Travis Hafner's swing mechanics that have helped him get off to his hot start.

- On Wednesday, Bryan Hoch of Bombers Beats compiled and presented the collection of at-bat songs for the currently active Yankees.  My rankings: 1) Nix, 2) Francisco, 3) Boesch.

- Martin Riggs of NoMaas noticed an interesting early trend in Brett Gardner's swing rates.

- Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits mused on Francisco Cervelli's strong start and what it might mean for Cervelli moving forward.

- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB commented on the transitional period that CC Sabathia might be starting to go through.  I'm still holding out hope that his fastball will heat up with the weather, but it does look like CC is starting to lose some of his juice as he moves into his mid-30s.

- Greg Kirkland of Pinstriped Bible praised the Yankees' solid early defensive performance, which is worthwhile praise IMO.  While they'll never be considered a great defensive team, they haven't shot themselves in the foot yet.

- Hunter Farman of Yanks Go Yard listed some other back end rotation options should Nova and Hughes continue to struggle.  Probably a little early to think about that, but it never hurts to be prepared.

- On Friday, el duque of It Is High... asked a pretty simple and intelligent question about Derek Jeter's comeback and the high expectations that came with it.

- Raimundo Ortiz of Bronx Baseball Daily reminded everybody of how valuable Brett Gardner is right now.  Well-rounded piece by Raimundo, and if you still think Gardner and his defense aren't valuable, you're an idiot.

- SG of RLYW compared the production projections for Jeter and Nunez over a full season to see how much the Yankees stand to lose at shortstop while Jeter is out.

For today's Friday Jam, we're going with a little old school Boston.  Just seems right after all that's gone on this week, and I have to think the people of the Boston area are going to need to blow off some steam and relax when this asshole is caught.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.