MondoLinks: Cyber Dealing Daze

I almost bit that Black Friday bug last week. I came to my senses when I realized that my desire for a 4K TV would require buying an HDMI 2.0 compatible receiver and upgrading from my PS3 to a PS4. So I didn't do anything. But in all my shopping I did re-engage my annual disgust at how all those great deals are offered on stuff that is generally 2 tiers below what people really want/need/use. A laptop for only $99, but with all the power and capacity to match what was the standard 5 years ago. SO it can't run today's stuff. That LED TV for only $299, PLUS a gift card? Yeah, but it's a 40-inch, suitable for your entry hall as a home information system.

So that is kind of what the 2B dealing of the last week has looked like. We need a Brian Dozier, who might be possible. Meanwhile, the market has been offering up deals on a Sean Rodriguez and a Jean Segura.

So, Eppler, whn you finish with today's links, push away form your keyboard and take the rest of the day off.

The big news over the weekend was not so much about baseball, but that of the loss of one of the world's great leaders. I join in the praise and respect shown to such an influential and beautiful icon of history coming from all corners of the globe. This loss will be felt for generations to come, mostly via WE tv. Rest In Peace, Carol Brady.

Yeah. Some other guy died, too. An ex minor league ballplayer from long ago.

Holiday Links:

Halos playing the numbers game. Cam Bedrosian must be a big fan of Brandon Wood..........

The Angels "talked" about signing Sean Rodriguez, before Rodriguez latched on with the Braves. There is a wide range of seriousness there in that word "talked". We "talked" about it, too, but it didn't to anything around here, either. I like the part where the link suggests that Rodriguez could have taken over at 3B should Yunel Escobar move to 2B, especially since it was only last week that the idea of Escobar moving to 2B was declared an outright non-starter.........

One of the most fun things to do during winter is to get your hands on player forecasts for the upcoming season and watch Mike Trout break the algorithms. Year after year it is just deemed too improbable that Trout will continue to serve up such stellar numbers. The models all assume that Trout will regress to some mean 40% or so below what he actually achieves. It's as if there is something in those models that reflects a human bias of disbelief. And !whack! Trout trots out there and  spends 6 months laughing at our silly models. Well, it's healthy to look back and be honest about this amazing thing that keeps happening.......

Gee, how can this be? The drunken-sailor spending ways of the ultra rich Dodgers is something that got out of control? Yep. Like, way out of control. MLB sanctions as stiff as suspending ownership and management out-of-control. Something about there being written into the MLB bylaws not taking on too much debt, which the Dodgers are on the verge of doing..........

Brian Cashman, GM of the Yankees, coming to the defense of the MLBPA by agreeing that the Qualifying Offer compensation system inhibits the ability of teams to make offers to Free Agent players. Of course, the GM's at places such as Minnesota might read that quote by Cashman and wholeheartedly agree, and think to themselves how not allowing a Yankees or Red Sox or Cubs or Dodgers to sign away anybody they wish without compensating the franchise that developed said talent is a great thing..........

The Cashman quote is topical, as it is likely a willing leak to the press about what is going on within the current CBA negotiations. The owners are willing to drop the current compensation system. We can assume that they already told this to the Players Union, so saying this out loud must mean that they want something more back from the union than they are being offered so far...........

It's tax accountant stuff, but stick with it. President-elect Trump's proposed tax plan, if enacted as proposed, would have an impact on true tax liabilities between states. This could impact where Free Agents sign. Mostly, it boils down to losing some tax breaks at the Federal level if stiffed for higher rates at the State level...............

BBWAA voters have struggled with the Cy Young Award for a long, long time..........

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The Duffle Bag

This Shohei Ohtani guy over in Japan seems destined to become pretty good at the baseball..........That Pablo Sandoval who I linked to being the main go-to guy in Boston as 2017 3B? Uh, it looks like the Giants won't coming to the rescue of the Red Sox, there..........H/T reddit. Baseball used to have such genteel arguments between players and umpires, didn't they? This looks like a magazine photo shoot rather than a real game..........Ha. Most extreme home runs of 2016, which includes the tater trot of Miami's Derek Dietrich that lasted 55 seconds. That's sure to be a long-standing record...........Tim Tebow ain't the first football player to take a crack at baseball, and end up looking like a football player trying to play baseball..........How the Twins logo came to be. (h/t UniWatch)...........

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Halo-Oppo-ly

My 2016-2017 Winter Project: Monolopy for the Rest of Us. You, too, get to try your hand as Arte Moreno-bags. We begin with the properties.

Right there past GO lie the two least costly options. Fun and spunky, easy to acquire, capable of delivering a stable return if you manage to load up on them and  get a little lucky. Otherwise, this pair are the worst investment in the game. First up, THE WONDER DOG!

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