BlackLinks: Let the shopping begin!

Welcome to the far side of the offseason, when things get busy. From here to February it’s all real. But, unlike department stores across the land, nobody is offering any super discount deals. Billy Eppler must shop, and Arte Moreno must pay. And all the merchants know it.

Players, owners, execs, media mavens, all are family people. And yesterday was pretty important family time. So not too much baseball news is to be had. That’s not a bad thing. Finish your coffee and get back to your families. I’ll be here for you on Monday, when the pipes of the Internet slow to a crawl by online shopper surges..........

Have some table scraps of Leftover-HaloLinks:

Shotgun Style

Mike Trout inspires Thanksgiving around America............

Let’s pick up another catcher, shall we? Eppler adds Dustin Garneau on a Minor League deal. That’s Dustin with a “D”, and Garneau with a “G”..........

Eppler is also looking at jumping into the fray for J.A. Happ.....The New York media is aghast at the chutzpah............

If you are going to go fishing in the Draft 5 pond, it helps to have some tips on where the best spots are to drop your line............

Bill Ripkin knew that Shohei Ohtani was going to be a visciously good MLB pitcher...........

We know that Mariano Rivera is a 1st-ballot Hall of Famer. But are there enough votes in the crowded ballot to carry Roy Halladay in with Rivera, or will the Halladay ticket have to wait?............

Did Jose Bautista’s 2015 ALCS bat flip ‘bug’ you? Well, if it didn’t before, it does now. Permanently...........

If you are not braving the maelstrom that surrounds merchants offering huge discounts on all the lesser models of products that you didn’t actually want, then you and your buddies can take up debate skills on these subjects.............

I skipped this FanGraphs piece yesterday because the page was full, so let’s pull it forward to today when things are slow. It is good insight into how MLB franchise owners grow their wealth less by day-to-day revenue, and mostly by ginormous franchise value appreciation..........

I am not a Fantasy Baseball player, so I am not the one to determine whether or not this guide for future rotisserie strategies makes any sense. You do it. Go...............

(h/t reddit) WIth the retirement of Adrian Beltre, take a look far back at Vin Scully calling Beltre’s first MLB at-bat............