>(Editor’s note:  This is part of a series of posts across several different websites, coming out of a Twitter conversation started by Andrew Kneeland, of Twins Target and elsewhere.  Check out the links at the bottom of the post for more takes on this question from excellent bloggers from around the Internet, and feel free […]

>By The Common Man Continuing with the 3 Questions series here at The Platoon Advantage, the San Diego Padres are under the microscope today. As always, you can find a complete list of the 3 Questions that we’ve covered so far here. Question 1: Was 2010 a fluke? On one level, this question doesn’t matter […]

>Austin’s Astros 290 Blog: Where will Berkman go now that Wade and McLane passed?Austin has Lance Berkman picking out curtains on the North Side of Chicago. Capitol Avenue Times (Braves): Elephant in the Room, Chipper Jones“The reasons people think Chipper Jones should retire fall into two categories: uninformed and irrational.” Disciples of Uecker (Brewers): Brewers […]

>By The Common Man Rob has an interesting question up in today’s Mendozas about Ted Abernathy, the submarine-style former Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals relief ace, pointing out “His 1.70 ERA in his last season is the lowest in history for a pitcher with at least 50 innings. I wish I knew why the […]

> By BillGrowing up in Shoreview, Minnesota in the late 1980s, my favorite baseball player was Kirby Puckett, but as a lanky lefty who always ended up the first baseman on my little league teams, I idolized Kent Hrbek.  I wore the number 14 whenever I could. I tried to copy his weird open-stanced swing, with […]

>By The Common Man It’s an old, hackneyed gimmick, but TCM’s going to use it anyway. Here’s what The Common Man is thankful for this holiday season: 1) Above all else, for the game itself. What better way to spend your free time than at a ballpark? Or watching on TV? Or reading about? What […]

>The 3 Questions series keeps plugging along. By the way, click here to see a complete set of links to the teams that have been covered thus far. Today, the Atlanta Braves are in the crosshairs. Question 1: Will Chipper be back and will he be Chipper? The answer to the first part of that […]

> By Bill I really like the Rays.  They were a lot of fun to root for in 2008, once the Twins were eliminated, and again this year, though that didn’t last nearly as long.  They might have been the best team in the majors, for all the good that did them, which is really […]

>The View from the Bleachers (Cubs): GirlieView (11/22/2010) Cubs and, well, other notes from Lizzie. Redleg Nation: The Reds and Free AgencyThere’s some good stuff on here about Joey Votto, as you might guess, but this is really interesting.  Care to guess the year when the Reds signed their first free agent?  If you aren’t named […]

>By The Common Man The Reds didn’t exactly come out of nowhere to compete in 2010. Indeed, their success was rooted in cagey drafting and buy-low acquisitions from the past several years. GM Walt Jocketty was clearly building a contending team. The surprise was that everything came together so nicely for the Reds in 2010, […]

> By Bill We’re doing three questions facing each of the thirty teams this offseason, playoff teams first, and so now we come to the Yankees.  I don’t like this any more than you do (quite possibly much less), but nothing to be done about it:1. Who’s going to pitch?This is actually shaping up to […]

>Bill here, flying solo for one more Roundup. I’ve just decided that I’m going to describe and/or respond to each post in exactly eight words. Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): What Now?Uggla’s a good start, but Braves need more. The View from the Bleachers (Cubs): In the News: Who’s On First?Cubs have no first baseman.  Teams […]

> We’ve spoiled you rotten already with Jeff and Zach, but we’ve got yet another great guest post today. This one comes from our friend and podcast partner Lar, from the fabulous Wezen-Ball. Enjoy! In the illustrious tradition of The Common Man and the Platoon Advantage, I had every intention of doing a “Random Thursday” […]

>For the second in our series of guest posts here at The Platoon Advantage, we are lucky to have Zach Sanders, who writes at too many places to count, including some of our favorites like Fangraphs.com, BaseballDailyDigest.com, and rotohardball.com.  Plus, Zach runs our fantasy football league.  In light of our discussion yesterday of Buster Posey’s […]

> Due to The Common Man’s continued absence, posting around here was going to be lighter than usual.  But as usual, some of the best friends of the blog we have stepped up and offered their services in filling in.  Today is the first of those guest writers, the terrific Jeff Polman of Play That […]