Daily Roundup 4/5/08

Links of the Day:

- Frankly this post at McCovey Chronicles is just brilliant. I remember as a child reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book about some athlete undergoing a genetic altering or something, and for whatever reason it always sticks out in my head when I hear cloning talk.

- Jeff Sullivan likes Josh Hamilton and Zach Grienke. He actually raised an interesting question with a post about Hamilton -- is he the best positional player in the American League West? At first thought I'd be inclined to disagree and go with someone like Ichiro or Vlad. However I found myself agreeing with Sullivan, Hamilton's skillset and potential set him apart from the pack.

- What's wrong with Kei Igawa? What's right with Rick Porcello? And how about a mock blockbuster  by Dayn Perry (at BP no less) involving Porcello and Joe Nathan?

- Season openers for the ages.

- Should the designated hitter be enforced in the National League as well? Bob Rittner believes so, and as an AL guy myself I  wouldn't mind doing away with pitchers hitting.

Pic of the Day: Putting the "blue" in Blue Jays.

100 Words on: Rays v. Yankees

Don't be fooled by Ian Kennedy's line, he wasn't nearly as bad as it suggests. On numerous occasions, including a 2-1 count against Shawn Riggans it appeared Kennedy was jipped of a strike call. Riggans would take advantage of a 3-1 count and rip a bases loaded double putting the Rays up 4-0. Cliff Floyd and Carlos Pena would add homeruns later in the game for the Rays. Andrew Sonnanstine allowed all four runs and five of the six hits he allowed in the third inning, otherwise it was Sonnanstine, not Kennedy, who looked like the third part of a holy trinity, mixing up his wide array of pitches and deliveries to deceive the Yankees.

Best Pitching Matchup:  Jake Peavy v. Brad Penny by a hair over Brandon Webb v. Jeff Francis