Was this the first full weekend without baseball? Felt like it, and by that I mean, "what a horrible weekend." Here's what we're reading: 

• Now that the free agent market has opened, fans are awash with certain ideas that sometimes sound good, while others are just popular myths. JC Bradbury discusses them here @ Sabernomics. My favorite is the most common and most obvious:

GMs can buy low and sell high — So, let me get this straight: you think you know when a player is playing above or below his true ability—usually due to a small sample or by using a SGT-approved metric instead of a mainstream statistic—but guys who make a living in baseball completely miss it. For this to work, the GM on the other team has to be a colossal moron. GMs have made mistakes in the past and will make mistakes again, but they’re not dumb enough to act on a meaningless hot/cold streak. You can’t sell high or buy low and profit financially because all GMs understand these things.

• Kevin Goldstein ranks the top 11 Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects @ Baseball Prospectus.  Thanks to @Sky_Kalkman for the heads up.
• Andy over at B-Ref takes a look at HR vs. HBP rates and finds something awesome. Thanks to @tommy_bennett for the heads up. 
• Nice back-and-forth with Bill James, Tom Tango, and a discussion of whether or not to standardize the rules of baseball.
• Rob Neyer discusses what the Giants' title means for the A's, and how a proposed move to San Jose could alter the MLB landscape.

Off Topic & Nerdery after the jump.

• Genetically altering humans is a tough enough topic, but "intentionally manipulating Earth’s climate on a planetary scale?" Yikes.
• Bad Astronomy Blog looks at a magnificent picture of a galaxy, caught perfectly on-edge as if looking at the ridges of a quarter. 
• NASA budgets $15 million for hypersonic flight. 

via www.blogcdn.com

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