Most of the baseball blogosphere is off for Labor Day, but I pulled together a few links for the reader's pleasure:
Baseball Analytics gives us heat maps to illuminate Brett Jackson's incredbleBrett Jackson: Whiff Machine - Baseball Analytics Blog - MLB Baseball Analytics
So far, Jackson has rapped enough extra-base hits and drawn enough walks to be an asset for the run-starved North Siders (a 114 OPS+ in 92 plate appearances). But the last part of that Three True Outcomes equation -- Ks -- could quash his success in the long run
Marc Hulet of FanGraphs continues his Arizona Fall League Preview Series: Arizona Fall League Breakdown: Peoria Javelinas | FanGraphs Baseball
Each organization contributes players to the six-team league. The league typically shifts in favor of the hitters because teams are generally reluctant to assign top arms to the league – unless they’re attempting to make up for lost innings due to injuries. The Peoria Javelinas club consists of players from five organizations – Seattle, Philadelphia, San Diego, Minnesota, and Cincinnati. Below are some interesting names set to appear on the roster.
David Schoenfield of ESPN SweetSpot discusses the Athletics' incredible run at the postseason: Oakland A's have become best story of 2012 - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
The A's of a decade ago -- the "Moneyball" A's of book and movie fame -- were a different sort of team. In reality, that was a team of stars, not a patched-together roster of youngsters, castoffs, reclamation projects and one-more-chance guys...There was absolutely no way to predict this team would be in the pennant race as we head into September
The great Kevin Goldstein has left Baseball Prospectus for a job with the Houston Astros, you can read his farewell here: Baseball Prospectus | Baseball Prospectus News: Goodbye to the Internet
I'm going to miss that, all of that, and I'm very sad about it. But this is the opportunity to go beyond just trying to analyze prospects and talking about their future. This is the opportunity to actually see if I'm right. It's both terrifying and exhilarating and brings back weird and wonderful feelings in the back of my brain that haven't been triggered since my technology days working for start-ups. I'm going to take some time off, recharge the batteries, and get going with Houston just in time for the offseason.
Saber-Links will return tomorrow