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Lester decision should come soon; thoughts on the Golden Era Ballot; Prado and the shift; comparing Headley and Ellsbury
Buster Olney | ESPN: The Jon Lester decision should be announced on Tuesday, with the Cubs and Red Sox the favorites. Olney's colleague Jerry Crasnick tweeted that at least one scout and one front office person say, "Don't count out the Yankees."
Joe Posnanski | JoeBlogs: Poz posted some thoughts on the Golden Era ballot before yesterday's Hall of Fame announcement. I suspect that he was as disappointed as I am that not a single new Hall of Famer was elected. Once again, Hall of Fame voters failed to learn the Buck O'Neil lesson: the Hall of Fame is a museum that celebrates lifetime accomplishments, and that is most meaningfully done while the players are still alive. Voters squandered a chance to honor Jim Kaat and Minnie Minoso for careers that transcended their numbers (Kaat because of his years in the booth, Minoso as a trailblazer for Latin American players).
Eno Sarris | Fox Sports: Martin Prado makes the list of players not to try to shift on, because of his strong two-strike approach. He actually led the league in percentage of hits to the opposite field with two strikes.
Dave Cameron | Fangraphs: Dave Cameron makes an interesting comparison between Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury. He overlooks the acuteness of Headley's injury history (a recurring condition as opposed to a series of fluke injuries), but ultimately, I acknowledge that there's the possibility that Headley will be a valuable investment for the team that signs him.
