Wednesday BBB Links:Merciful End of April Edition

As R.A Dickey said the other day, you can't win seven or eight games at a time, you can only win one. This one win could be the start of something, who knows? This Blue Jays team is talented enough to be as good in May as they were dreadful in April. There is a long way to go but it feels good to bask in the glory of any victory against the Boston John Farrells.

JAYS LINKS

Encarnacion carries Jays to comeback win - Sportsnet.ca
"Putting too much stock into a single game is a risky piece of business, but perhaps Tuesday night’s gutsy 9-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox may end up marking a turning point for the Blue Jays."

Nicholson-Smith: Examining Blue Jays’ struggles - Sportsnet.ca

"The Blue Jays are off to a slow start, and everyone has a theory about the team’s disappointing performance. Some of those theories help explain the team’s struggles, but others are best discarded."

Tao of Stieb: Winning don't come easy - Sportsnet.ca
"Yes, a month into the MLB season, the Blue Jays are underperforming. But some fans forget over the long winter that the game is replete with negative outcomes."

Blue Jays Lineup Against Lefties Needs Work - Jays Journal - A Toronto Blue Jays Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
"The Toronto Blue Jays line-up against left-handed pitchers leaves much to be desired." This is a problem, probably not the biggest one.

Blue Jays' players address early-season woes - Sportsnet.ca
"The Toronto Blue Jays are as flabbergasted as anybody by their 9-17 start to the season, fuelled by their current run of 10 losses in 13 outings."

AL EAST LINKS

Joel Hanrahan activated, Andrew Bailey 'likely' to remain closer - Over the Monster
"Joel Hanrahan has been activated, but Andrew Bailey's time as Boston's closer isn't coming to an end."

The Problem with Assumptions - DRaysBay
"In case anyone was willfully unaware, you should know that the Rays are a popular baseball team. I don't care how often Peter Gammons or some ESPN pundit wants to take a jab at the Rays attendance..." An article from my favorite genre: disproving ignorant statements by Yankees fans.

Is Ben Francisco having the worst April ever for a Yankee? - Pinstriped Bible
At least not all former Jays are excelling in pinstripes.

Better Know an Oriole: Nate McLouth - Camden Chat
"Nate McLouth is on fire for the Orioles, and he's costing us only two million bucks this year. Who is he and how did he get here?" Maybe a bit too much excitement for a player worth 0.2 WAR since 2010, but perhaps I'm just jealous the Jays don't have any awesome small sample size performances.

THE REST OF THE BASEBALL UNIVERSE LINKS

Baseball’s most boring player
"He's not bad, he's not really good, he's just there." I like the choice here, but I always thought Wilson Betemit was a good candidate for this distinction, maybe Jon Garland also.

Prospect pitching injuries remain unpredictable
"It doesn't seem to matter what strategy a team takes." What a cheery conclusion.

Giancarlo Stanton injury: How does this affect the 2013 Miami Marlins? - Fish Stripes
The Marlins continue their quest to miraculously be worse than the Astros.

Brandon Moss pies himself after Athletics beat Angels in 19 innings | MLB | Sports | National Post
You have to respect the man's commitment to tradition.

Josh Hamilton Is Swinging Himself Into Oblivion | FanGraphs Baseball
"The only guy who has swung the bat more often than Hamilton is Delmon Young, but 46.1% of the pitches Young has been thrown have been in the strike zone. Hamilton is pitched around more than any other hitter in the game, and yet he swings more often than anyone, with the exception of one replacement level scrub." People complain about the Jays being free swinging but it could be worse.

NON-BASEBALL LINK OF THE DAY

BBC - Future - Science & Environment - Spacial awareness: Where have we been in space?
"For decades we’ve been trying to boldly go where no man has gone before. How successful have we been? All is revealed in this infographic."