End of the Week Link Roundup: A Whole Lotta Links

For the past few weeks, I've been busy with year-end stuff, work, and all that other good stuff. So the links have been backlogged. Here they are in all their glory:

Decade Lists and New Years Feelings:

• The picture to the right is from the Boston Globe as one of their best pictures of the decade shows the first sporting event I ever watched at home in HD
  
• ESPN's Rob Neyer has the Gold Glovers of the decade
• Neyer also lists his Top 100 players of the decade
  
• ESPN's Jerry Crasnick lists Mariano Rivera as the most valuable pitcher of the 2000s
• Crasnick then lists Sidney Ponson as his least valuable pitcher
• ESPN's Jim Caple has his best and worst teams of the decade (Yankees are on top)
• The New York Times' Tyler Kepner looks at the decade that had baseball's richest team finish on top
• Peter Gammons in his first column for MLB.com lists the Yankees as off-season winners and looks forward to the new year
  
• Roger Ebert gives his best films of the decade. Of those movies on his list I've seen Juno (loved it), Almost Famous (ditto), Adaptation (thought it was ok), Crash (loved it), Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2 (liked the first, loved the second), No Country for Old Men (really liked it), and Pan's Labyrinth (loved it). Will be renting the rest of the list.
• The New York Times has an awesome pictorial history of the past 10 years
  

Hall of Fame/Very Good:

• Neyer says the Hall adds one...but not the one we thought.
• Baseball Analysts thought it would be Bert Blyleven and broke down the case
  
• ESPN's Keith Law breaks down "the curious case of Andre Dawson" (I thought it was curious as well)
  
• Rob Neyer looks into the Hall of Fame's crystal ball and sees all the great players coming down the pipe in 2013, 2014 and beyond
• ESPN and Beyond the Boxscore look at the Hall of Fame Zone to figure out who should be in and who should be out

Jason "Sitting on a Dock by the" Bay

• NYP's Joel Sherman says that the Mets spent a "lotta loot" for a guy with a lot of questions marks
• Within this Boston Globe article, there is news about the Red Sox draft pick compensation for the signing
• Keith Law says that Bay will help but won't solve the pitching problem
• TedQuarters doesn't agree with all the Jason Bay rip jobs

Stats and other "Nerdy" Things:

• Alex Remington explains in Big League Stew everything you always wanted to know about WPA
  
• The Hardball Times takes a look at how the different Yankees catchers caught CC Sabathia last year
• Beyond the Boxscore has the 2009 Catcher Block Percentage (not surprisingly, Jorge Posada did not perform all that well here)
• The Oatmeal has 10 words you need to stop misspelling (H/T Jay)

Yanks!

• Rob Neyer (and NoMaas) says that Cashman has made the Yankees younger and better
  
• David Pinto at Baseball Musings addresses the fact that the Yankees don't really have a hole in LF and Rob Neyer says they're fine without a superstar LF
  
• David Cameron at FanGraphs looks at the Yankees' Win Curve (very interesting)
• Jason @ IIATMS is not a big fan of the Nick Johnson signing (neither is Jacko from Bill Simmons' BS Report) and Rob Neyer talks about the Giants not getting him
• On Vazquez: The Daily News' Mark Feinsand wrote that Posada wanted another pitcher for Christmas--and he got it. Some opinions on the deal: Pinstriped Bible (likes it), 'Duk at Big League Stew (is confused by it), MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (likes the pitching prospects going to the Braves), Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (sees this as the Yankees' response to Lackey), Joel Sherman (gives 10 thoughts), MLBTradeRumors (on what this means for Gaudin/Mitre), Jason @ IIATMS (trying to forget 2004 like mad), NBCSports' Craig Calcaterra (thinks it's not so bad for the Braves), Fack Youk (who thinks the idea of a budget was laughable), Benjamin Kabak at River Avenue Blues (who says that LF is now weakened), Keith Law (who says the Yankees have strengthened their staff), Frankie Piliere of MLB FanHouse (likes the Yankees increasing their depth), Tangotiger at The Book (who thinks of the trade in terms of NAV), and Joe Posnanski (who is depressed).
• On Granderson: FanGraphs looks at Granderson hitting in the Bronx, The Big Lead has a Q&A with Grandy, Jesse Spector of the Daily News says that Curtis is part of the "Yanks' Grand Plan", Tyler Kepner looks at the number on the back and Brian Costa clears it up for The Star-Ledger, Joe Posnanski (for SI) talks about the Yankees acquiring one of his favorite players, The New York Times talks about Granderson's mentoring, ESPN's Scoop Jackson says that Granderson will fit in just fine, and Lynn Henning for The Detroit News says that the change of scenery should energize Granderson (which is a little bit disturbing since he should have been doing that all along)\
• There is talk of a third baseball team in New York again as 'Duk from Big League Stew writes
  

Potpourri:

• From ESPN.com: A Louisiana man who bet against the New Orleans Saints has lost his 60-inch high-definition, flat-screen TV to a backyard firing squad.
• STLtoday asks a bunch of St. Louis writers who the best #3 and #4 combos are in the majors and A-Rod and Tex seem to come out on top.
  
• A crazy Yahoo! Sports story about investment companies firing fantasy owners (H/T Ari)
• "Who's up? He's up! Hee-seop Choi!" See what he's doing now from Chicago Breaking Sports
• In honor of last night's game, I present to you from Above the Law, the "Best. Motion to Continue. Ever." (H/T Jay)
• 'Duk lists a few ballparks he'd love to see future Winter Classics
  
• Forbes on the MLB arbitration cases and how they've gone historically
  
• I'm still reeling from that Dexter finale almost a month later and this sit down with Michael C. Hall on EW.com didn't help much.
• Some cool picture from Uni Watch on Jesse Spector's "mixed marriage"
  
• AdFreak has it all in the title: "Lethal jellyfish stings World's Best Job guy"
• From a while back, John Hollinger of ESPN says that the New York Knicks were finding answers without A.I. and now they're 1/2 game back of the 8th seed and have a 56.7% chance of making the playoffs
• ESPN's Buster Olney is eagerly awaiting the opening of Target Field and has some cool panoramic shots
  
• The New York Times' Ben Shpigel has a great article about a young ping-pong prodigy
• Craig Calcattera on the Grapefruit League vs. the Cactus League
  
• Mike Vick and HGH and Steroids from The Big Lead. "Ugh" is right
• Lastly, the New York Times has word that NYC's real Law & Order DA is retiring
  

Thanks for reading...more later!