Joel Sherman doesn't like MLB roster callups. I might have a solution to his concerns.

Joel Sherman really hates MLB's September roster expansion rules:

"In a sport with plenty of dumb rules and traditions, this one seems created by Larry as told to Moe and implemented by Curly."

I personally never did mind the September callups. After playing over 130 games, I'm sure major leaguers would welcome a breather every now and then. And for fans of teams not in the playoff hunt, it's a chance to see the future players and revive the optimism of Spring Training again (and sell a handful of tickets that the team otherwise might not have sold.) Sherman does raise some good points about fairness though in terms of having a seemingly unlimited row of pinch hitters and pitchers in the bullpen.

Perhaps a solution would be to allow the rosters expand to 40 players but require each time declare an active roster of 30 players for each series, allowing for replacements only if players go on the disabled list (to avoid gaming the system with phantom injuries). A player not available for one series could replace someone else when the opponent changes but not before, regardless of whether the teams are playing 2, 3, or 4 games or just making up a single rainout from earlier in the year. That way each team knows who is and is not available for the other team during the series. Thoughts?

How MLB Announcers Favor American Players Over Foreign Ones | The Atlantic

A very interesting article about how announcers may make biased comments when talking about MLB players:

"The analysis reveals that foreign-born players—the vast majority of whom are Latino—are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to receiving praise for intangibles. Latino players are almost 13 percent less likely to be praised for intangibles than their white counterparts. Announcers are nearly 14 percent more likely to praise a US/Canadian-born player for intangibles than they are their international counterparts."

The piece also goes on to discuss questions raised about Albert Pujols' birth certificate when he signed his huge contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A great piece worth reading.

"What Francesa does is crude theater on the level of pro wrestling, with him playing the part of both Face and Heel."

Amazin Avenue with a great post about the bombastic Mike Francesa:

"Francesa's ultimate intent was not to give vent to a fanbase's frustrations, but to exploit them for press and ratings. That's his right as a radio host--his duty, really. But let's stop pretending this is a Peter Finch in Network moment, or an expression of a grass-roots movement. It is astroturf at best. It is a reflection of real feelings, but only in a third-hand venal fashion, like a table full of cheap souvenirs sold across the street from an historical site."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The word "Bolllywood" can be used as a verb?

Great post about the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen. Also, I've never seen "Bollywood" used as a verb before:

"He throws heat from 96 to 100 mph, but his 86 mph changeup, which Bollywoods away from lefties, dominates both hands — and he throws it for strikes in any count."

(FYI, the writer is talking about Fernando Rodney.)

Beltran steps up for charity, new hometown | Stltoday

Awesome profile on Carlos Beltran and his family. You can't help but root for such a nice guy that (Strike 3 in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS notwithstanding) was the best position player to date in the history of the New York Mets. Besides, the Mets don't even reach Game 7 that year without Beltran's performance in Games 1 through 6.