You Never Sausage a Post: Wednesday Phillies Links

Phillies

The Most Surprising Hitter of the Season | FanGraphs Baseball
Harper put himself on course for a free-agent contract worth half a billion dollars. Correa burst onto the scene as an unbelievable rookie shortstop, and then Lindor did the exact same thing. Bradley started to show some everyday promise, and Grichuk and Panik made themselves out to be long-term franchise assets. It’s a table defined mostly by youth, and by a 31-year-old Andres Blanco.

Picks to click: Breakout hitters for 2016
5. Maikel Franco, Philadelphia Phillies: .773 career OPS | 2016 James .794, Steamer .778

Reviewing 2015 " Phillies Insider
OF Jeff Francoeur, pitching three scoreless relief innings, actually threw 48 pitches — which was 22 more than his team’s starting pitcher (Jerome Williams) threw that night.

Phillies Art Mahaffey Sets a Record
As TBOH Phillies History Month continues, we turn back the clock to 1961, and relive Art Mahaffey's record 17 strikeout game at Connie Mack Stadium.

Phillies Off-Season League Stats

Hall of Fame

Will Ken Griffey Jr. be first unanimous Hall of Fame selection? - SweetSpot- ESPN
One Latin American voter didn't vote for Aaron because he voted only for Luis Aparicio. One voter didn't vote for Mike Schmidt because Schmidt didn't sign autographs for kids. Bill Conlin "wrote a belligerent column bragging about" why he didn't vote for Ryan.

Bonds, Clemens likely to get boost from Hall vote changes

It appears Curt Schilling’s politics are costing him Hall of Fame votes | HardballTalk
There had not been that much focus on Schilling’s social media habits before this past year, making those comments — and not his status as a Republican — the factor which has caused the damage.

Ballot Tracker
WIth 174 ballots in, Griffey is still unanimous, Piazza looks solid (86.2%), while Bagwell (79.3%) and Raines (77.6%) are on the cusp. Final voting results will be announced tonight at 6 pm, but the tracker will be updated throughout the day as ballots continue to be made public. Follow @NotMrTibbs.

Around the League

Preparing for the Hottest January Stove in Years | FanGraphs Baseball

Hot Stove: Royals, Nationals, Pirates among 'perfect' fits for Cliff Lee - CBSSports.com
The Royals, Nationals and Pirates are among the best suitors for Cliff Lee, who is looking for a "perfect fit" for 2016.

Rumor buy or sell: D-Backs not willing to surrender another draft pick - CBSSports.com
I think the "we won't give up a draft pick" thing is just a front and Stewart's attempt to build some leverage in contract talks with Kendrick (or one of the other eight qualified free agents).

Mets VP Paul DePodesta leaves for Browns: Three things to know - CBSSports.com
DePodesta, 43, played both football and baseball at Harvard. He has been with the Mets since September 2010 and has been one of GM Sandy Alderson's top lieutenants during his time in New York.

Playing the right way? | FOX Sports
The longer I played baseball, the more I realized that across America, that cliché – Play the game the right way – actually means something very specific: Play the game MY way.

Pricing Alex Gordon on a Three-Year Deal | FanGraphs Baseball
If the White Sox are serious about adding another quality player to their offseason overhaul, giving Gordon 3/$60M with an opt-out wouldn’t be a bad use of funds.

Baltimore Orioles Rumors - MLB Trade Rumors
Importantly, too, Bastardo recovered from a tough start with a nice run to end the year. And while he was even better against opposing lefties, he also limited right-handed hitters to a .207/.311/.315 batting line.

Blue Jays' power surge also can be attributed to their hitting coach | FOX Sports
In short, he was being ultra-aggressive at the plate when at home, and it turned out to be a big part of what would become an MVP season for the third baseman.

The Rise of More All-Fields Offense | FanGraphs Baseball
So it’s not that batters are going up the middle or the other way more often. It’s that, when they do go up the middle or the other way, they’ve been finding more success. There’s been more run production lately coming from non-pulled batted balls. We’ve seen more of an all-fields offense.

Dan Haren revealed some interesting things about his MLB career - CBSSports.com
On Monday, while riding an exercise bike, the now retired Haren opened up about his career on Twitter. His handle: @ithrow88. Gives you a good idea about his sense of humor.

Your 2016 Spring-Training Trip: A Moderately Helpful Guide | FanGraphs Baseball
In the end, if you do it all right, you’ll leave sunburned, hungover, in possession of markedly less money, no larger grasp of baseball, the same number of venereal diseases, and the burning desire to replicate the experience exactly in a year’s time. If spring training teaches us anything, it’s sometimes that caring less is more.

The Yankees Haven’t Had a Below-Average Bullpen In 20 Years | FanGraphs Baseball
The Yankees have had Rivera. They’ve had Girardi. They’ve had money! Over the two decades, the Yankee bullpen has averaged +5.8 WPA per year. The league has come in at +1.6, for a pro-Yankees annual difference of about +4.2 wins.

Scott Kazmir, the Dodgers, and Health | FanGraphs Baseball
So, to quickly recap, after Kershaw, the Dodgers had three injury question marks, who they tried to tandem with an injury question mark, but when that didn’t work, they went out and got a different injury question mark.

Sunday Notes: Niekro Brothers, Manaea, Napoli, HoF, more | FanGraphs Baseball
In case you missed it, the Seattle Mariners have added Amanda Hopkins to their scouting staff. The daughter of former Rangers scouting director Ron Hopkins will be an area scout. Per Baseball America, Ms. Hopkins "becomes the first full-time female scout in more than 60 years."