The Best of FanGraphs: August 25 – August 29, 2014

Each week, we publish north of 100 posts on our various blogs. With this post, we hope to highlight 10 to 15 of them. You can read more on it here. The links below are color coded — green for FanGraphs, brown for RotoGraphs, purple for NotGraphs, dark red for The Hardball Times and blue for Community Research.

MONDAY
Joe Maddon’s Bunting Identity Crisis, by August Fagerstrom
It’s been a rough year in Tampa Bay.

Rest-of-Season Showdown – Dustin Pedroia vs Martin Prado, by Scott Strandberg
There haven’t been as many laser shows this season, and Scott isn’t pulling any punches when evaluating the Sox second baseman here.

Billy Bean Is MLB’s Ambassador for Inclusion. What Does That Mean?, by Alex Remington
Major League Baseball has stepped out on this important issue, and Alex investigates the details here.

TUESDAY
Anthony Rizzo’s Answered Your (My) Questions, by Landon Jones
There was plenty of skepticism surrounding Rizzo heading into this season, but as Landon details, he has answered his critics and then some.

Are We Putting Too Much Stock In Matchups?, by Brett Talley
An excellent think piece on whether or not we’re overthinking things when it comes to starting pitchers.

The Value of (In)Consistent Play in Major League Baseball, by Bill Petti
A very interesting study on which types of players you would like to see be consistent.

Rising HBP Rates: Seeing the Symptom, Seeking the Cause, by Rob Mains
The second post by Rob that takes a look at the interesting rise in batters hit by pitches.

WEDNESDAY
C.J. Wilson on Spin Rate, Arm Angles and Exploiting Weaknesses, by David Laurila
I saw David at the ballpark the day he did this interview, and he was as giddy as a schoolgirl about it. And with just cause!

Colby Rasmus, Enigma, by Drew Fairservice
Some of the comparisons here should be blood curdling for any prospective team that vets Rasmus this winter. Though not as blood curdling as the commercial Big Jgke and afnj brought to everyone’s attention and which Jeremy Blachman then immortalized over at NotGraphs. Yikes!

Madison Bumgarner Versus The League, by Eno Sarris
Bumgarner had himself a game against the Rockies this week, and as an added bonus, it not only encapsulated some of baseball’s trends this year, but it also raised an important question about strategy going forward.

An Island Where a Baseball-Like Sport is Played, by Craig Robinson
I want to go to there. Especially if the island gets a monorail.

Learning Baseball with Goofy, by Bradley Woodrum
It was a pretty great week at The Hardball Times, and neither Bruce Markusen’s piece on Ken Phelps and Seinfeld nor Chris Gigley’s piece on the Staten Island Yankees deserve to be snubbed. Bradley’s piece on Goofy was no slouch though, and as an added bonus, it may be the fastest THT read ever!

THURSDAY
Evaluating the Prospects: Colorado Rockies, by Kiley McDaniel
Kiley doesn’t believe the Rockies’ system is as deep as the Rangers’, but it is still laden with talent.

FRIDAY
Alex Gordon, UZR, and Bad Left Field Defense, by Jeff Zimmerman
The rest of the left fielders have been getting worse, but Gordon just stays the same.

This Is an Ice Cream Sandwich Festooned with Tiny Jesus Montero Heads, by Dayn Perry
#Festooned