The Best of FanGraphs: August 28-September 1

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, dark red for The Hardball Times and blue for Community Research.

MONDAY
Joey Votto Went 0-for-0 With Five Walks, by Jeff Sullivan
There were 19 qualified players who didn’t even draw five walks in the entire month of August.

Local MLB TV Ratings Shine, Clouds Still Loom, by Craig Edwards
The Tigers and Pirates have some work to do to get fans interested again. The Pirates in particular seem to be in trouble.

Four Starting Pitchers Potentially Closing In On Innings Limit, by Mike Podhorzer
If you’re trying to win your league, you have to pay close attention to logistics like this in September. It’s not just enough to get the best players, you need to pay attention to who will be shut down, who will be rested, etc. Mike helps you out here.

A Visual Case for the DH, by Eli Ben-Porat
Eli played devil’s advocate with himself this week in two entertaining and well-researched pieces. The other, “The Case for Eliminating the DH,” went up on Tuesday.

TUESDAY
Arizona Fall League Roster Highlights, by Eric Longenhagen
The AFL is starting soon, and Eric has the lowdown.

WEDNESDAY
Would Chris Hayes Get a Hit in a Full Season of Play?, by Eno Sarris
If you’re constantly thinking outside the box, as Eno does, you hit a lot of home runs. And this was certainly a home run of an idea.

The Dodgers Are Listening to Justin Turner, by Travis Sawchick
Fortunately though, they’re not all growing hideous red/orange beards.

Eugenio Suarez’s Absurd August, by Randy Holt
When valuing players for next season, it’s important to remember these outlier months.

THURSDAY
Does Baseball Need to Reassess the “Right” Way to Play?, by Ashley MacLennan
Ashley finished her Residency on a high note. A big thanks to Ashley! (She also wrote this week about Mikie Mahtook earlier in the week.)

Chad Green on His Overpowering Repertoire, by David Laurila
You probably didn’t know who he was before the season, and still may not now. David aims to change that here.

Suspect New Closers: Claudio, Minaya, Greene, & Belisle, by Jeff Zimmerman
Not all of these guys are on equal footing.

King of the Mountain: How Zack Greinke Took Control in Coors Field, by Jan Moffett
Jan dove deep on this piece, to break down the ways Arizona’s star righty keeps hitters off-balance, and how he did so to spectacular affect in two starts at Coors Field earlier this season.

FRIDAY
Thanks, And See You All Soon, by Tony Blengino
We’re certainly going to miss having Tony’s contributions, but we wish him all the best of luck in whatever comes next.

The Astros Make Their Big Splash, by Dave Cameron
The Astros called their shot on Thursday night, when they acquired Justin Verlander. Dave covered it well here, and Jeff and Eric also spilled internet ink on the trade.

Guillermo Heredia, Starting Center Fielder by Brett Miller
Brett makes his case.