The Best of FanGraphs: February 23-27, 2015

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, orange for TechGraphs and blue for Community Research.

MONDAY
Why $63 Million for Yoan Moncada Makes Sense, by Dave Cameron
The Boston Red Sox gave $31.5 million to Cuban émigré Yoan Moncada and an equivalent amount to Major League Baseball as tax for signing Moncada. Cameron suggests that it’s still probably money well spent.

The FanGraphs Auction Calculator!, by David Appelman
FanGraphs’ dark overlord David Appelman introduces what is not commonly known as a “sexy calculator.”

TUESDAY
The Athletics, The Phillies, and Short Pitchers, by Eno Sarris
Contrary to opinions expressed by singer/songwriter/American treasure Randy Newman, short people do have a reason to live — namely, to pitch for the Oakland baseball club.

Evaluating the Prospects: Oakland Athletics, by Kiley McDaniel
Also apropos that Oakland club, here are its most useful prospects, discussed in commendable detail.

WEDNESDAY
Audio: An Informal Conversation w/ Yoan Moncada, by Kiley McDaniel
This is a real conversation with the real Yoan Moncada.

2015 MLB Arbitration Visualized, by Sean Dolinar
New contributor Sean Dolinar has added considerably to the site in a short amount of time by means of his facility with graphics. Here’s a succinct summary of this season’s arbitration resolutions.

Baseball 2.0, by David Temple
Some proposals for Major League Baseball to improve its brand, none of them advisable.

Pitch Sequencing and Pitcher xBB%: We’re Getting There, by Alex Chamberlain
Integrating the rate at which a pitcher enters 3-0 counts into an expected-walk formula merits positive results.

THURSDAY
The Death Of Head-First Sliding, Hopefully, by Mike Petriello
Over the last two years, at least 15 players have been injured by means of sliding headfirst. Almost all of them know that it’s dumb.

Sports Streaming Is Safe Today Thanks to FCC Decision, by David Temple
The FCC has ruled in favor of net neutrality, which is of some benefit to those who want to watch the sports.

Not Another Wilmer Flores Defense Post, by FM Mood
That’s actually precisely what it is. But it’s brief!

FRIDAY
10 Years of Team Performance, Team Projections, by Jeff Sullivan
A review of team projections and their efficacy — or the efficacy of the teams who’ve under- and overperformed them.

Quick Looks: Henderson, Walker and Chen, by Jeff Zimmerman
As is typical of Zimmerman’s Quick Look pieces, this one quietly provides a compelling information in a brief format.