The Best of FanGraphs: June 9-13, 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.

Monday

Madison Bumgarner and His Strikeouts, by Matt Foster
Madison Bumgarner has been keeping his cool even when he falls behind hitters.

Tuesday

Jair Jurrjens: Comeback in Cincinnati, by David Laurila
Remember Jair Jurrjens?

Why Would You Ever Throw Derek Jeter Anything But A Fastball?, by Mike Petriello
Because he hasn’t been hitting them very well at all.

Let’s Watch Mike Trout Do Something Amazing, by Jeff Sullivan
Yes, let’s.

Let Athletes Be Athletes: Fast Hitters Don’t Have to Be Lefties, by Dan Farnsworth
Do left-handed hitters really get to first base faster?

Wednesday

Bo Porter and the Value of Trying, by David G. Temple
Managers generally lack creativity, but Bo Porter does not seem to have that problem.

FG on Fox: Maybe Hitters Are Being Too Passive, by Dave Cameron
Dave takes another look at the strikeout epidemic.

Tanner Roark Fools Hitters, by Chris Cwik
Perhaps he purchased an electrified fooling machine.

The North Shore Navigators Really Love Each Other, by Zach Reynolds
“Cistulli knows a lot about them, I’d guess.”

“[Redacted]ing Up the Whole Site”, by Mike Bates
When the Cistulli is away, the kids will play. Especially the kids in dad shirts.

Baseball Helps…Sometimes, by Jen Mac Ramos
Jen’s debut for THT is a brilliant look at the connection between mental health and baseball.

Thursday

Tim Hudson’s Evolving Arsenal, by Eno Sarris
Tim showed Eno his grips.

The Boys of Summer, by Scott Spratt
Not everyone starts off hot, and that’s OK.

Friday

The Art Of Being Almost Ready, Vol. III – Stephen Piscotty Edition, by Scott Strandberg
Not everyone is as ready for the Show as we want them to be.

The Declining Share of African-American Baseball Players, Part 2, by Matt Swartz
In March, Matt wrote a very informative look at the issue of race in baseball. This week he revisited it, with some fresh data. Here’s Part 1.