Outside The Confines: The quiet of the season

As Hanukkah ends and the ticking clock down to Christmas gets closer to the big day, things are generally slowing down around baseball. Articles aren’t as frequent (don’t worry, we’ll still be giving you all your regularly scheduled BCB content!) but that means less breaking news to discuss and fewer stories to share.

With the season in mind (and the year we’ve all had drawing to a close) you may not see as much biting commentary on weekly news stories here, and as more positive ones bubble up I’ll be likely to promote those a bit more heavily this week.

I’m off from my day job for the week and spending some much needed down-time with my mom (no big family get togethers this year) but I would never leave you guys without some great content to read.

There WILL be new posts all week (even on Christmas Day, for which I have an idea), because everyone needs baseball in their lives, even now.

And with that, onto the links!

• Apparently if the Cleveland Soon-To-Be-Renameds would like some suggestions, Charlie Sheen is willing to offer one, reports Bill Shea. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• I had no idea there were World Series scripts, and evidently their writers can struggle a little when it comes to making Vin Scully sound like, well, Vin Scully, shares Bill Shaikin.
• Ben Clemens has a very unique piece on a very lucky day for one Tyler Anderson.
• Pedro Gomez wonders if the San Diego Padres have what it takes to move past the Dodgers.
• Is an unofficial salary cap keeping baseball teams from signing free agents? Buster Olney sure thinks so.
• Everyone else can go home because CC Sabathia’s holiday card is just EPIC.

• Matt Kelly brings us seven hypothetical trades that could fire up the offseason hot stove.
• Baseball managers reflect on Kevin Cash’s much-discussed decision to pull Blake Snell in Game 6 of the World Series. Story by Andy McCullough. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Hannah Keyser shares how the decision to take (or not to take) the COVID-19 vaccination may shape clubhouses in 2021.
• The inimitable Claire Smith offers some insight into MLB making room for the Negro League greats. (I don’t often praise writers so openly here, but Claire Smith is worthy of all praise and always, ALWAYS worth reading.)
• Felipe Alou and Dusty Baker are the next to be featured on Joe Posnanski’s exploration of slighted Hall of Fame candidates. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• What if the MLB offseason looked a little more like that of the NBA?
• Baseball needs to decide what, precisely, it wants to become, writes Howard Bryant.
• I don’t follow football, but I can tell you I don’t like these.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.