Outside The Confines: Black Friday edition

Hello BCB family. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and if you woke up early this morning to go get a discounted TV somewhere, I hope the Black Friday deal fairies were kind to you.

With this being a week to focus on friends, family, and most importantly food, we’re going to go pretty light on the links today, but we’ve still got you covered if you want to sneak away from family time to do a little baseball reading.

• Davy Andrews would like to point out that nobody really hits good pitches.
• Anthony Castrovince has some hot stove trade proposals.
• Chris Gilligan believes there is still hope for Cody Bellinger.
• Mike Maddux is back in the game, this time as the new Rangers pitching coach. (AP)
• Here’s one thing every team is thankful for this year, according to Will Leitch.
• Once exiled from the Tigers, Dave Dombrowski has just been extended with the Phillies through 2027, shares Jayson Stark and The Athletic staff. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Even though he didn’t sign an extension with them, do the Yankees have the edge on re-signing Aaron Judge? (MLB)
• Joining the 14 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot, some familiar faces will be back next year. Who among them would you pick? (I’m a Todd Helton apologist, don’t hate me.)

• Enjoy the top ten plays of 2022 (according to MLB dot com).
• Bryce Harper has undergone Tommy John surgery and will likely miss the first half of the 2023 season. (ESPN)
• Nick Selbe wonders how the loss of Harper will shape the Phillies' early season.
• Masataka Tashida is getting a lot of interest from MLB teams, but Will Sammon highlights that there are some reservations from those who might sign him. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Talk about a sweet Christmas bonus. The Astros handed out postseason shares worth over half a million bucks. (AP)
• Nick Groke has a new series which spotlights baseball action outside the US, so give a read to the first installment of Touching Base. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Thought this was a fitting one following Thanksgiving.

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