A few links that either A) are on subjects which have been beaten to death, or B) aren’t the stuff full posts are made of.

• Dave Allen of FanGraphs looks at the home runs in the new Yankee Stadium by analyzing home runs per ball in air rate by angle. In terms of home run rates he finds no difference in left field, and only a slight increase in right — for right-handed batters. For lefties there’s a significant statistical difference. He concludes: “So it could be that there have just been more power lefties hitting at Yankee Stadium this year compared to 2005-2008. But since the largest increase in HR rate is in the same area of largest outfield fence change I think it is that fence change that is responsible.”
• Meanwhile, at ESPN.com, Tristan Cockcroft tackles the same topic. His is less technical, as he focused more on the narrative of the Yankee Stadium home run pace. He does dig up an interesting tidbit: while there have been 12 home runs hit at the new Stadium which wouldn’t have left the old park, there have also been seven hits in the new yard which would have left the old one. Contrary to Allen, Cockcroft says, without much more than a hittrackeronline.com notation, “the difference in dimensions alone cannot explain this home run surge.”
• Mike Ashmore catches up with former Yank Brad Halsey, who is currently pitching for the Long Island Ducks — and not doing so hot. It appears his torn labrum in 2007 has caused considerable damage to his career.
• Over at Beyond the Boxscore, an experiment based on the almost-trade of Mariano. It looks at the target, David Wells, vs. Mo, based on wins above replacement. Mo is handicapped because of his limited innings in the pen, but even so he matches up well with Wells. Think about it this way: in terms of WAR, the greatest closer of all time matches up with a good, but not great, starter. You can speak to intangibles all you want, and there’s no doubt there are many at play, but in terms of value added to the team, it takes one helluva reliever to match a middle of the rotation starter.
• Make sure to stop by and say hi to Jason, as It’s About the Money, Stupid has some new digs.

A couple of Yanks-related links that I couldn’t quite work into a full post:

• Steve S — you all might know him better as The Artist — writes about the Hideki Matsui situation over at The Yankees Universe. Hideki is putting up good numbers, but is taking up the DH spot, which the Yanks could use for other purposes (i.e., getting vets a half-game off).
• R.J. Anderson, writing for FanGraphs, notes that the Yankees have surplus offense in AAA. Unfortunately, one of those guys could use some more polish, and the rest are questionable to produce at the big league level. Still, it’s nice to have options, who are performing well, in the case of further injury.
• Tyler Kepner talks to former umpire Jim Evans regarding Sunday’s protest. Evans runs through the situation, and thinks that the umps made the right call. The way he explains it, the Yanks won’t get another shot at the last two innings of the game.

I have over 100 baseball feeds in my RSS reader,. so I often come across some interesting stuff that either doesn’t relate to the Yankees or doesn’t warrant an entire post. Some of them I can’t help but share, so I’m going to start dumping these links into a bullet-point post. Let me know if you guys like the features. If so, we’ll consider running it in the mornings during the season.

• After showering praise on White Sox GM Ken Williams, Jon Heyman discusses possible A-Rod replacements. He mentions two Dodgers, Mark Loretta and Blake DeWitt, though either would be a complicated acquisition. Loretta signed this winter, and his consent would be required for a trade. DeWitt is young and promising; the Dodgers might want Phil Hughes, which would be ridiculous. Heyman mentions Kennedy, but would LA go for that? If so, it’s something the Yanks would have to consider. As a footnote Heyman mentions Chone Figgins if Brandon Wood steps up and starts at third base.
• There’s a great thread at The Book blog about the science of bat/ball collision. If you’re up to the task, it’s a good read-through.
• It looks like Ross Ohlendorf is re-learning his changeup with hopes of cracking the Pirates starting rotation. Ohlie ditched the changeup when the Yanks moved him to the bullpen, opting for a fastball/slider combo. Now that Pittsburgh wants him to start, he needs to get the feel back for his change. Thankfully for him, Pittsburgh represents one of his best chances at a starting gig. Not like they have a ton of promising pitchers to choose from.
• Josh at Jorge Says No! discusses the Kyle Lohse situation. Boy, did he luck out. Guy with a career ERA north of 4.00 gets a four-year, $41 million deal. He rewarded the Cardinals with 200 innings of 3.78 ERA ball last year, but at age 30 what are the chances he sustains that? With his K/BB ratio from the past few years, I’d say not very good.
• Jason at IIATMS riffs on the Pete Toms article Ben addressed yesterday. It’s a good read in itself, but what I really enjoyed was Jay at Fack Youk riffing on Jason’s line about the Yankees being a Ponzi scheme. Thankfully, as long as the team wins they probably have nothing to worry about.
• Then again, maybe there is something to worry about. I got an email from yankees.com yesterday afternoon announcing seating between the bases. These are primo seats that run from first base, behind the plate, and around to third base. Not only are these open for full-season tickets (at $325 per seat per game, so over $52,000 for the season for a pair), but also 41-game plans ($14,350 per seat), and two 20-game plans ($350 per seat per game, so $7,000 for one seat).

Maybe Joba should have attended this: a scared straight program for MLB draft picks and rookies. The article only mentions Brewers rooks going in for the program, though I guess (and hope) that all 30 teams will educate their players in such a manner.

It’s a neat idea. They toured a jail so that the players could get a feel for the inmate life. It kind of reminds me of a video they made us watch in high school.

• Lou Piniella cites 'toll' of managing
  Sweet Lou back with the Yankees?
• Yankees' Hughes Used His Recovery Time to Work on a New Pitch
  If he can throw it for strikes, it's all good. He'll also have time to work on it in the AzFL.
• Bradley deserves a long-term contract
  "If they’re not going to talk about my attitude, or incidents, then they’re going to talk about my health." That's what happens, Milton, when you're freaking hurt all the time.
• Did you hear the one about…
  Jason Giambi back with the Yankees? I don't dislike the guy, but isn't it time to part ways?