Around The Web: MLB’s Blackout Policy, Worth Of The Slide Step, Nerdy NL All-Star Roster

Yahoo! Sports: Jeff Passan writes about MLB‘s ridiculous blackout policy.

I wrote about my issues with it here.

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FanGraphs: Dave Cameron‘s “Stat Nerd NL All-Star Roster” includes A.J. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw, but Andre Ethier just misses.

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Baseball Prospectus: Doug Thorburn dissects the slide step and doesn’t think it’s worth implementing.

It is my contention that most pitchers would do better if they both A) went faster from the windup, and B) kept their natural leg lift from the stretch. Pitch execution is the single-most important facet of every play on the diamond and the epitome of the phrase, “baseball is a game of inches.” It is therefore insane to continue throwing a wrench into 40 percent of a pitcher’s deliveries in an attempt to stop a once-per-game occurrence for which the pitcher is only fractionally responsible.

Great article.