While You Were Out: Amazin' Avenue Week In Review (7/5-7/11)

This is a new feature, which will run every Sunday.  It's a recap of Amazin' Avenue posts from the past week that you may have missed. 

• Mets Fan Reedcuation: The Media, Management, And You - Sam starts off the week with a bang, comparing news media's coverage of politics to the sports media's coverage of the Mets and baseball in general.  He ends with a final plea to fans to improve the level of discourse surrounding the team.
• A Tour Around SB Nation - The first of another new regular feature, I present links to the other great SB Nation baseball blogs
• #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 NL Starters At The Halfway Point - I determine which pitchers are classified as #1-#5 starters for the 1st half of the season based on their FIP. 
  
• Mets Prospect Chat With John Sickels Of Minor League Ball - Prospect guru Sickels joins us to answer some questions about the Mets farm system.  Click here for the full transcript.
• Mets Top Prospects: #26 Cesar Puello - Sam and Mark (AKA Meddler) are working on a Mets prospect countdown and this is the first entry.  Mark's knowledge of the Mets farm system is quite extensive, and this should be a terrific series.
  
• Amazin' Avenue Swag Contest: June Results - Congratulations to metslaw, the June swag winner.
• Blogger Smackdown: Eric Stephen Of True Blue L.A. - Eric talks Dodger baseball with TBLA.  The Dodgers laid the smackdown this week.
  
• Ollie's Comeback Start In Brief - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Oliver Perez's first start back from the DL.  Emphasis on Bad.
• Gary, Keith & Ron Drinking Game - For those who aren't yet members of the other AA.
• Free Jon Niese. NOW. - Sam hits us with some common sense - Jon Niese >>>> Livan Hernandez.
  
• Blogger Smackdown: Joel Luckhaupt Of Red Reporter - Eric interviews Joel from RR.  I blame this post for Bronson Arroyo's 4-hit shutout.

Failcoeur Posts

• Mets Trade Ryan Church For Jeff Francoeur 
• Jim Bowden Thinks The Mets Won The Trade!!
• Instant Opinions Of The Jeff Francoeur Trade From The Best In The Business
• Quick Math Lesson
• More Thoughts On The Francoeur Trade
• Braves Fans React To Church-For-Francoeur
• The French Connection: Mets 4, Reds 0 - ZOMG 2 RsBI, it's the Hall of Fame not the Hall of Very Good, do you actually watch the games?, get out of your mother's basement, Francoeur = Mantle, Ryan Church was never called "The Natural" by Sports Illustrated, oh wait what are we talking about again?