Tuesday Linkage

Ok, some things to go over today.

By now we all know that Duaner "Dirty" Sanchez has a hairline fracture in his pitching shoulder which will almost certainly require surgery that could sideline him for four months or more. Despite Sanchez's comments to the contrary, it doesn't look like he's going to get out of this one without heading back under the knife. Not a huge deal, says Alex Nelson at MetsGeek, since Sanchez missed a couple of months last season and was really only great for a month and a half:

Month         IP    ERA    SO   BB   HR
------------------------------------
April    16.0   0.00    13    6    0
May      18.1   3.93    11    6    2
June      9.1   4.82     8    8    1
July     11.2   2.31    12    4    0

Tim McCarver was nominated today for a Sports Emmy Award. Yes, that Tim McCarver.

Today, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is holding a hearing entitled "Exclusive Sports Programming: Examing Competition and Consumer Choice". The crux, of course, is the proposed exclusive deal for DirecTV to carry MLB's ExtraInnings package. Over at The Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown hooks us up with transcripts of the opening statements for all of the principals involved in the hearing. Plenty of posturing and double-talk, but the outcome could determine whether 200,000 or more fans will be able to subscribe to out-of-market games this season.

At the website for The Book, Tom Tango is running a Community Forecasts projection system to see what baseball fans -- the folks that watch these teams day in and day out -- think their team's players will do this year. Tango describes his projection system thusly:

I've seen the results of six forecasting systems this year. (I'm sure some of you have seen more than that.) And all were based on some algorithm with little leeway for human interaction. Why is that? Because we can't trust any single person's opinion. But, what if we can get a consensus, a Wisdom of Crowds? Who knows more about whether Papelbon will be a starter or reliever this year: an algorithm or a Redsox fan? Who knows more about the number of games a 2006-injured Hideki Matsui will play in 2007: an algorithm or a Yankees fan? There are certain human observation elements that are critical for forecasting. That's where you can come in, and why you are here.

So head on over to the Mets page and fill out your projections for the Mets' players this season. Rather than polling for dozens of statistical categories, all the form asks is for OPS (for hitters) and ERA (for pitchers), as well as an optional Games Played count. It'll be interesting to see how humans stack up to the likes of computer-generated forecasting systems like PECOTA, ZiPS, Marcels, etc.

Carlos Zambrano would rather play for the Mets than the Yankees.

"I like the Yankees, but I don't see myself pitching at Yankee Stadium. Too many rules," he said with a laugh. "If I play in New York, it's going to be with the Mets. First of all, because I get to hit. And I love hitting.

"I can't say ... that I would never play for the Yankees. Hopefully no, but you never know. This is a business."

News and Notes

• I did a little Q&A over at My Opinion on Sports, which is written by the same guy who pens the SBNation Oklahoma Sooners site, Crimson and Cream Machine. Check it out if you just can't get enough of me.
• Joel Sherman wonders if the Mets' bullpen will keep things together
• Jorge Sosa has been shipped to Triple-A New Orleans. Good riddance.