My Internet connection has been down for the past 24 hours, preventing me from doing any blogging here. Oh well, it does provide an excuse for me to get along with my DIPS evaluation of relievers, which hopefully I can finish before I head to New Orleans this weekend for baseball’s Winter Meetings. Don’t bet the house on it, though.

If you’re hungry for reading material check out Mike C.’s rant about this this year’s Hall of Fame ballot and read his interview with Rich Lederer, or Alex Belth’s interview with Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, or Rob Neyer’s take on the Milwaukee Brewers mess and the news that they will open their books to auditors. I’d love to delve into these topics and several other nuggets of hot stove-related news, but the gods of technology don’t seem to be favoring me right now. Hopefully that will change later today, but if it doesn’t, listen to the wind and you’ll hear my anguished cries…