Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Winfield, Gio, Hawpe, Cubs

On this date three years ago, the Astros fired manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura. They were replaced on an interim basis by Cecil Cooper and Tal Smith, respectively. Cooper kept the job until he was fired last September, and the team is now under the direction of Brad Mills. Ed Wade took over the GM job about a month after Purpura was fired, and has held it since.

Here's a look at what's being written in the baseball corner of the web…

• Gaslamp Ball interviewed Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.
• Pirates Prospects spoke to a Certified Public Accountant about the Pirates' leaked financial records.
• Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Lumber Co. wonders if teams receiving revenue sharing money should earn a profit.
• Think Blue Crew analyzes Ryan Howard's swings and misses.
• SPANdemonium wonders what it would take to lock up Gio Gonzalez long-term.
• Rays Index revisits Andrew Friedman's biggest mistake.
• DRays Bay explains why Brad Hawpe makes sense for the Rays.
• Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness thinks Ned Colletti should do the right thing and let Manny Ramirez go.
• Nolan Writin' looks at who the Rangers should call up on September 1st.
• Cubs Pack wonders who will play first base for the Cubbies next season.
• Yankeeist explores the idea of the Yankees signing Paul Konerko in the offseason.
• Walk Like A Sabermetrician suggests some ways to improve the waiver process.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.