HPMLD: Jim Thome, Johan Santana, the Fort Myers Miracle

The Hosken Powell Memorial Link Dump doesn’t have any breaking news or hot free agent talk, but it does have Jim Thome. That’ll do.

• Jim-Jam and Johan Santana both make their inaugural bow on the 2018 Hall of Fame ballot. Jimmer is probably a lock, but Johan’s path looks rocky. If Johan’s peak came with the Mets and his falloff came with the Twins, would his path be easier? (Yes. The answer is yes. Most claims of media bias are horseshit, but east coast sports media bias is real and it’s ruined the holidays for working families.)
• Speaking of the HoF, Joe Morgan has opinions. I don’t agree with them, and a Hall of Fame without Barry Bonds isn’t much of one. For the record, my career stats are much worse than Joe Morgan’s, but I never had a blog dedicated to me called Fire RandBall’s Stu. That I know of.
• Since there isn’t any breaking free agent/transaction news, how about another ranking of available players? This one’s from Grant Brisbee, so it’s worth your time.
• The Fort Myers Miracle, Minnesota’s Class A affiliate, is in the midst of a major overhaul. Per David Dorsey, if not for a visit from local quarterback Tim Tebow, the Miracle’s 2017 attendance would have been their worst in a decade.
• Speaking of the minors, if you’re looking to get some Chattanooga Lookouts gear on this, capitalism’s special day, they have a sale and a video:

• We will leave most discussion of our state’s surging professional football team to Daily Norseman, but if you like a good uniform story, and you do, the tale of the Minnesota Vikings uniforms is a good one.
• Ron Gant is still out, and the Braves are dirty cheaters.

If news breaks this fine day-after-Thanksgiving, we’ll let you know. Until then, sit back, enjoy your coffee, get the dog out for a walk, plot your plan of attack for the leftovers, and maybe binge something on Netflix. Mindhunter was pretty good! And if you’re working retail today, you are a goldang hero, and we salute you.