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Today's links are all linky and whatnot ...

• In case you missed it last night: What a way to lose! Blow a 10-run lead and get jobbed by a lousy call at the plate? It's a wonder that managers don't just flat-out lose their minds.

• With the Yankees, it's always something, you know? Now it's their fifth starter. Tyler Kepner:

When Joe Girardi described what he wants to see from Tuesday's starter, he said, "The key for him is the sinker. If his sinker is going, he's going to give us some distance."

Girardi, the Yankees' manager, was talking about Sergio Mitre, not the more established sinkerballer, Chien-Ming Wang. The Yankees had hoped for Wang to play catch on Tuesday, but his first effort Monday did not go well.

It's almost August and Wang's not healthy enough to start a throwing program. Doesn't this mean it's time to break the glass and begin the process of turning Phil Hughes into a starter again? The Yankees are probably good enough to get into the playoffs with Sergio Mitre in their rotation ... but is it really worth the risk? And I'm sorry, but I just don't believe it must take a month to get Hughes conditioned for 100 pitches. Anyway, why is that the threshold for acceptability? How many times do the Yankees think that Mitre's going to last for 100 pitches?

• Brandon Phillips needs to hustle more.

• The good news is that Jose Guillen might draw more walks this season than he's ever drawn before. The bad news is that Guillen's been lousy at just about everything else. As Bob Dutton writes, at least Guillen knows it:

"I'm embarrassed by the money that I making," Guillen said, "and playing the way I've been playing. I'll swear that on my kids' (lives). I feel very embarrassed.

"Sometimes, I feel I should take money out of my own pocket and buy tickets for every fan. Because you know what? For a $12 million man, these are not the numbers you should be expecting. I admit it. I'm not playing to my potential."

I love the impulse, and would love it even more if he actually did buy tickets for every fan. Guillen's "earning" $12 million this season. He does have to pay taxes, so how about spending just $3 million tickets for the fans? You can get a pretty solid ticket at Kauffman Stadium for about $25. At that price, $3 million would buy 120,000 tickets. Can you imagine the goodwill that Guillen and the Royals would generate if he donated 120,000 tickets to local youth organizations?

Of course, he's not going to do it. I suppose that even $300,000 is unthinkable. Anyway, it's not Guillen's fault that he's ridiculously overpaid. He's been a little gimpy this season, plus if you really want to hold someone accountable, it should probably be the genius who thought Guillen was worth $36 million (over three years) in the first place.

• From PhysOrg.com, an interesting look at the recently fashionable social anxiety disorder.

• Does anyone know why it's taken Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan so long to get a real shot in the majors? The guy's got a .383 career on-base percentage in the minors -- including .376 in Triple-A -- and if last night's performance against the Dodgers is any indication, he's got a killer throwing arm. Hanigan turns 29 in a few weeks, and don't be surprised if he's still playing when he's 39.

• Tim Marchman tries to settle the (recently reopened) Mantle-Musial debate, but in the end the debate is un-settleable because Mantle was better at his best but Musial was great for longer.

• Via MLB Oddities, the super-cool Apollo 11-and-baseball coincidence. (And while we're on the subject, this is super-duper-cool).

• Remember when Joe Mauer had become a premier power hitter, so suddenly? Well, Dave Cameron was skeptical, because Mauer wasn't pulling the ball with any sort of authority. And sure enough, Mauer has hit only three home runs in his last 39 games. Doesn't mean he's not a great player. Shoot, he still leads the American League in slugging percentage (not to mention on-base percentage). Just means he's probably not going to win batting titles and hit 35-40 homers per season. Not yet, anyway.