AndrewKoch.com

Ken Griffey Jr, Trickster

"Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr owed teammate Josh Fogg $1500 -- I'm guessing Fogg sold him a tendon -- so Junior paid him back in pennies."

KEN GRIFFEY JUNIOR IS, LIKE, TWELVE - With Leather

Brilliant!

Gladwell on Inventions

At dinner last night, my wife's second cousin's husband mentioned a Malcolm Gladwell article in the latest issue of the New Yorker. It's an interesting read about genius, invention and the creative process.

Annals of Innovation: In the Air

Dave Carvajal, Blogger

I'd like to extend a hearty "welcome" to long-time colleague and start-up blogger Dave Carvajal. His first post on In the Arena includes one of my favorite quotes: It is not the critic who counts...

Dave was a co-founder at HotJobs and hired me as a summer intern in June of 1999. We've been working together since, and I can attest to Dave's greatness. He is a fantastic judge of people and talent, and his infectious energy has helped both HotJobs and TheLadders grow into the companies they are today. Best of luck on the blog, Dave!

Good Advice for College Students

Good advice from Charlie O'Donnell over at Path 101: 10 Things Every New College Graduate Should Do to Find a Job

The one thing I would add is that you shouldn't wait until the end of your senior year to start doing the things he suggests. You should start doing this towards the end of each year of college, so that you can get summer internships as well. Whether summer internships turn into full-time employment after school or not, they can be a fantastic way to learn what you like and don't like about different types of jobs.

I worked at HotJobs in the summers of '99 and '00 before joining full time in the fall of 2001. Those small summer tastes of internet startup whetted my appetite - and here I am nine years later, proudly looking back on four and a half years of startup success at TheLadders.com.

So, new college grads - and college students of all ages - take heed of Charlie's advice.

Hilarious

YouTube - HARDBALL MADE EASY-Taking 1 For The Team (w/Carlos Zambrano)

h/t Paul DePodesta (!)

I'm Not Alone

"Dear Billy: You've done it again. Turned the A's into winners. Sure it's only May, but every month counts. Congratulations. Just one more thing. Sign Barry Bonds." -Art Spander

Thomas + Bonds?

"No, what I'm rooting for is the unconventional, a general manager who doesn't give a hoot about disapproving scrutiny as long as Bonds can help his team win." -Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun (h/t BaseballMusings)

I know the A's have Frank Thomas back on board as DH, but couldn't we find a spot for Barry Bonds too? Imagine Bonds, Thomas and Jack Cust playing in a round-robin platoon of sorts for LF/DH:

- Bonds in LF, Thomas at DH
- Cust in LF, Thomas at DH
- Cust in LF, Bonds at DH

Surely Bonds could be signed today to a small base, big incentive contract. When your agent is accusing baseball of colluding against you, you're getting desperate - and desperate baseball players will sign cheaper contracts, right? We know Barry can still hit, and while he's a liability in LF, it's not like Jack Cust is in danger of winning a Gold Glove out there either. And under my plan, Bonds is only in LF twice a week. That's not so bad, is it?

Just as a reminder, the A's are slugging .363 as a team right now, and Bonds slugged .565 last year. So, Billy Beane... what say you?

Allergy Season

Amazing article: Teen is running out of innings, but the game still isn't over

h/t deadspin