At some point, I will get back to the retrospectives, but tonight, I have a different writing project, so instead, you just get a link roundup.

In only sorta A's-related news, Esteban German is leaving for Japan. RoyalsRetro wrote a nice retrospective of the former A's minor leaguer's career at Royals Review that I like. It's not just a recitation of the facts -- the writer has some panache.

Much more mundane is the A's new spring training schedule. I couldn't care less, but maybe you follow whether Oakland is hosting the Cubs or doing a split squad against the Dodgers more closely than I do.

Marisa Ingemi wrote about the Red Sox, and their interest in Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey makes this A's-relevant. The post was written before the Mark Melancon trade, but said trade does, I think, point up what I see as a miss: Ingemi suggests that Josh Reddick, Kyle Weiland, and Jed Lowrie might be enough to get Gonzalez. Of course, Weiland + Lowrie is what was used to acquire Melancon -- is Melancon + Reddick = Gonzalez? I suppose if you think Josh Reddick is a lot better than he actually is.

At ESPN Dallas, Richard Durrett looks at the possibility of the Rangers acquiring Gio Gonzalez. There's not much to say about it beyond pointing out the weird idea Durrett has that a team's offense affects how a pitcher pitches.

Finally, saving the best for last, Marc Normandin looks at Gio Gonzalez in relation to the Red Sox interest and notes that Gonzalez's recent performance differs from Daisuke Matsuzaka's by only a tad bit in strikeouts and a significant amount in ground-ball percentage, which adds up to 0.20 of FIP and 0.30 of ERA. The key of Normandin's analysis is pointing out how much context matters -- Gonzalez pitches in an offensively weak division (resulting in batters-faced profiles that put him toward the bottom of the league) and a pitchers' park, while Matsuzaka has to face Jose Bautista and the Yankees.