San Francisco Giants Link Dump, 3/24

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time to dump some links! Okay, it doesn''t actually mean that, since link dumps aren't on a fixed schedule, but if they were, and Tuesday was link dump day, that's what it would mean. I'm glad to clear that up.

World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner still chops down trees in the offseason
You saw the commercial because everyone saw the commercial, but what about the story...behind the commercial? How did Madison Bumgarner come to be in an ad for an outdoor apparel company that was directed by Khal Drogo? In what way did...you already clicked it, didn't you? It's okay, I would have too. It's Madison Bumgarner!

The anxiety of cut day
A couple guys are already gone from the Giants' organization – Brandon Farley and possibly Craig Massoni – but the real damage comes when players get released or sent down en masse (which is French for "in church"). CJ Nitkowski, a longtime major league veteran, breaks down the feelings of being one of the guys on the bubble, knowing it'll be you but denying it to yourself so you can hold onto some hope. You know what he should have done? Been a superstar. Those guys never get cut. He seems like such a smart guy that I can't believe he never thought of that.

Study Suggests That Hitters’ Production Dips After They Return From Concussions
You know how sometimes baseball players get brain injuries? Well, it turns out that after players come back from concussions, they don't hit as well as players coming back from other absences. I know, I know, it's hard to believe that recovery from an injury to the part of your body that makes the rest of your body do everything would have lingering effects, but hey, science gets kinda crazy sometimes.

Mets feared elbow would scuttle offseason Wheeler trade
Did you see this in the prospect thread? You should probably go into the prospect thread. it has people who know what they're talking about, which I know is a crazy idea for those of you who read me, but I promise you it is possible.

So it turns out that the Giants contacted the Mets about a possible Zack Wheeler trade last offseason. The Mets, not wanting to let on that Wheeler's elbow was just a Ziploc bag full of spaghetti labeled with the word "ELBAW (sic)," pretended that the reason they weren't trading him was that he was too valuable to their future, when the real reason was that he would fail his physical. In all this, I feel bad for Wheeler. He had no control over becoming the next victim of the Mets. Theirs is a cruel tradition of incompetence and bad luck, and it's a shame that Wheeler had to be sucked into it.

Obituary: Longtime baseball writer Nick Peters dies at 75
Nick Peters, who covered the Giants for almost 50 years, died yesterday at the age of 75. If you want to see the scope of the admiration for him from across the baseball world, look at the tributes on Andrew Baggarly's timeline. From other sportswriters to Russ Ortiz to Dusty Baker, he had a positive impact on everyone he met. He will be missed.