Welcome to your Saturday edition of 8 Stories – the eight stories we’re reading and think you should too …

Peak Baller: Alex Speier of the Boston Globe gets out the charts and graphs to look at the prime age for baseball players.

Impure Thoughts: Get the fainting couch ready. Clutch your pearls. Rob Neyer breaks the news that there are already steroids in the hallowed Hall of Fame.

Useful Utilities: Paul Casella names the best utility players in baseball – and one Hanley Ramirez shows up on the list. Hanley is a $22 million-a-year utility, by the way.

Cubs Depth: Brett at Bleacher Nation examines the Cubs bench strength after the addition of Chris Denorfia. In short, it’s better, but there are some things to work out before the season starts.

Sup, Yadi?: Viva El Birdos ponders Yadier Molina’s decline in offensive production in 2014 – even before the thumb injury.

Justifying Byrd: Steve Mancuso at Redleg Nation explains why trading for Marlon Byrd is the ideal deal if you believe the Reds should punt 2015 while building for the future.

Max Sweepstakes: Buster goes team by team to figure out what the most likely signing scenario is for Max Scherzer, the biggest free agent out there. (Subscription required; Buster thinks he lands back in Detroit)

Stalemate: In an editorial, the Tampa Bay Times suggests the path forward to break the stalemate between the mayor, the City Council and the where the Tampa Bay Rays will call home.

And happy birthday to Darren Daulton (53), Luis Sojo (50) and A.J. Burnett (38)