Yikes, sorry ’bout that font explosion the other day. Forgot to close a tag. Ah, the joys of coding by hand.

Anyway, draft day is upon us and the Pads grabbed Clemson shortstop Khalil Greene with their first pick at #13. Local kids Cole Hamels and Royce Ring went at #17 to the Phillies and #18 to the White Sox, respectively. Preseason #1 favorite Bobby Brownlie slipped to the Cubs at #21.

I have to say, real-time draft coverage on the Internet stinks. MLB Radio is telling me that Buck Martinez has been fired as Toronto’s manager and to be sure to tune in tomorrow for live coverage of the draft. Um, I don’t think so.

I’m not overly thrilled at the selection of Greene when guys like Hamels, Brownlie, and Scott Kazmir were available. For one thing, there’s talk that his future is at second base, which has become an area of relative strength in the organization. For another, he’s a college senior who is a full year older than Sean Burroughs. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t help but think of Kevin Nicholson when I see this pick.

The Padres came back with Greene’s teammate, first baseman William Johnson, with their second pick at #54, and Indiana U. center fielder Kennard Jones with their third at #85.

I’ll be back with the full list when the draft is complete. Meantime, a couple items worth mentioning. First, Xavier Nady knocked his first homer at Portland last night.

And second, in a move long overdue, I’ve finally added a link to Padre Prospects Report. There you’ll find an archive of box scores for all the Padre minor-league affiliates, as well as links to team sites and local newspapers. Hank does a great job with the site, so be sure to check it out. And sorry, Hank, for taking so long to add you to my links!