Lots o’ links today…

• Padres set to bring back Bradley (Padres.com). The deal reportedly would be 1 year, $3.5-4 million. Or, as I like to call it, a bargain. This is still in the works (as are some other possibilities), so keep your fingers crossed.
• Padres have quiet time at Meetings (Padres.com). Even assuming Milton Bradley signs, the outfield situation remains unsettled — third base prospect Chase Headley is preparing to take fly balls at Petco in January just in case. Brett Tomko is attracting some attention as a starter, a role he prefers, which makes it less likely that he’ll re-sign with the Padres to work out of the bullpen.
• Towers shopping for stopgap at second base (San Diego Union-Tribune). Information is very fluid right now. This article by Tom Krasovic ran on Tuesday and may be somewhat outdated; still, it provides insight into the Padres’ thought process.
• Speaking of Krasovic, he’s been busy blogging the Winter Meetings. Run through the recent archives for some pretty good insights into what did and didn’t happen in Nashville this week.
• Padres active in Rule 5 Draft (Padres.com). Kevin Towers, on right-hander Carlos Guevara, acquired from the Reds (via the Marlins):
  

  He’s got a great screwball, a great strikeout-to-walk ratio and is a guy who has nailed it at about every level… We were trying to get the No. 1 pick to get him.

  Stats on the other two guys taken in the draft: right-hander Mike Gardner (from the Yankees) and second baseman Callix Crabbe (from Milwaukee).

• The best major leaguers $50,000 can buy (Hardball Times). Chris Constancio offers his thoughts on the Rule V. He likes Guevara and Crabbe.
• Top 10 Prospects: San Diego Padres (Baseball America, via Steve C in the comments). I doubt you’ll find many folks who disagree with the names in those top three slots. After that, I’ve been seeing some divergence in the various lists out there. At least two, possibly three, of the guys in BA‘s Top 10 will not be in mine (which will run this coming Tuesday or Wednesday).
• Top 30 San Diego Padres prospects (Friar Forecast). MB has completed his list. To me the analysis he offers is more interesting and useful than the actual ordering. Good stuff.
• Looking back on baseball standout Kulbacki (James Madison University Breeze, via Peter Friberg). Speaking of prospects, here’s a nice little piece on 2007 draftee, outfielder Kellen Kulbacki.
• Emotional Williams voted to Hall (San Diego Union-Tribune). Former Padres manager Dick Williams, who led the club to its first ever World Series appearance in 1984, has been voted into the Hall of Fame. Good for him.
• Hot stove philosophies align regardless of payroll (Yahoo! via LynchMob in the comments). Quoth Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane:
  

  People are actually understanding the economics of the game. There are a lot of smart guys running clubs. Properly valuing the assets you have is really part of the business now.

  Valuing assets, eh? Crazy concept. Wait, baseball has been around how long?

• Why do teams keep overpaying generic middle relievers? (Hardball Times). Speaking of market inefficiencies, here’s my latest effort over at THT. Be sure also to read Dave Studeman’s companion piece that examines the wisdom of long-term contracts.
• As long as you’re over at THT, check out Chris Jaffe’s interview with John Thorn, co-author of The Hidden Game of Baseball and Total Baseball (aff links). This is pretty much a must-read.
• The New Look Dodgers…An Interview with Ned Colletti (Baseball Digest Daily). Bad news: The Dodgers GM appears to recognize the value of his young players. How irritating.
• Finally, there’s a new Padres blog on the block (woo-hoo!). Be sure to swing by Sdpads1′s Weblog and say hey when you have a sec.

And if all that isn’t enough for you, we have a never-ending stream of links at del.icio.us.

Winter Leagues

Wednesday, December 5

• Azucareros 5, Escogido 3 (box). Crabbe (who technically wasn’t a member of the Padres when this game was played) went 0-for-4 with a walk while leading off and playing left field for Azucareros. Vince Sinisi, batting third and playing left for Escogido, singled and was hit by a pitch in four trips to the plate.
• Estrellas 5, Aguilas 3 (box). Luke Carlin, batting sixth and catching, walked twice and singled in four plate appearances.
• Mochis 6, Hermosillo 5 (box). Marshall McDougall got the start at second base; batting second, he singled twice and drove in three runs in five at-bats.
• Navojoa 3, Mazatlan 0 (box). Oscar Robles got the start at DH and moved down a slot to the #3 hole, where he singled in four at-bats. Luis Cruz, in his customary #7 hole, took Robles’ place in the field, and went 0-for-4 with a stolen base; he also fielded the only two chances he got at short. On the other side, Brian Myrow doubled and walked in four trips to the plate.

Thursday, December 6

Box scores from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela were unavailable as of this writing.

• Hermosillo 7, Mochis 3 (box). McDougall, again at second, went 2-for-5.
• Mazatlan 7, Navojoa 1 (box). Cruz, again at shortstop and moving up to #2 in the order, singled and walked in four trips to the plate. Robles DH’d and batted behind him, going 0-for-3 with a walk. Myrow went 0-for-4 with a walk for Mazatlan. He also committed a throwing error in the sixth on grounder off the bat of Robles; Cruz ended up at third on the play — Padres everywhere. The next inning, ex-Padre Miguel Ojeda (who went 3-for-4 with a double) picked Cruz off at first (Myrow applying the tag) with Robles at bat. Most interestingly, Myrow shifted from first to third base for the final inning. I don’t know what the story is there, or if he legitimately can play the position, but that could come in handy down the line. On further review, it appears that Myrow played 15 games at the hot corner in 2006 while in the Red Sox organization. He logged 86 games at third in ’03, and 24 games at second base. Didn’t Matt Stairs play second in the minors? Sorry to keep beating the drum so hard, but I think Myrow has value despite his age.

There it is. Happy Friday, yo!

Tagged as: baseball america, brett tomko, chase headley, hardball times, milton bradley, san diego padres, second baseman, winter meetings