It’s that time of the week…

• This Week in Minor League History: May 17 – May 23 (Baseball Prospectus). In the latest installment of my series, we learn that someone named Inigo Montano once threw a no-hitter. I like to imagine he started the game throwing left-handed before revealing that he was, in fact, right-handed and sealing the deal.
• The Network Structure of Baseball Blogs: Part 2 (Baseball Analysts). Dave Allen examines team-specific blogs. Hey, I can see my blog from here.
• Latos Numbers (Baseball-Reference). Raphy takes a closer look at Mat Latos’ near-perfect game. When a young pitcher ends up on a list with Herb Score and Dwight Gooden, that’s usually a good thing.
• Mat Latos apologizes, but not for owning Giants; saying so long to San Diego; paging Freddy Sanchez… (Extra Baggs). Aparently Latos smashed a car window with a thrown baseball in San Francisco. I love this from one of the commenters: “What’s worrisome about the Padres is they’re young enough that they might not realize they’re aren’t supposed to be very good. And the longer they have success the more confident they’ll get. Kind of similar to the ’08 Rays.” I also like that Giants fans appear to hate Latos. The kid is 22 years old and he’s already under their skin. Yep, it’s good to have one of those guys. [h/t GLB]
• Why Bryan Smith Writes (FanGraphs). This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it a fascinating read. Craig Calcaterra and Tommy Bennett also check in with some thoughts on the subject.
• Help us (insert name here), you’re our only hope! (Sacrifice Bunt). Recently the idea has surfaced that the Padres could have interest in Jermaine Dye. Ray explains why this is a bad idea: “Dye’s bat could bring some added oomph to this lineup. Even last year, in a down season, Dye hit 27 home runs with a .344 wOBA. Unfortunately, he was also the worst defensive player in all of baseball. His UZR/150 was -26.4 and on his career, Dye is a -16.3 outfielder. This team definitely needs some offense, but what happens to our pitching and defense with Jermaine Dye roaming around the spacious confines of Petco Park?” Yeah, what he said.
• Simon Castro is not Mat Latos (Friar Forecast). Ben Davey discusses the next phenom in line. Isn’t it nice to have another now that Latos has graduated?
• Giant Killers (Padres Trail). Any post that references Dan Spillner deserves mad props. This one does… and it does.
• Five Minutes with Anthony Slama (Baseball Prospectus). David Laurila chats with the former USD right-hander, who now pitches in the Minnesota Twins organization.
• How many strikeouts is too many? (Hardball Times). Jeff Sackmann asks, “How often can an amateur hitter strike out before we need to declare that he has virtually no chance of becoming a productive major leaguer?” Interesting stuff, in which we learn among many other things that former Padres catcher Colt Morton couldn’t make contact in college either.
• State of the offense (Friar Forecast). Myron acknowledges that it has been bad and isn’t likely to improve with the current roster.
• Examining Luke Gregerson’s Slider (Friar Forecast). The other day I asked whether there’s a better pitch in baseball than Gregerson’s slider. That’s open for debate, but Daniel confirms the pitch is a good one.
• Weekend Discussion: With the 9th Pick… (Padres RunDown). Peter looks forward to the June draft and names names.
• First Round History: Catchers (FanGraphs). Ah, Ben Davis; he was so dreamy. Ooh, and here’s Mitch Canham.
• Beyond Bryce (Hardball Times). Speaking of which, there are a few catchers available in the upcoming draft and the Padres are thin at the position.
• Managers: Hired To Be Fired (Sabernomics). J.C. Bradbury discusses, among other things, the effects of randomness in life… a pet interest of mine.

Happy Friday!

Tagged as: anthony slama, ben davis, colt morton, dwight gooden, herb score, jermaine dye, mat latos, mitch canham, prepare to die, simon castro