Links? Sure, why not…

• 1998 (What’s a Picture Worth?). John Weisbarth hangs out with a couple of guys from the best squad in Padres history. When you talk about Padres second basemen (and who doesn’t?), there are three names in the discussion: Roberto Alomar, Mark Loretta, and the fellow in Weisbarth’s photo, Quilvio Veras. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
• Black’s demeanor a perfect fit for Padres (Padres.com). Yep.
• Padres acquire Miguel Tejada (Sacrifice Bunt). Ray says that, “Ultimately, this is an uninspiring-but-inoffensive trade.” Sounds about right to me.
• Padres Trade For Ryan Ludwick (Friar Forecast). Daniel likes the move: “In return for two non-impact prospects, the Padres acquired a year and a half of Ryan Ludwick. He further improves the club’s playoff chances both this year and next year, giving the team some added pop without weakening the defense. This is the exact type of trade contending teams with room to add payroll should be making.”
• Jon Jay’s bat sends Ryan Ludwick to S.D. (SweetSpot). Rob Neyer is less sanguine: “If I’ve got a problem with the acquisition, it’s that the Padres already have Chris Denorfia, another righty-hitting outfielder who’s not great, but is good enough to play.” With all due respect to Rob, Ludwick represents an upgrade. For as much fun as the Denorfia story has been, there’s something to be said for track record (Ludwick has 1700+ more big-league plate appearances). Here are their respective career numbers per 162 games:

           Age  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB   K SB CS   BA  OBP  SLG OPS+
  Denorfia  29 388 61 106 19  1 10  47 39  83  8  3 .273 .342 .402 100
  Ludwick   31 532 80 145 32  2 27  95 49 133  4  4 .273 .341 .492 117

  I’ll take the extra .090 in slugging.

• The Better Part of Valor (FanGraphs). Dave Cameron thinks one team in the National League West made a mistake: “While inaction is usually looked at with scorn during deadline time, I would imagine the Dodgers will look back on their moves and wish they had exercised a little less aggressiveness.” Speaking as a Padres fan, I love what the Dodgers did at the deadline.
• Luebke and trade pricing (Inside the Padres). Tom Krasovic talks about left-hander Cory Luebke, who was much coveted but not traded.
• James Shields Dominating Hitters With His Changeup (FanGraphs). Joe Pawlikowski takes a look at what makes one pitcher successful. He talks about sequences, game theory… all the good stuff.
• Rick the Roommate (Watson Files). Dan tells more wacky stories… also, he likes what he’s seen of Jedd Gyorko, as do I.
• Ludwick’s debut (Inside the Padres). Kras waxes poetical: “In my eyes, the Padres are one victory better than they would’ve been without Ludwick. And a pretty big victory at that.” Kras also has nice things to say about Corey Kluber, who went to Cleveland in the deal. I’m still a fan of Kluber and I hope to see him pitching for the Indians soon.

Whoomp, there it is.

Tagged as: chris denorfia, corey kluber, cory luebke, jedd gyorko, los angelese dodgers, mark loretta, miguel tejada, quilvio veras, roberto alomar, ryan ludwick, trades