So, yeah…

• Keeping Score: The Number Beyond M.V.P. Numbers (New York Times). Sean Forman likes Adrian Gonzalez in the National League.
• Stephen Strasburg Has ‘Significant Tear’ in Elbow Ligament, Will Need Surgery (FanHouse). Human body 1, Rob Dibble 0. Here’s hoping Strasburg can make a full recovery (history would seem to be on his side) and return to dazzling baseball fans everywhere. [h/t BBTF]
• Did mechanics cause Strasburg’s injury? (MLB.com). I’m not singling out this particular article, but the media coverage of Strasburg’s injury promises to be annoying beyond description. [h/t BBTF]
• Stephen Strasburg addresses media on his Tommy John surgery (Washington Post). Strasburg offers an impressively philosophical explanation of the pitch that ended his rookie season: “You’re looking at two changeups of the hundreds of thousands of changeups that I’ve thrown, whether it’s out in the outfielder, in a bullpen, during a game. I mean, it could have been any pitch.” [h/t BBTF]
• Hunter plates eight in Portland win (MiLB.com). Not to rain on Cedric Hunter’s parade, but do you know what else happened in this game? Five of the 24 batters Josh Geer faced took him deep. Ouch.
• Arizona Diamondbacks exploring ways to make Chase Field less hitter friendly (Arizona Republic). I love the first comment: “why dont you just get better pitching”… Heh. [h/t BBTF]
• STAR TREK/Casting (Letters of Note). Reggie Jackson as Geordi LaForge? Fun BBTF thread ensues.
• Enter our contest! Win an Annual! (Hardball Times). I’m not eligible, but you are. Not sure if this is a point for or against, but some of my work will be appearing in the 2011 Annual.
• Richard Fills Peavy’s Shoes (FanGraphs). This is review material for most of us, but it doesn’t get old: “For the Padres to get out from under that massive contract while adding a pitcher who can replace the production is just an incredible, incredible find, as Clayton Richard looks to be a key for the Padres franchise both for now and the conceivable future.” [h/t reader Didi]
• About those leaked financial statements… (Hardball Times). Kristi Dosh breaks it down further.
• Cooperstown Confidential: The unofficial ban of Mike Marshall (Hardball Times). Fascinating article on a fascinating character: “Unlike most players, Marshall has relied on his academic achievements since his retirement. He had continued his education, earning his Ph.D. in 1978, which he added to his masters degree. In his post-playing days, Marshall has worked as an independent pitching coach and consultant for numerous athletes, preaching the theories of kinesiology.”
• Latos: From a coach’s headache to Padres ace (U-T). Interesting metaphors: “He was a boat with the throttle down all the way with no rudder” … “He was like a wild stallion. You had to break him and tame him.” Well, thank goodness someone broke that throttle, or… tamed the rudder?
• Ahead in the Count: The Clutch and The Shifted (Baseball Prospectus). Whoa: “That means that a left-handed shift victim is worth about $525,000 more than his right-handed slugging counterpart even if they have the same slash line.” [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
• Managers as Players (Joe Posnanski). More wonderful stuff from Poz, ho hum. The Padres are well represented on this list: Ozzie Guillen, Bud Black (Poz expresses confusion over his being referred to as Buddy, which admittedly I don’t recall during Black’s playing days, but it’s all anyone calls him now), Cito Gaston, Bruce Bochy, Jim Riggleman… a good read. What, you were expecting something else from Poz? [h/t BBTF]
• The correlation between run-scoring and extra-inning games (Baseball-Reference). According to the article, “there is a fairly strong correlation between average run scoring and percentage of games that go to extra innings.”
• A digital salute to pitch grips (Hardball Times). Fun stuff from Mike Fast.
• Matt Kemp’s Struggles: A Statistical And Mechanical Analysis (Memories of Kevin Malone). This is quite thorough. I still hope the Dodgers trade Kemp, preferably out of the division, for some old guy that maybe Brian Sabean told Ned Colletti about when he still worked for the Giants. [h/t SweetSpot]
• Another close one (Inside the Padres). Quoth Tom Krasovic: “I like that the Phillies are in San Diego. Makes for better baseball and, because Phillies fans are coming out, a better atmosphere.” I’m not sure, but I think Kras just dissed Padres fans there. I know Websoulsurfer did.
• The San Diego Padres, And A Bandwagon Fan’s Best Choice (SBNation). Eh, who needs real fans when we’ve got a bandwagon. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
• Mastering the Knuckleball Part 1: A Look at the long-established knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield (Beyond the Box Score). This is the first in a series of dense but informative articles about the knuckler. Part 2 and Part 3 are also available for your reading pleasure. [h/t Hardball Times]