I’ve got nothing today but links. Enjoy…
- 139 Ballplayers Died in Service in World War II (Seamheads). Gary Bedingfield pays tribute to these men, including Manuel P. “Nay” Hernandez of San Diego.
- Tucson tries to relocate interest in city (MiLB.com). Benjamin Hill provides a closer look at the Padres new Triple-A affiliate and what it means to the people of southeastern Arizona.
- Young arms lead Padres’ top 10 prospects list (Padres.com). Jonathan Mayo presents his list. Everyone is hopping on the Matt Lollis bandwagon.
- Renteria undergoes surgery, to be released from hospital (U-T). This is a little stale, but a foul ball off the bat of Mike Baxter hit bench coach Rick Renteria in the mouth last Thursday. Baxter, you may recall, is the guy who hit then-GM Kevin Towers in the mouth with a foul ball during spring training in 2007.
- Veteran catcher Zaun opts for retirement (Padres.com). Turns out I saw Zaun play his last big-league game. Best of luck to the now-former big-league catcher. So, who serves as Nick Hundley’s backup? Paging Brad Ausmus… Also, Matt Klaasen at FanGraphs talks about Zaun.
- International spending (Friar Forecast). Myron notes that the Padres spent a lot of money on international free agents in 2010.
- Earning their paycheck (Sacrifice Bunt). Ray examines the presumed value of the new guys in town.
- Ten upcoming managerial milestones in 2011 (Hardball Times). Bud Black should move past Dick Williams this year into second place all time for games as manager of the Padres.
- Minor League Journal Part III: First Impressions (Platoon Advantage). The latest installment from former minor-league pitcher Ian Heisel…
- The Sloan Baseball Analytics Panel (FanGraphs). There was a big conference back east this past weekend. Rob Neyer and Jonah Keri were in attendance, as was Padres Vice President of Strategy and Business Analysis John Abbamondi, with whom David Laurila chatted. Laurila also talked to Greg Rubin, who has done some work on maximizing pitcher efficiency.
- Hey beer man! The top 10 brews available at big league ballparks (Big League Stew). Stone IPA is mentioned here. I prefer to grab a Belhaven or Boddington’s before walking over to the park. Then again, I’m not an IPA kinda guy. [h/t BBTF]
- Rare faith in the face of rare injury (ESPN). This is a bit graphic in spots, but pretty interesting. Here’s wishing Jake Peavy a full recovery.
- Chase Headley, protein shakes, & that ol’ San Diego Fan pessimism (Woe, Doctor!). Bryant discusses Headley’s weight gain. Now would be a good time for Headley to step up his game, as James Darnell isn’t far behind.