When the Padres are back east (yeah, Houston and Chicago count as “back east” in my book — right there with Santee), it’s difficult for me to watch games so I can’t offer any real analysis. I can imagine Tim Stauffer and Dustin Moseley having a brief conversation after the Padres’ 1-0 loss to the Cubs on Monday:

Tim: Dude, I totally got Moseleyed out there.
Dustin: Yep.

Awkward silence… and scene.

Or I could just give you some links…

• Royal Flushed: How a Nashville apartment building contributed to a baseball franchise’s misery (Nashville City Paper). You think the Padres have made some questionable deals? [h/t BBTF]
• Create Season Finder Reports Restricted to a Custom Set of Players (Baseball-Reference). This looks promising…
• The Tortured Logic of Unwritten Rules (FanGraphs). Ask Bob Brenly about bunting to break up a no-hitter with the tying run on deck.
• Justin Duchscherer on his depression: ‘You’re never happy’ (USA Today). Quoth the pitcher: “My problem is I’m a soft guy in a profession of hard guys.” When I was a kid, anyone in uniform seemed invincible. It was a nice fantasy. [h/t BBTF]
• Giles “Just Happy It’s Over With” (NBC San Diego). Brian Giles was being sued by his ex-girlfriend. It didn’t work out well for her:
  

  Cheri Olvera sued Giles for $10 million over alleged physical abuse. Giles denied the allegations and countersued, saying Olvera abused him.

  The jury ruled both sides committed domestic violence against each other but that no harm was done.

  It was also ruled that Olvera must either return his engagement ring or pay him the ring’s worth of $107,952.

  Oops. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]

• The Scott Boras Factor: Reality or Hype? (Baseball Prospectus). Vince Gennaro’s informative article discusses, among many other things, the Padres’ signing of Greg Maddux before the 2007 season
  

  Here’s another way to frame the results of the deal: Maddux provided San Diego with $20.7 million of value for $10 million in salary.

• Touring The Bases With…Kelly Hallquest (Seamheads). Norm Coleman chats with the food and beverage director for the Eugene Emeralds, short-season Class A affiliate of the Padres.
• Pacific Coast League: Infield errors continue to plague Padres (Arizona Daily Star). The Tucson Padres are struggling on defense. Even worse, Everth Cabrera had to change his uniform number from 6 to 1 because of Steve Garvey. Really?
• Justin Verlander’s Trippy Balk (Baseball-Reference). First, that is an epic balk. Second, did you realize that Bud Black was such a balk machine back in the day? Third, when exactly did “Bud” become “Buddy”?
• Adrian’s gonzo contract Exhibit A in baseball’s inequity (U-T). Adrian Gonzalez got his long-term contract extension in Boston. Tim Sullivan discusses it… or Picasso… or Van Gogh… or something. I don’t know what the heck he’s on about, but congrats to Gonzalez. Our pal David Schoenfield at the SweetSpot offers actual analysis.
• Padres uniform history: The 1970s (SweetSpot). Speaking of Schoenfield, he’s got some sweet visuals here. I’ll just steal TCM’s comment: “That McCovey uniform from ’75 is sharp, man.” Oh, yeah; bring it back any time. (See also the ’80s uniforms.)
• A Visual Look at wOBA (FanGraphs). Steve Slowinski reminds us (as others have done) that wOBA is better than OPS. I remind you that for most purposes, OPS is good enough. As one commenter notes: “OPS is a great proxy for wOBA.” Anyway, it’s starting to become a political thing, which is where I lose interest. Use what works best for your purposes, discard the rest.
• Wafer-thin margins (Inside the Padres). Better get a bucket…