Now, with 100% less snappy intro…
- Q&A: Chase Headley (FanGraphs). Our pal David Laurila chats with the Padres third baseman. Quoth Headley: “I would rather strike out on a 3-2 count than put the ball in play on the first pitch of an at bat and make an out. I just think that makes the pitcher work a little bit harder.” [h/t reader Didi]
- Active hitting leaders (Baseball-Reference). Mat Latos has never drawn a walk?
- Followed Him Up to the Gates of Grantland (Baseball Prospectus). Colin Wyers takes aim at a recent article that has received more attention than it deserves. Joe Pawlikowski does the same at FanGraphs, while Mike Stadler takes a slightly different approach at Hardball Times. It’s an easy article to destroy… not much fun, really; rather like hunting cattle.
- Evaluating catchers: Framing pitches, part 2 (Hardball Times). Max Marchi continues his fascinating series.
- MLB Team Travel (FanGraphs). The six teams that travel the most all call the West Coast home.
- Prospect Gyorko hard for Padres to ignore (Padres.com). Yeah, he’s pretty good: .373/.438/.645 as of this writing.
- MVP Darnell lofts South to victory (MiLB.com). Speaking of minor-league All-Star third basemen…
- Wriggling for Riggleman (Joe Blogs). Former Padres skipper Jim Riggleman recently resigned as manager of the Washington Nationals for reasons that only he comprehends. David Schoenfield notes that this likely ends Riggleman’s managerial career, while our pals at Platoon Advantage examine other managers who have left their post midseason.
- Talking ball with Dick Williams (Hardball Times). Speaking of former Padres managers…
- Tate suspended (Inside the Padres). Tom Krasovic offers his thoughts.
- My journey (Dodger Thoughts). Jon Weisman, in the exquisite way that only he can, discusses the plight of following a franchise that insists on running itself into the ground at every opportunity. Yeah, it’s the Dodgers, but we’ve all been there.
- Ever-impressive Strasburg making his way back (MLB.com). Peter Gammons notes that SDSU alum Stephen Strasburg is making progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. [h/t BBTF]
- Spence keeps his fellow Aussies informed (Padres.com). Fluffy but fun piece on the rookie left-hander.
That’s all for now. Have a safe and happy 4th, and go Padres!