Sorry for the lack of updates. Been busy with work, school, and fighting off illness (not serious by any stretch; just annoying) lately. Anyway, time to catch up on some things…

Baseball America gives more props to USD and coach Rich Hill. Hadn’t realized Hill and future SDSU coach Tony Gwynn were college teammates.

Also at BA the top 100 high school prospects. Six San Diegans make the list, including Jake Blalock, younger brother of Rangers’ 3B prospect Hank Blalock. Like his older brother, Jake plays shorstop and third base. He’s committed to Arizona State.

Need someone worse than Bud Selig or Carl Pohlad to brighten your day? Why not try the new and improved Jeffrey Loria. What a piece of work…

Pads sign submarining RHP Brad Clontz to a minor-league deal. Another shrewd low-risk move. Clontz was very effective with the Braves in 1995 and 1997, and with the Pirates in 1999. If he can recapture the form that led to a 2.74 ERA in 56 games in 1999, Clontz could be a valuable member of the San Diego bullpen. If not, well, it’s just a minor-league deal and nobody really expected anything out of a guy who has pitched just seven big-league games over the past two seasons.

Finally, some closure to the 1999 Ben Christensen/Anthony Molina beanball incident. There are very few professional athletes against whom I root. Hideki Irabu. Bobby Chouinard. Carl Everett. Latrell Sprewell. A few others. Add Christensen to the list. The man is a disgrace to the game. I hope the memory of what he did to Molina haunts him for a very long time.