Around the Mission: 8/19 Padres Links

Karsten Whitson: Don’t hate the player, hate the game
"This is another example of agents getting involved in an unhealthy way."

Padres fail to sign Whitson, Vanegas :: Friar Forecast
"This is an interesting situation, one far too complicated to truly analyze from the outside. To me, the scary part is if, for some reason, the Padres simply let $600-800K get in the way of acquiring a very good young baseball player. "

Perpetual Padres Saga: Future Star of Today: Mat Latos
"He is known as the next Jake Peavy but personally, Mat doesn't deserve that name because he is already better. Jake Peavy, move over. There's a new pitcher in town and his name is Mat Latos. "

Woe, Doctor!: The pick that never was
"The Padres went above slot to sign several other players and they signed ten of their top twelve picks. If that’s not a solid financial commitment, I don’t know what is."

RJ’s Fro and Avenging Jack Murphy Spend an August Evening in LAtrine
"Despite getting shutdown, we Padre fans stayed until the very end. I only point this out because Dodger fan doesn’t see fit to stay ‘til the end…even in a 2-1 game. LAme."

Padres carry on winning pitching tradition | padres.com: News
Two days after Kevin Correia tossed six scoreless innings and a day after Jon Garland went seven shutout innings, Clayton Richard won his 11th game by limiting Chicago to one run over 6 2/3 innings.

Bell rolling in season's second half | padres.com: News
Padres closer Heath Bell earned his Major League-leading 36th save of the season on Tuesday, though he has his mind on a different number these days.

Other Padres picks reaped benefits from Whitson - SignOnSanDiego.com
"It was tough," said Whitson. "I was going into the day very optimistic in hoping both sides would agree on a deal in the middle. I wasn’t trying to blow the Padres out of the water by any means. But it just didn’t work out. I’m very happy with the decision."

Top pick's failure to sign a mystery to Padres - SignOnSanDiego.com
"To me, to be offered that much money as a first-round draft pick is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially for a pitcher," Balsley said. "A pitcher never knows how his health is going to go.

PADRES: Petco Park to host soccer exhibition
One club official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Padres believe the venue will be in top form when the team returns.

THE KEPT FAITH: Welcome to the Bandwagon?
I went to sleep, wondering how long it would be until someone would call me that magical name that no Padres fan has been called in over a decade - Bandwagoner.