Hunt and Peck: Links of the Weekend

To be able to transcend generations of people is a rare ability. It takes a certain combination extraordinary talent and extraordinary character. Few people actually have both these qualities. Abraham Lincoln, Vince Lombarti, Stan Musial - easy to love, revered, and darn good at what they did.

I was unfortunate enough to be born too late to really lay eyes on Tony Gwynn in his prime, and even as he grew older, there is still very little I remember about him. But I still know him. He lives in the stories and box scores. He was a man that played 20 seasons with the same team. He was a 15 time All Star, 7 time Silver Slugger, and 8 time batting champion. He hit .444 with the bases loaded and never struck out against Greg Maddux. He was a Hall of Famer. But perhaps his greatest feat was not accomplished on the baseball field, or even during his life time. Mourners across the nation expressed grief with his passing. An entire fan base brought to tears. Me brought to tears reading the stories from people who saw him, people who met him. He was a great baseball player, but an even better person and was taken from us too soon. Rest in peace, Mr. Padre. You will be missed. - SBNation

What Else Is Going On in Baseball...

• There has been a lot of coverage on the death of Padres legend, Tony Gwynn. Here were some of my favorite articles. - SBNation; McCovey Chronicles; SBNation; Fangraphs
  If you are in the San Diego area and wish to pay your respects, the Padres are leaving the Park at the Park open until 11:30 PM tonight and tomorrow. - Gaslamp Ball
• For something a little bit lighter, here is a Yasiel Puig bat-flip... after a walk. The catcher's reaction is my favorite part of the whole thing. - Cut4; SBNation (thanks flood!)
• More MLBAM Statcast stuff. I love it. - MLB
• Coolest dad ever? Maybe. - Cut4
• Tony Sipp plays the outfield again. - Cut4

What the Cardinals Are Up To...

• Goold writes about Gwynn talking hitting with The Man. - STL Today
• The article compares Oscar Taveras to a sad birthday gift. I... disagree. - Fangraphs
• The Cards were right to push Adam Wainwright's start back. - STL Today
• The Fangraphs community explores what is wrong with Trevor Rosenthal. - Fangraphs

KNOW THINE ENEMY

The NL Central

• Jonathan Lucroy is having a great season and could threaten Ducky's doubles record. - Sports on Earth
• And he is making a push to start the All Star Game. I thought we in the Midwest were above this sort of mudslinging. - MLB
• Gregory Polanco has a five-hit night. - MLB
• Standings
  

The New York Metropolitans

• Carlos Torres was very upset about a bad outing. (thanks flood!) - SBNation
• Fink previews the Carlos Martinez series for us. - Viva el Birdos
• Amazin' Avenue also does a preview. - Amazin' Avenue
• For more Mets news, check out their SBN Blog! - Amazin' Avenue

World Cup:

• I BELIEVE. - Youtube
• THAT WE WILL WIN. - SBNation
• That is a really nice chant. No link for this, just sayin'.

Weekend Scoreboard \o/ :

Tonight Michael Wacha faces off against Jon Niese as the Cardinals look to win five in a row. Game time is 7:15 pm CST and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest and SNY and on the radio on KMOX 1120 and 710 WOR, WEPN 1050.

Links! Send them! Tweet me @lil_scooter93 or e-mail me at lil_scooter93@msn.com!