Hot links for Tuesday, April 15

Still working on your taxes? Take a break and read a bit of Padres baseball ...

Big feature on a big man, 1B Tony Clark in the Union-Tribune. The story goes back to his days as an East County high school basketball star. ...

The Rockies and Padres are downplaying the significance of their first regular-season meeting since that one-game tie-breaker last October. ... That hasn't stopped the stories, however. Here's a rehash that plays up how impressed C Josh Bard was with Trevor Hoffman's professionalism after the heartbreaking defeat. ...

What's Matt Holliday been doing since that slide in the general direction of home plate? Well, he's the reigning National League player of the week. ...

Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki is off to a slow start. ...

Corey Brock's padres.com mailbag leads with a topic on fans' minds: Hoffman. ...

Channel 6 has a story on its web site about how the Padres are marking Jackie Robinson Day. ...

Double-A San Antonio RHP Will Inman is the Texas League pitcher of the week. Not bad considering teammate Steve Garrison had a seven-inning, no-hit outing. Inman carries a 0.00 ERA into his start today vs. Tulsa. ... Single-A Lake Elsinore OF Javis Diaz is the California League player of the week. ...

Minor league games:
Salt Lake 5, Portland 3
San Antonio 4, Tulsa 2: Plus, here's a more complete account from the Tulsa paper.
High Desert 7, Lake Elsinore 2
Fort Wayne 5, Wisconsin 1 ...

This isn't Padres related, but it's an interesting read for those who like slicing up baseball strategy. USA Today examines why the Cardinals and Brewers have taken to batting the pitcher eighth. OK, there's a vague Padres connection. CEO Sandy Alderson is quoted about his Oakland days working with La Russa.

FJ