The lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis was a feast for St. Louis Cardinals fans a few hours prior to the Civil Rights Game. Featured here are Albert Pujols, Adam Wainwright, Scott Spiezio (yep, the soul patch really is red) and the tandem of Scott Rolen (left) and Jim Edmonds (right) who ducked into a store waiting for the shuttle bus to take them to Autozone Park.

We didn’t want to come to Memphis and leave empty-handed in seeing a baseball game. Although we have tickets for the Civil Rights Game, the weather is ominous and could threaten the game. So, on Friday night, we went to the Redbirds-Cardinals exhibition game. You just cannot miss a chance to see Albert Pujols or, for that matter, Rockey the Redbird.

There: I said it. Barry Bonds is the greatest. We sat through seven miserable innings of rainy baseball to see our hero just a few yards in front of us in left field. The Giants lost to the D-backs 6-0 (game shortened to 7 innings), but it was great seeing Barry in what might be his last year at Giants Spring Training.

Yes, it bothers me Bonds may have taken steroids. But he's no doubt clean now (well clean of illegal substances) and he's leading the Cactus League in homers. Does it taint his soon-to-be all-time home run record? Not for me. I have a soft spot for Barry Bonds as in 2000, at a troubled time in my family life, I had Giants season tickets and Barry's home run chase provided the distraction needed to get through. I can still see his homers sailing into the McCovey Cove past right field.

So, Barry, you are tops with us. Hope you have a great and healthy year. Just wish I could be there to see you break Aaron's record.

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than at a Chicago Cubs Spring Training game. There were lots of green, lots of beer and lots of sun. Check out the guys in the kilts.

Podsafe music is “Drunk Tonight” by the Bloody Irish Boys.

It's been close to 20 years since I saw Rick The Peanut Vendor (Kaminski) toss peanuts to hungry fans at the cavernous Kingdome. In this clip, Rick, who now plies his trade at Safeco Field, uses Spring Training to get in form for the Seattle Mariners 2007 campaign. Rick didn't get a lot of action at this Cactus League game as the Padres (who share Peoria Sports Complex with the M's) were the home team. San Diego fans are more the sushi sorts than peanut afficienados.

How great is it to spend a weekend in the sun watching the Cubs prepare to again break the hearts of the North Side faithful.

It’s cool to see the Cubs fans and White Sox fans go at it in Spring Training. At the cross-town, out of town exhibition game, former Cubs Hall of Famer (class of ’91) Fergie Jenkins (a personal favorite) sat at a special events table before the game, signing autographs for a $10 donation to his foundation. That’s former Tiger Ron LeFlore to his left.

Cubs fans will recognize their unofficial mascot, Ronnie "Woo Woo." Ronnie made the trip from Mesa, the Cactus League home of the Chicago Cubs, to Phoenix Muni to cheer on the Cubs as they played the Oakland A's. The game ended in a rare 5-5 tie after 10 innings. The players may need to tune up, but Ronnie "Woo Woo" is in mid-season shape.

Just as we stood a few feet behind the batting cage last year with Brewers young slugger Prince Fielder, today we were almost in the cage with Kansas City Royals rising star Alex Gordon. Is he the latter-day George Brett? Time will tell.

Part two of the Fan Fest includes shots of Eric Byrnes, Brandon Webb, Carlos Quentin, Chad Tracy, Randy Johnson (Yes, the Big Unit is back from the Big Apple) and Connor Jackson. Note that Jackson overhears this reporter mentioning that Jackson is a Cal grad. Indeed is a proud Golden Bear.

At the Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Fest, 10 singers competed for the chance to sing the national anthem before a Diamondbacks home game. The first nine were women; the last one is the PA announcer at Chase Field.

Circled in red is the day pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Arizona. Today, we ventured over to Scottsdale Stadium to see the Giants 2007 hurlers in their tune-up sessions. Of course, our #1 mission was to see Barry Zito. As this clip shows, we were not disappointed. The position players reports next week--we'll be back (as well as to other Major League camps in the area).

This baseball junkie was in need of a fix. After all, it's still three weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. So, we read about alumni day for Arizona State University baseball and were off to Packard stadium. Sunny skies, baseball...what else can a fan want?

ASU is ranked in the 20s this year according to the pre-season polls. It was our first trip to see the Sun Devil baseball team and we will be back for a "real game." The players signed autographs before the event, and featured here is JC transfer Brian Flores, projected to be a high draft pick in the next few years. There was a home run derby, and for the Sun Devils the contestants were Ike Davis and Brett Wallace--both projected to be high draft choices in '07 and '08. After the four players took their swings, out came recent ASU star Andre Ethier (in street clothes) to aim for the fences. We first met Ethier in Fall League '05 when he was with the Oakland A's. At the end of Spring Training, the A's traded him to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley (yes, the kook). In case you missed it, Ethier was a runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year.

Regarding the Sun Devils baseball team: we will be back and hope to see them in Omaha at the College World Series. We should be there.

You sure know which sports team rates here in Arizona: last year, the Phoenix Suns pre-season fan-fest had folks packed like sardines at Desert Ridge Marketplace while today, the Arizona Diamondbacks had only a small handful of fans at their autograph table inside Jillian's at Desert Ridge.

Featured here are firstbaseman-turned-broadcaster Mark Grace and Chris Young, the team's star outfielder of the future.

I have tried accessing the Internet on my mobile phone...honestly, all the mobile phones I have had over the years...and it's generally tough going. That's one of the reasons I really like the Nokia N800, a tablet multimedia computer/device that is easy to use and has a very intuitive interface.

I experimented by having it at my side for the Bears-Saints NFC Championship game. Leaving aside I bet $10 in Vegas for the Saints to win SB41, it was enjoying finding out some details on the players while the game was in play. It was sort of like a disconnected interactive TV application. More on that some other time.

The RSS reader on the Nokia N800 is great and I set up a number of feeds whose headlines come in on an hourly basis. Amazingly, the video and audio on the device works extremely well. My only minor issue (similar to the video iPod) is that there are some on-screen reading challenges for someone with progressive bifocals.

We have a new rising star we'll be rooting for in future seasons--Tampa Bay prospect Fernando Perez. I saw Perez talk to a young boy at our first AFL game this season, and his manner and respect for the fans stood out from his peers. Today, after the championship game ended, Perez's interaction with young fans earned our respect and admiration.

Perez, a 23-year-old center fielder for the Devil Rays, certainly has his work cut out for him with such talent as Delmon Young and Carl Crawford standing in his path. Nonetheless, Perez plays with flair in the outfield, and his running catch of a blast over his head ended the game with a touch of the dramatic. The young man, who played at Visalia in the California League this past season, is from Elizabeth, NJ and attended Columbia University (no small feat in its own right). At Visalia, he batted .307 with 33 stolen bases and close to a .400 on base percentage. He was a seventh round pick in 2004 an we hope he's headed for big things. He's a class act all the way.

In this clip, he's being interview by a reporter from MLB.com

And so our memorable baseball season comes to an end. The Phoenix Desert Dogs beat the Grand Canyon Rafters 6-2 ending the 15th Arizona Fall League season in fine form. A relatively smaller than usual crowd for the championship game (this was our third in a row) saw a few innings of shutout pitching before two costly errors put The Dogs ahead to stay. An 8th inning home run by Detroit Tigers prospect Brent Clevlen capped the victory which was saved by Blue Jays young closer-to-be, Tracy Thorpe (all 6-4, 250 of him).

We are sad to see the season come to an end.It was a season that included the World Baseball Classic, Cactus League, major league games, the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, Fall League, the Fall League All-Star Game and now the title game. We loved every inning of every game and can't wait til 2007.

I have been waiting for this one for a while--The Dodgers' Chin-Lung Hu gets a single, and the logical comment brings Abbott and Costello to mind.

Celebrating 15 years as quiet but powerful force in Major League Baseball, the Arizona Fall League commemorating its anniversary with a mid-season All-Star Game, featuring the best players in the league, many of whom are top draft picks destined for stardom. I read somewhere that nearly half of the players in this year's World Series were former AFL stand outs. That speaks volumes.

The game featured a rematch between the Mets Mike Pelfrey and the Phillies Gio Gonzalez. The spotlight in this clip is on three other players: Hunter Pence of the Astros who is one of the best young players I have seen in a while (he can hit, hit with power, field and throw), Dewon Day of the White Sox (his proud mom and dad gave us free tickets before the game) and Scott Tyler of the Marlins. We learned about Tyler, a Philadelphia-area kid, from his proud father who sat behind us. His dad, Toby Tyler, is a former ABA player who flew to Arizona to see his son (a second round pick) show his stuff.

The West team lost 3-1, and the sad note here is that the losing pitcher, Devin Perrin, is a Phoenix area guy with a huge cheering section of friends and family.

For five of the past six years, I have celebrated my birthday at an Arizona Fall League game. Today was no different. A beautiful sunny day at Phoenix Muni where we have seen a wide assortment of games this year, ranging from Spring Training to celebrity softball to the Oakland A's hosting South Africa in a World Baseball Classic tune-up.

Today, the Desert Dogs hosted the Scorpions, and while the focus yesterday was on pitching, today we saw home runs a plenty with Ryan Braun, a former first round pick slugging one and Diamondbacks outfielder (and MLB blogger) Mark Reynolds belting two. Blue Jay Chip Cannon, true to his name, launched one over the fence in right field.

What's worth noting today was how attentive Braun, Giants first baseman Travis Ishikawa, and Devil Rays outfielder Fernando Perez were to the young fans. Perez told one youngster that if he got two hits in the game, he's award him the bat. (For the record, he had three hits). It's heartwarming to see these young stars show some class as they rise through the ranks.
Find this video and thousands of others at vS

Another season of Arizona Fall League begins on a sunny Friday afternoon as the Peoria Saguaros host the Mesa Solar Sox. A lot of featured players today, most notably the starting pitchers: Mike Pelfrey of the Mets (former first round pick) and Gio Gonzalez (former first round pick) who came to the Phillies as part of the Jim Thome trade with the White Sox. After seeing Gonzalez pitch (and we also saw him in the Futures Game in Pittsburgh), the Chisox soon will be sorry the dealt him. Both he and Pelfrey displayed major league stuff in their individual three scoreless innings on the mound.

One humorous note: as a Phillies fan, I stopped young catcher Jason Jaramillo (played with Reading last year) to wish him good luck and identified myself as a Philadelphia native. He pointed to my shirt and asked me why I was wearing a Cubs Spring Training shirt if I was a Phillies fan. He walked away laughing.

One notable player not featured in this clip is 18-year-old Fernando Martinez of the Mets. He is the youngest player in AFL history having just turned 18. In the 5th inning, he came up, flicked his wrists, and hit one out in dead center field. Quite impressive.

It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of former Phillies great, Johnny Callison. What great irony that Callison wore number 6 and Ryan Howard, who wears that now, stands poised to perhaps be the MVP. Callison, a great right fielder who is know for winning the 1964 All-Star game with a home run, was a slugger who was a great RBI man and had a terrific throwing arm.

Callison probably never earned more than 15 or 20 thousand in his best year. Today, he’s be worth millions upon millions. I would compare him to someone like Moises Alou or maybe Jason Bay. In his prime, he was one of the top 10 outfielders in the game, and that’s saying a lot if you think who played in the ‘60s.

Featured here is a clip taken at Citizens Bank Park in July, 2005. It features the Phillies All-Century Team monuments which includes a nice look at Johnny Callison.

Number 6, you will always be in our hearts.

It’s difficult for me to remember if I ever went to a baseball stadium with no intention of going to the game being played that day. Today, we went to Chase Field to grab some of the color in and around Luis Gonzalez’s last day as an Arizona Diamondback. The fans were out in full force to provide a proper goodbye to the man who is the face of the Arizona baseball franchise. For the record, it’s also the last Diamondbacks game for Craig Counsell who is a class act, but is no Gonzo.

This clip contains TV footage of Gonzo’s last at-bat. Enjoy.

The season for the little-known Arizona League ended with the Peoria Padres and the Tempe Angels battling in a three-game series for the championship. Game one, won by the Padres 5-2, started in a light drizzle at the Peoria Sports Complex, and featured a number of the league’s top stars.

 

For the Padres, Cedric Hunter, a third-round pick out of Georgia, was the league’s MVP while teammates Rayner Contreras and Luis Durango made the league’s year-end all-star team. For the Angels, Matt Sweeney, an eighth round draft pick out of Maryland, made the all-star team as a top-flight third baseman.

 

Also featured in the video are Carlos Lezcano (manager of the Padres, cousin of former major leaguer Sixto Lezcano) and (we think it was) Goose Gossage, former major league relief pitching star. Gossage’s nephew Kevin played for the Rangers in the rookie league this season.

As luck would have it, we had a rare opportunity to visit the new Cardinals Stadium out in Glendale a few days before it opens to the public. Sure, it’s way out on 101 from the heart of Metro Phoenix, but it’s a beauty and the home for the 2008 Super Bowl. After playing for decades at Sun Devil Stadium, it’s a huge leap forward for a rather luckless franchise that hasn’t been in the playoffs in recent history.

Here's a quick clip of the former centerpiece of The Big Red Machine, Johnny Bench. Bench was probably one of the best catchers in the past 50 years.

One of my favorite players from the ‘60s–my favorite baseball era–is Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs. Banks was the man who allegedly said, “Let’s play two,” symbolizing his love and passion for the game. Ernie played in a day in which players lasted with one team an entire career and is a living legend (along with Ron Santo) for Cub fans around the world.

This clip was shot at the Futures Game. A few days later, we saw him in the sushi bar at the Westin Hotel in Pittsburgh (where most of the players stayed). It is impossible to believe he is 75 years old.

Not to play second fiddle to any league, the AAA All-Star game in Toledo had it’s share (if not more) of color with a parade of mascots led by Muddy and Madonna, the mascots of the home Toledo Mud Hens.

Part of the fun for us at the Major League Baseball All-Star game in Pittsburgh was seeing the mascots up close and personal. We got to shake hands (so to speak) with Billy (the Marlins mascot) and Louseal (the Giants mascot). Lots of others (Redbird, Mr. Met, Philly Fanatic…) are also featured.

Minor league mascots to come!

For Arizona Diamonbacks’ prized rookie Stephen Drew, it was a week to remember–and we were there to enjoy it.

As this clip shows, Drew played the in the Futures Game preceding All-Star Sunday in Pittsburgh. He then trekked west to Toledo to take part in the AAA All-Star Game. And then, as I read in the paper, he was called up to the Diamondbacks a few days ago.

The coolest part, for us, was during the player introduction ceremony in Toledo. Each player tossed an autographed plush baseball into the stands after he was into. In a heavy drizzle, as Drew came out of the dugout, my producer yelled “Go Stephen!” at which point he tuned toward us (9 rows above the dugout) and threw the ball right at me!

It was a great week for all of us.

To bring the fans closer to the All Star players, there was a red carpet procession that took the players over the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Adoring fans lined the bridge to cheer the All Stars as they tossed cards and Baby Ruth candy bars and assorted other souvenirs.

We found a prime spot at the foot of the bridge and caught the players as they disembarked their buses and snaked their way to Fort Duquesne Road to their Chevrolet chariots. A few feet in front of us, Alex Rodriguez and his wife got out of an escorted van and searched for the Chevy.

He came up last in the first round of the derby. He had lots of ground to make up. He barely made it into the second round. But, when all was said and done, it was Ryan Howard’s night.

David Wright ran out of gas. Big Popi ran out of gas. Jermaine Dye didn’t have the legs. Miguel Cabrera choked. Ryan rose to the event and won

We first saw Ryan Howard in Arizona Fall League two years ago, and we knew he was destined for greatness. We knew he’d win rookie of the year. Tuesday night, we knew he’d win the home run derby. He has yet to disappoint.

Jeremy Jeffress, the Milwaukee Brewers #1 pick in the 2006 draft is the real thing. He’s 18 years old, but on the mound, he looks like a veteran with real command of a 98-mile-an-hour fast ball. He had his teammates, sitting in the stands behind us, shaking their heads in disbelief and admiration.

After his two innings, Jeffress sat behind us and I had him autograph his draft picture in Baseball America. Needless to say, his buddies thought it was rather amusing. And, for the record, he is an absolute dead ringer for Dwight (Doc) Gooden. Let’s hope he pitches as well but fares better in off the field matters.

What better way to spend the 4th of July than taking in the Great American Pastime. Today, the Giants hosted the (Maryvale) Brewers in an Arizona Rookie League game. Not only did we get to see the Brewers top two picks, we walked away with a baseball. With exactly one week to go before the All-Star Game, we a primed for the action.

Among the future stars we saw were Matt Downs (Giants, 36th round pick, 2006); Ivan Herrera-Rusova (Giants, pitcher) ; Matt Klimas (Giants, 8th round pick, 2006); Mike Goetz (Brewers, 25th round, 2006); Jeremy Jeffress (Brewers, 1st round pick) and Brent Brewer (Brewers, 2nd round pick). Jeffress will have a video clip all to himself.

He won’t be on our flight to Pittsburgh, but Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Webb will be joining us in the Steel City for the upcoming All-Star Game. Webb is, without question, one of the best if not best right-handers in the National League. He has nine wins (he slumped a bit after winning his first eight), and has a 2.72 ERA as of this writing. He does lead the league in number of innings thrown (132.1) which is both good and bad; good in that he pitches well into the game, but bad if it causes him to run out of steam later in year.

Webb will have at least two fans at PNC Park. Maybe he’ll be the one to calm down those hot AL bats.

Difficult to imagine that it was just a few months ago that we saw Team USA play South Africa in the World Baseball Classic live at Scottsdale Stadium. And now, on a 100-plus degree day we’re back (with about 20 others) to watch The Giants host the Mariners in Arizona Rookie League play. Rookie League is officially known as a Short Season A league for recent draftees and others with less than two years of playing experience.

The Giants have moved their Rookie League venue from the rather scruffy park on the corner of Hayden & Camelback to Scottsdale Stadium, one of the crown jewels of the Cactus League (spring training).

Among the players featured in the clip are: GIANTS– Jose Valdez (pitcher); Robert Davis (catcher); Allen Balmer (infield) and Joe Roundy (outfielder); MARINERS-Stan Posulszny (outfielder); Matt Vogel (infield) Alex Liddi (infield) and Aric Van Gaalen (pitcher).

We’ll probably catch another game before we leave for the big event–THE MLB All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.

I was traveling when I heard the news about Peter Gammons being stricken with brain aneurism and was both startled and saddened. He is my favorite baseball analyst and was peerless as a sportswriter when he covered the Boston Red Sox. He’s in the Hall of Fame for good reason. We will miss seeing him at the MLB All-Star game. Here’s a clip of Gammons from the World Baseball Classic.

Get well soon Peter and all the best to your family.

With three weeks left before we head off to the MLB All-Star Game, we wanted to begin our journey into baseball mode. Our first stop (of a few) was at Phoenix Muni to see the first day of tryouts for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team. Tryouts are two days and are being held in three different spots in the U.S. Since the team is not picking up expenses for the tryouts, the goal was to have them located so that a significant number of women athletes would be close to one of the tryout facilities.

You have to hand it to these athletes—it was about 102 out and those leading the tryouts didn’t let up as they went through the paces of pitching, throwing and batting. The winners of these tryouts have to come back for a second round later this summer, and from there, those selected are whisked off to play in Taiwan for their first official game. In fact, those who make this cut, and are asked to return, have to bring their passports with for the next go-round.

Led by manager Bob Melvin, a number of Arizona Diamondbacks sign autographs before the game. Included are Tony Clark, Chad Tracy, Kevin Jarvis and coach Lee Tinsley.

Talk about your poorly executed between-the-innings entertainment, the Food Fighter race at the Diamondbacks-Mets game is a far cry from the wonderful Sausage Races. Who do you root for in a battle between a burrito, a taco and a Pepsi?

At the Diamondbacks-Mets game on June 10th, home plate umpire Jim Reynolds takes time away from calling balls and strikes to rescue a rather confused bird who was trapped on the pitcher’s mound.