A couple weeks back I went for my annual check-up. I found that I was in horrible shape. My organs were too busy telling me I was number one to actually do their job and had gone on strike, not for better wages, but for a better host. Somebody who would actually treat their body as the temple it truly was rather than the repository for horrible foods and drink it had become. I vowed to change. I quit drinking soda, cut way back on drinking period and started eating more salads and going back to the gym.
This blog is about my trip to
In reality it wasn’t that bad. I still cut way back on drinking, avoided soft drinks and managed to lug a heavy backpack and even heavier case around
Oh! Yeah. And we watched some baseball.
The Sounds parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers, hold spring training at
After picking up our press passes from Mike Vasallo, the ever helpful Brewers Media Relations Director, we headed off to Mesa, Arizona and the Chicago Cubs complex to watch the Brewers Triple-A club (that would be the Sounds) take on the Cubs Triple- A club (Iowa. Duh.) It turned out to be a pretty good game if you were a Brewers fan and a pretty typical one if you rooted for the Cubs. Yovanni Gallardo pitched into the 2nd inning before leaving with what appeared to be a blister and Alec Zumwalt threw well in relief.
After the game we stopped at In-N-Out Burger.
After lunch we attempted to check into the motel without any luck. Our reservation had gotten messed up and we wound up having to go to another motel. This worked out well because the new hotel was closer to Maryvale and there was an IHOP right down the street.
Sunday we managed to get a bunch of work done filming segments for “Sounds On Demand”, our monthly news magazine. We were lucky we had a very patient cameraman in Tim George who was very patient with the numerous times I messed up. A typical shot would go something like this:
ME: Welcome to Maryvale Stadium…
TIM: It’s
ME: Welcome to Maryvale Stadium in sunny
TIM: We’re in
ME:
TIM:
ME: Where the grass is always greener, the beer is always colder and the something is always something……..
TIM: Let’s try that again
ME: Sky is always bluer!
TIM: Still rolling…..
We did manage to get those shots done and we also put a number of interviews in the can. We interviewed Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder and Cory Hart on camera (watch Corey Hart try and keep a straight face as Prince and Rickie do a goofy dance off-camera). We then headed up to the front office where we sat down for interviews with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and Assistant GM Gord Ash. Melvin burst one of my bubbles when I asked him if promising Bill Hall he could stay in one position was a factor in Hall signing a multi year extension.
“No, I think 24 million dollars was a big factor”
I am now of the opinion that Doug Melvin is an unidealisitic realist. Poor Doug.
Monday brought about the task I had really come down to
Having made the 116 mile drive in just under 23 minutes (I was driving) I set up to broadcast the Brewers v. Arizona Diamondbacks. This game would feature two teams who have made numerous deals in the past few years with the end result being that the Brewers have Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, Craig Counsell, Johnny Estrada, Zach Jackson Tony Graffanino, Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino from the Diamondbacks or from trades involving players they snookered away from the Diamondbacks, while the Diamondbacks have Dave Krynzel, a hamster named “Squeaky” and a pet rock. As soon as I walked in rolling my equipment case towards the elevator, I passed Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers long time beat writer in a hurry to get somewhere. Tom was racing to get down on the field to get quotes from Brewers management about a deal that had just been completed minutes before, the trade of Brady Clark to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for left-handed reliever Elmer Dessens (another former Sound, albeit for just one game back in 1998) Being around the core of major league baseball when headlines are made gives you a rush that is hard to describe. It may explain why the writers were almost sprinting down to the field as if they just heard the ice cream truck coming.
The game was a beauty if you were a Brewers fan. Vargas pitched extremely well with no hits allowed until Justin Upton tripled to right center. Vinny Rottino, “The Pride of Racine”, leading off the top of the third inning with a solo home run and capping the third with a two run double to put the game away. Tony Gwynn and Corey Hart both doubled so the
After the game and an aborted attempt to find an In-N-Out Burger in
Tuesday was more of the same, just in
So now we are back in
Really. I can’t wait.