This post was written on March 16th, but not posted until March 22nd due to technical issues.  We apolgize for the inconvenience.

Today was one of those days where most baseball fans would be jealous of me. I started the day at Cubs camp where I got to are some up and comers doing some basic drills and watch Ryne Sandberg as he coached.  Then, I went over to the A’s minor league facility which is the most fan friendly of all the teams.  The fields are open with no fences separating the fans except where safety from batted balls might be an issue.  There are huge grassy knowls where a fan could spread out a picnic lunch and watch the young guys taking infield on Billy Martin or Tony LaRussa field.  Many chose to have a little game of catch right along side the pros field. In the days to come I will try to get some pics up of that, as it was a beautiful sight.

Tonight, I am out in Suprise, AZ at the facility shared by the Royals and the Rangers. I’m here to get an interview a Ranger for an upcoming newsletter profile, and to watch tonights game against the Padres. Sammy Sosa was in the locker room, in one corner with only one locker, but with an empty one next to him.  It was announced today that he would make the team, as he has had a terrific spring.  His smile was nice to see again, and its a fun story to be around.

The clubhouse here in Texas is one of the loosest I have been in. The facility is the best around, and most of the guys are quite young. There was a Fox crew in doing bits for the best damn sports show, with Brody Stevens interviewing players andr cracking everone up.  The reporters tried to stay out of camera shot, but may not have been completely successful at that.  Some of the guys were playing cards, and a couple were playing cribbage, which is one of my favs.

Ron Washington did his media brief in the dugout once stretching started, and I have to say, now that I have say in on a few of these, that he has to be one of the most forthright easy talking guys in baseball.  There was no nonsense, but just real honest answers, and a real breath of fresh air, I thought. Well, BP is over and its time to get a bite before heading into the press box.