Spring Training Wrap-Up

Greensboro, NC -- I arrived back to Carolina last night after spending the last four days in the greater Phoenix area. Aside from the two dozen strawberry mojitos, poolside sunbathing, and a round of golf at the luxurious We-Ko-Pa golf course, we did manage to catch some ballgames in Arizona.

• Had a half slab of ribs and half a chicken at the famous Don and Charlie's restaurant in Scottsdale. We saw Steve Stone there taking in a meal. Upon entering the restaurant, the foyer is covered with autographed photos of Don and Charlie standing next to a famous athlete or celebrity. The wall ranged from Oprah to Dan Patrick to the Monday Night Football crew to Mike D'Antoni to Peter Forsberg to Hammerin' Hank Goldberg holding a drumstick.
• Took in the Cubs-Mariners game from HoHoKam Park (Cubs) in Mesa. The Cubs won 6-4. Saw a couple of Mariner relievers warming up in the pen close up, but judging by their high uniform numbers, I don't think we'll see them in the majors.
• You heard it hear first: Felix Pie is the next Corey Patterson... a ton of hype, but ultimately a bust.
• We were chilling out at the ultra cool Fairmont Hotel bar (where we stayed) when two guys (holding hands) came up and sat next to me as I was engaged in a conversation with Pearl. They overheard us talking about baseball and such. While the gay act was ultimately about to make me the butt of their joke, we quickly learned that the famous father-son umpire tandem was introducing themselves to us, Paul and Brian Runge. Paul was actually the union crew chief for two years in the mid-1990's. We drilled the father and son with questions for about 30-40 minutes. Brian actually shared a pretty cool story with us. He was the umpire who stepped in between the 3rd base umpire and Lou Piniella last year when Sweet Lou threw his first and only tirade to date with the Cubs. About a week later, Piniella sent each umpire an apology letter in the mail and meant no hard feelings whatsoever. We also learned that as soon as family is brought into the argument, that player or coach is immediately ejected from the game. All and all, a pretty cool experience.
• Brian's umpire number is 71. I'm allowed to yell at him if we're at the same game and he'll see about taking me down to the clubhouse.

If you're a baseball fan, Arizona is a sweet destination to soak in spring training. 77 degrees and no humidity prevents you from being crabby regardless of your mood. Everyone in Scottsdale was talking baseball, and that's something that you cannot beat.