Mr Baseball

Greetings, this entry comes to you courtesy of the Arizona State University library in beautiful Tempe, Arizona. I am in Arizona this week to take in some spring training baseball games, but so far most of the trip has been spent recoiling in horror after drving around Phoenix. Phoenix is easily the ugliest and oddest city that I have ever seen. Two blocks in any direction from the "downtown" area finds you in what looks like war torn Bosnia. Decrepit houses, junkies and prostitutes covorting in burnt out apartment houses, plastic bags and dogs wheeling through the streets, etc. There seems to be no reason for a city. The downtown skycrapers are pointless, an afterthought. Nothing happens in Phoenix, everything of any value is in Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa. Although, the Phoenix Library is, quite literally, awesome. Very big, modern-make that ultra futuristic-and beautiful. Why it is wasted on Phoenix is a mystery. Why Phoenix exists at all is a mystery. Today I drove northwest to Peoria, spring training home of the San Diego Padres. I watched the Padres come from one run down in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Mariners. I went to the game to catch a glimpse of my unmet half-brother, who is a pitcher for the Brewers. I didn't see him. I fear that he got sent back to the minors. Oh well, the ballpark was a great little place for a game. The beer was cheap, the grass was green, and $6 got me a seat in the grass beyond the home run fence, but I was easily able to maneuver my way into a plush seat behind home plate by the 5th inning. I said hello to Mike Fetters, ex-Dodger reliever who was watching the game from the stands. Fetters was always one of those pitchers who I felt that I could probably hit. He looked pudgy and soft, and he didn't appear to throw very hard. Turns out the guy is like 6'5", and looks really, really strong. I'm guessing that he threw harder than it looked. Tomorrow, Angels v. Diamondbacks in Tempe. I'm going to tell Shawn Green that I miss him already.