Running on Fumes

Hey folks. The "Bergler" here, getting ready to power down after another full schedule of baseball this Thursday evening. Closing in on being in Yuma for two weeks. Glad to be out of the winter cold and drafty, broken-window house I called home up in Flagstaff, Arizona. The weather has been unbelievable here in the Sonoran Desert, and my host-family has been even more gracious (Bob and Susan Lauer out in the Foothills).

I've gotten to speak with a lot of parents and fans who have said they've been following along on the website and this here blog. I'm an never-ending English major up at Northern Arizona University, and thus, I enjoy these opportunities to wax poetic and publish. Anybody enjoy the Groundhog story?

Here's a look at the "business corral", or "office space", or as I like to think of it, "the first desk I've ever occupied in a professional baseball office". You can see "BatBear" there on the desk, he proofreads most of my work. Dad, thank you so much for the computer. And if you look closely, there's a mini-Wrigley Field model there on the desk (Avon's finest, love ya Mom).

I know there are broken links on the website and some incorrect numbers on the roster-inserts, but we're working at all hours of the day. If and when you reach me on the phone here at the Arizona Winter League nerve center, this is where I'm sitting.

I've been splitting my days between Yuma and San Luis, taking in 3.5 baseball games a day more or less. I never thought being the official scorer would make me so popular in all the wrong ways. A couple players came to talk to me in San Luis after their games tonight, and they saw me ready to have a politically correct meltdown. I know everyone has stats on the brain, but what happens on the field happens. I've got no agenda, and I've also got three different people who want specific outcomes on every questionable call (batter, fielder, pitcher). So, if you're calling about that...don't call.

Want to wind this down with some pictures of the morning at Desert Sun. In this first picture, in the forefront we've got our scoreboard operator Mr. Bob (that's not his last name, that's Midwest manners) and our tasmanian-devil of a front office manager who was caught actually sitting down for a quick second, Jimmy Taipalaus. Forget what we were laughing about, but a good picture. In the middle of a busy and anxious pressbox, it was a real nice change of pace to have Bob's granddaughter come up to the pressbox the other day. She brought him coffee and some snacks, and his smile was ten times as big as the one he's got going on here.

And finally, a picture of the fans getting ready for the 11am first pitch. The fans are the most important aspect to the work we all do. I've heard from a player or two that they've been very pleasently surprised with the crowds at the ballpark. Keep on coming out all you baseball fans. As the season gets thicker, the playoff races will ratchet up, the scouts in the stands will become recognizable, and you'll come to know your favorite AWL ballplayers better and better. And most important of all, we need more singing and dancing in the stands. Come out to Desert Sun just to let us know what you think of our ballpark jukebox! Ya know...nothing's better for your smile than singing!