A Short Entry for a Long Weekend

I'm still recovering from one of those weekends that felt like an inning with three sacrifice flies, as Amy and I took Friday off to visit her parents down Escondido way. If we had brough a camera, this visit would have led to many more opportunites for greyhounds hunt rat terrier photos, but all those playful attacks went undocumented.

Since I'm officially in recovery mode (heck, I called it that, so I must be), I can go to bullet points, collect my check and revel in the stylistic glory known only by giants of journalism like Larry King:

• Baseball Prospectus threw one of its famed pizza feeds at Petco on Friday night. What didn't make sense is there was no pizza--this is an organization famous for being precise and exacting, so come up with new names, guys.
• Got to shake hands with Sandy Alderson, who was the executive vice president for MLB from 1998 until recently, and the leader of the A's before that, and now CEO of the Padres. He's a big deal as he plays--and wins--fantasy baseball without the fantasy part.
• Got to listen to Padres GM Kevin Towers be very upfront about the strengths and weaknesses of his club. Now, I'd hate it if my boss got in a room of 50 strangers and told them all my faults--it's true, just like thirdbaseman Sean Burroughs I have trouble getting my hips into my swing, so I rarely generate enough power when typing--but it was fun to hear the inside scoop.
• Third, got to prove to Amy I'm really not such a baseball geek after all. Guys (of course) doing the Q part of the Q&A were able to grill Towers on which draft picks he took and why, and Amy knows I can barely name who the Mets drafted. This will buy me much credit the next time I blabber on to her about how and why David Wright is such a special 22-year-old.
• Xavier Nady needs me in the crowd--I've seen 2 Padres games this year and in those games he's gone 6 for 9 with 2 homers, 2 triples, 4 runs scored and 6 rbis. I'm available to root for a price. And we've decided his official nickname needs to be Xavier "Ahoy!" Nady. (you might have to say it aloud, with your best swashbuckling accent)
• Pizza Port in Solana Beach is a must-visit for anyone seriously interested in beer. They had not one but two double IPAs on tap this weekend, both hoppily delicious.