disarcina

GEOFF -- I was at FanFest. Your toast was perfect and appropriate -- and if you got choked up - well, all the better for showing true emotion. didn't know Joe or follow him like you all did but, of course, knew of his radio talk show days and later AW.com work (and his ongoing health issues). RIP - Joe McDonnell -- bottom line is this -- the guy pretty much did what he wanted to be doing for a living most of his adult life and was good at it. That's pretty good in my book.

Chuck and everyone with AW.com -- great event. Had a great time. My SF Giants buddy that attended was very impressed with DiPoto and his open and candid discussion. Pretty incredible from the world of usually tight lipped GM's. I know that A LOT OF WORK went into arranging all this and I, for one, and I think everyone here appreciates what you all have not only developed and arranged but then maintained the function at such a high level each year. fun stuff. thanks. sorry I didn't make it over to the Sunday morning Q&A session but our group was staying up in North Scottsdale (still here!) by then and the logistics just didn't work out.

how did this Will Farrell stunt go today -- kind of hokey IMO -- but, I'll bet it increased attendance at some of the ballparks today.

speaking of the second base battle. we traded our solid 2B guy of the past 9 years cross town to the Dodgers. Howie is likely going to play 150-155 games for the Blue this year - he's just solid in that respect. so, we should pay attention to roster cut down day over at Camelback Park in Glendale. The Dodgers have three second basemen in camp, all of which, arguably, are better than the guys we have battling for the starting job. They have Darwin Barney who was the Cubs regular second baseman for about 3 to 4 seasons and won a gold glove in 2012.......not much at the plate, but I'll bet the pitchers love him and his glove out there.......and then Jason Turner who actually started a lot of games for the Dodgers last year, is very versatile and has some pop in his bat.......his D skills are average but probably equal to the guys we're looking at, maybe Featherston. I' d take Barney in a heart beat over any of the guys we have and I'd take Turner over Rutledge.

Featherston stays because he's a Rule 5 player........ Grant Green still has options so he could be odd man out -- very unfortunately because between what he did last year and this Spring (so far) -- he really deserves to stick on the 25 man roster. Rutledge, I think, gets the early nod - but he could easily be out-played by Green (but I think the Halos are nervous about Green's D at second). I know some of you like Johnny G's grit and what he brings to the game -- but, quite frankly, I hope he gets cut/ released this week -- not because I don't like him, but because I agree that's he offers something but he's not going to stick with the Halos.......he's better off being cut loose now and trying to catch on while there's still some ST time left than being left off the roster on cut down day at the end of the month when the teams have their 25 spots all taken.......otherwise, Johnny G seems targeted for SLC -- not such a bad thing for Halos depth but not great for Johnny G's career.

yeah, the early brush off makes no sense........ heck, if they paid the guy $300,000 I might be inclined to bring him to camp just to provide some depth at SLC. plus, he'd be great to have on the pick up flag football games.......

well, folks signed up on MLB.com (that's anyone who's bought stuff from them over the years) like me received multiple e-mails. apparently Will Farrell is playing for the Angels, Dodgers, Giants, White Sox and I am sure others tomorrow. not sure how this works.......he may be going from park to park but if he does he'll likely need a helicopter to make it through Phoenix area traffic. from Scottsdale Stadium in the East Valley to Camelback Park in Glendale to the West is quite a drive........ not sure how this is going to work.

Afternoon Angel -- LET's PLAY TWO !! Yes sir, Number 14.

A true baseball fan can enjoy good performances by any player on any team. and, yes, a fan can have allegiance to more than one team. So can players, to a point. today's article in the LA Times about Howie going to the Dodgers was great. He says he cherishes his years with the Angels and is looking forward to a new chapter with the Blue in Los Angeles. perfect answer. Me? Halos first but I always enjoy watching good performances and players from other teams. I just plain like baseball.

About 10 years ago (heck, might be closer to 15) we started a Fantasy League Baseball league on the old ESPN site. It's still going and we now have an 8 team league with some original members. The league is designed for the FLB participant who wants to be involved with managing a team as a team owner but does not see it as an all-consuming thing. The league is auto-pick (no need to be anywhere at a designated time to do a live draft) and you can spend as little as five minutes (or less) a day or every other day to participate. We are a KEEPER league so you will need to pick FIVE keepers by March 14. We ask that all team owners actively participate right to the last day of the season. Last year the league came down to the final day, final game, final innings of the MLB season -- I know -- my team lost the league lead I had most of August/ September because of a combination of terrible pitching performances and OHHH for days by hitters which knocked my team out of first by .5 of a point. OH WELL. If you want in (and you're getting this opportunity because one team member decided not to re-up this year and another that signed up to take his place hasn't acted quickly enough to pick his KEEPERS) - e-mail me and PLEASE list your e-mail address in the text of your e-mail so that I add you to the ESPN sign up list and invitation. Please let me know. thanks.

Bees now on the microphone........ I knew they often played the 'B" team in Spring Training but this is a bit ridiculous.

watching today's (Sunday 3/8 game) - we may need Bee/ Bug repellant at Tempe Diablo.......

Daron Sutton back in the booth today to do the telecast with Jose Mota. RAUL MONDESI JR. starting at SS for KC Royals. Game at Tempe now being delayed because of Bees in the outfield (CF fence area) and they're not SLC Bees.........but actual BEES. Game delay. Shoemaker (Halos starter) forced to cool his heels.........

OK, I did miss the Daron Sutton announcement -- by about TWO YEARS -- went on an internet search and it brought up the articles about his 'mysterious' dismissal from the Arizona D-Backs broadcasting team about two years ago. some sort of dispute over 'dress code' or something silly like that.......D-backs insisted on red polo shirts and Sutton apparently wanted to layer up (particularly for road games to cold weather places like Chicago) and wear a traditional suit and tie, probably with an over-coat to stay warm........ can't believe a broadcaster would be jettisoned over something as minor and silly as this so there had to be other issues. he moved on from Milwaukee to Arizona about four/five years ago -- I remember commenting on that at the time......... so the answer is -- Daron Sutton isn't any team's announcer and is truly a free agent -- I liked him with Mario Impemba with us back in the day......Sutton lives in the Phoenix area so he's available to fill in (like today)......but would really like to see him re-join the Halos team....... they could use Victor Rojas, Daron Sutton and Terry Smith on rotating basis for pbp on either radio or TV. Would be improvement over what we have now. Jose Mota could still do pre and post game stuff and also Spanish language broadcast which is very important. Guby? Can't do pbp and isn't as good as Sutton would be on either pbp or color analyst.

So it's ST and I take it that DARON SUTTON is sort of a non-roster broadcaster guy....... does this mean Jose Mota gets DFA'd?

Daron Sutton on the pbp -- did I miss something ? what's going on? is he back on the Angels broadcasting team? wasn't he with Milwaukee? they don't have a game today and he's doing he Halos broadcast.. what's the scoop here?

sports talk on radio - I'm impressed that there's any baseball at all. I am always amazed that during my spring training trips to Arizona, with Spring Training going on and March Madness happening -- the sports talk radio shows, local / national all seem to be about the NFL -- player movements and draft pick projections/ trades...... NFL talk seems to dominate all..........oh well.

two good trades for the Halos was the trade in which we got Frieri from San Diego and the trade in which we sent him to Pittsburgh for Grilli. We gave up virtually nothing for Frieri and didn't expect much and then he become our closer for close to two seasons; when the clock hit midnight, we traded Frieri and his glass slippers for Grilli -- and it was a win/win for us....Frieri -- who deteriorated from quality closer to ineffective set up guy to plain ineffective in any role was no longer losing games for us and Grilli actually pitched fairly well.

Eithier is pretty good -- how terrible is his Dogs' contract? Can't be worse than Hamilton's. Eithier is pretty good if he gets to play every day.

"I still despise the Habs, going on 22 years later!" Hasn't the TWO CUPS dispelled the McSorely stick curse?

Kings need to go on another six/ seven game winning streak to secure a playoff spot and a decent seed for the playoffs. Yes, wins vs. Edmonton are still wins, but we need to show more than this.

just wait until A-Rod makes his first plate appearance in Boston...........

Kings up 5 to 1 in the third..........need this one to turn around this 3 game losing streak.

I'll say it again -- (sounding like a broken record -- do they have records any more?) --- Rutledge gets the nod at 2B coming out of ST......and then Green slowly (at first) gets more and more starts and is pretty much the regular starter at 2B by mid-season.

The Alex Johnson case is an important one for MLB. Often mis-understood and a very moody figure who would have fits of rage and would turn on teammates in the clubhouse, Alex Johnson was diagnosed as having a mental condition, perhaps bi-polar -- this was way back before, really, there was such a diagnosis. the legendary Marvin Miller, head of the MLBPA, fought for Alex Johnson's cause and he may have been the first player to receive medical benefits and other assistance for his condition. there's an old newspaper article floating around in the internet that I think I posted one time when we had a discussion of Angels players over the years with Pine Tar (the author of that great book "Once they were Angels") -- even he was not aware of the efforts Marvin Miller made on behalf of Johnson. Johnson was part of the clubhouse scene where Chico Ruiz pulled a gun in the clubhouse - it was a tough time to be a Halos fan. Johnson was known to be moody, surly and short with people. However, Johnson was said to be a player who never turned down a kid who wanted an autograph and showed kindness beyond the call......... RIP -- the only batting champ in Halos history -- but GEEZ -- I gotta say the greatest Halo hitting season belonged to either Erstad's 240 hit season or Baylor's MVP season.