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As it turned out, I saw a lot of off-season baseball this year. I spent three days at the Arizona Fall League and saw exhibition games in Jupiter, Ft. Myers, Clearwater and Dunedin, Florida as well as during a long weekend in Phoenix. So, I thought I would record my best and worst list and a few random comments.

Best Stadium: the Maryvale Ballpark in the Phoenix area; the home of the Brewers. It is well landscaped, has good parking, comfortable seating and great sight lines. The food selection is excellent, topped by the generous portion of lo mein in a large cup. I would have chosen Goodyear but I still wish the Dodgers had not left Vero Beach.
A close runner up is the Scottsdale home of the Giants. I only saw it during the AFL but I liked its location and the entire ambiance of a great area of Phoenix.

Worst Stadium: Dunedin Stadium, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. A dumpy, old park that even Class A team would be unhappy in. Parking on neighborhood lawns at $10 (highest charge I ran into); very limited concession offerings; dark, under stocked team store; no berm and no minor league fields in the vicinity. Worst of all – the seats do not fold up making a passage out to the aisle an encounter replete with unwanted intimacy.
The runner up is the Mesa home of the Cubs. I thought it was as old and run down as Wrigley. All it lacked were sight barriers.

Best hitting performance: Blue Jay right fielder Jose Bautista pounding the ball over two days this week. He doubled to lead off the first inning in Clearwater against Roy Halladay and then homered to lead off against A.J. Burnett the next day.

Most disappointing hitting performance: Albert Pujols striking out twice in three at bats against the Marlins. In his last 10 games, he hit 4 home runs and struck out 5 times. That is what you expect from Ryan Howard.

Fielding Gems: I saw two right fielders throwing runners out at third without the intervention of a relay – Jose Bautista (the same hot hitter) and young Marlin prospect Bryan Peterson.

Fielding Lumps of Coal to Lyle Overbay tripping over himself, tripping over runners and tripping over first base. And to Geoff Blum falling down while circling a pop fly and then covering his head with both hands while the ball fell harmlessly a few feet away.

Best pitching performance: Ricky Nolasco going 6 1/3 innings, giving up one hit and one walk. The walk was the only one he surrendered all spring.

Worst pitching performance: Latroy Hawkins. He only pitched one inning against the Rangers and he only gave up one run, but I cannot recall if he ever pitched a strike. And, you could go out and get a beer in between pitches The runner up is Andrew Miller’s outing in the Arizona Fall League. The scout said he was “working on things.” But, I have come to realize that “Working on Things” is a universal cop out. He is not very good.

Worst managerial move: Freddi Gonzalez putting Logan Morrison in to pinch run in the 10th inning and then assigning him to minor league camp the next day. Talk about treating a player with dignity.
The runner up is Manny Acta because; well just because he got the job. Don’t the Indians realize that just because someone has been a manager, he is not necessarily a good manager?

Best performance by a vendor: Stan the Beer Man in Dunedin. His yell was, “Get your LaBatt’s! Canadian beer in an American can made in China! Get your Labattweiser!”
The runner up is the pretzel guy in Jupiter who had laryngitis. He held up a picture of a pretzel and croaked, “Buy a pretzel! Help me get my voice back!”

The AL team I most wanted to see and did not get to was Minnesota. I like their ballpark (one of the better ones in Florida) and I like their chances in the AL Central. I did not want to see and did not, the Tigers because it makes me mad every time I see Miguel Cabrera not a Marlin,

The NL team I most wanted to see and did not was the Pirates. They are never that good and Andrew McCutcheon is probably their only quality player, but I always liked Pittsburgh.

An excerpt from the most refreshing set of program notes – The Cleveland Indian Spring Training program: Long gone are ace pitchers CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee and All-Star catcher Victor Martinez. In their place stand a multitude of unproven prospects.

What would I change if I were running things? I would schedule more night games to prepare the players better. The day games are great for the kids and the retired people, but most regular season games are night games. The eating, resting, playing cycle is different and the lights change a lot.