Odds & Ends for All-Star Tuesday

hat a day. It's almost like I'm back to working a real job again today.

Okay, it's 7:51pm CDT as I start typing this entry. The All-Star game just started? I'm sure that I missed something cool in the pre-game show, but I needed to take care of a few things and am just getting around to turning the TV on a few minutes ago.

I thought about live-blogging the game tonight, but I really need to pack, clean the trailer, and get a nap in before the bus leaves tomorrow.

Plus, what could I possibly add to this:

Tim McCarver (about Brad Penny): That was a Frank Abagnale Fastball, Catch Me If You Can.

or this:

Joe Buck (about Penny striking out the first three AL hitters of the game): And Penny strikes out Ichiro...Sayonara....Jeter...See you later...& Ortiz..Hasta Luego

I would have been impressed it they could have worked in a Joe Penny reference.

I mean, there had to have been at least one Riptide with a baseball theme. Right? I knew it. There was one.

The detectives are hired by sports-caster Hal Potter, the owner of a minor league baseball team, to go undercover as part of the team and prove or disprove his concerns that some on his team are drug users. Nick is excited about the case, but Cody, who is less of a baseball fan is rather less enthusiastic, but never-the-less the pair the join the team as new players, while Murray joins Hal as a sports commentator.

Nick is Joe Penny. Cody is Perry King. Hal Potter is STEVE ALLEN?!?! Hal's daughter Gina is Barbi Benton?!?! When is this Riptide Season Three out on DVD?

A few other things more baseball related instead of this little drifting through memories exercise of a post...

Brett and Brad at The Post-Crescent has a double shot of one of my favorite players of all-time, Roberto Clemente.

Brad Zimanek has a column about how Clemente affected the lives of many, including him. Also there is a mention of the book Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss. I have been meaning to get this book because I enjoyed Maraniss' book on Lombardi When Pride Still Mattered.

Brett Christopherson adds a piece with Rattler hitting coach Tommy Cruz talking about what he remembers about Clemente. Here is a quick taste:

"It was like a president died in the United States," Cruz said of the plane crash that killed Pittsburgh Pirates right-fielder Roberto Clem-ente on New Year's Eve, 1972. "People were sad. People were crying. People were looking at each other saying, 'What do we do now without our star?' "

There are also a few quotes from Maraniss and from Rattler infielder Ron Garth of Nicaragua. If you don't know why that is important to the story of Clemente, just go to the story.

The Mariner Farm Report is up over at the Seattle Times. Here are the first two paragraphs:

Ricky Orta had never been to the Northwest, but culture shock wasn't his biggest concern when the Mariners sent their fourth-round draft pick to the Everett AquaSox to begin his professional career.

"I am a Miami guy," said Orta, a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher who was the 111th pick in June's draft. "I am not used to this 60-degree weather. This is cold."

How do you think he'll like Fox Cities Stadium if he comes here next April?

Bus leaves for Peoria at 8:00am tomorrow and there will either be updates before we head out of town or when we get to Peoria.

It's 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Soriano just got thrown out at the plate and Phil Garner just did the play-by-play of that. Enjoy the rest of the game.