A few things out there

Here are some stories that have been in my e-mail inbox for a few days:

This will go over...

Normal moves closer to minor league ball

Now that it appears a minor league baseball team is coming to Normal, is there competition for fans on the horizon for the Peoria Chiefs?

"No," was the emphatic answer from Mike Veeck, who heads a group that is joining with Heartland Community College and Normal on a creative venture to build a stadium on the Heartland campus.

"I have nothing but admiration and respect for the Vonachen family," Veeck said. "I hope they'll work with us, maybe even co-promote with us. More baseball in the area is a good thing."

It's about 39 miles from O'Brien Field to the heart of Normal, IL.

We had a couple of visitors last week.

Wisconsinning

Up we went to the thawed tundra of Wisconsin. Katie's brother, Jake, plays baseball in the Mariners organization for their single-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (http://www.timberrattlers.com/). Lucky for us, his fiancee was visiting him as well, so the four of us got to hang out and get some dinner and watch a movie. On Thursday night we witnessed the Timber Rattlers take on the River Bandits of Quad Cities.

I think some of their "facts" are wrong.

Here's one on an old Rattler pitcher:

Well-traveled Dorman settling in with AA club

Rich Dorman has traveled far and wide in pursuit of a chance at playing baseball in the major leagues, from New York to Tacoma, Wash., and several cities in between.

But an annual jaunt outside of the country is what may have finally positioned the former Medford standout into being able to make that elusive trip to the majors.

For the past three years, Dorman has made a post-Thanksgiving venture to Venezuela to take part in its renowned winter league.

As someone who was converted from catcher to pitcher as a senior at Western Baptist College — now Corban College — in Salem, the right-hander's hope has been to hone his relatively raw skills on the mound to give himself a fighting chance.

Considering the player Dorman has developed into from playing in that intense atmosphere, the extra work has been worth it.

Bonus Scott Budner quote.

"Richie's always had good stuff," says Diamond Jaxx pitching coach Scott Budner. "He's got good activity and a very good curveball. A couple of the biggest things for him is he's finally maturing mentally as a pitcher, figuring out what he can do and can't do and he's starting to trust his fastball more. He kinda doubted his fastball and tried to pitch away from bat heads for a while, and you just can't do that."

You may want to watch ESPN this morning:

ESPN features Van Mil, Cates

The Beloit Snappers' Loek Van Mil and Chris Cates - the long and short of the Midwest League - are not only featured in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, they are also headed to national television.

ESPN's popular morning show “First Take” will be in Beloit to interview 5-foot-3 Cates and 7-foot-1 Van Mil on Monday morning. ESPN First Take is on the air from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then again from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

That's pretty cool.