Some's better than none

Okay, so we didn't load up on baseball autographs over the weekend. That doesn't mean, though, that we got shut out.

With the Boston Red Sox in town, and staying at the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach rather than the usual Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg, opportunities were available. But given the weather (hot, muggy and thunderstorms) and the fact we slept in Sunday morning, our productivity wasn't as good as I had hoped.

That's why I jumped at the opportunity to snag Red Sox legend Rico Petrocelli, who was signing before Sunday's Red Sox-Devil Rays game, for the first signature on a Red Sox batting helmet. As expected, he was gracious and personable. The signature, too, was letter-perfect, well worth the $10 donation to the Jimmy Fund.

Following the game, in which the Rays won 5-2, we also scored a couple autographs from Tampa Bay players, most notably B.J. Upton, on a baseball. Unfortunately, Rays stars (yes, they do have a few) Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir and Delmon Young declined to sign for us.

The biggest reason for their denials, I suppose, was that we committed a cardinal sin of hounding -- we were wearing Red Sox jerseys. I try not to wear team-specific gear when hounding, but yesterday was a spur-of-the-moment session.

Again, I'll chalk it up to experience.

Looking ahead, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles will be in town this week. Colin and I would head out for the Jays this afternoon, but I've got to work some overtime tonight. Maybe I'll head out some time this week for the Jays. As for the Orioles, Sunday morning, provided we don't sleep in again, looks pretty good right now.

P.S. I added a photo of the ball that San Diego's Trevor Hoffman signed to Colin.

P.S.S. Checking out the Rays Web site, I thought this was a pretty cool offer. It's too bad, though, that we already have something similar.

I didn't lie, really

I had every intention of getting up early Sunday morning and hounding the New York Yankees before their series-ending win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

But, between the best night of sleep in weeks and the smell of home fries and bacon, I called an audible and stayed in. C'mon, what would you do? Freshly made breakfast or trading hairy eyeballs with security?

I did stop by the team hotel late Saturday afternoon and even saw Johnny Damon. He had a St. Petersburg policeman and two security folks walking with him, discouraging me from even asking.

Besides, the Yankees come back in September. As a Red Sox fan, I kinda hope they're miserable.

As for the Angels, I doubt I'll get Vladimir Guerrero. From what I hear, he hasn't signed since his low-minor days. If I see him, I'll ask (unless, of course, he's surrounded by security). The worst he'll do is shoot me the bird. At the least, I can try to put together a team ball.

Touching base

Between getting my butt kicked by diabetes and Florida's twin 90s (90-plus degrees and 90 percent humidity), I've taken quite a bit of time off lately from hounding baseball teams.

Now that I'm feeling better, and the hapless Rays will kick off the second half of the season with a homestand with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, perhaps I'll dust off some baseballs and cards and see who I can get.

I'm not putting much hope into getting any Yankees. Not only will they draw a crowd at the team hotel, but the locals tell me they're one of the toughest teams to hound. Either way, I'll try to stop by at least once. Maybe Colin will prove to be a good-luck charm.

As for the Angels, I can only hope to get Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Matthews, Orlando Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez on single-signature baseballs. I suppose that might be asking a bit too much, though.

Later in the month, though, I'm really looking forward to the Red Sox coming to town. Granted, they'll probably be just as tough as the Yankees, but they're certainly worth (to me, at least) the extra effort.