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.