Now, this is fun

Besides getting a decent number of players to sign, we had a real hoot working this Charlotte Stone Crabs team ball at two Florida State League games last week.

Though it's early in the season, the Stone Crabs are one of the friendliest baseball teams we've encountered. The players and coaches went out of their way to sign the ball for Colin, even taking the time to introduce themselves, shake his hand and engage him in conversations.

Then again, this is minor league baseball. It's what the players are supposed to do. But, still, the two trips to watch the Stone Crabs, the Advanced A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, have been the most enjoyable, to date, of our Summer of Baseball.

Last Thursday, Colin scored 13 autographs, including ones from Matt Fields and Shawn O'Malley, Colin's favorite Stone Crabs player, in between a doubleheader against the Clearwater Threshers. On Saturday, Colin added another half-dozen, with Nevin Ashley, Cody Cipriano and Ryan Royster among those signing before a game against the Tampa Yankees.

Though we missed out on Chad Bradford, the submarine-throwing reliever on a rehabilitation assignment from the Rays, Colin was more than happy to have these players and coaches fill up the ball:

Jeremy Hall and batting coach Joe Szekely;

Shawn O'Malley, Gregory Sexton, Diogenes Luis, Nevin Ashley and Cody Cipriano;

Christian Lopez, Brian Flores, Matt Fields, Ryan Royster and John Matulia;

Pitching coach Bill Moloney, Shawn Williams, Reid Fronk, Emeel Salem and Kevin Boggan; and

Omar Luna, left, and manager Jim Morrison.

We've got plans to catch the Stone Crabs in Dunedin later this month. Maybe we'll get Fields to sign the broken bat -- since repaired -- he gave Colin after Saturday's game.

We're hoping, too, that Tim Beckham, the Rays' No. 1 pick last summer, will make the move up from the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the South Atlantic League.

Tough crowd

One would think that Major League Baseball players would find Colin's team sheets hard to ignore. They're hand-drawn and there's no way they'd ever end up on eBay.

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Only Minnesota third baseman Brian Buscher, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., took the time to sign for Colin before the Twins' 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday at the Trop.

I'm thinking that future attempts for Major League Baseball clubs will have to follow our normal hockey-hounding routines. Instead of hanging out near the dugout, we'll try our luck at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in St. Petersburg, where teams stay when they're in town.

Too bad Philly won it

Though we were disappointed when the Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2008 World Series, we weren't going to miss out on an opportunity to see the famed World Series trophy when it came to Clearwater recently.

Granted, it'll never carry the stature and status of Lord Stanley's Cup -- at least in our humble household -- it was cool seeing the trophy, all shiny in silver and gold, for the three innings it was on display at Bright House Networks Field, home of the Phillies spring training and Florida State League affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers.

Besides checking out the World Series trophy, Colin also added to his Clearwater Threshers team ball. Among those adding to it was Kyle Drabek, the Phils' first-round pick (18th overall) in the 2006 MLB draft, who's coming back from Tommy John surgery. His signature, with the No. 8, is second from the bottom.

Also signing were Luis Ramon Arzeno, Chance Chapman, Michael Cisco, Fidel Hernandez, Tim Kennelly, Cody Overbeck and Johan Sampson.

He'll take two

It might not be the greatest start to our Major League Baseball hounding campaign, but we all have to start somewhere.

With the Oakland A's in town to play the Tampa Bay Rays last week, we took in an afternoon game on a fly-away day. Despite the rain and grousing about a $15 parking fee, we made it inside -- dry and in time -- for Colin to snag the first two MLB autographs of the campaign on one of his hand-drawn team sheets.

Oakland pitcher Brett Anderson, who won a bronze with Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was the first to sign. A's pitching coach Curt Young, who spent 10 years in the big leagues, also signed, even engaging Colin, decked out in Rays gear, in a conversation about his loyalties.

"Hey, you got a lot of Rays stuff on. Who are you rooting for - the Rays or the A's?" Young asked.

"I like the Rays because they're my hometown team," Colin replied. "But I really like baseball."

"That's good," Young said. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Brett's FSL Report #1

Editor's note: Baseball Mondays is pleased to announce that Brett, a Fort Myers, Fla.-based autograph hound, is its Florida State League correspondent.

It was a great week when two Florida State League teams -- the St. Lucie Mets and Sarasota Reds -- visited Fort Myers, allowing me to score autographs from many of the top prospects in baseball and a Hall of Famer as well.

First up was St. Lucie, who have the New York Mets' three first-round picks from last year: Ike Davis (18th overall), Reese Havens (22nd overall), and Brad Holt (33rd overall). All three were great signers; each doing nine cards each. Davis also signed two Brooklyn Cyclones programs after the cards.

Also signing cards were Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Francisco Pena (former major leaguer Tony Pena’s son), Greg Veloz, manager Tim Teufel (who signed nine cards), Brant Rustich and Stephen Clyne.

Overall, the Mets, for being one of the FSL's most prospect-laden teams, are great signers. Not one player refused to sign, or didn’t sign what was handed to them.

Also in town watching the hometown Fort Myers Miracle was Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, a roving instructor for Minnesota. Luckily, I had this game-used ball in the car, which Molitor signed as he left the field. Molitor travels to the Twins' affiliates during the regular season, taking notes on players for the big league club.

The next team in town was Sarasota. The Reds have Cincinnati's two most recent first-round draft picks: catcher Devin Mesoraco, in 2007, and first baseman Yonder Alonso, in 2008, who's rated the Reds' No. 1 prospect as well.

Alonso, drafted seventh overall from the University of Miami, is a tough autograph for FSL standards. While most players are happy to sign and will come over asking if you need anything, Alonso will go out of his way to avoid graphers. He'll limit you to a strict one-per when he signs.

A couple of graphers from Fort Myers told me a story about Alonso from a recent road trip to Sarasota. They were waiting by the dugout, and when Alonso comes out, they ask, “Can you sign an autograph for us?” Alonso walks over and signs for one of them and walks away. The other asks him to sign, and he responds, “I signed an autograph for you, and you both are together, so share it.”

Not knowing what to expect, and seeing recent autographs from him varying from his full-name signature to an Y and a line, I asked him to personalize to get the best possible signature. It worked out as planned, with Alonso being very friendly and signing the bat beautifully with: To Brett, Best of Luck! God Bless!

The next day I asked him to sign a card and got a much different signature, and he was not as friendly as the first encounter.

The rest of team were pretty good signers. Among the players signing cards were Mesoraco, Justin Reed, Denis Phipps, Zach Stewart, Alex Buchholz, former major leaguer and current hitting coach Jorge Orta, Ben Davis (a former major league catcher who is converting to a pitcher), Jerry Gil and Neftali Soto (another one-per signer).

Getting Extended

Extended spring training (or XST) games at the Minnesota Twins' minor league facilities are great spots to score some autographs from young baseball prospects, says Brett, a Florida State League correspondent for Baseball Mondays.

For those of you new to extended spring training, it is mostly young high school age players (drafted the year before) and international players who are not ready yet to be on their own in a minor league city. One example is Cincinnati Reds prospect Yorman Rodriguez, 16, who signed last August for $2.5 million, the largest amount given to a Venezuelan prospect.

Many players at these complexes, including some big leaguers and top prospects, are rehabbing from injuries. Some sign, some don't.

Boston's John Smoltz, in Fort Meyers as he rehabs his way back to the Red Sox, wouldn't sign recently for five people. But Boston's No. 2 prospect Nick Hagadone, coming back from Tommy John surgery last summer, willingly signed.

XST's Southern Division includes squads from the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Twins, Red Sox and Reds. Among the players to sign cards recently include:

~ Red Sox: Ryan Colvin, Drake Britton, Derrik Gibson, Yamaico Navarro, Ryan Pressley, Pete Ruiz, Christian Vazquez (Brett took the photo), Ryan Westmoreland (Brett took the photo), Bryan Peterson (Brett took the photo), Hunter Cervenka, Hagadone, Tommy Hottovy, Andrew Dobies and Tyler Yockey;
~ Rays: DJ Jones, Dustin Biell, Elias Otero and Ben Ogilve.
~ Twins: Aaron Hicks (Minnesota's #1 prospect), Tyler Ladendorf (Brett took the photo), Danny Rams and Jeff Lanning.

Right up front

Colin got a great start on his Tampa Yankees team ball last week, snagging 14 signatures before a Florida State League game against the Daytona Cubs. He had a great time, too, announcing the Yankees' batting order in the bottom of the fifth.

The biggest deal about the game, though, was watching it with Colin's Nana and Babop, visiting from New England. They're fervent New York Yankees fans, so Babop bought us all seats right behind Tampa's dugout. That alone made for great memories.

Besides Matthew Cusick (shown above), the following prospects, listed top to bottom, signed this New York Yankees ball (the park's souvenir store didn't have any Tampa Yankees logo balls):

Jack Rye, manager Luis Sojo, a former big leaguer, and Blue, the squad's mascot;

Jonathan Hovis, Austin Krum, Craig Heyer, Cusick and Grant Duff;

Mitch Hilligoss (who tossed us a game-used ball between innings), Addison Maruszak and Jonathan Ortiz; and

Brandon Laird, Jesus Montero (the Yankees No. 2 prospect) and Eric Fryer.

Wiffleball windup

How do you burn off hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and ice-cold cans of soda? How about taking part in a backyard game of wiffleball? Here, Colin prepares to unleash his blazing "speedball" pitch.

Leading off

Just like here in the Tampa Bay area, there's no pro hockey taking place in Toronto, either. But rather than let that sideline hockey hounds, a handful have turned their attention toward baseball, specifically the Toronto Blue Jays.

Al, Hound Central 4.0's Toronto-based correspondent, files the first Major League Baseball hounding report of Baseball Mondays' 2009 summer campaign, sharing the bounty of his family's visit to a recent "Have a Ball With the Jays" event.

It looks like they had a great time, doesn't it?

This old-school Blue Jays jersey, a design from the team's earliest days in the late 1970s, turned out to be a pretty sweet item.

Signing it were Rod Barajas, #20; Jose Bautista, #23; Shawn Camp, #57; Jesse Carlson, #39; Raul Chavez, #13; Scott Downs, #37; Jason Frasor, #54; Roy Halladay, #32; Brandon League, #22; Jesse Litsch, #51; John McDonald, #6; Dustin McGowan, #29; Bill Murphy, 62; Lyle Overbay, #35; Scott Richmond, #48; Alex Rios, #15; Ricky Romero, #24; B.J. Ryan, #52; Marco Scutaro, #19; Brian Tallet, #56; and Vernon Wells, #10.

Need proof that the Blue Jays' bigger-named players attended the event? How about this photo of pitcher Roy Halladay signing a replica jersey? Works for me.

A better look at Halladay's signature on his replica jersey. Nice placement, between the name and the numbers, too.

Halladay also signed this 8x10. Not a bad haul, eh?

Johnny McDonald, or simply "Johnny Mac" within Blue Jays fandom, is known as a super nice player.

Reports say Alex Rios, on left, solidified his fan-favourite status at the event, staying almost an extra half-hour so people went home happy. The same, I've heard, can't be said for Marco Scutaro. That's Aaron Hill with Rios.

A Lyle Overbay-signed baseball.

A Vernon Wells-signed baseball.

Halladay and Rios signed the brim of this Blue Jays hat

These Blue Jays mini ice-cream-cup helmets were signed by Brandon League, #22; Rod Barajas, #20; Brian Tallet, #56; Vernon Wells, #10; Jesse Carlson, #39; and Raul Chavez, #13. Great idea.

Our first forays

Given our proximity to three Florida State League (High-A) teams, it makes perfect sense -- to us, at least -- to keep our hounding skills current with trips to minor league stadiums in Clearwater, Dunedin and Tampa.

Instead of cards, though, we'll focus on team logo baseballs. They're affordable, portable and, when completed, will look pretty neat lined up in Colin's curio bookcase.

So far, we've started on two teams -- the Clearwater Threshers and Dunedin Blue Jays. Tomorrow, with Colin's Nana and Babop in attendance, we'll start a Tampa Yankees ball.

Over the summer, we'll try to hound every team in the league. I'm not sure we'll do team balls for every club, these will come into play over the course of the season: Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Tampa Bay Rays' FSL club, and the Jupiter Hammerheads, a Florida Marlins farm team.

While we'll try to get the league's best prospects on the team balls, this project is more about having fun than anything else. That's the best part about collecting as a hobby -- there's no pressure involved.

Here's what we've collected so far:

We kicked off our FSL hounding campaign Saturday, April 18 with this Clearwater Threshers team ball.

Manager Ernie Whitt was the first to sign the Threshers team ball. Others following suit were Javis Diaz, Derrick Mitchell, Matt Rizzotti and mascot, Phinley.

The Dunedin Blue Jays team ball was started Saturday, April 25.

Dunedin's Moises Sierra, top, and Justin Jackson were among the first Baby Jays to sign the team ball. Others signing were manager Omar Malave and Chris Emanuele.

Back in the game

While some fans may pooh-pooh baseball's minor leagues, we actually embrace them. Believe it or not, our affinity for the leagues, especially the Florida State League, goes far beyond getting autographs.

First and foremost, a night at a minor league game is much more affordable. We can get three tickets and parking for under $20. Can't find those deals at a Major League Baseball park, can you? A hot dog doesn't cost $5, either.

Secondly, the games are seldom crowded. Good seats are available and the autographs, save for the occasional 19-year-old egoist, come pretty easy. Though premium giveaways and holidays draw packed houses, they are the exception, rather than the norm.

Finally, there's always some sort of promotion going on. In this case, it was Kids Night at Dunedin Stadium, home to the Toronto Blue Jays' Class High-A affiliate, the Dunedin Blue Jays, and the prerequisite picture with the team's "feathered" mascot.

As the top photo shows, Colin (that's him with the catcher's glove and American League All Star Evan Longoria T-shirt) got to join two Dunedin players Justin Jackson, left, and John Tolisano on the field Saturday during the national anthem. How cool is that?

Down here in the Tampa Bay area, we're fortunate enough to have two more FSL teams within an easy drive -- the Clearwater Threshers, a Phillies farm team, and the Tampa Yankees, a New York Yankees club. Though we'll take in a handful of Tampa Bay Rays games, many a summer weekday night will be spent at minor league parks.

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Welcome back to Baseball Mondays, our offseason pursuit that provides a pleasant, but muggy, diversion from hounding NHL teams. Started two years ago, the blog's weekly postings chronicled our first foray into baseball autographs.

Unlike our Hound Central franchise -- now wrapping up its fourth campaign -- Baseball Mondays takes a more leisurely approach to the hobby. Having fun is more important than anything else. And that's where the Tampa Bay Rays, select MLB opponents and Florida State League clubs in nearby Clearwater, Dunedin and Tampa come in.

Between now and the Lightning's training camp, we'll attend 20 baseball games, providing more than enough fodder for the postings.

Two points of interest, I believe:

Shark Week: On Thursday, June 11, and Saturday, June 13, we'll watch the Jupiter Hammerheads play the Clearwater Threshers. Colin love sharks.

Thursday, July 9: We take in a MLB-FSL doubleheader (Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays at 12:08 p.m. and then the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Dunedin Blue Jays at 7 p.m.)

I've also strong-armed Moody and Al, a couple of Hound Central 4.0 correspondents, into providing occasional reports from Atlanta and Toronto, respectively. I'll likely introduce you to a few more hounds and their efforts over the summer, too.

Really, the hiatus isn't as long as it appears. Rather than resurrecting Baseball Mondays (which, in hindsight, would have been the more logical choice), last summer's baseball musings and additions were chronicled on Hound Central 3.0.

Who did we get? Given our proximity to the Trop, most came from members of the Tampa Bay Rays:

~ a pretty sweet team ball in one, long afternoon;
~ a couple from AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria; and
~ and a postcard from Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry.

No donut holes here

Who says you have to go to the team hotel or ballpark to score an autograph? I don't.

Take a look at the poster and replica Devils Rays batting helmet that Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamura signed for Colin during a fan session at a Dunkin' Donuts in Pasadena, Fla., on Saturday.

Not only did the fan-friendly Iwamura sign this poster, but he also signed this official MLB baseball. It's pretty neat when one of the team's star players makes a public appearance and signs hundreds of autographs for free. That, to me, is community outreach.

Distance doesn't matter, I guess

Here we are, exactly 1,398 miles away from Fenway Park, but that distance doesn't keep us from adding to our autographed baseball memorabilia.

Boston's David Ortiz signed this Dominican Republic replica jersey from last year's World Baseball Classic for Colin. That's Big Papi's signature on the number 4.

As an added bonus, Ortiz also signed a base similar to the McFarlane sculpture shown at left. That, too, belongs to Colin. I'll tell you what. Colin is pretty darn fortunate to have such friends in the right places.

Rumor has it, too, that there will soon be a gathering of members of the Red Sox's 1967 Impossible Dream team. I wonder what will come of that. Nothing, probably.

Hanging out, by the dugout

We may not have scored the most autographs we'll ever get in a day, but Saturday night's trip to Tropicana Field marked a first in our hounding adventures. Rather than stand along the edge of the field, in the hopes of calling over one of the Rays young stars, we hung out at the edge of the dugout.

First off, let's just say it's pretty cool being that close to the action. You can hear the players talk among themselves. You get a very different perspective, too, watching balls splay all over the field during batting practice. If you pay close attention, you'll even see the team owner soaking up the atmosphere.

It's like you're a small part of the game.

The best part, at least as far as hounding is concerned, is being, in essence, in the front row. You're more apt to score a few autographs there, rather than reaching from three rows deep. And, as we soon came to realize during the pregame festivities, it's a highly sought-after piece of real estate -- everybody wants to stand there.

As far as sheer production from our coveted perch, I'm certain we'll have better days. But what we lacked in quantity, we made up for in quality when Tampa Bay's Delmon Young, part of the Rays core of young talent, obliged our request to add to Colin's team ball. For the record, it now has eight signatures.

We even helped one young fan get her baseball bat signed by Young, acting as the proverbial middlemen in the exchange of lumber and silver Sharpie. Unfortunately, her excitement at getting his autograph, matched only by her father's exuberance, kept her from thanking Young, or us, for our gestures.

As for hounding the Indians, another Sunday morning spent sleeping in and having some homemade sausage gravy and buttermilk biscuits proved too tempting of an offer to refuse.

Winding down

With just a week before Colin heads back to school, we're planning on ending his vacation this weekend hounding the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. Chances are we'll go to either Saturday or Sunday against the Indians, but pass on the Red Sox for now. They'll be back later, on a weekend.

We're going to work a Cleveland team ball, trying to snag a few at the hotel and the game. Besides Trot Nixon, we'll look for Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore and, really, anyone else we might recognize. The same goes for the Red Sox. The team stayed at the Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach, rather than the customary Vinoy, during its last trip to play the Rays.

I'll be honest. I'm much more comfortable doing hockey than baseball. I don't mind doing the homework. And it has nothing to do with the player, either. It's just too blasted hot and humid to spend a couple hours in the heat and sun.

We do need to make a couple more trips out for the Rays. We came across a McFarlane of Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir, so that's something that meeds to get signed before season's end. Colin still needs a few more players, notably Carl Crawford, Akinori Iwamura, James Shields, Delmon Young and Kazmir for a pretty solid team ball.

It'll still be warm in September, when the Lightning opens camp, but it won't be too awfully long before we're back in the 70s. Hounding in T-shirts and shorts. That's one of the reasons I moved here.

Old school

Rather than wake up early, wolf down some breakfast and stand out in the sweltering sun for a couple of hours, we took an old-fashioned approach to getting autographs this past weekend -- we stood near the dugouts.

With Colin and I working the Rays side, and Lisa using her Cal Ripken jersey to its full advantage along the Orioles side, not only did we add to the Rays team ball, but we also scored a pretty solid two-player ball.

Colin was able to get Rays pitchers Gary Glover and Jason Hammel to sign his baseball, raising the total to six. It was Lisa, though, who snagged Baltimore's Miguel Tejada, top, and Kevin Millar on the baseball shown above.

We learned, too, to stick around, right up until game time. By heading back to our seats early, we missed out on others from both teams.

With the Rays heading to Detroit after the game, we didn't bother working the team's parking lot. Cleveland and Boston are coming back in a couple weeks.

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.

Practicing what I preach

After spending the past season being a human facebook for most every NHL team that traveled to Tampa, trying my hand at hounding baseball players this year has been a humbling experience.

Sure, I'll recognize the big-name or the veteran players. Beyond that, though, I'm as clueless as they come.

Rather than ask other collectors or dealers, I'm going to follow my own advice. I'll take the time to do my homework. I'll check out rosters and stats, just to make sure I'm up to speed. I'll also memorize faces so I can easily point out who's who. Simply, I'll just do what I've done for years as a hockey hound.

And, as I've said before, I plan some pretty hard-core cherry-picking when teams come to St. Petersburg. In fact, I'll practice these principles over the next week as the Los Angeles Dodgers play the Rays.

For the Dodgers, in town Friday through Sunday, I'm hoping my biggest score will be, believe it or not, announcer Vin Scully. And if Fernando Valenzuela makes the trip, I'll be certain to ask him, too. Among the players, I'll be looking for Nomar Garciaparra, Luis Gonzalez, Jeff Kent and Derek Lowe.

Consolation prize

As much as I really wanted to get San Diego's Greg Maddux on a baseball, I had to settle, if you will, for MLB's all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Catching Hoffman, a future Hall of Famer with 500-plus career saves, as he boarded the team bus before a matinee fly-away last week, he asked to personalize the ball. No problem. Colin's collection only improved.

If I'm lucky ...

... and I'm able to dodge the raindrops, withstand the humidity and get the timing down right, I just might get San Diego's Greg Maddux and Trevor Hoffman to sign baseballs for us this week.

In my opinion, both are future Hall of Famers and certainly worthy of adding to the collection.

In fact, we may even take a ride down to the team's hotel this evening and see who we can see.

Tough to take

As hard as I try to support my new hometown team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, last night's ninth-inning collapse, giving the Toronto Blue Jays a walk-off 12-11 victory, certainly has me rethinking this newfound allegiance.

Granted, I don't expect the Rays to win most games. As a fan, though, I would expect them to hold a five-run league for a rookie pitcher (Andy Sonnanstine) making his Major League Baseball debut.

It's truly a disappointing day to be a Rays fan.

Yeah, I'm a slacker

I know it's been two weeks, but I haven't made a trip out for autographs in that timeframe. It seems like every time I make plans, something comes up (and, at times, it's been the lack of gumption) and keeps me from heading out to the Vinoy.

How bad is it? I haven't even hounded the Rays yet.

In other instances, such as this weekend with Kansas City, it's the team that's in town. Other than manager Buddy Bell and color analyst Paul Splittorff, there's very little after that. Sadly, even those two failed to motivate me.

Now, when San Diego comes in later this month, I might find the energy to hound Padres pitchers Greg Maddux and Trevor Hoffman.

Going forward, I promise to make more of an effort.