After a surprising taste of Colorado winter weather here in Scottsdale the past two days, things are returning to normal. The sight of all the fields here at Talking Stick being covered in snow was not something any of us expected to see. What was most interesting was that there was no snow less than a mile away in Scottsdale. Activities were limited, obviously, but things get going again today, including an intrasquad game this afternoon. Not many regulars will be participating, but it will still be nice to see real game action instead of only drills. It will also give many of us the first glimpse at some of the players in the minor league system that are debuting this spring in major league camp.
The other positive, in my mind anyway, to take from the past several days is that the Rockies will allow Jhoulys Chacin to participate with Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. That decision provides answers to a pair of questions here in the early going. One, Chacin is 100% physically or the ballclub wouldn’t allow him to participate. More importantly, the Rockies understand how much this means to the young righthander to pitch for his country. This show of confidence in him should only make Jhoulys feel better about his situation...and in his commitment to the Rockies. There is the risk of injury, but this is a win-win situation for all involved.
We will have our first broadcast tomorrow afternoon (12:30 MST for the pregame), and Jerry and I are anxious to get going. Not only tomorrow, but also Sunday afternoon with the Diamondbacks will be broadcast. These games are part of a schedule of 23 games for you from the desert this spring. Our complete broadcast schedule is available here on the 850KOA website. We will also be streaming 6 weekday afternoon home games from Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. You can access those games through rockiesradionetwork.com. “The Coyote”, Rich Wiley makes his debut as our producer-engineer tomorrow, and we know he will do an excellent job. Mike Rotolo was terrific in that role for the past 5 seasons, and we will miss his presence in the booth.
Two places to go to CHECK IT OUT with this edition. On the music front, “check out” Ain’t No Way by Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart from the Don’t Explain disc. Joe can let it fly as well as anyone on guitar, while Beth wails with the best of them. If you’re looking for an inspirational read, “check out” A Higher Call by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander. I am a huge World War II buff, and this is a wonderful account of an event that demonstrates the human qualities that can still be found even in the most difficult of times.
