Talking to Adrian Gonzalez the past few years, all he ever talked about was getting the opportunity to play everyday. He said as much in Texas while he was with the Rangers and early in Spring Training after being traded to San Diego. Well, looks like he is getting the oppportunity and he’s making the best of it. Here’s a recent feature on Adrian’s fun time in San Diego. Along those lines, the Padres recently launched their Spanish site. Take a look. Even if you can or can’t read Spanish.

The Rangers are seven games back in the AL West and way way back in the AL Wild Card standings. Guess who is in town? Yep, the first-place Oakland A’s. Their ace Barry Zito is on the mound against Rangers rookie Edinson Volquez. I like these two dudes. Volquez is a young guy, full of energy and very funny. He has a pretty darn good fastball as well. Zito is Zito. Former Cy Young winner. Musician. Guy who meditates. Spiritual dude who likes to have fun and tries not to take all this stuff so seriously that every game is life or death. The Rangers need to win two of three or perhaps all three to stay in the division race. Is there a sense of urgency around here? You bet. The owner Tom Hicks was out at the park today fielding questions about the season, the manager and how he feels his team has underachieved. It was pretty serious. Then the general manager Jon Daniels also had a press conference. It was more of the same. Even manager Buck Showalter who is usually pretty jovial in his pre-game press conference was pretty serious. Is this series the season? Nobody would say so, but it is. The Rangers lose these games and it’s gonna take a lot to put them back into the playoff hunt. They win? They sweep? We’ll see. I just think the fact that the most important people in the organization were out on the field today is pretty symbolic. It’s go time in Arlington. Win now or start planning for the 2007 campaign.   And oh yeah, Carlos Lee and his agent Adam Katz also had a press conference. Apparently, Katz is still going to represent Lee. There was a report Lee, who is going to be a big time free agent this winter, would represent himself. There is no doubt Lee and his agent care about how the Rangers do this weekend. The club loses big this weekend and they basically lose any playoff hope. They also probably lose Lee. The Rangers win? Who knows what can happen. Stranger things have happened in this game. I guess that’s why they play the games.

 Here’s a breakdown of most press boxes. There’s the public relation staff, one or two reporters from every paper and of course, the mlb.com reporter. Columnists also show up and do their thing. You find the GameDay gamecast guys and other statisticians in the press box. The radio and television guys (home and away) each have their own booth as do the Spanish broadcasters. The official scorekeeper is in the press box and before the games, scouts are in there hanging around, chatting, eating and comparing notes. These guys have tons of information. Spanish, Japanese, Korean, etc. publications are also in the press box. Sometimes, team officials or members of the front office show up and take a seat in the back of the press box. Press boxes are always directly behind home plate but usually at different heights. Some are waaaay up there, like in Pittsburgh (it’s a great view of the city, but the players look like ants). Open-air press boxes and those that are low and close to home plate are the best. A few of my favorites: Anaheim, Houston, SBC Park in San Fran, San Diego, and of course the one at good old Ameriquest Field in Arlington. It’s a pretty cool place but there are a few rules, like no cheering, no loud talking, loud laughing or loud anything.

So I hear Melky Cabrera’s nickname is "leche," the Spanish word for milk. Melk, Milk, Leche …I have never heard anybody call him that and he just laughed when I asked him about it. His mom calls him "Nino," Spanish for little boy. He’ll have that nickname for life. I know guys who have childhood nicknames and those things just stick. He does not mind. And neither do I. I have a nickname, but only family and a few friends know it. ..nope, not gonna share it. Here’s today’s story on Melky. Here’s the English version.  And here is the Spanish version of the same story.  Melky is a cool kid. He’s 22, but looks younger. He plays like he has been around a while and a lot older. Yankee fans already know that…Red Sox fans are finding that out. Wow! What a weekend at Fenway. I know Red Sox nation is in a panic. There are 38 games or so left in the season, so we’ll see what happens. I just know the weekend was great if you love the Yankees…horrible if you don’t.

 Yet another great thing about visiting San Diego and attending games at PETCO Park is the nearby historic Gas Lamp district. Basically, it’s the downtown area of San Diego and it’s full of bars, clubs, restaurants and bakeries. You can pretty much get anything you want in the Gas Lamp District. Tourists, locals, you name it. They all come to the Gas Lamp. It’s walking distance from the park so it’s a great place to go after the games. One of my favorite places in the Gas Lamp is Cafe Sevilla on 4th street. 

I talked to Luis Garcia today. He’s the PR man for the Padres and one of the few bilingual PR guys in baseball these days. The Marlins also come to mind and the Dodgers with Josh Rawitch, but I can’t think of any others at the moment. That’s too bad.

The Royals left-hander has the stuff to be a big league pitcher, but has yet to put it all together every time out. I recently spoke with him about many things, including the Sausage race in Milwaukee, the best food in Mexico and of course, baseball. He’s an interesting kid. Soft-spoken and very humble. That’s great in a neighbor or babysitter, but I’m thinking it would benefit him more if he was more of a bulldog. Mean and tough on the mound. He is at times. Just not enough in my opinion.

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