I’m back from Arizona. Yo, Bill, thanks for putting me up for the weekend. The AFL was a blast; I’ll give a more complete report later but for now, I just have to say that Hank Blalock is a stud. He might be the best of the young AL third baseman from San Diego (Eric Chavez, Troy Glaus). He didn’t even get a hit the day I saw him but he made good contact on some pitches that he shouldn’t have been able to hit. I still don’t know how he managed to hit a ball as hard as he did just foul down the first base line and break his bat. He ended up striking out but that one swing really left an impression. He also looked very good at third, showing quick feet and a strong arm. John Sickels once compared Blalock to George Brett, and while he certainly has a long way to go to become a player of Brett’s caliber, I don’t think it’s out of the question. The guy has no identifiable weaknesses.

Check out what Sickels has to say about the AFL over at ESPN.com. In looking over his comments, I see what a difference a day can make. He was not impressed with J.R. House, who looked like a pretty darned good hitter the day I saw him. Conversely, he’s pretty high on Nic Jackson (as are a lot of people, I might add), who didn’t do much for me. Same with Mario Valenzuela, who looked completely lost the two times I saw him. Our observations on Blalock and Scott Sobkowiak are similar, though.

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• The results of the Internet Baseball Awards are now in over at BaseballProspectus.com. I picked all the winners except AL MVP, which went to A-Rod. My choice, Roberto Alomar, placed fourth.
• And, if you haven’t heard, Mark McGwire announced his retirement yesterday, according to ESPN. He brought a lot to the game and will be missed.