Good gig Friday night. The guy who usually handles our sound was out of town this weekend, so it was a rough start, but once we got going, things came together for us. Thankfully we had a very enthusiastic crowd and they helped pick us up. I can’t begin to stress how much of a difference that makes.

Saturday went well, too. Lots of cool costumes (turned out we were the judges for the contest). I recycled my Cardinal Ximenez costume from last year; unfortunately everyone seemed to think I was Little Red Riding Hood, nevermind the fact that I wasn’t wearing a hood. Ah, well…

Congrats to the Angels for battling back and winning the World Series. I missed most of Games 5 and 6, but caught almost all of Game 7. That was some terrific pitching by a bunch of guys who started the year in the minors. Great series; too bad one team had to lose. I really hate to see Barry Bonds come that close to a trophy and not come away with it, but at the very least we shouldn’t have to hear a bunch of bitter writers whining about his post-season failures anymore.

Congrats also to Emmitt Smith on breaking Walter Payton’s all-time NFL rushing record. Payton was one of my favorite football players back in the day, and it hardly seems real that he’s gone. I don’t know much about Smith, but he seems like a pretty gracious fellow. I like to believe that Payton would be comfortable seeing his old mark in such worthy hands.

In other news, I was rummaging around Baseball America the other day and noticed that Alberto Concepcion, the Padres’ second-round pick in 1999 who didn’t sign out of high school (seems to be a problem with the Pads: Todd Helton, Troy Glaus, etc.), was drafted by the Red Sox in the 21st round and did okay (.225/.354/.359) in short-season ball. Poor batting average but decent secondary skills. Especially intriguing is the fact that he played a lot of catcher and third base. Keep an eye on this kid.

Speaking of Baseball America, they’ve published a list of six-year minor-league free agents; many interesting names there, some of which could do a team like the Padres a world of good. Among the more intriguing possibilities are the following:

Pitchers

• Lorenzo Barcelo
• Paxton Crawford
• Vic Darensbourg
• Kane Davis
• Sean DePaula
• T.J. Mathews
• Tony McKnight
• Todd Noel
• Luke Prokopec
• Wilfredo Rodriguez
• Wascar Serrano
• Amaury Telemaco
• Josh Towers
• Steve Woodard

Catchers

• Kevin Brown
• Steve Lomasney
• Adam Melhuse
• Brandon Rogers
• Vic Valencia

Infielders

• Mike Caruso
• Stubby Clapp
• Kelly Dransfeldt
• Joe Lawrence
• Keith Luuloa
• Chad Meyers
• Warren Morris
• Adam Riggs
• Nate Rolison
• Julio Zuleta

Outfielders

• Billy McMillon
• Ntema Ndungidi
• Jon Nunnally
• Curtis Pride
• Ryan Radmanovich

Personally, I’d love to see the Pads take a chance on a pitcher like Barcelo or Telemaco, and maybe Lawrence and McMillon among the hitters. I like Lawrence’s on-base skills and defensive flexibility (he can play anywhere on the infield and behind the plate), and McMillon would be a better option for a bench spot than Eugene Kingsale. Even someone like Dransfeldt would do as well as Deivi Cruz, and for less money. Zuleta could have Bubba Trammell’s career if someone would give him a chance.

Incidentally, a kid by the name of Ambiorix Reyes is on the list. I mention him because somebody searched for "Ambiorix" at Ducksnorts a while back and it turns out there is a minor-leaguer with that name. Who knew? I wonder if he was named after the historical figure.

Okay, I’ve gone on a bit longer than I’d intended. To those of you still with me, there’s a good writeup on the AFL over at PDX Beavers that you might want to read. Hasta…