Made it back from Vegas without losing too much money. Didn’t catch a ballgame but I did participate in a supplemental draft for my NL Vegas Scoresheet league. Picked up Joe Borowski, Eddie Oropesa, Chad Zerbe, and Brad Lidge. Hey, I was grateful to get even those guys.

Blew most of my money on video poker, with a few sports bets thrown in for good measure. Picked Lusty Latin to win the Kentucky Derby. He was an 18-1 shot, a few experts seemed to think he didn’t suck, and I liked the name. What the heck. Of course he then proceeded to finish 15th in a field of 18. Lusty Latin. The Devil Rays of the Kentucky Derby.

Speaking of the D-Rays, I picked them to beat the Red Sox Saturday night. First start for Derek Lowe after his no-no, up against Joe Kennedy. Good odds: $1.85 on the dollar. And for a while it looked like my boys were gonna come through for me. Until he came to bat. Shea Hillenbrand popped a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth to win it for Boston. So much for that. Tampa Bay. The Lusty Latin of Major League Baseball. Sigh.

Loverboy and Toto played a free concert on Fremont Street Saturday. I didn’t catch it myself but I understand it was worth the price of admission. No signs of Journey or Kansas. Actually, a Toto-Kansas double bill might be cool, in a Wizard of Oz kind of way.

I can’t tell you how close I came to buying a naked lady lighter from one of the gift shops. You know, just in case Anne Wilson showed up and Loverboy decided to break out "Almost Paradise" or something. Loverboy. The Devil Rays of ’80s Canadian hair bands.

But the weekend wasn’t a total loss. I did pick up a $34 ukelele. My wife bought it for me. Can’t wait to slap a pickup on that thing and run it through my Marshall. Heh.

Anyway, we’ve drifted pretty far off the subject here, which is baseball. So how about a little Padre news? Ben Howard had a shaky second start and has been moved to the bullpen. Brian Tollberg, who relieved Howard and kept the Pads in the game Friday night, returns to the rotation, while Matt DeWitt heads to the DL to replace Kevin Jarvis. As I’ve said before, letting Howard work out of the bullpen, where he can let loose and work on his secondary pitches, might not be such a bad idea.

No need to be alarmed by Dennis Tankersley’s recent one-batter start at Chattanooga. After allowing a leadoff single, Tank was removed following a 91-minute rain delay. Also at Mobile, right fielder Ben Johnson knocked a couple dingers last week. He’s got his numbers up to a respectable .252/.352/.383.

And at Elsinore, Xavier Nady played his first game in the field Sunday afternoon. He went 0-for-2 while patrolling left field. If all goes well, he should move up to Triple-A Portland within the next week or two. Second baseman Jake Gautreau continues to swing a hot bat and is now hitting .292/.354/.438.

There you go…