I know better than to complain about the weather in San Diego, but it’s really freakin’ hot here and I can’t sleep. Lucky you.

Work has been hectic this week, and most of my free time right now is spent rehearsing for and/or promoting my band’s next gig. It’s Saturday, August 7, at Janie’s in Chula Vista, if you’re interested. I’ll be pimping it some more in this space as the date approaches.

Meantime, there’s always baseball. I missed the New and Improved “Meaningful” All-Star Game. I’ve pretty much lost interest in the game since Bud Selig froze in the headlights a few years ago and responded to his own incompetence by letting an exhibition game determine home field advantage in the World Series. That said, I’m sorry I didn’t get to see Roger Clemens get shelled in his home park, with a key error by everyone’s favorite motocross star/car wash technician (no, I’m not talking about Ruben Rivera; his inclusion in the article referenced is just a neat little bonus).

Anyway, here are a few items of note:

• An Interview with Mark Grant (ContractBud.com). This is awesome. Grant is a stud; it’s great to see him do an interview with one of the little guys. He gives props to Rickey Henderson, Mark Sweeney, and El Cajon. Grant also offers his thoughts on the #1 pick in the draft (hint: he wouldn’t have taken Matt Bush).
• Padres offense not living up to its lofty billing (NC Times). "It’s hitting the ball in the right situations and hitting the ball out of the park that have been problematic." Yes to the former, not so much to the latter. People really need to stop fixating on the lack of home runs. If the Padres could do a better job of cashing in the runners they put on base, nobody would care about the long ball.
• Towers covets speedy outfielders (U-T). Hey, nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn’t come at the expense actual baseball talent. Interesting quote from Padre president Dick Freeman, talking about possible stretch-run trades: "We’re equal to San Francisco and Los Angeles as to what we can do financially."
• Conversation with Jon Knott (PDX Beavers). We’ve been watching Knott since his days at Elsinore. Cool factoid: Knot has an MBA from Mississippi State. Great interview with a kid who seems to have his head on straight.
• Nady may be trade bait (Padres.com). Nothing earth-shattering here.
• Sports Fan Survey. From a friend of a friend: "This survey investigates your attitudes and experiences as a sports fan in general and a fantasy sport participant in specific. This research is one component of a doctoral dissertation in sociology." I did the survey in less than 15 minutes. Swing by and help Don with his research when you have a moment.

Okay, time to see if I can catch a few Z’s before sunrise. More as it happens…