Hello from Peoria. I’ll be honest that this is my first crack at blogging, of any variety. I’m no Shannon, that’s for sure. During last night's Cactus League Report show at McDuffy’s, probably a half dozen people asked “where’s Shannon?” I figure here in blog land her absence is missed much more. Talk about big shoes to fill! (Insert your own pun. Not me. I know better.)

Today was the first round of roster cuts at Camp McLaren. No big surprises at all among the 12 players that were cut. You can see who they were on our main myohmy.us page. One was Phillipe Aumont, who I talked with for a couple of minutes this morning as he packed up his locker and moved to the minor league camp. He talked about just having the experience of being in a big league clubhouse in his first big league camp and how cool that was, and that he was honored to be given that opportunity. Mac told us some of the hitters that were sent down will still be used to get at bats in games with the big club if they need an extra body, and also in split squad games and any B games.

Mac also said Arthur Rhodes, Mark Lowe, and Chris Reitsma checked out just fine this morning, which is always the barometer of how they are progressing in the climb back from injuries.

I spoke with Brad Wilkerson for the pre game show. Matt, our technical director will have that interview posted on myohmy.us. Brad’s an awesome guy and a solid addition to the club, both from a character and a production standpoint.

The new TV commercials were unveiled to the players today. I wasn’t in the clubhouse during the viewing party, thanks to some additional duties that I have down here (Shannon stop laughing). But from what I heard, many were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes! The commercials are hilarious every year and I cannot wait to see them for myself.

Okay, that’s about it for the baseball happenings of today. Right now the M’s and Giants are getting set for the game. I just polished off a Chik-Fil-A sandwich and a whole bunch of waffle fries. Aside from he great weather and some pretty cool assignments, I would be lying entirely if I didn’t admit the thing I looked forward to the most about coming down here for a few days was eating at Chik-Fil-A. If you’ve ever had it, you know why. If you haven’t had it, well, find one the next time you travel! It’s hard to explain. Anyone from the south and southeast like me, grew up on it. Next will be a stop at the In and Out burger. To make myself feel less like a pig, I stocked up on fruit and lean cuisine at the place where I’m staying. Any personal trainers offering a discount, I may be interested in your services once I return.

That’s going to do it for today. Shannon returns on the 19th so it’ll be me on the blog for a few days.