Oh, the blog.

It hates me. I’ve so neglected it.

Here’s the thing … Every day, I’m like, “Oh my gosh! Such and such happened today! What a great post for the blog!”

And then something comes up … like hosting a nightly show, editing or shooting a package, a presser at Chargers or Padres, or a flat tire.

Anyways.

Spent the weekend in Tuscon chatting with Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, who is gearing up to join the team on May 28th after serving a 50-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. His return sparks a number of questions: Will he be the same player as he was last year, now that he’s not on PEDs? What kind of response will he get in the clubhouse? Is he the starting catcher and Nick Hundley the backup? What of John Baker? Will fans still wear “YasMania” t-shirts????

You see what I mean.

Yasmani was respectful, classy and seemingly honest. He said the suspension has been tough on him, that he felt helpless at times, especially when the team was losing. He said he and Nick Hundley have chatted since Hundley called him an “unproven guy who had a couple good months on steroids” and added that the two are professionals and they’ve worked through the issue. But Yaz still acknowledges that he doesn’t expect teammates to welcome him back with open arms, at least not immediately.

It’s also easy to see that he is really, really sick of talking about the whole situation. 😉

Here’s a few pics from the trip:

Cameron Maybin and Yasmani Grandal both doing work in Triple-A Tuscon.

The view on the way to Tuscon. Just miles and miles of desert and shacks and boarded up houses and sad looking horses.

Because I’m an idiot.