Bossman from Phoenix

The generous expense account provided me by the top brass at The Bossman Cometh has landed me in a fine suite at the Marriott in Phoenix, Arizona, where they have dispatched me to cover baseball's paean to the end of winter. Right now I am lounging in my personal Jacuzzi sipping Bushmills, pondering the possibilities for room service and which Spring Training game I will attend tomorrow.

After a 13-hour drive in a rented BMW, er...Dodge Neon, I arrived just in time for the first pitch of the Oakland A's spring season yesterday -- a pitch thrown by newly acquired hurler Danny Haren. It was a strike. But after Haren's two innings, the A's staff had some trouble finding the strike zone, most notably fireballer Jairo Garcia, who was wilder than a 14-year-old Drew Barrymore.

The A's offense also proved a little anemic, managing only one run (the Cubs scored two) -- but in their defense, they faced Cubs future ace Carlos Zambrano. But on the plus side, Eric Chavez looked sharp, as did new catcher Jason Kendall.

My clout in the blogosphere scored me a plum seat right behind home plate and a great view of A's prospect Joe Blanton giving up a two-run jack to the Cubs' comer/third baseman Aramis Ramirez. In fact, most of the Cubs Blanton faced seemed to be seeing his pitches pretty well and pulling them deep, though the others remained in the park.

The first two games of the spring and the battle for the starting second base position in Oakland is in full swing, as Mark Ellis, Marco Scutaro and Keith Ginter have all contributed.But so far, the most exciting performance has come from young reliever Huston Street, who was electric, retiring the Brewers in order in his first appearance. I believe he fanned at least one of them, though I was busy looking for the beer vendor at that point.

Against the Brewers, the A's offense finally made itself known, putting up 8 runs, though Milwaukee managed 10, mostly off of second-day starter Dan Meyer. Today I also found the Oakland bleacher contingent, who just made it down for Friday's action. Flags and heckling, but no drums this year.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment at Hooters.