SURPRISE, Ariz. — I dropped into the Rangers spring training facility to do a couple of interviews for SideDish and InsideCorner. Evan Grant, Eric Nadel, and I did lunch with Molly Erdman, the Sonic chick. (Evan has more details on InsideCorner.) I spent the better part of the afternoon with Molly, who is from Dallas, and we combed all of the backfields looking for her long-time favorite player, Steve Buechele, the former Rangers third baseman and current Rangers minor league manager. Found him. He hearts Sonic.
Plenty more after the jump.
As we were strolling back to the press box, Tom Hicks comes driving up on his green golf cart. Seated next to him is Ray Washburne, real estate developer and partner in MCrowd (MiCocina, Taco Diner). Yow. Zah. Quick chat. Turns out Hicks is seeking investors to buy a significant chunk of his U.S. sports operations, and he is courting Washburne as a potential investor.
At game time, Washburne made his way down to the front row, behind home plate, where a slew of kids were bending over the railing seeking autographs from players. The “seas” parted not for him, but for his new pal Nolan Ryan, who had obviously taken over pitching duties (so sorry) from Hicks. Ryan and Washburne, with a huge sack of kettle corn between them, took their seats. As if on cue, Josh Hamilton (pictured) walked over to the duo and chatted up Washburne as he personalized three balls for his kids. Through my binoculars, I could see the grin on Washburne’s boyish face. He looked like a star-struck fan. I wouldn’t have been surprised (sorry) if he’d whipped out his checkbook and written a check for $200 million right there.
Other shots and murmurs:
Overheard: “There are no happy marriages during spring training.”
Observed: Star-T baseball writer T.R. Sullivan wearing D Magazine baseball cap.
Observed: Tom Hicks is very tall.
Observed: Jon Daniels is very tan and serious.
Observed: A huge population of Cassins Finches live under the overhang at the stadium. If you are sitting in the press box, they flit around at eye level. A joy for me, but a pain for grumpy pressboxers. Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel has to close the windows when broadcasting because the finches chirp and sing throughout the game. Good news: Eric is contemplating becoming a serious birder.
