Joe Pa here, coming at you live from Waco, Texas. We're on our first road trip of the season and start a three-game set against Baylor tonight [Friday]. The trip out here was long, but fun. We left Tempe, Ariz., at 8 a.m. and landed in Dallas around 1 p.m. Had a stop to get some real Texas BBQ, and after a two-hour bus ride, we arrived in Waco. A lot of farmland and streams here in Waco. I bet I could get some great fishing in here.

I have noticed Texas flags everywhere! These people sure are proud of being from Texas; their pride is well known by the rest of the universe. It's pretty cool to see a state with so much pride.

So anyhow, our team is coming off a good weekend against Houston. We swept them at our place and now have a little confidence going into Baylor. We practiced at Baylor Ballpark last night, and it was beautiful.  It reminded me of Rosenblatt Stadium in a way. The dirt was great, and the ground balls were smooth. The place is damp at night, so it turns into a graveyard. Fly balls will not travel in the air unless you put a charge into one. Our approach is to hit balls hard on a line.

After practice, our team helped the Baylor grounds guys to put the rain tarp on the field.  It reminded me of my freshman year when all freshmen had tarp duty when it was expected to rain (we had a wet year in 2004 in Tempe...). There are
chances of rain here in Waco, but I think we will get some games in. This will be a great series; I can't wait to get it started.

Off to pregame lunch...

See you next week back in Tempe!

Joe Pa

(photo courtesy of Arizona State Media Relations Office)