Wow, my first diary...  

The occasion to prompt this daring on my part was the warm sound of Eric Chavez speaking to Jim Rome on the radio as I drove back to work this morning.  All of a sudden, I wasn't mad at my kid anymore for making me run back and forth!  

Soooo, Chavvy didn't talk about much of great importance...say injuries to himself or team members...so that was disappointing.  Not that Romie is a tough "journalist" or anything.  

But Chavvy is Chavvy and a joy to listen to anytime he opens that gorgeous...errrrr...talented mouth.  So, thoughts from Eric in no particular order.

Chavvy on Jason Kendall's Home Run:

Apparently this was a topic in the clubhouse for months...when would Jason ever hit another home run?  They planned to do the total "college world series" thing, where they mob him at home plate.  But after consideration, they backed off because they didn't want to offend the other team.

Rome mentioned that the other team be damned...if it offended them, Jason would just go after the whole team a la the Lackey incident.  Chavvy laughed and said that, yeah, Jason has some vinegar and it adds to the team.  

Chavvy on the Yankees Sweep:

It was great and a lot of fun...obviously.  He mentioned the Dan Johnson home run bribery and said it actually went a lot deeper than that.  Without mentioning any names, he said he now owes one guy a set of clubs (of the "guy's" specification) and several greens fees to other players.  Apparently DJ heard about the bets that were already placed and approached Chavvy and asked him what he'd get for a homer.  So Chavvy, being the kitty cat that he is, offered $500.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Chavvy on the team winning Five in a Row:

Well, basically you need at least two of three things to win consistently.  Pitching, defense, and hitting.    Eric said basically that right now, they have good defense, great pitching and hitting.  Not sure if he meant great pitching and great hitting; I'd have to beg to differ a bit if he did.  "Ya know, it's like clockwork.  We start slow in April, have a terrible May, and then June hits and we take off."  "Luckily, no one's run away in the division and we're all just playing .500 ball."

And finally, on the chances of Zito leaving:

Rome:  "So, what are the chances that Barry Zito will be around at the end of the year?"
Eric:  "Oh, I think he will be.  We've got new owners now who want to win.  They aren't afraid to drop some money to get good players, and hopefully have players stay.  They picked up Thomas and Bradley and Loaiza and that was huge.  So I think Barry will be here."

Hmmmm, he certainly sounded very happy and optimistic.  And now I will be too...for the rest of the day at least.  Let's Go Oakland!