Asterisks are very popular this season.

Home Run Derby links to a number of fan commericals submitted to the Mets for a contest.

MetsBlog.com wonders why the Mets are giving away flashlights tonight.

The 2007 Media Information Directory arrived in the mail today. This is a handy guide to everyone involved in Major League baseball from the commissioner to the local beat writer. What caught my attention this year is the cover. In the past, the cover used a drawing of a generic baseball player. This year, pictures of the NL and AL pennant winners, MVPs and Cy Young winners grace the front. I wonder if this is due to the new harmony between management and the union?

A Kansas City Star reporter travels with the Royals caravan through the state of Kansas. On the trip, he hears some good stories and finds a lot of support for the team in the heartland:

It’s a nice night and a good meal, and everyone seems to feel good. There is a lot of laughter. There’s something about the Royals caravan that makes you feel good. Sure, the Royals are a city team, with talk radio and Internet chatboards and all that.

But they are also a country team, and some of the deepest Royals passion is out in the wheat and corn and milo of the red states.
The passion is not gone. It’s still out here. Every Royals player should go on the caravan and see it. The food is hit and miss, the hotels are not the Ritz, the roads are bumpy, the kids don’t always say thank you. But every so often, there will be a moment like this: A family of five walked through the line in a mall in Hutchinson. All of them were wearing Royals jerseys.

“We think you’re going to win it all this year,” the father said.

“We’ll try,” Emil Brown said. “We’ll play hard.”

“That’s all anyone can ask,” the man said. “You play. We’ll hope.”

I missed this story when it first came out, but Alex Rodriguez frequents poker clubs in Manhattan. It's appropriate that it's raised a red flag in the commissioner's office:

Baseball bosses know players frequently play cards for money in the clubhouse, on the team plane and in hotels. Some gamble in casinos.

But officials aren't happy that the man considered by many to be the greatest active player is rubbing elbows with gamblers - some who presumably wager on baseball games.

With clubs being raided by cops and sometimes robbed by gunmen, the 30-year-old star's flirtation with controversy or possible danger is seen as odd for a player known for his perfectly scripted public image.

"What in the world is he thinking?" a high-ranking MLB official said. "He can do what he wants in the off-season and he isn't breaking the law - we checked - but why do it?"

I always thought there was a rule against consorting with gamblers, but rule 21 appears to be strictly about betting on games and bribing players and umpires.

And of course, Selig has to make it about the young people:

But sources said Selig is "very unhappy," in part because of the message the poker playing sends to young fans.

"Kids look up to [Rodriguez]," a source said. "It isn't good for anybody."

Maybe Congress can ban poker shows from television in an amendment to the steroid bill.

Willie Henderson describes the Royals Caravan visit to Maryville.

The Royals Caravan is an annual promotion where Royals players, announcers, Royals legends and team mascot Sluggerrr climb in a small bus and visit over 30 midwestern cities, covering more than 2,000 miles across five states. Cynics will say it is an effort to win back fans who feel disenfranchised by the present state of the national pastime.

True fans, like Matt McClarnon, Shambaugh, Iowa, see it differently.

"It's great that the players will come to a town like Maryville," McClarnon said. "It gives us a chance to see them up close."

I have to agree with Mr. McClarnon. Providing a personal connection to players is a great way to develop a fan base. There are going to be a lot of David DeJesus fans after this trip.

The Orioles hold a fan fest this Saturday, reports Tim Nichols of the Cecil Whig. If you are a Baltimore fan, sounds like a great opportunity to meet players and coaches.

On another note, I'm impressed that there is still a newspaper called The Whig. They haven't had a party since the 1850's.