Jack Roeder blog: Into every spring training, a little rain must fall

Paradise wasn't paradise today, at least not Tuesday morning. Heavy rains overnight and into the morning caused cancellation of all the minor league games Tuesday.

They did play the major league games, and the Angels lost a close game to the Mariners. It was nice to see that fourteen former Kernels got to see some action in the game, and it would have been fifteen if Ervin Santana was not scratched from the lineup. Luckily, I don't think it's anything serious, but he was held out of the game.

Speaking of the Angels, Wally and I did get to watch batting practice early yesterday morning, and it's amazing to see how good the hitters are at the big league level. Watching them hit was a real treat, especially Torii Hunter, as his bat is electric.

Things were a bit quiet on the minor league front because of the rain, although they did get some of their drills in today. Former Kernels Manager Bobby Magallanes wanted to make sure that I gave his regards to everyone in Cedar Rapids. He's a class guy and thinks very highly of his three years in Cedar Rapids as our manager.

I did several radio interviews today with our local radio stations and would like to thank them for their interest. We also worked with Metro Studios and received interviews from our coaching staff and Farm Director, Abe Flores.

Speaking of the minor league complex -- it would be nice if people could experience what goes on here. It's a great facility and things run like clockwork even though they have over 150 players that can be in here at one time.

The Angels do things right from top to bottom, and their blueprint is why they have such a successful farm system. It takes a lot of dedicated people to make sure everything runs smoothly and they have them. The front office people who travel from L.A. to Mesa for spring training are wonderful. It's nice to put some faces with people you have dealt with over the years via fax, phones and email.

Tomorrow should be a fun and busy day. It looks like the weather will be back to normal with sun and temps near 80 degrees.

We start early by interviewing some of the former Kernels now playing for the Angels. We have a bit of a dilemma later in the day, as we have tickets to the Angels/Royals game, but also want to see the Kernels play as the rain stopped us from seeing them today. The two fields are within walking distance, so I'll probably spend my time going back and forth. Such a problem to have...

NOTE: Kernels general manager Jack Roeder will be providing these daily updates from spring training all this week. Check back for updates each morning.