Greetings from Petco Park, where the AL is the host team in a game played in an NL park. That's right. Last year's game was in Cincinnati, and the league wanted to continue alternating home teams for the Midsummer Classic but not the location. So it was weird to see the AL in the Padres clubhouse and the NL in the visitors clubhouse.
Eduardo Nunez has had a pretty good time hanging out with friends and family over the last couple of days. The player's association threw a party for their players last night, and today was the red carpet ride to the ballpark.
``It was fun man, I'm really enjoying it," Nunez said. ``It's different. You see it on TV, then you see it now in person. It's different."
His most memorable conversation so far has been with former Twin David Ortiz, and it was a hoot.
``He told me, `Are you happy?' I said yes," Nunez said. ``He said, `This is my last one, and I'm glad. I'm like, you're glad? He said. `Yeah, I'm so tired.'
``I'm so happy be here and he's so tired to be here."
It's a great experience for most players you ask, but I've watched Ortiz be pulled from TV interview to TV interview, then doing separate press conferences in Spanish and English. And he does it with aplomb. But perhaps it has worn him down though the years.
Nunez is just taking it all in. The biggest task for him was autographing the monumental load of memorabilia the All-Stars are asked to sign. He said it took him an hour of straight signing to get everything done.
He still wasn't sure when, or if, he's going to play tonight. He did take ground balls at short during batting practice.
