THE BACKSTOP BEAT
Red Wings All-Star catcher Jose Morales takes you along to the Triple-A All-Star Game in Albuquerque, NM.

Tuesday July 10
The Sandia Resort where we're staying is really nice. When we got in yesterday afternoon, I called the spa to see if they had any openings for a massage. They were booked up for the day so I made an appointment for 10 am. So I slept in today until 8:30, went to breakfast around nine and went to the massage. It was real good - worth waking up early for.

Last night I watched the Major League Home Run Derby in my room for a little bit, then went down and had some dinner with Bobby - just some burgers. I walked around the hotel's casino for a little bit, then went back to my room.

It was nice to have a day off from baseball yesterday, but with the early wakeup and travel it wasn't really too restful. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready for the flight. So when I went back to my room last night I went to sleep right away.

Yesterday when I got here, I met up with one of my former winter ball teammates, Jack Cassel - he plays for San Diego's Triple-A team in Portland. He was the first face I saw here at the hotel, I was very happy to see him. I saw (former Twin and current Buffalo Bison) Luis Rivas yesterday and talked to him too.

I'm definitely ready to get on the field and take batting practice today. I'm getting ready to get on the bus, looking forward to getting to the ballpark and then the gala tonight at the Albuquerque Museum. This is my second All-Star Game; I played in the Florida State League Game in 2004. But this one has so much more activities and special events for the players.

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Local coverage of the Triple-A All-Star Game:
AlbuquerqueJournal.com Sports | AlbuquerqueTribune.com Sports | Albuquerque Isotopes team website

Albuquerque Weather at AlbuquerqueTribune.com


MiLB.com Triple-A All-Star Game coverage

Jose's RedWingsBaseball.com player page | Jose's MiLB.com Season Stats page