• White Sox have picked up Matt Thornton‘s $2.25 million option for 2010…..Thornton says he’s only getting better with age and believes that he deserves an opportunity to close…..he’s prepared for anything that Kenny Williams throws his way….. [Scott Merkin/MLB.com]

• Ozzie Guillen plans to debut his new website[OzzieGuillen.com] by SoxFest on Jan. 21-23…..site will allow fans to “communicate” with the White Sox manager…..his sons will be running it and all content will be pre-approved by Major League Baseball……[Chicago Breaking Sports]

• Aaron Rowand and Juan Uribe won another World Series ring, this time as members of San Francisco Giants…..Rowand even got the feel-good start in Game 5…..Juan Uribe is still the same old Juan Uribe….. [Sox Machine]

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The Golden Sombrero presents Rookie Card Corner: Vladimir Guerrero 1992 Bowman

Fun Fact: At just 16-years of age, a scrawny Vladimir Guerrero showed up for a pro tryout in the Dominican Republic, arriving on the back of a motorcycle and with two different sized spikes.  In the larger of the two, Vlad stuffed a sock with the hopes of an improved fit.  It was that same day that the Montreal Expos offered Vlad his first professional contract.

Day three of the Four Ballparks trip began at the Hilton in beautiful Anaheim, California, just minutes from Angel Stadium.  Hungry and bored and with the game not until six PM, we were two weary travelers with some time to kill.  So we figured that, since we were staying right near the ballpark, there must be some place to grab a quick bite before the ballgame.

Wrong.  After twenty minutes of fruitless searching, we settled for a coffee cake and a second pack of skittles—breakfast of champions–from Dildar, a clerk at a convenience store a few blocks away.  Another trip to the OC Sports Bar (and Ubaldo Jimenez’s 18^th win) followed, after which it was time for Angels vs. Indians at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

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The Golden Sombrero presents MLB Look-alikes: Dan Haren and Adrian Grenier

A few months ago, someone I barely knew asked me what I want to do before I die.  As common a question as that may be, it was one I’d never been asked before.  So naturally, as I often do in situations where I don’t know what to say, I blurted out the first answer that popped into my head.

“I want to visit all thirty major league ballparks.”

My questioner was impressed and satisfied with my answer, and as I thought more about it, I decided I was too.  After all, as any of my friends (or any of my family members, co-workers or ex-girlfriends) can tell you, I am a die-hard fan of not just the Colorado Rockies, but the game of baseball itself.  And reflecting on the question later that night, I couldn’t come up with a single good reason why I should not visit all thirty major league ballparks before my time here comes to an end.

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