Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

Thanks to upstate New York pal Scott Fybush for capturing baseball's most talked about young player Stephen Strasberg. The Nationals top prospect threw 6-1/3 shutout innings for Syracruse, in a May 19th game at Rochester.

Phillies stars Ryan Howard (top) and Shane Victorino (below) getting their practice swings in before their game against the Mets. Looking on are (#25) batting coach Milt Thompson and (#41) manager Charlie Manuel. These were taken from the far corner of the Citi Field press box, just up the 3rd base side.

The multi-level press box at Citi Field in New York. Now, it's a wall-to-wall display of laptops connected to their newsrooms by wireless broadband. The days of teletypes and dial telephones are long gone.

A few more views of Coca Cola Park in Allentown, one of the newest and nicest parks in minor league baseball. The details are what help make this 10,000-seater stand out -- even down to the restrooms, nicely decorated with reprints of classic baseball photos. Getting the fans involved has long been a minor league specialty. Having local little leaguers accompany the home team onto the field is a nice touch. Being a Phillies affiliate, you expect to see a mascot. At Lehigh Valley, there's a pair, both based on the Ironpigs identity. Notice how the scoreboard stirs up the locals.

Yes, there's a Mascot Race at Coca Cola Park in Allentown, home of the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs. Featuring products of a local meat packer, it jumps on the bandwagon that began with sausage races at Milwaukee County Stadium and now famously includes the Presidents at Washington Nationals game (below, from RFK Stadium in 2007).

A few years ago, Jose Tabata was one of the top prospects in the Yankees farm system. The young Venezuelan outfielder was considered to be a "five-tool player." But like many Yankee minor leaguers, his path to New York was interrupted by a trade -- in his case, to the Pirates in a 2008 deal for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. Sunday, I saw those skills up close with Tabatha leading off and playing center field for Pittsburgh's Indianapolis farm club. Four hits in five at-bats, three stolen bases, three runs scored as Indy edged the Phillies' Lehigh Valley Ironpigs 5 - 4. Tearing up the International League with a batting average well over .300, it seems just a matter of time until Tabata claims a spot in the Pirates lineup. He was certainly the most impressive player on this field. Power, speed, agility and, as witnessed when, camera in hand, I called out to him in the on-deck circle, a bit of a cockiness, Tabata left a strong impression on the crowd of 10,000 that sa...

Chalk in those lines, rev up the crowd... setting the scene for Sunday night's pivotal game as the Phillies hosted the Mets at Citizens Bank Park -- with the winner grabbing 1st place in the National League East. The Mets struck first -- David Wright smacked a three-run homer in the top of the 1st inning to give the Mets the early lead. The round of high-fives following the home run -- notice how the TV camera intruded into the scene (he followed Wright as he ran toward home plate -- isn't that going too far?) With Johan Santana on the man, the Mets thought they were in a strong position. But the Phils came right back with home runs by Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard, cutting the gap to 3 - 2. The Mets boosted their lead to 5 - 2 in their half of the fourth inning, but Santana couldn't hold it. In the bottom of the inning, Jamie Moyer, yes the ageless 47 year-old pitcher walked with the bases loaded, to bring the Phils to within 5 - 4. The next batter was Shane Victorino wh...