You'll have to forgive Luke Hughes if he's moving a little slowly today
"Yeah, there's a few kinks there to work out" said the Team Australia infielder at the team's training complex here

Traveling for nearly thirty-six hours straight can have that effect
Hughes left his Perth home Wednesday night for a six-hour flight to Sydney, where he waited to join the rest of his teammates for the 14-hour trip to Los Angeles (Brett was one of those players)
After a two-hour layover at LAX the team departed for the three-hour trip to Dallas, where it had a three-hour layover before the two-and-a-half-hour jaunt to Tampa
Some teammates' lost luggage delayed the two-hour bus trip to Fort Myers and the team hotel, where Hughes finally fell into bed at 9.30pm Thursday - 10.30am Friday morning back in Perth

"It was terrible" Hughes said
"I'm a little tired today, but it's all right"
And what day is it?
"I think it's Friday" Hughes said as he shrugged his shoulders
"I lost a day there"

Hughes and his teammates can stay put for a few days as they work out at the Red Sox minor-league training facility here, before their bus trip to Orlando Monday morning to begin competition in the World Baseball Classic
That should only take about four hours, Luke!!

Growth spurt

Tom Nicholson, director of Major League Baseball in Sydney, is encouraged by the sport's growth in Australia
For the 2000 Olympic team, he said, there was a pool of 45 professional and 55 collegiate players from which to draw
For the Classic, those numbers had grown to 107 and 65, respectively
But he said the Classic will have stiff competition for attention 'Down Under' as Melbourne hosts the Commonwealth Games beginning next week

Color my world

Although the Aussies's national colors are red, white, and blue, they will be wearing green and gold, as they always do in international competition
"I'm not sure why we have those colors" said the team's media relations director Adrian Dunn
"We've always worn green and gold"

Familiar faces

Fans of Major League Baseball will recognize Australian coaches Pat Kelly and Greg Jelks, who both now live full-time in Australia, and Craig Shipley
From 1986-1998, Shipley compiled a .271 career average with the Dodgers, Mets, Padres, Astros, and Angels, and now serves as the Red Sox's vice president of professional and international scouting
Kelly had a nine-year career with the Yankees, Cardinals, and Blue Jays
Jelks was drafted by the Phillies in 1981 and played ten games for them in 1987

Schedule

The Aussies will work out Saturday morning from 10.00am to 1.00pm, and Sunday morning from 10.00am to 11:30am before Sunday's 6.05pm Exhibition Game v the Red Sox at City of Palms Park
Tickets are available for the game
With the purchase of one ticket to game, the Red Sox will offer a free ticket of equal value to a child aged twelve or under
All tickets for the Sunday night Exhibition Game have already been set at half-price