In the interest of sticking to the Tri-City Herald’s tradition of family-friendly content, I must start this post with a disclaimer.

I may never meet anybody as good at their job as Erik Mertens.

Shane Lowe has made a good impression on the basepaths this season.

Good teams win the ones they have to.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

What does it say about Scott Beerer that the guy can go 2-for-4 against Salem-Keizer tonight and LOWER his season average to .588?

Got myself into a very uncomfortable situation before the Dust Devils' last home game Saturday against Boise.

Earlier this month, I wrote about former Tri-City Dust Devils infielder Everth Cabrera, who was picked in the Rule 5 draft by the San Diego Padres. He made the quick jump to the majors and has started several games for the Padres this year. He has done extremely well for them, too, hitting .319 will 11 runs and three steals in 16 games.

I noticed a couple things from looking at Sunday night's box from Tri-City's 12-7 win over Spokane.

First off, Casey Weathers looks more like a front man for a rock band than he does a major-league pitcher, which he hopes to be one day.

Thought I'd get a new string of entries going so fans can read some of the things I hear from Dust Devils players and coaches.

Scott Beerer has been nothing short of spectacular through the first three games of the Dust Devils' 2009 season.

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Tri-City Dust Devils put a big hurt on the Boise Hawks, sweeping them in their own park in a three game series.

Wanted to share with you a little story about my dad, Steve Millikin.

I'm pretty psyched to see Aaron Weatherford pitch for the Dust Devils this year.

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard about the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. On that day, Seung-Hui Cho, a senior English major, shot and killed 32 people and injured many others before taking his own life.

I stepped into the Dust Devils new administrative office just outside of Gesa Stadium.

A quick note, sports fans:

Remember your first day of school? I used to treasure that feeling of walking in the door for the first time and experiencing the twinge of anxiety and excitement that often comes with life's great unknowns.

The Colorado Rockies made their first five selections in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.

Keep an eye on the First-Year Player Draft, where you can track tomorrow's major leaguers — and next week's Tri-City Dust Devils — before they make their initial splash into pro baseball. The draft will be held Tuesday (rounds 1-3 plus compensation picks) and Wednesday (rounds 4-50) in Secaucus, N.J.

Hard to believe that the Dust Devils' season is only 13 days away.

The 2009 version of the Tri-City Dust Devils does not exist just yet and, in fact, won't begin materializing until about a week or so after the First Year Player Draft on Tuesday, June 9.

It was a little unfair watching a pair of top-10 draft picks sitting out this year, unable to contribute to the Dust Devils pitching staff.

The Northwest League All-Star team was announced today, and two Tri-City Dust Devils were named to the team.

I got a special treat today.

Ron Gideon was back in town for a two-game homestand against the Yakima Bears.

Interesting little trend developing here in 2008.

I had a recent talk with Dust Devils second baseman Erik Wetzel about his experience with Fresno State at the College World Series in June.

Heard sad news tonight that Skip Caray, longtime voice of the Atlanta Braves on TBS, died at 68.

I was looking forward to watching an ongoing battle between Kane Simmons and quirky confines of Gesa Stadium, but that excitement turned out to be as fleeting as a shooting star.

The more I see of Kane Simmons, the more I like him.

There are some interesting coincidences with the Dust Devils pitching coach, Dave Schuler, which deserve some light here.

Dust Devils pitching coach Dave Schuler has coached in several different organizations, and he’s seen his share of talent.

The Colorado Rockies parted ways with outfielder Josh Banda and catcher Jhaysson Agustin last Friday, giving them their unconditional release.

Another difficult night for the Dust Devils.

No question about it: major league ballplayers make a lot of money.

It’s difficult to imagine getting off to a better start than Everett outfielder Dennis Raben.

Had a fun conversation with George Frazier, a 10-year major league veteran and father of Dust Devils starter Parker Frazier.

Impressive win tonight by the Dust Devils, a 4-1 win over Salem-Keizer.

Interesting thought I had last week as I was listening to the Dust Devils lose a 1-0 heartbreaker in 13 innings up in Spokane.

If you’re a baseball fan like me, I’m sure you tuned in to watch the Colorado Rockies fight their way to the 2007 National League pennant.

Just on a whim, I counted up all the former Dust Devils (or all that I could remember or find) that have reached the major leagues at some point.

The Tri-City Dust Devils began the 2008 season with just two catchers, Jhaysson Agustin and Jordan Pacheco.

If you listened to the game Wednesday night, you heard about another spectacular start by a Dust Devils’ pitcher.

I always wanted to be a pro baseball player, but I get to do the next best thing — being a pro baseball writer.