Wandered over to the minor-league fields this morning (I think they might be in a different zip code). Anyway, I was standing with DeJon Watson and Bill Mueller near the Inland Empire bench during a game against Great Lakes (the Dodgers' two Single-A affiliates). Josh Bell, a big, power-hitting third-base prospect, drove a ball up the right-center field gap that should have easily scored catcher Lucas May. But Bell made a turn past second, then changed his mind and went back into the bag, but he was tagged for the third out as he tried to get back in. In a photo finish, the two-man umpire crew ruled that the tag came before May crossed the plate. As May strapped on the catcher's gear for the start of the next inning, Inland Empire manager Dave Collins offered some constructive criticism to May, who might or might not have slowed up coming in for what should have been a gimme run. "I'm going to tell you something that should help you the rest of your career," Collins said. "Always look for ways to keep playing. The guy who hit the ball (messed) up, and because he (messed) up, you didn't score." The lesson was to play hard all the time. What you often see, especially in big-league games, is players jogging home from third on a single or even occasionally from second on a double, their thinking being that the run is automatic. But sometimes it isn't, especially if a trail runner makes a fundamental mistake. One reason I like going to the minor-league side is to observe these little examples of teaching that go on all the time over there.