Earlier this month, I took a five-day trip to Jupiter, Florida, to visit the St. Louis Cardinals at their spring training home.

Access to the players and coaches was somewhat limited, depending on the location of the practice fields they were using. I did manage to capture these Cardinals photos:

Cardinals Hall of Famer and coach Red Schoendienst.

Relief pitcher Ryan Franklin.

Outfielder Colby Rasmus.

Infielder Brendan Ryan.
Absolutely the nicest player. Signed for over a half hour after one practice. He even got out of his car to sign for some fans waiting at the player gate.

Third baseman David Freese.

. . . and here's former Cardinal slugger and current coach Mark McGwire signing my baseball. He declined my request for a photo. McGwire generally avoided those who pushed things to the front to get signed and had a keen eye to pick out those who he had signed for earlier.

You noticed the jackets? Yes, it was cold . . . very cold for Florida.

Contenders for Country Weekly's hottest bachelor: country singer Josh Thompson or me. You decide. :--)

Thompson was at the Springfield, Illlinois, Best Buy location for an in-store mini-concert and signing prior to his opening set for Eric Church at The Center. Thompson did a 3-song set before meeting his fans and signing his disk, "Way Out Here."