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Former White Sox pitcher Jon Garland is now working for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, enjoying spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium, which is short for "gridlock."

Just outside the gates of the 45-year-old stadium, some of the world's worst traffic sputters (and often stops) along Interstate 10, which, in some places, must be, what, 16 lanes wide?

It is not a bottleneck. It is a bottle beer-gut. Such is the price a spring training ballplayer pays to live in the Big City. On Monday, the Angels drew a less-than-robust crowd of 2,886 to watch them play Oakland.

By comparison, on a chilly Monday afternoon at Tucson Electric Park, 4,039 watched the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 7-5.

At 11 a.m., I drove to the TEP parking lot without delay. No line. But no ballpark buzz, either.

A year ago, Garland indelicately completed his final spring season at Tucson Electric Park by saying, "There is nothing great about Tucson." Garland's well-traveled comment arrived a few days after White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye said "everything about spring training in Phoenix is a lot better than Tucson."

As the crow flies, it cannot be much more than three miles from Garland's Diablo Stadium to Tempe Town Lake, where this weekend The Great Arizona Beer Festival is to be held.

Driving time: 30 minutes. Parking: Bring a parachute. But at least Garland has found something "Great" nearby.

For 12 months, I have struggled with the news that ballplayers consider Tucson a colossal bore. My conclusion is that none of it is connected to baseball. It is all the other Phoenix stuff: nightlife, nightclubs, Scottsdale, better shopping (and more upscale shopping), more golf courses, Scottsdale, the Suns, and a chance to see the Foo Fighters in concert every now and then.

And Scottsdale.

Tucson's top concerts this month include the Moody Blues and the Four Tops.

Foo-ey.

If you ask a 27-year-old baseball millionaire about the nightlife in metro Phoenix he can likely recite the A-list choices in alphabetical order:

Axis

Barcelon

Myst

Olive & Ivory

Radius

Shake

Suede

Tucson has Club Congress, downtown, and Level, a bold attempt at a real, Phoenix-type nightclub, which is on North Campbell. Not much of a comparison there.

Most of the after-dark fun in Tucson involves college kids and college crowds, and that doesn't mix with big-league baseball players, who are not looking to spend some of their (substantial) discretionary income at, say, Dirtbags, long a popular campus hangout.

You probably will not catch the Big Unit at Gentle Ben's, either.

And it is not just nightlife, shopping and dining. It is quality time, too.

The longest bus ride for a spring training ballplayer in Phoenix is probably the cross-town commute from Mesa to Peoria. To an on-the-go ballplayer, that is much preferable to leaving Tucson at 8 a.m., for a bus ride to the Peoria Sports Complex, home of the Padres and Mariners, and returning home at 6:30 p.m.

Atmosphere at the ballpark also is a factor.

When I drove to TEP Monday, I did not spot trendy lunch choices near the ballpark. No eat-and-walk-to-the-game options.

At Mesa's wildly popular Hohokam Stadium, home of the Cubs, you can eat at Don & Charlie's, a steakhouse that has become part of the game-day fabric. Or at Sluggo's, once owned by the beloved Haray Caray. As Yogi Berra might say, it's so crowded nobody goes there any more.

At Hohokam, much like TEP, you can drive straight to a close-in parking spot with no difficulty — in July. In March, it's crazy busy.

At Scottsdale Stadium, home of the Giants, if you don't want to drive, you can catch the trolley. The game-day buzz is overwhelmingly fun. You can shop until you get buyer's remorse at the nearby Nordstrom.

It is not exactly Ajo Way.

The walk-to eating and shopping establishments at Scottsdale Stadium are so vast that it is ridiculous. The Pink Pony is baseball's most famous eating and drinking establishment. And they actually tailgate beyond the right field fence at Scottsdale Stadium. A covered party pavilion is expensive but it is always in use.

More?

There is an In-N-Out Burger spot near the Padres' complex in Peoria, which has four mega-size sports bars close to the baseball complex.

At Municipal Stadium, near Sky Harbor Airport, home of the A's, microbrews have been developed specifically for spring training.

So no wonder ballplayers prefer Phoenix.

Two weeks ago, the Chicago Tribune published a guide for spring training in Tucson. Under "4 things to do" it listed:

1. Visit the UA.

2. Drive to Mount Lemmon.

3. Eat at a Mexican restaurant.

4. Drive to Glendale to visit the future spring training home of the White Sox.

It almost makes you laugh and cry.