MYCHAEL URBAN, who has been filling in as a weekday host at KNBR for the past seven years, is in his third year of hosting the Sportsphone 680 Giants Warm-Up and Wrap-Up weekends shows. As a national writer for MLB.com, Mychael brings to the air the perspective of someone who observes the daily grind of a baseball season from the inside out.

Mychael, who lives with his wife and two daughters in Livermore, Calif., has an in-depth knowledge of baseball in general and pitching in particular -- he was a southpaw reliever at the University of San Francisco, and he spent the summer of 1998 as the pitching coach for the Slovakian National Baseball Team, helping guide Team Slovensko through the European Championships in Hull, England.

Also a published author, Urban wrote "Aces," an inside look at the final season together for the Oakland A's "Big Three" of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. The book made the San Francisco Chronicle's best-seller list shortly after it was released. 

Zito joins Mychael every Saturday when the Giants are at home for "Side Sessions/The Unicorn Hour," an irreverent look at life in the big leagues on and off the field, and the shows are available on mp3 through KNBR Podcasting on this site. Mychael also interviews Bobby Evans, the Giants' VP of Baseball Operations, every Sunday when the Giants are at home, in a segment focusing on the minor-league system called "Comin' Down the Pipe." It also can be accessed here.

E-mail any questions to Mychael Urban at urban@knbr.com 

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