ftp giving url but i want the IP address

[Walter]

I want to parse ftp error messages in auth.log and use the
ip address in inserting a block into ipfw.  It works, except
when ftpd spits out the host-specific url rather than the ip.
Adding "-h" to the ftpd command in inet.conf didn't help.
Can someone tell me how to do this, or point me to code
(C) to convert it?

Thanks.  I'm off-list so please reply directly.

Walter