Hi everyone. I'm being a bit optimistic as the weather on the East Coast isn't exactly baseball-friendly, but the tarp is reportedly off and Jordan Bastian thinks that there will be a game today between the Jays and the Astros. Assuming there is a game, it'll be carried by MLB Game Day Audio with choice of either affiliate.
With the wet ground, the Jays are playing it safe with some of their regulars and have reshuffled their lineup. The lineup:
Jose Bautista, 3B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jorge Padilla, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Randy Ruiz, DH
Chris Lubanski, LF
John Buck, C
Alex Gonzalez, SS
Joey Gathright, CF
Vernon Wells, Jeremy Reed, and Adam Lind were the scratches. We've been wondering about Edwin Encarnacion, who has been conspicuously absent thusfar, but we finally got some good news. Encarnacion is reportedly feeling better and will start getting into games next week. That'd certainly put him on pace to crack the opening day roster.
Brian Tallet will start today. Tallet struggled his first spring start, but he can't be feeling too bad about his chances to make the starting rotation with the manager's confidence behind him and Brad Mills getting sent down to AAA today. Casey Fien was also optioned to AAA, while Doug Kyle Drabek and David Cooper were sent to minor-league camp.
I was encouraged to see that Jordan Bastian and Brandon Morrow supporting Washington DC's own Five Guys burgers. Florida's "food" is mostly a bad joke, but if they have Five Guys, it can't be all bad.
Speaking of DC, today's title comes from the great, great Ted Leo and the Pharmacists song "Ghosts." Leo is part Clash, part early Elvis Costello, with some Thin Lizzy guitar-playing mixed in there, and all awesome. It's even better than it sounds.
Update: No game. Sadness.