Goodbye Florida

I remember a couple mid-nineties family vacations to the Sunshine State. No matter what level of bonding my family experienced while in Florida, we'd come back hating each other. A week of close confinement at a timeshare, and we were demanding separate seats in different aisles on the flight home.

While things may be different for the Blue Jays, seeing as though they're not in their early teens and prone to random bouts of apathy, the post-vacation blues must be setting in as the team leaves Florida for Philadelphia, before starting the season in New York.

As much as I look forward to it in February, I don’t really like Spring Training. I'm more of a "regular season" kind of guy. I like unrelenting war, the "we're not even considering calling this a draw in the tenth inning" competitiveness, the "I'm going to crash into your catcher and sacrifice my body for a measly run" way of thinking.

I want baseball to the extreme with its rigor and intensity. Spring Training is soft. It’s lax. Players can get "right-pinned" in Ybor City the night before a game, and the manager barely bats an eye. Where's the discipline, the drive, the excitement?

Enough of the fake games. Leaving Florida is a sign that it's almost business time.



While they may have avoided cases of testicular torsion and anal fissures, this Spring hasn't been particularly kind to the Blue Jays. Ignoring the Casey Janssen injury, which sounds as though it began at the end of last season, and the B.J. Ryan rehab, which still seems as though it's ahead of schedule (possible mid-April return), the Jays come out of Florida with three reportedly minor injuries and a DL bound third baseman. A.J. Burnett, Matt Stairs and Gregg Zaun are all getting over their bumps and bruises, while Scott Rolen is expected to miss at least a month with a "torn apart" finger.

However, with only two more exhibition games remaining, the entire starting lineup could be shelved and I'd still be looking forward to Monday afternoon as though it was Christmas morning. This is a time of year to savor. Hope is plentiful, and even moronic Blue Jays fans predicting 115 win seasons are somewhat charming.

There'll be plenty of time later in the season to temper emotion with realism. Right now, we're that much closer to the start of another season of Blue Jays baseball, and if you can stop yourself from gushing over this team like it's your new girlfriend, well, you're a kill-joy robot likely fueled by napalm and hatred, and other mean things.

Starting Pitchers:
Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Jesse Litsh

Relief Pitchers:
Jeremy Accardo, Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Brandon League, Brian Tallet, Brian Wolfe, Randy Wells

Catchers:
Gregg Zaun, Rod Barajas

Infielders:
Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill, Marco Scutato, David Eckstein, John McDonald

Outfielders:
Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Matt Stairs, Shannon Stewart, Buck Coats

Designated Hitter:
Frank Thomas

Disabled List:
Casey Janssen, Scott Rolen, B.J. Ryan