It's midnight here in Clearwater, Fla., where I'm spending my final night at Spring Training. I board a plane Saturday morning and will be heading to Detroit. That makes this as good a time as any to dish our my '07 regular season predictions:

AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS

EAST
1. New York
2. Toronto
3. Boston
4. Tampa Bay
5. Baltimore

CENTRAL
1. Chicago
*2. Detroit
3. Cleveland
4. Minnesota
5. Kansas City

WEST
1. Los Angeles
2. Oakland
3. Texas
4. Seattle

NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

EAST
1. Philadelphia
*2. Atlanta
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Washington

CENTRAL
1. St. Louis
2. Milwaukee
3. Chicago
4. Houston
5. Cincinnati
6. Pittsburgh

WEST
1. Los Angeles
2. Colorado
3. San Diego
4. Arizona
5. San Francisco

*Indicates Wild Card

WORLD SERIES
Chicago White Sox over St. Louis Cardinals

AL MVP Award: Travis Hafner, Cleveland
AL Cy Young Award: Roy Halladay, Toronto
AL Rookie of the Year: Alex Gordon, Kansas City
AL Manager of the Year: Mike Sciocia, Los Angeles
NL MVP Award: Albert Pujols, St. Louis
NL Cy Young Award: Roy Oswalt, Houston
NL Rookie of the Year: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
NL Manager of the Year: Ned Yost, Milwaukee

So there you have it. Let the arguments begin. You know what the great thing is about preseason predictions? Nobody is wrong. I have to go finish packing my suitcases now and get ready for my trek to D-Town. I like traveling to Michigan because, being an MSU alum, I get the chance to see some old college buddies whenever I'm in the state.

Toronto should be in for a busy day tomorrow. I phoned Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi tonight and he said the club would reveal whether Victor Zambrano or Josh Towers would be its fifth starter on Saturday. Towers is scheduled to start. Toronto will also likely make a move with Francisco Rosario, who is out of options. It's down to either him or Jeremy Accardo for the final bullpen spot.

The Jays will catch a flight early on Sunday, when they're scheduled to have a 4 p.m. workout at Comerica Park. If the weather is bad, there will be no workout. Opening Day for Toronto is two days away. I'm ready to get this season going. How about you guys?

Toronto (10-14-4) at Cleveland (16-12-1)
at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Wayne Lydon, LF
Jason Smith, 2B
Jason Phillips, C
Chip Cannon, 1B
Rob Cosby, DH
Ryan Roberts, 3B
John McDonald, SS
Aaron Matthews, RF
Jeff Duncan, CF

PITCHING: RHP Victor Zambrano

INDIANS
Jason Michaels, CF
Josh Barfield, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Ryan Garko, 1B
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Mike Rouse, 3B
Mike Rose, C
John Drennen, LF
Jason Cooper, RF

PITCHING: RHP Jake Westbrook

Thanks go to Mr. John Lott of the National Post for letting be borrow his computer to put this post up. I have no internet connection here in lovely Winter Haven.

Stay tuned for more...

New York (13-12-2) at Toronto (10-13-4)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

YANKEES
Bobby Abreu, DH
Derek Jeter, SS
Robinson Cano, 2B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, LF
Jorge Posada, C
Josh Phelps, 1B
Kevin Reese, CF
Kevin Thompson, RF

PITCHING: RHP Steven Jackson

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Alex Rios, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: LHP Scott Downs, and a mix of relievers

NOTE: Center fielder Vernon Wells was a late scratch from the lineup with stiffness in his left shoulder.

PITCHING STAFF COMING INTO FOCUS

Toronto's bullpen situation was made a little clearer prior to Thursday night's game against the Yankees. That's when left-hander Brian Tallet learned that he had cleared waivers and had been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. Tallet now has 72 hours to accept or decline the assignment. If he declines, he'd become a free agent.

"I had a pretty good second half last year and threw the ball pretty well for the team," said Tallet, who had a 3.81 ERA in 44 games for the Jays in '06. "This year, in decisions, that didn't really factor in.

"When you spend the kind of money that Ted Rogers has, the job [Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi] has is to try to get the best team on the field. If he feels that I wasn't one of the guys, then I have to respect that."

So, for now at least, Tallet is out of Toronto's bullpen picture. As of right now, B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, Jason Frasor and Shaun Marcum appear to be the only locks. Those in the mix for the final three jobs include Casey Janssen, Jeremy Accardo, Francisco Rosario, Victor Zambrano and Josh Towers.

Thursday morning, Ricciardi said that, if Zambrano can last five or six innings against the Indians tomorrow, he just might win the fifth starter's job. If that's the case, he added that he'd "definitely" consider Towers in the 'pen. The same goes if Towers wins the fifth spot. Basically, they're both on the roser.

Like Tallet, Rosario is out of options. There are some trade options for Rosario, but Ricciardi said it's "nothing that's on the front burner." If Rosario was traded, Accardo would seem the likeliest pitcher to fill that spot. Janssen has made a strong bid for a spot this spring as well. Geremi Gonzalez was in the mix, but he was reassigned to Minor League camp before Thursday's game, too.

So, as of right now, one possible bullpen scenario looks like this: Ryan, Frasor, Downs, Marcum, Janssen, Rosario, and Zambrano/Towers.

If Towers does win the fifth spot, Ricciardi did say he'd be on a short leash. Toronto's GM also noted that Marcum, Janssen, and even Dustin McGowan could easily be backup options if someone in the rotation falters.

"I really think McGowan eventually will be here at some point. He's pitching really well now," Ricciardi said. "[Toronto roving pitching instructor] Dane Johnson did a really good thing with him that I noticed the other day. They've got him tucking almost like Nolan Ryan. When you watch him as he's gathering, if you can envision Ryan, he's got his back kind of turned to the hitter, but it allows him to gather more and stay in his delivery. He seems to be clicking on it. Hopefully that'll get him going."

As for John Thomson, he's set to begin the year on the 15-day DL, and it's not clear if he'd accept a Minor League assignment when he's ready to be activated.

Ricciardi confirmed that right-hander Tomo Ohka will be Toronto's No. 4 starter. He's scheduled to pitch in a Minor League game on Friday. Towers starts Toronto's last spring game on Saturday against the Reds at home.

DETROIT PROBABLES:

Monday, April 2: Toronto's Roy Halladay vs. Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman
Wednesday, April 4: Toronto's A.J. Burnett vs. Detroit's Nate Robertson
Thursday, April 5: Toronto's Gustavo Chacin vs. Detroit's Justin Verlander

Anything else?

Oh yeah. A.J. Burnett (Triple-A) and B.J. Ryan (Double-A) each pitched in Minor League games at the Bobby Mattick Training Center Thursday afternoon.

Burnett's line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 9 K, 1 BB, 94 pitches, 64 strikes
Ryan's line: 1 IP, 1 K, 8 pitches, 6 strikes

Ryan will pitch again on Saturday, and he's all systems go for Opening Day. Burnett was also pleased with his outing, and just happy he's healthy enough to break camp with the club. Last spring, he started on the DL ( one of eight times in his career) with an elbow injury.

"This is completely different," Burnett said. "What is this, the second or third time I get to break with a team? I'm pretty excited about that, especially with the team that we have here. It feels better to be a part of it."

And apparently there's a night game scheduled for 7:05 p.m. here. It's been a long day. Us reporters met with J.P. this morning at 10 a.m., headed over to the Minor League complex for the 1 p.m. games with Burnett and Ryan, and then turned around and shuttled back to Knology Park. If anything, this day got us all in a little better shape for the non-stop regular season schedule.

APOLOGIES: Sorry for no blog posts yesterday. Cleveland's ballpark in Winter Haven is stuck in the stone ages and I couldn't get online. So, same might go for tomorrow, when I make the trip again. I'll try to blog, but it might have to wait until I get back to my condo.

Stay tuned for more...

Tampa Bay (8-17-1) at Toronto (10-11-4)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

DEVIL RAYS
Carl Crawford, LF
Ben Zobrist, SS
Ty Wigginton, 2B
Jorge Cantu, DH
Delmon Young, RF
Akinori Iwamura, 3B
Elijah Dukes, CF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Shawn Riggans, C

PITCHING: LHP Casey Fossum

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS
Sal Fasano, C

PITCHING: RHP Geremi Gonzalez

NOTES: CL B.J. Ryan threw 35 pitches in the bullpen and will make an appearance in a Double-A game on Thursday. ... Toronto ace Roy Halladay headed over to the Bobby Mattick Training Center on Tuesday to start in a Triple-A game.

There's a few unwritten rules among sportwriters -- OK, maybe they're more akin to superstitions. For instance, I learned in my early days of covering baseball that you never say something like, "Boy, this game sure is flying by," no matter how quick it actually is flying by.

My first encounter with this part of "the code" came when I was still in college, covering the Lansing Lugnuts Minor League club for the Lansing State Journal in Michigan. Around the eighth inning or so in the first game of a doubleheader, I made an audible remark about the swift pace of the game. The result were some groans from the others in the pressbox, followed by a 15-inning game, and then another extra-inning contest after that. Lesson learned.

This afternoon, those of us Toronto reporters who made the trek to Bradenton to see a roster filled with Jays Minor Leaguers (OK, and Alex Rios, John McDonald, Jason Smith, Jason Phillips and Josh Towers) take on the Pirates, headed down to the visitor's clubhouse around the seventh inning. It's more of a shed that sits to the left of the left-field corner.

After getting an interview in with Towers, who had another solid outing for the Jays, we all walked out to near the foul line to catch the final inning. With Toronto up, 2-1, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Jays' bus driver, George, made this comment: "OK, 1-2-3 and we're outta here!"

All of us writers groaned and gave the old guy a hard time. Sure enough, the first batter in the inning, Pittsburgh catcher Ryan Doumit, promptly deposited a pitch from Toronto reliever Brian Tallet over the left-field wall for a solo homer. That tied tha game up and sent it into extra innings. Thanks, George.

The game ended in a tie, and brought Toronto's Grapefruit League record to 10-11-4. Maybe next year, MLB should think about introducing a "blast off" or some other sudden death-type thing to solve all the tie games this spring has produced. The standings are starting to look a lot like hockey.

Anyway, Towers looked good -- five strikeouts, one walk, one unearned run and 88 pitches (58 strikes) in six innings. He threw 28 of those pitches in the first inning. The lone run scored when Xavier Nady popped up to left field, but Toronto Minor Leaguer David Smith booted an easy fly, allowing Ronny Paulino to score.

Before the game, Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg revealed what we've all already been writing about -- John Thomson is no longer in the running for a job with the Jays. He's scheduled to pitch 1-2 innings in Winter Haven on Wednesday, but there's no room for him in Toronto's bullpen or rotation.

Arnsberg also laid out the pitchers' schedules for the next week:

TUESDAY: Geremi Gonzalez will pitch 3-4 innings against Tampa Bay in the 1:05 p.m. tilt at Knology Park. ... Toronto ace Roy Halladay will start in a Triple-A game at 1 p.m. at the Bobby Mattick Training Center.

WEDNESDAY: Left-hander Gustavo Chacin will hit the road to start against Cleveland at 1:05 p.m. in Winter Haven.

THURSDAY: Right-hander A.J. Burnett will start in a Minor League game at 1 p.m. at the Bobby Mattick Training Center. ... A soon-to-be-identified Minor Leaguer will take the hill for the 7:05 p.m. game against the Yankees. Casey Janssen might've started, but the Jays are preparing him as a reliever now.

FRIDAY: Right-hander Victor Zambrano will head to Winter Haven for a 5-6 inning start against the Indians at 1:05 p.m. Arnsberg said the Jays are still prepping him as if he were going to make the club as a starter. ... Righty Tomo Ohka will start in a Minor League game that afternoon.

SATURDAY: Towers will make his last start of Spring Training in a 1:05 p.m. game versus the Reds at Knology Park.

It's still not clear who the fifth starter will be -- it appers to now be between Towers and Zambrano -- but Ohka seems to be in line for the fourth job. Stating the obvious, Jays manager John Gibbons said Monday that the team will make a decision "by the end of the week."

Stay tuned...

Toronto (10-11-3) at Pittsburgh (10-15-1)
at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Jeff Duncan, CF
John McDonald, SS
Jason Smith, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Jason Phillips, C
Chip Cannon, 1B
Ryan Roberts, 3B
David Smith, LF
Josh Towers, P

PIRATES
Chris Duffy, CF
Jack Wilson, SS
Ronny Paulino, C
Adam LaRoche, 1B
Jason Bay, LF
Xavier Nady, RF
Jose Bautista, 3B
Don Kelly, 2B
Paul Maholm, P

Cincinnati (15-7) at Toronto (9-11-3)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

REDS
Dewayne Wise, CF
Josh Hamilton, LF
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Adam Dunn, DH
Scott Hatteberg, 1B
Javier Valentin, C
Mark Bellhorn, 2B
Paul Janish, SS
Drew Stubbs, CF

PITCHING: RHP Matt Belisle

BLUE JAYS
Royce Clayton, SS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Tomo Ohka

NOTES: CL B.J. Ryan threw off a mound on Sunday and is on pace to pitch in Saturday's game at home against the Reds. ... RF Alex Rios is expected back in Florida Sunday night, and will probably head to Bradenton, Fla., with the Jays to take on the Pirates on Monday. ... RHP Geremi Gonzalez is slated to start in Tuesday's game against the Devil Rays in Dunedin, Fla. RHP Roy Halladay will start in a Minor League game that day. ... Bench coach Ernie Whitt is currently back home in Michigan to be with his wife, Chris, who recently had surgery. Whitt is expected to be back with the team on Monday.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Casey Janssen's outing against the Yankees on Saturday was marred by one pitch. The right-hander ran a fastball inside on New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who promptly deposited the misplaced offering over the wall in center for a two-run homer.

The moon shot came on a four-seam fastball -- a pitch Janssen has been working on this spring. Typically, with a right-handed hitter at the plate, Janssen would turn to a two-seamer, which breaks in on the batter. A four-seam fastball runs on a straight path without darting left or right as it gets near the strike zone.

"It's just to give the hitter another look -- keep them honest," said Janssen, when asked why he's adding the four-seamer. "They see inside and they're probably thinking it's going to run off the plate. To give them a different look, and something that stays straight, it's only going to help me."

It might also help his cause that the Blue Jays are well aware the allowed homer came on a pitch the 25-year-old has yet to master. It was the only significant flaw in a four-inning performance. Janssen allowed two runs on four hits in four innings. This spring, including a two-inning outing in a "B" game on March 5, Janssen has a 1.98 ERA with 18 strikeouts and one walk in six appearances.

Janssen has pitched his way into the running for a bullpen job this spring. After his outing on Saturday, Toronto manager John Gibbons said the righty had "pitched well enough to make the team." Shaun Marcum has also received Gibbons' vote of confidence.

With that in mind, the projected bullpen appears to include B.J. Ryan, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Marcum and Janssen. That leaves two open spots. Brandon League won't be in the picture to start the season. Brian Tallet and Francisco are out of options, so Toronto will consider them for jobs -- Tallet appears more likely, and the Jays will probably try to move Rosario via trade to avoid losing him to waivers. If Tallet does make the bullpen, that last spot could have Victor Zambrano's name on it. Jeremy Accardo appears to be on the outside, looking in, and Geremi Gonzalez was in the running, but now seems to be a long shot destined for Triple-A.

On Saturday, Zambrano also gave up two runs on four hits in four innings against the Yanks. He flew through the first three innings, but then appeared to hit a wall in the fourth, when he worked slower and needed 38 pitches to get through the frame. Still, his performance this spring has been impressive, considering he's 10 months removed from major elbow surgery.

Gibbons said Toronto still hasn't ruled out using Zambrano as a starter when the season opens. That means he's in the competition with Tomo Ohka and Josh Towers. It appears to be a three-horse race as John Thomson has struggled on the mound and with injury. Both Janssen and Zambrano would be starters in a perfect world, but there's a need in the bullpen and Toronto insists it's taking the best arms north. Janssen and Zambrano have definitely pitched well enough to earn jobs, that's for sure.

The decisions will be coming soon.

Toronto (9-11-2) at New York (12-9-1)
at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
TroY Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: RHP Victor Zambrano and RHP Casey Janssen

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, CF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jason Giambi, DH
Hideki Matsui, LF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Wil Nieves, C

PITCHING: RHP Mike Mussina

NOTES: RF Alex Rios is in Puerto Rico, spending time with his family after the passing of a grandfather. He's expected to be back with the team in a few days. ... Thomas made his first road trip of Spring Training. ... Manager John Gibbons said CL B.J. Ryan should be back in a spring game by the middle of next week, and should be available for Opening Day. ... Gibbons made it official that UT Jason Smith will be on Toronto's 25-man roster.

After I dropped the misses off at the airport this morning, I made the trek back to Knology Park, where most of the Jays' regulars were in attendance. Those who made the trip to Fort Myers, Fla., to play the Twins included Gustavo Chacin, Aaron Hill, Lyle Overbay, Jason Smith, Matt Stairs, John McDonald and Jason Phillips.

Not too many members of the Toronto press corps made the road trip, either. Why not? Jays starter A.J. Burnett made was on the hill at the Carpenter Complex -- Philadelphia's Minor League facility in Clearwater, Fla. -- for a Triple-A outing. Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi and some other members of the Jays' brass were at the Phils' site as well.

While at Knology, though, I spoke briefly with Brandon League. The reliever's velocity is way down and has League and Toronto's staff scratching their heads. Ricciardi said it stems from the fact that League has been throwing from a lower arm slot this spring. The Jays are going have the young pitcher work more with long toss to try and get him back on top of the ball. As League spoke about the issue, though, he sounded desperate to find a solution.

"We're hoping this is it. I don't think we're looking past, 'If this doesn't work,'" League said. "We've tried a lot of stuff this spring, and I'm banking on this one."

League appears a lock to begin the year on the 15-day DL, but there's no known timetable for his return. It all depends on whether or not he can get comfortable again with the higher arm slot, which isn't something that can't happen overnight.

HOW MANY OUTS ARE THERE? Burnett turned in 5 2/3 shutout innings, but was supposed to go six frames. In the fifth, he struck out a Phils' hitter and walked off the mound and headed for the dugout. Everyone followed him, which was no good, considering there were only two outs. The game went on, though.

"I've never seen that before -- never," Burnett laughed. "I just threw the pitch and it was a strike, and shoot, it felt like a good third strike for the third out. I guess they all followed me in. I don't know. Everybody was walking off at the same time. I'll take it -- save the pitch count."

TIDBITS: Infielder Ryan Roberts was tossed from the Triple-A game in the first inning for arguing a strike-three call -- except none of us standing behind the backstop could see or hear him arguing. Strange. Rob Cosby had to take over at shortstop and Erik Kratz moved to first base. ... Russ Adams belted to homers to right field off RHP Brett Myers, who is slated to start Opening Day for the Phils. ... RHP Tomo Ohka is now scheduled to pitch six innings on Sunday. ... RHPs Victor Zambrano (5 innings) and Casey Janssen (4 innings) and slated to pitch against the Yankees in Tampa tomorrow. ... Word is that the Jays will likely release or trade RHP John Thomson. That leaves Ohka, Towers, Zambrano and Janssen as the leaders in the race for the fourth and fifth rotation jobs. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Zambrano or Janssen (or both) could wind up in the 'pen, either. That doesn't mean Zambrano couldn't possibly make the rotation, though.

HE SAID IT: "I'm not up to date too well on the back end, but Ohka is throwing the ball well, and Josh has had a good spring. Even Janssen and Zambrano have been pitching well, too. There were a lot of questions early, but I think any of those guys you can pick and they'll fill in just fine. Me, Doc, and Gussy, and the other two are going to feed off of us. If the guys we have don't get it done, we have other options. I feel good about it. We're going to score runs." -- Burnett, on the current state of the rotation

That's all for now. I'll be in Tampa tomorrow. It could be a crucial start for Zambrano, and it'll be interesting to see how he does. Zambrano's done pretty well against a few of the Yankees' hitters over his career.

Philadelphia (7-13) at Toronto (7-10-2)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

PHILLIES
Michael Bourn, LF
Shane Victorino, CF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Wes Helms, 3B
Karim Garcia, 1B
Aaron Rowand, DH
Ron Calloway, RF
Carlos Ruiz, C

PITCHING: RHP Freddy Garcia

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith SS

PITCHING: RHP Josh Towers

NOTES: SS Royce Clayton sat out on Wednesday due to flu-like symptoms. ... RHP John Thomson has a sore right shoulder and he will undergo an MRI. He'll miss his next scheduled turn in the rotation. ... CL B.J. Ryan played catch on Wednesday and could be back on the mound by this weekend.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- John Thomson could've easily just headed out the clubhouse doors. Instead, he walked over to where Tomo Ohka stood, surrounded by reporters, and Thomson gave the Japanese pitcher a pat on the back -- the universal baseball sign for "Good job today."

With that, Ohka gave a nod and Thomson made his way toward the exit. The two pitchers are in direct competition with one another for a spot in Toronto's rotation, and over the past two weeks, Ohka has been cruising, while Thomson has been slipping.

On Monday, Ohka turned in another five strong innings -- this time against the Yankees in a 9-1 win at Knology Park. The right-hander gave up one run on three hits and three 64 pitches, including 37 strikes. Ohka allowed four runs in his first inning of the spring four outings ago, but he's yielded just one run in his last 13 frames.

Thomson, meanwhile, started in a Triple-A game on Monday and gave up six runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts in five innings. In his last two starts, the right-hander has given up 12 runs on nine hits over 8 2/3 innings.

After Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun was done speaking about Ohka's performance, he learned about Thomson's outing.

"They always say these things sort themselves out," said Zaun, referring to the competition. "But you hate to see it sorted out like that."

Ohka has been very impressive, though. He and Josh Towers appear to be the current leaders for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. On Monday, Ohka wasn't entirely pleased with his performance, but Zaun was raving about it.

"He'll come in the dugout every once in a while and talk about a pitch or rag on himself a little bit, saying, 'Oh, that was terrible,' or whatever," Zaun said. "But he's rolling right now. He's got a pretty good idea of what he's doing."

Against New York, Ohka wasn't able to use his sinker much because of the windy conditions. Instead, the righty turned more to his cutter and was extremely effective with it. During one at-bat against Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, Ohka even snuck in a slide step, which caught the hitter off guard.

"He actually did a slide step changeup on his own and ended up jamming A-Rod," Zaun said. "There wasn't any chance the guy was going to try to steal with A-Rod at the plate. But he used a quick move to the plate to be a little bit more deceptive to mess up his timing and it was really effective."

After discussing a few of Ohka's pitches, Zaun was asked how many different pitches the Japanese starter threw. Zaun chuckled and began to rattle them off.

"Let's see, sinker, four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball, split, change -- that's seven," Zaun said. "We try to make things simple. I don't have seven fingers on one hand, so I had to let him throw two pitches off of one sign."

One other thing that Zaun likes about Ohka is his ability to reach back for a little more on his fastball when he needs to. The pitcher tends to stay in the high 80s with his fastball, but Zaun said he can dial that up to 91 mph if the situation dictates it.

"He does what I wish more of our pitchers would do, which is to save a little something to reach back for when they need it," Zaun said. "Most of our guys are max effort all the time. You see five, six straight fastballs at 93, and when it's time to put somebody away, they have to go to the offspeed stuff instead of reaching back for a little something extra on the fastball."

Ohka is providing an easy decision for Toronto, which dished out $1.5 million for a one-year contract to sign the pitcher this past offseason. But there are still two weeks left this spring, and Towers, Thomson, Casey Janssen, and to a lesser extent, Victor Zambrano, are all in the running for starting jobs. It's more likely that Zambrano either begins in the bullpen, or begins in the Minors to stretch out more as a starter.

"It's going to be a tough decision. I can't see the decision being easy for anybody," Zaun said. "They've got a nice luxury. It's been a great camp and everybody's throwing the ball well and I don't envy the decision they have to make at the end of camp."

We'll all just have to stay tuned...

New York (11-6-1) at Toronto (6-10-2)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, DH
Melky Cabrera, CF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Todd Pratt, C
Bronson Sardinha, RF
Chris Basak, SS
Miguel Cairo, LF

PITCHING: RHP Jeff Karstens

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith, 3B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: RHP Tomo Ohka

NOTES: Closer B.J. Ryan has been sitting out this week due to a sore lower back, but it's not considered too serious, according to pitching coach Brad Arnsberg. ... RHP Pete Walker is taking a few days off to consider his future with the Jays. Toronto informed the reliever that there wasn't going to be room for him in the bullpen with the Jays or with Triple-A Syracuse to start the season, but that Walker could begin with Double-A New Hampshire or Class A Dunedin. Walker is coming back from surgery on his throwing shoulder. ... Arnsberg said the Blue Jays are leaning toward having reliever Brandon League start the season on the 15-day DL.

Toronto (6-9-2) at Houston (10-6)
at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Jason Smith, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Kevin Barker, 1B
Jason Phillips, C
John McDonald, SS
Jeff Duncan, CF
Ray Olmedo, 2B
A.J. Burnett, P

ASTROS
Craig Biggio, 2B
Adam Everett, SS
Lance Berkman, 1B
Carlos Lee, LF
Morgan Ensberg, 3B
Luke Scott, RF
Chris Burke, CF
Brad Ausmus, C
Roy Oswalt, P

NOTES: Burnett is scheduled to pitch five innings, followed by Geremi Gonzalez, Casey Janssen and Brian Tallet out of the bullpen. ... Tomo Ohka is slated to start against the Yankees on Monday, while John Thomson will pitch in a Minor League game. ... Brandon League may throw in a Minor League game on Toronto's off-day on Tuesday. ... Here is the police report from Gustavo Chacin's arrest.

Toronto's game against Cincinnati in Sarasota was rained out on Friday afternoon. Roy Halladay was scheduled to start, but he'll pitch in a Minor League game on Saturday now. Lefty Gustavo Chacin's regularly scheduled turn is also on Saturday, when the Jays host the Tigers. Toronto plans on holding Chacin back, though, since he's slated to start the third game against Detroit in the season's opening series.

Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Chacin will start the Jays' first three games. A starter for the fourth game hasn't been announced, but Halladay is scheduled to pitch in the fifth game of the year on Saturday, April 7 at Tampa Bay. That means the Jays won't need a fifth starter until April 8. That also means Burnett would be the starter for Toronto's home opener on April 9.

UPDATE: Blue Jays pitcher Gustavo Chacin was arrested early Friday morning for driving under the influence in Tampa, Fla.

Toronto confirmed a report on SI.com that said the left-hander was stopped by Tampa Police at 3:43 a.m. ET and booked on the misdemeanor charge. Police reports indicated that Chacin's blood alcohol level measured .150, which is much higher than the legal limit of .08. The pitcher was released on a $500 bond.

"The club is aware of the situation, but for us to say anything at this time would be premature," a team offifical said Friday night.

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Sometimes us sportwriters get so caught up in our lives working around the game that we forget why we got into it in the first place. Tonight provided a great opportunity to remind myself why I cover baseball.

Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater is a great spring training stadium, but its fatal flaw is its pressbox, especially for us visiting scribes who are forced into the second row. It's difficult to see the field with the thick dividers between each window. So, a few of us writers grabbed our notepads, pens and score sheets and headed outside. It was fun to actually sit outside and take in a game -- much like I did back in the days of simply being a fan.

Robert MacLeod of the Toronto Globe and Mail actually went down into the stands to sit with his son behind the Phils' dugout and he nearly got taken out by a flying bat. Philly outfielder Pat Burrell lost the grip on his bat on a swing and the lumber bounced off the top of the dugout and into the row in front of MacLeod. The bat injured one woman's hand, but Rob escaped unscathed.

INJURED LIST: Third baseman Troy Glaus received a cortisone shot in his left shoulder and is expected to miss a couple games. Toronto manager John Gibbons and a team official each said the injury wasn't serious. ... LHP Davis Romero, on the other hand, is out with a torn labrum. He had surgery on his shoulder on Thursday and will miss all of '07. ... After a brief visit to Minor League camp this morning, I learned that Travis Snider -- Toronto's top pick in last year's draft -- is out with a stiff lat muscle. He'll sit out of workouts and Minor League games for about a week.

THE RACE CONTINUES: RHP Josh Towers had another strong start on Thursday, giving up just one run over four innings against the Phils in an 11-6 win. He said he felt strong in the first two innings, when his slider was working well, but his command faltered in the third and fourth. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg said Towers felt his mechanics were slightly off, and they'd work on correcting the issue this week. Still, it was the third strong start in a row for Towers, who is in the mix for a rotation job.

HE SAID IT: "It's starting to define itself just a little bit. ... Hopefully, it comes down to the wire and it comes down to the last couple days. You always want your decisions to be tough decisions, because that usually means you've got four or five guys throwing the ball pretty well." -- Arnsberg, on the rotation competition

TAKE A LOOK AT: MLB.com's Lisa Winston stopped by Toronto's Minor League camp this past week. I sat down with Travis Snider this afternoon at the Bobby Mattick Training Center in Dunedin.

GO GREEN: My Michigan State Spartans "upset" Marquette today, 61-49, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tom Izzo is leading his troops into the Thrilling 32! OK, so there's no fancy name for the second round, but with UNC looming, I have to soak in this round-one victory while I can. I took some abuse for wearing my MSU hat to work today, too (whistling the fight song probably didn't help my cause).

CHEERS: Near the end of the Jays-Phils game, those of us in the pressbox were drawn to a TV for the end of the Duke-VCU NCAA tourney game. VCU hit a clutch shot at the end and the whole press corps burst into loud cheers -- loud enough that fans in the stands below were turned around, looking up at the pressbox to see what the heck was going on. Hilarious.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP: While sitting outside during the Jays game, struck up a conversation with a former NYPD officer who once upon a time worked Yankees home games. He said there was one game where he was stationed in the tunnel between the home dugout and the clubhouse, and Roger Clemens kept walking by him throughout his start. So, after Clemens strolled past him during one particular inning, the policeman thought it'd be nice to simply say, "Hello." Well, shortly thereafter, Clemens gave up a hit to ruin a no-hitter and he blamed the cop's mid-game greeting. The policeman was then forced to move to a different part of the stadium.

TAKING A BREAK: I won't be traveling to Sarasota for Friday's Jays game against the Reds. Roy Halladay will be pitching for Toronto, and the game update will be on bluejays.com. I'm taking the day off to try to shake this cough that keeps bugging me, and so I can pick up my wife from the airport. I'll also be taking Saturday off as well, but someone will be filling in for me for the home game against Detroit. I'll be back at it on Sunday for the Toronto game in Kissimmee versus Houston.

Stay tuned for more...

Toronto (5-8-2) at Philadelphia (6-7-1)
at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS
John McDonald, 3B
Josh Towers, P

PHILLIES
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Shane Victorino, RF
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Patt Burrell, LF
Wes Helms, 3B
Aaron Roward, CF
Carlos Ruiz, C
Cole Hamels, P

NOTES: Prior to Thursday's game against the Phillies, Toronto optioned RHP Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Syracuse. ... LHP Davis Romero has a torn labrum and was scheduled to undergo surgery on the shoulder on Thursday. Romero will be out for the season.

UPDATE -- 10:20 pm: Jays manager John Gibbons confirmed that Troy Glaus received a cortisone shot in his left shoulder and will miss a few games.

I wanted to apologize for the lack of posts here the past few days -- only putting the lineups and not having any postgame notes on the blog. Apparently, all this warm weather and sunshine has taken its toll on poor ol' Bastian. I've been battling a cold and sore throat the last few days and have been taking it as easy as I can. Let me tell you how it isn't much fun trying to conduct interviews when you've lost your voice.

Anyway, I'll try to pick up the slack here this week. I'm at Toronto's Minor League complex today, taking in some action before heading to Knology Park for BP, and then to Bright House Networks Field for the night game against the Phils. I had a nice chat with Minor League prospect Travis Snider today, and will be writing about that shortly.

For now, I hope you can forgive this ailing sportswriter for taking a few days off from the blog. I'll be updating more soon.

Cleveland (8-6-0) at Toronto (5-7-1)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

INDIANS
Josh Barfield, 2B
Franklin Gutierrez, LF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Ryan Garko, 1B
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Andy Marte, 3B
Mike Rose, C
Michael Aubrey, DH
Trevor Crowe, CF

PITCHING: Adam Miller

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
FranK Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: Tomo Ohka

The Jays and Indians also have a split-squad game in Winter Haven, Fla., but as you can see, Toronto's starters stayed home on Wednesday. Right-hander JohN Thomson started for the Jays on the road against righty Paul Byrd.

Boston (7-6-1) at Toronto (4-7-1)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

RED SOX
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Alex Cora, SS
Eric Hinske, 1B
Manny Ramirez, DH
Wily Mo Pena, LF
Brandon Moss, RF
David Murphy, CF
George Kottaras, C
Joe McEwing

PITCHING: RHP Kyle Snyder

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Matt Stairs, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Alex Rios, RF
Jason Smith, SS
Jason Phillips, C
Russ Adams, 2B
John McDonald, 3B

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett

Toronto (4-6-1) at Cincinnati (8-2-0)
at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Royce Clayton, SS
Aaron Hill, 2B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Troy Glaus, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C
Curtis Thigpen, DH
John-Ford Griffin, LF
Chad Mottola, RF
Jeff Duncan, CF

PITCHING: LHP Gustavo Chacin

REDS
Ryan Freel, CF
Alex Gonzalez, SS
Brandon Phillips, 2B
Adam Dunn, LF
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Jeff Conine, DH
Scott Hatteberg, 1B
Javier Valentin, C
Chris Denorfia, RF

PITCHING: RHP Matt Belisle

YAWN:

Roy Halladay 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 11 BF, 7 GO, 36 pitches (23 strikes)

Halladay is a baseball writer's best friend. The guy is about as steady as you can get, and works so dang quick. On Sunday, he threw 11 pitches in the first (man, he was struggling -- sarcasm), and then 8 in the second, 8 in the third and 9 in the fourth. Halladay is also an infielder's best friend:

"I love it. It keeps me in the game," said shortstop Royce Clayton, who scooped up four of the seven grounders Halladay induced. "It keeps everybody sharp and you're ready. His pace is great. He doesn't take a lot of time. He gets the ball, makes his pitches, and tries to get contact early. That's the key to getting deep into the ballgames."

Clayton couldn't have been more dead on. Over the past five seasons, games that Halladay has started has lasted an average of 2 hours, 37 minutes. That's the second-fastest average by any Major League over that span. Only White Sox lefty Mark Buehrle ranks better.

Halladay stuck mainly with his sinker and changeup again on Sunday. He also threw four curves. Halladay said he's confident in the break and the location of his curve, he just wants to build up more arm strength before throwing 20 each time out. He threw another six curves in the bullpen after his start.

No cut fastball yet, though. Excessive use of that pitch wound up sidelining Halladay in September with a right forearm strain. So he's holding off on using it much right now. He's started throwing it in the bullpen during side sessions, but it might be another start or two before he works the cutter into a game.

Minnesota (3-8-1) at Toronto (4-5-1)
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

TWINS
Denard Span, CF
Jeff Cirillo, 3B
Joe Mauer, C
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, LF
Glenn Williams, 1B
Matthew LeCroy, DH
Luis Rodriguez, 2B
Alexi Castilla, SS

PITCHING: LHP Glen Perkins

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson , LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Royce Clayton, SS
Russ Adams, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay

Josh Towers looked sharp in his second outing of Spring Training:

3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 10 BF, 27 pitches(18 strikes)

Jays manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Brad Arnsberg both say that Towers has looked nothing like the pitcher that went 1-9 with a 9.11 ERA out of the rotation last season. They see a much more relaxed, confident pitcher -- and, honestly, I'd have to agree. Towers isn't let bad pitches affect his mindset, and that was one of his major issues a year ago.

If he keeps up his current pace, Toronto will have a big decision to make at the end of Spring Training. Towers is scheduled to make $2.9 million in 2007, and he's a guy who logged 200 innings and won 13 games just two years ago. So far, he's done nothing to show he doesn't deserve a spot in the rotation, but it's still very early in Spring Training.

Dustin McGowan, on the other hand, did not look as sharp. The right-hander yielded three runs on four hits in two innings and saw his spring ERA jump to 10.80. Geremi Gonzalez pitched two scoreless frames, and Pete Walker allowed one run on two hits in one inning of work.

OTHER NOTES: Brandon League is scheduled to throw a fourth bullpen session on Sunday, when he'll begin working on breaking balls and splitters, too. He'll then have a 30-pitch BP session on Wednesday, followed by a Minor League game on Saturday. He still might not crack the Opening Day roster because of the time he's missed due to the lat injury, but he probably won't have a long stay in the Minors, either. ... Josh Towers and Jeff Duncan each had bunt singles against Braves pitcher Mark Redman in the third inning on Saturday. Gibbons told his pitchers not to swing at any pitches after seeing Atlanta hurler Mike Hampton injure his oblique during BP recently. ... When asked on Friday about the bullpen situation, GM J.P. Ricciardi said Casey Janssen could be an option: "I think we're just going to be really open-minded in putting our team together, and we'll break with the best guys who can give us a chance to get off to a good start."

OVERHEARD: "Hey, Frank Thomas! Someone over here wants your autograph. Hey, Hurt! Frank! Come sign this autograph over here." --Gibbons, sarastically yelling over to Jays reliever Tracy Thorpe in the dugout after Saturday's game when a fan mistook the pitcher for Toronto's DH

Toronto (4-4-1) at Atlanta (6-2-1)
at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Jeff Duncan, CF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Matt Stairs, 1B
Alex Rios, RF
Jason Smith, SS
Kevin Barker, LF
Jason Phillips, C
Ray Olmedo, 3B
Josh Towers, RHP

BRAVES
Kelly Johnson, 2B
Edgar Renteria, SS
Chipper Jones, 3B
Andruw Jones, CF
Brian McCann, C
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Scott Thorman, 1B
Matt Diaz, LF
Mark Redman, LHP

Houston at Toronto
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

ASTROS
Orlando Palmeiro, DH
Chris Burke, 2B
Mike Lamb, 1B
Morgan Ensberg, 3B
Luke Scott, RF
Jason Lane, CF
Hunter Pence, LF
Eric Munson, C
Eric Bruntlett, SS

PITCHING: LHP Wandy Rodriguez

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton

PITCHING: RHP John Thomson

NOTES: Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi told reporters Friday that he is not looking to trade Rios, especially for Phillies starter Jon Lieber. "You can blame Jeff Blair for all those Rios-for-Lieber rumors. You can write that," joked Ricciardi, giving the Globe and Mail writer a hard time. The Phillies covet Rios, but a deal might only be realistic if Philadelphia was willing to part with pitchers Cole Hamels or Brett Myers. Said Ricciardi: "They won't trade those guys." So, for now, you can put those rumors to bed. ... Outfield prospect Ryan Patterson did break his right forearm, and he could miss more than three months. ... For the first time, Toronto unveiled its projected regular-season lineup. ... The Blue Jays are high on infielder Ray Olmedo, who has a realistic chance of breaking camp with the big-league club.

FLAGGED: During batting practice, Toronto outfielder Matt Stairs, who is a native of New Brunswick, launched a baseball deep to right-center field. The ball hit the Canadian flag on a fly before disappearing behind the fence. "Pride," laughed Stairs afterward.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more...

UPDATE -- 9:38 pm: Ryan Patterson, one of Toronto's top outfield prospects, broke an arm when hit by a pitch during the game against Boston on Thursday. Last season, the 23-year-old Patterson hit .277 with 25 home runs and 89 RBIs in 133 games between high-Class A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire. He's Toronto's fourth-best prospect, according to Baseball America. There will be more details on Friday.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wait, there was a game in Fort Myers today? And it counted in the Grapefruit League standings? Huh, that's funny, because Toronto kept it's "A" squad back in Dunedin for a "B" game against the Phillies on Thursday. Neither myself, nor the majority of the Toronto press corps, made the trip to City of Palms Park. So, here's what went down at Knology Park instead:

Philadelphia at Toronto
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

PHILLIES
Michael Bourn, CF
Danny Sandoval, SS
Gregg Dobbs, LF
Jayson Werth, RF
Ron Calloway, DH
Jason Hill, 1B
Andrew Beattie, 2B
Michael Costanzo, 3B
Ryan Budde, C

PITCHING: Adam Eaton

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Alex Rios, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: A.J. Burnett

Thomas made his unofficial debut for the Blue Jays, going 1-for-3 with an RBI single in the first inning. Following an eight-pitch at-bat, Johnson led off the first with a single. He then moved to second on a base-hit by Rios, moved to third on a 6-4-3 double play, and then scored when Thomas roped a single up the middle.

"Hopefully it'll be over 100 [RBIs] for him, and over 100 [runs] for me. That'd be awesome," Johnson said afterward.

Johnson and Rios were also making their debuts in the field this spring. Johnson has been out with a sore lower back, which in turn was causing strain on his right oblique muscle, but he's been cleared to play. Rios has been bothered by a sore right shoulder, and has been serving as a DH. Now, he's cleared to play, too.

Burnett gave up three runs in three innings, and admitted to having trouble locating his fastball early on in the outing. He began mixing in a handful of curveballs, but the righty was focussing on his fastball and changeup in the start.

HOW HEAVY IS IT? You've probably read somewhere already about the piece of rebar that Thomas uses to warm up before each at-bat. It's a steel rod that is normally used to reinforce concrete. It's been estimated to weight anwhere between seven and 60 pounds.

An assistant trainer for the White Sox found it on a construction site in 1991 and brought it to Sarasota, which used to be Chicago's spring site. Thomas took to swinging it before at-bats and has used it over the last 17 years. When asked today how much the steel rod weighed, Thomas smiled and said, "Man, I don't know. It's heavy -- real heavy. Maybe 30 or 35 pounds?"

GOOD IMAGE OF THE DAY: Toronto outfielder Adam Lind grew up roughly four hours away from Chicago and he used to make trips to the Windy City to see Thomas play for the White Sox. Now, the 23-year-old rookie gets to share the locker room with the 6-foot-5, 275-pound slugger.

On Thursday, while Thomas signed autographs outside, team trainer George Poulis picked up the Big Hurt's bag to bring it into the clubhouse (he dropped the rebar in the process, causing Thomas and the crowd to let out a big laugh). Lind scooted over to pick up th rebar and carried it inside.

Later, Thomas sat in front of his locker, getting ready for his workout, and Lind stood nearby, striking up a conversation with the slugger. Lind was fidgeting back and forth, and he couldn't stop smiling while he talked with Thomas -- one of his childhood heroes. It was just a nice moment between a future Hall of Famer and a young up-and-comer.

THAT OTHER GAME: So the Jays did play that game against Boston after all. Tomo Ohka struck out two and gave up just one hit over three shutout innings. Utility man Jason Smith homered in his second straight game.

On deck: John Thomson is scheduled to pitch three innings and Victor Zambrano two against the Astros Friday afternoon in Dunedin. It'll also be Thomas' official debut.

The rumors have been flying ever since Phils GM Pat Gillick popped into Toronto's spring training site before the Grapefruit League schedule began. They picked up momentum when Gillick showed up at Knology Park last week. Now, the rumors have a full head of steam here at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater.

The rumor is that Gillick is extrememly high on Jays right fieleder Alex Rios, who isn't in attendance at today's game against the Phils. Possible scenarios being churned are Phils outfielder Aaron Roward and pitcher Jon Lieber for Rios, or for Rios and an unknown reliever. Phils are trying to get some more bullpen help.

Rios is under contract for $2.535 million this year and isn't eligible to be a free agent until after the 2010 season. Lieber and Roward are under contract for $7.5 million and $4.35 million, respectively, and both are free agents after this season.

Keep in mind, these are merely rumors at this point. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has said that he's not interested in dealing Rios, so it'd take a significant package to change his mind. But, when writers from both teams are saying they've heard things about the rumor, it makes you wonder how much validity there is to it.

Stay tuned for more...

Toronto at Philadelphia
at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Royce Clayton, SS
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Gregg Zaun, DH
Jason Phillips, C
Russ Adams, 2B
Jeff Duncan, LF

PITCHING: LHP Gustavo Chacin

PHILLIES
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Shane Victorino, RF
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Pat Burrell, LF
Wes Helms, 3B
Aaron Rowand, CF
Randall Simon, DH
Carlos Ruisz, C

PITCHING: RHP Brett Myers

NOTE: DH Frank Thomas will likely make his first spring appearance in Thursday's 10 a.m. B game (A.J. Burnett is pitching) against the Phils at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla. Thomas will make his first Grapefruit League start on Friday at home against the Astros.

Toronto at Detroit
at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla.

Today's lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Vernon Wells, CF
Alex Rios, DH
Adam Lind, LF
John Hattig, 3B
Michael Vento, RF
Kevin Barker, 1B
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: Roy Halladay

TIGERS
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Placido Polanco, 2B
Gary Sheffield, DH
Carlos Guillen, SS
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Craig Monroe, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Chris Shelton, 1B
Brandon Watson, CF

PITCHING: Mike Maroth

Blue Jays tie! Blue Jays tie! Blue Jays tie! Ah, the sweet sound of the P.A. blaring from the speakers at a Spring Training game, telling the crowd that the game will end in a tie. Only in March. Toronto and Pittsburgh played to an 8-8, 10-inning deadlock on Monday afternoon.

No wins or losses, but Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells did smack his first homer of the spring and Jays starter Josh Towers looked solid in his spring debut as well. Towers went two innings, giving up one run on one hit with two strikeouts. The one hit? A solo homer by Pirates 1B Brad Eldred.

"We had an idea of what we wanted to do and I kind of got ahead of myself a little bit," said Towers, referring to the errant pitch to Eldred. "My left shoulder opened up, my right hand stayed behind, and it just went right down the middle."

Other than that, though, Towers looked like a pitcher in control -- much different that the guy who "was pitching scared" last season with Toronto. Against Pitt, Towers threw 27 pitches, including 19 strikes. Three of his outs came via grounders.

Last season, when Towers went 1-9 with a 9.11 ERA in his 12 starts, he said he was overthinking all the time. He was worrying too much on his mechanics and his mind raced at an increasingly rapid rate before every pitch as the losses began to pile up. Also, Towers said that he was trying to impress the new players on Toronto's roster at the time.

"Looking back on it a little bit, I wanted to impress the new guys. I wanted to impress Troy [Glaus] and Lyle [Overbay]. I wanted to throw with Bengie [Molina]," Towers said. "Maybe [my contract] was in the back of my mind, but I didn't think that. I wanted to look good for those guys I had played against -- that's so stupid."

LEAGUE UPDATE: Brandon League threw fastballs off a mound for about five minutes at Knology Park on Monday. It was the right-hander's first time on a mound in 10 days, and he said afterwards that the right lat injury that's sidelined him so far this spring wasn't an issue. In fact, League said he has no doubts that he can be ready by Opening Day.

League -- the leading candidate for Toronto's setup man role -- will play catch again on Tuesday and said he'd back on a mound in a couple days. League estimated that he'd throw two or three more bullpen sessions before throwing to hitters.

ON DECK: Roy Halladay will head to Lakeland, Fla., to start against the Tigers in a 1:05 p.m. ET tilt at Joker Marchant Stadium. Until then, stay tuned for more...

Pirates vs. Blue Jays
at Knology Park in Dunedin, Fla.

Today's lineups:

PIRATES
Chris Duffy, CF
Andrew McCutchen, LF
Michael Ryan, DH
Brad Eldred, 1B
Chris Aguila, RF
Ronny Paulino, C
Jose Bautista, 3B
Jose Hernandez, SS
Eddie Garabito, 2B

PITCHING: Zach Duke, Brian Rogers, Josh Sharpless, Salomon Torres, Dave Davidson (born in Richmond Hill, Ontario), and Franquelis Osaria

BLUE JAYS
Royce Clayton, SS
Gregg Zaun, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, RF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Adam Lind, LF
Jason Phillips, C

PITCHING: Josh Towers, B.J. Ryan, Jason Frasor, Pete Walker, Jeremy Accardo, Matt Roney, Jean Machi (subject to change with the rainout the other day)

Toronto played a B game against the Phillies this morning at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla. The game doesn't count in terms of the Grapefruit League standings or statistics.

Dustin McGowan started for the Jays and allowed no runs on two hits in two innings. McGowan threw 49 pitches -- 29 for strikes -- and he walked three, struck out two and hit one batter. The two hits he gave up were an infield single and a single through the hole between first and second that came on a hit-and-run.

Casey Janssen also pitched two innings for the Jays and looked very sharp. He threw 26 pitches, including 20 for strikes. Janssen gave up two hits and struck out four, including Phil's Aaron Roward and Pat Burrell. Toronto second baseman Russ Adams belted a two-run homer off Philadelphia starter Freddy Garcia in the third.

It's game time at Knology. Stay tuned for more...

Well, Jo Matumoto finally made his debut with the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, the ol' fairytale ending to his story is going to have to be postponed. Matumoto -- the Brazilian pitcher of Japanese descent Toronto signed recently -- entered the game in the bottom of the ninth and wound up giving up two runs on one hits in 1/3 of an inning. The 36-year-old lefty walked three and hit another batter.

Nerves were likely a factor. Could you blame him for being nervous? The guy toiled away in the industrial leagues in Japan and then on teams in Brazil before FINALLY getting a shot at making a big-league team. He won't make Toronto's roster, but simply a call-up to The Show at some point would make his a tremendous success story.

Seeing Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg head out to the mound for a visit with Matumoto was interesting in itself. Toronto had infielder Ray Olmedo, who speaks Spanish and English, translate Arnsberg's words for Matumoto, who speaks Portugese, Spanish and Japanese. Quite a sight.

John Thomson, Shaun Marcum and Victor Zambrano all looked good. After his outing, Zambrano actually said he believes he could leave Spring Training as a starter. That forced smiles from Arnsberg and Jays manager John Gibbons, who know it's probably not realistic, but who like hearing the pitcher has that kind of attitude. He's a little over nine months removed from reconstructive elbow surgery.

Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay, 7-4, but we all know wins and losses in the spring don't carry much weight. Before the game, Gibbons was meeting with reporters in the dugout and pointed at Adam Lind as he walked by: "There's boy wonder," Gibbons said with a chuckle. Well, Boy Wonder added another triple in Sunday's game. Catcher Curtis Thigpen chipped in a two-run homer in the ninth.

All right, that's all for now. I'm sitting outside in the open-air "pressbox" at Progress Energy Park in St. Pete, where I can see sailboats drifting along in the bay as the sun sets behind me. Time to call it a day...

Blue Jays vs. Devil Rays
at Progress Energy Park in St. Petersburg

Today's Lineups:

BLUE JAYS
John McDonald, SS
Adam Lind, LF
Russ Adams, 2B
John-Ford Griffin, RF
Jason Phillips, C
John Hattig, 1B
Jason Smith, 3B
Robinzon Diaz, DH
Jeff Duncan, CF

PITCHING: John Thomson starting; Shaun Marcum and Victor Zambrano also scheduled to pitch; and maybe the first pro appearance by Jo Matumoto.

DEVIL RAYS
Rocco Baldelli, CF
Delmon Young, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Ty Wigginton, DH
Jorge Cantu, 2B
Greg Norton, 1B
Akinori Iwamura, 3B
Dioner Navarro, C
Ben Zobrist, SS

PITCHING: Jae Kuk Ryu -- most famous for killing an osprey while pitching for the Daytona Cubs a few years ago.

NOTES FROM PREGAME:

• A.J. Burnett will not travel to Fort Myers to take on Boston on Thursday. Don't worry, nothing's wrong. The Jays have a B game against the Phillies at 10 a.m. in Dunedin that day, too. Burnett is scheduled to pitch three innings in that non-Grapefruit League contest.
• Right-handers Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen are scheduled to pitch in the B game against the Phils at 10 a.m. on Monday in Clearwater.
• Jason Smith -- Toronto's Rule 5 Draft pick up -- started at third base, but Jays manager John Gibbons plans on moving him to the outfield later in the game. Smith is trying to make Toronto's roster as the super utility player.
• Left fielder Reed Johnson received a cortisone shot in his back to help alleviate the stiffness. He played catch on Saturday and will begin taking BP soon. There's no need to rush him into games when his back is tight this early in spring.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more postgame...

On Wednesday, it could've just been a coincidence. Phils GM Pat Gillick showed up at the Bobby mattick Training Center and chatted for a little while with Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi (left).

Gillick still has ties to people within Toronto's organization from his time as the Jays GM, and he's made many trips over to Bobby Mattick over the years. The fact that he showed up wasn't a huge surprise.

Then there was Saturday. Us scribes were busy typing away and taking in the Toronto-Tampa Bay game and there was Gillick again, watching the action from the back corner of the pressbox. Now, it's starting to seem a little fishy.

It could mean nothing. It could mean something. Believe what you want about the two visits. What it seems like, though, is that there could be something behind it. Philadelphia is looking for bullpen help and Toronto has some arms that it could make available. The Jays and Phils have also scheduled a pair of B games -- 10 a.m. each on March 5 and 8 in Clearwater and Dunedin, respectively -- and Toronto will likely have some of its younger pitchers throwing in those games.

There's also the fact that the Phils seem willing to deal starter Jon Lieber, and various reports have them also interested in Jays right fielder Alex Rios. A Rios-for-Lieber seems like a stretch, though. It makes sense in this way: If Phils got Rios (or Reed Johnson for that matter), they could try to breathe life into the Aaron Roward-to-Padres-for-Scott Linebrink deal.

Dealing Rios in that situation seems unlikely, especially now that Toronto has added pitching depth with John Thomson, Tomo Ohka and Victor Zambrano. But the visits have been made, the games are scheduled, and the rumors and reports are there. So I guess we'll wait and see what happens.

POSTGAME: Toronto is no longer undefeated and you can blame the rain. The Jays and Rays ended their Saturday contest after six innings when it began pouring harder. Tampa Bay was ahead, 5-4, at the time and that's all she wrote.

A.J. Burnett looked solid, sticking to fastballs and changeups over two innings. He gave up a solo homer to Jonny Gomes in the first, but Gomes also went deep in the third. It happens.

Burnett's line: 2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 K.

Tomo Ohka didn't look so good. He was throwing strikes, but leaving the ball up. It's way too early to make a formal judgement on his performance, but it wasn't a good start.

Ohka's line: 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB.

Troy Glaus nearly had two homers. He sent one pitch from lefty Scott Kazmir well over the wall in left center for a two-run shot in the first. Glaus then went off the wall in center in the third for a double. Don't forget about the ball that sailed just foul in the spring opener. Glaus is locked in right now.

Rios also continued his hot hitting, sending a double to the right-center gap in the second. Toronto manager John Gibbons said Rios (sore shoulder) has been throwing and could be back in right field by the beginning of next week. DH Frank Thomas should be in the lineup on March 9, and Reed Johnson (sore lower back) will be out "a little longer."

As for Brandon League and his strained lat? There's isn't a clearcut answer right now. He's been throwing off flat ground, but Gibbons isn't sure when he'll be back on a mound:

"He's got to get off the mound pretty soon in the bullpen, because sooner or later we have to find out what's going on. That way we can go to Plan B if we have to."

So, when does Plan B come into play? One week? Two?

"You tell me. I mean, it won't be long."

With that, stay tuned for more...

The Devil Rays have just finished batting practice and we're gearing up for Game 3 of Toronto's exhibition season. Sorry for no entries the last couple days, but I'm back. Here are the lineups for today's game:

TAMPA BAY:
B.J. Upton, 2B
Brendan Harris, SS
Jonny Gomes, LF
Elijah Dukes, CF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Hee-Soep Choi, DH
Dustan Mohr, RF
Joel Guzman, 3B
Josh Paul, C

PITCHING: Scott Kazmir, Al Reyes, Seth McClung, among others

TORONTO:
Royce Clayton, SS
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Troy Glaus, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Alex Rios, DH
Chad Mottola, RF
Rob Cosby, LF

PITCHING: A.J. Burnett, Tomo Ohka, Blaine Neal, Ismael Ramirez, Francisco Rosario, Pete Walker, and maybe Josh Banks

As you can see, Rios is still in as the DH. I didn't make the trip to Fort Myers for the game against Boston yesterday, but Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said it could be a week or two before Rios is back in the outfield. There's definitely no reason to play him in right with a tender shoulder at this point, especially with Frank Thomas sitting the first week, too. It would make sense to transition Rios back into right field when Thomas is back in as the DH.

I did make it to Toronto's workout at Knology Park yesterday morning. I spoke with Reed Johnson about his stiff back. He said he began feeling it when he played in one of the intrasquad games earlier in the week, but it wasn't a big deal. He expected to be back in the mix in a few days. Again, this early in spring, there's no need to risk anything -- might as well rest him for a few days.

The Jays aren't sending many regulars over to St. Pete for Sunday's tilt against the D-Rays. Hill, Jason Phillips and Jason Smith are the only position players on the projected Opening Day roster who are making the trip. The pitchers that are going include John Thomson, Shaun Marcum, Victor Zambrano, Brian Tallet, Jo Matumoto, Ryan Houston and maybe Banks. Josh Towers is scheduled to start on Monday.

That's all for now. It's been drizzling here on and off, so hopefully we can et this game in. Right now it's just cloudy and cold enough to make the sportswriters moan about not bringing their jackets. Poor us, huh.

Stay tuned for more...