Note: Confirmed via Sportsnet, which is owned by the same people who own the Jays thus I'd put this in 100% official status.
Opening day for the Jays is next Tuesday. Opening day for most teams is next Monday. The Jays have four games left in Florida and two in Philadelphia as they make their way back to Toronto. The roster is now getting clearer:
Brett Lawrie will start the season on the DL.
The Jays will likely start the season with an 8 man bullpen. The Jays think it will be easier to get Jeremy Jeffress through waivers a week into the season than it will be just before opening day.
Henry Blanco has made the roster, Josh Thole is headed to Buffalo.
Brad Lincoln has also been optioned to Buffalo, he has been nursing a sore shoulder.
Jack Morris is the new Alan Ashby. Morris will be the play by play guy on radio and cover on TV when Buck or Tabler are on vacation.
Is this good? I don't know, has anyone ever heard Jack do analysis?
Meanwhile Sportsnet announced their spring training coverage....six TV games starting February 23rd, and all the games on radio or web.
I'm not sure why. Because he's a Yankee? No, I made an eight foot wide dollar bill with his face on it to heckle him when he was still a Ranger. Because of the absurd amount of money? Well, maybe. And maybe because of the swagger and public persona, or my impression of them.
But I softened a bit when I heard that he had a painting of himself as a Minotaur. Who can't relate to dreams of being a Minotaur?
The Atlanta Braves have agreed to a trade to acquire outfielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Randall Delgado, infielder Martin Prado and minor leaguers Nick Ahmed, Brandon Drury and Zeke Spruill, sources tell ESPN.
So, what effect will Atlanta's Double-Upton OF have on the National League East race, Bauxites?
Stan "the Man" Musial, one of baseball's greatest (and arguably, most under-appreciated) hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades, died Saturday. He was 92.
Musial won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s. Read the full story here in ESPN.com.
Read more from Batter's Box's finest veteran, Dan "Magpie" McIlroy ... The Man
A pinch hit from earlweaver fan.....appropriate.
Every reader of Battersbox old enough to follow baseball in the sixties through eighties will have their own reasons for honouring Earl Weaver, one of the most wonderful personalities in baseball and among the most successful. Here are my personal top ten reasons:
In no particular order, here are some of the unpublished compensation suggestions put forward by Jeff Frye on behalf of Darren Oliver: