The cold hard facts

At first glance, they trailed, rallied, and then the NBA Jerseys bullpen spit the bit, leading to the first of many losses that Jays fans will have to endure in Cito Gaston's final year in charge.
So what can we take from the first setback?
Well, Ricky Romero put in two innings of work, throwing 29 pitches, one less than the 15 per inning that I like to see, surrendering a single run on a solo home run. After the sophomore left-hander stepped, they ran out five relievers, with only Josh Roenicke being on the radar for an Opening Day. Nothing to wring your hands about there.
Offensively, some good: Aaron Hill stole a pair of bases, while new catcher John Buck drove in their first run of the spring. As we witnessed after his arrival last season, Randy Ruiz did what he does best with a two hits in three at-bats. And now the bad: Travis Snider struck out twice in two at-bats, leaving three runners on base.
My second-favourite day of the year came and went on Wednesday. The Blue Jays opened their 2010 Grapefruit League season with a 7-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers in a game played in temperatures more akin to October in Minneapolis, which is exactly where they'll close out the 2010 regular season. So, at least they got to work on bundling up for warmth.

With not much expected of the 34th edition of the Blue Jays, picked by many to finish in the basement of the ultra-competitive A.L. East, this spring will used to take long looks at a variety of pitchers and hitters. At present, the Jays have 37 pitchers in camp to go with 29 position players. It seems that Cito's greatest challenge will be to get everybody into games to properly evaluate just what they all can do.

Surprisingly, for a team that not a lot is expected of, there really are very few jobs up for grabs this spring. The makeup of the rotation is one area in flux because, as usual, the health of their starters is being monitored on a daily basis. Brett Cecil, a strong candidate for the fourth or fifth spot, had to miss his first Grapefruit League appearance with a cut on his pitching hand. Scott Richmond, who made 24 starts in 2009, is in limbo after he came down with a sore shoulder at the beginning of camp.
One spring game down with 28 more to go before the regular season starts in a month in Arlington, Texas. At least the weather will be a little warmer... fingers crossed.
A trio of other starters - Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch - are all coming off serious surgeries to their pitching arms and are at different levels on their roads to recovery. Marcum, by all indications, should be good to go to start the regular season, but nothing can be confirmed until he faces some Major League-calibre hitting.
At the plate, it appears that John Buck (C), Lyle Overbay (1B), Aaron Hill (2B), Alex Gonzalez (SS), Edwin Encarnacion (3B), Adam Lind (LF/DH), Vernon Wells (CF), and Jose Bautista (RF/3B) all have guaranteed jobs. OF Travis Snider, as we've heard Alex Anthopoulos and Gaston say, will have to play his way onto the roster to be an everyday player, or he'll play in AAA. That leaves only four spots available, although magic glove man John McDonald will be the utility infielder and free-agent catcher Jose Molina has the inside track on the backup catcher job. Joey Gathright will get a long look as a bench player on a team that lacks speed.
I'm hoping that 1B/DH Randy Ruiz doesn't get squeezed out by the numbers because, quite frankly, this cat can rake. Let's not forget that between Las Vegas and Toronto last season, Ruiz had 35 home runs to go with 123 RBI. And despite limited action in the majors, his pro-rated numbers over a 162-game schedule come out to 32 HR and a .299 average. On a team that was offensively challenged a year ago, those numbers can't be ignored. And on a team that is also financially challenged, his minimum salary should also not be overlooked. Perhaps, if Overbay's offensive numbers continue to nose-dive, the Jays should consider a straight platoon at first base involving Ruiz.
As for the bullpen, one of the few positives last season, it's basically status quo with the only new face being Kevin Gregg. The former Cubs closer will compete with Jason Frasor and Scott Downs to be the main man in the ninth inning. The one thing that having all these arms in camp means is that they will definitely have depth should injuries come into the equation. The Jays have already had one arm go on the 60-day DL as Scott Richmond was placed on the 60-day DL on Thuersday.