Road to nowhere (i.e. St. Petersburg)

A 90-minute adventure on the way over here this morning. This is what happens when two guys who've only been on the beat a year (myself and the Globe's Rob MacLeod) decide to car pool.

First, I forget my credentials. Then we took our first of many incorrect detours. Then I got to the end of Robbie's scribbled directions and the last two words read,Cheap DC shoes hats, 'Tropicana Field', which is not where today's game is taking place. The Rays play their spring games at Al Lang Field.

Then in the midst of our reasonable decision to 'find the water' we lost the Gulf of Mexico which is,Boston Red Sox Hats Sale, like, really big. We wandered into one of Tampa's many unsavoury neighbourhoods ("If we get rear ended,Pittsburgh Pirates Hats, I'm not stopping,Baltimore Orioles Hats," MacLeod said while I got ready to use my laptop as a bludgeon). Then we finally found someone chopping weeds off a phone pole (no word of a lie) who pointed us in the right direction.

Jeff Blair,Cheap Chicago White Sox Hats, who was still getting out of bed when MacLeod left, was standing on the field as we walked in.

"Is that Blair down there?,HOT Styles Sale!" MacLeod says, aghast. Seriously, I have to take the lion's share of the blame for this mess. I actually told him,Detroit Tigers Hats, Left, and it was, like, totally wrong. Sorry, Robbo.

LATE ADDITION: Blair now informs me of our fourteenth mistake. That's not the Gulf of Mexico. It's Tampa Bay. Oh.

PRE-GAME

Dustin McGowan getting the start. To commemorate the occasion, and McG's home state of Georgia, our song of the day is Peaches' Downtown. I also choose this song because I really do need someone to 'take me downtown' - downtown St. Pete's - though not exactly in the way Peaches means it.

At some point, one assumes that baseball will start happening. Check yesterday's post for today's starting line-up, featuring our first look at Shannon Stewart.

12:45 - The only thing with the outdoor pressbox here (and it's a mere quibble,Cheap New York Yankees Hats, sitting out here with the fans is fantastic) is the proximity of the PA system and the artistic merits of 'Walking on Sunshine' - which are few. This the Rays last year spending their spring at the beautiful Al Lang field. Next year, they move down to distant Port Charlotte (I'm already worrying about the traffic).

The current site of Al Lang will become the Rays new big-league ballpark by 2012. It should be spectacular, though without a dome, it might get a tad windy in there during the frequent tropical storms. Right now,Apparel, they have a small stamp of a home plate sitting in shallow right field, where the actual home plate will soon be. Since that's only about 300 ft. from the water,cheap Montreal Expos Hats, we're assuming they're thinking landfill here.

LINE-UPS

Toronto

1 - Johnson (CF)
2 - Stewart (LF)
3 - Rios
4 - Hill
5 - Scutaro
6 - Barajas
7 - Adams
8 - McDonald
9 - Thigpen
SP: McGowan

Tampa Bay

1 - Akinori Iwamura
2 - Carl Crawford
3 - Carlos Pena
4 - Cliff Floyd
5 - Rocco Baldelli
6 - Willy Aybar
7 - Hector Gimenez
8 - Jason Bartlett
9 - Fernando Perez
SP: James Shields

No Evan Longoria for the Rays. Bummer

First pitch to be thrown out by newsman Sam 'Brows' Donaldson. Saw him close-up earlier. I swear to you - that hair is real.

MacLeod leans over to remind me that his first name is spelled 'Robby' not 'Robbie'. This is what I need in my life - another editor.

THE GAME

1:00 - Donaldson reaches home plate. Kudos.