File this game in the recycle bin

It occurred to me that with Danny Knobler and Tom Gage on vacation until this weekend, I’m the lone blogger for the time being, so I should probably be more diligent about filing this. Hopefully somebody’s reading.

Jim Leyland said after the game that he wouldn’t judge any pitcher or hitter on this game the way the wind was blowing out, and I can’t blame him. Ramon Santiago’s hitting the ball great, but don’t look at his second home run of the spring and think he’s a power hitter. Leyland said again today how much he likes him, though.

Zumaya pitched pretty well despite the homers. You can tell Leyland loves the way he gets ahead of hitters, though he struggled to finish them off on this day. He’s like Bonderman in that he finds a quick rhythm when things are going well. He can also long toss about as far as any pitcher I’ve seen in five years on this beat.

A lot of folks have asked about Josh Phelps and his chances of making the team, and to be honest, I can’t see how it would happen unless one of the first basemen is traded. But he’s really showing something the way he hits the ball. He singled in his first two at-bats, giving him six consecutive hits, and they were both legit, well-placed ground balls. He said this morning that he considers himself a doubles hitter with some power, not a big-time power hitter, and that’s the way you want a hitter to think if he has any chance of succeeding at Comerica Park.

For those of you planning to watch Thursday’s game against the Yankees on FSN, you’ll be able to watch Leyland and most of the veterans. Leyland had planned to make all the road games, including Thursday’s split-squad against the Nationals in Viera, but he was "encouraged" to stay at home for this one. We’ll see if that’s enough to get some eyes off of the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon. Haven’t heard whether or not he’ll be wearing a microphone.

Not many regulars going to St. Petersburg tomorrow — Nook Logan might be the only one, in fact — but I’ll be there. Hopefully I can find a good place for dinner there near the ballpark after the game so I can wait out the rush hour traffic. I’ll take suggestions if there are any ideas.