7th inning: Jays at Rays

Trever Miller worked the top of the seventh for the Rays and he's working on another one of those pesky no-decision streaks, because he's not going to get one today. Then came the seventh-inning stretch, and while there's no popcorn or Cracker Jacks in sight here in the press box, there are a couple of lonely hot dogs wrapped in foil, sitting on the end of the table where they keep the game notes, lineups and such. Those hot dogs have been out there for awhile, and this is the kind of crowd that usually doesn't let sleeping hot dogs lie, so all I can say is the weather must be having a strange effect on all of us.

Personally, I've been on a diet for so long that I can't even remember what hot dogs taste like, but I knew that was still going to be one of the toughest parts of spring training for me...just saying no to the dog. I'm not tempted by those two stragglers on the table...really...not much, anyway. But I'm typing about them, which means I'm thinking about them. Baseball without hot dogs, it's going to take awhile to get my head around it. But I've lost 40 pounds since the fall, and there's no reason to start sliding back into old habits now.

The Natural came up to bat in the bottom of the inning. Evan Longoria, anyway. It's my first time seeing him in person, and it's not an at-bat I'll remember, a swinging strikeout. Looks like he's staying in the field for the top of the eighth, so with any luck I'll get another glimpse before this one's over. For now, it's still 4-3 Blue Jays.