Top of 4th inning: Jays at Rays

Don't know if Joe Maddon is punishing Edwin Jackson or what, but he just worked the fourth. The weather, the Jays' lineup, the fact that so few people are in the stands...this is still spring training, right?

The good news, no more runs for the Blue Jays. I like to joke about Edwin Jackson because, well, the guy went 5-15 last season, but I'll be the first to admit the kid looks like he has some serious upside. There's no question he has a big-league heater, although I couldn't tell you about the rest of his stuff. I couldn't tell you why he got whacked around like a pinata last season (our regular Rays beat writer, Roger Mooney, would be better at that, having witnessed a great deal of that carnage first-hand), but I do know that getting knocked down is all part of the process for young pitchers — for young players in general, for that matter.

It's why, despite all his shiny new impressiveness, third base prospect Evan Longoria remains such an unknown for the Rays. The organization really hasn't seen him fail yet. And you know he will, at some point. But it's how he picks himself up that will determine what kind of future he has in this game.

Same thing with Jackson, I suppose. I remember watching (and covering) the Braves back when they finally shook off three decades of losing and started to turn the corner with Glavine, Smoltz, Avery, that whole crew. As good as Glavine and Smoltz were for the Braves in the early 90s, they got creamed — I'm talking 5-15 Edwin Jackson-type creamed — when they were first thrown out there. All part of the process. When they came back, they had swagger. Here's hoping the same is true for Jackson and the rest of the Rays.