Spring Training Gameday Thread, #24/25: 3/17 vs. White Sox/@ Rangers

Two games on St. Patrick’s Day to follow. Getting under way at five minutes past the hour will be the road portion of proceedings. where Robbie Ray starts against the Rangers in Surprise. And then a few minutes later, at Salt River Fields, the White Sox are the visitors. Zack Greinke is pitching there, and the Brute Squad will be in attendance to ensure Chicago players are given a warm welcome. Me? I’m staying out of the way for now. We got a new bed base which needs to be assembled, and I will shortly be called upon to assist with the assemblage thereof. I’ve already lugged the old one out of the way, and I hear the sultry sounds of Mrs. SnakePit vacuuming in the distance. Probably why the cat has vanished.

It’s interesting to see the two candidates for Opening Day starter, both pitching on the same day. No way to tell from that who will be getting the nod in 11 days time. Alex Avila is operating as Greinke’s “personal catcher” this time, though there seems some doubt as to whether anyone will be filling the role during the regular season. There are going to be some interesting roster decisions as we get closer to Opening Day, but I imagine we’ll try to hang onto those players who are out of options, for as long as possible. That way, we’ll have the best chance of sneaking them through waivers. Right now, we don’t even know what the roster construction will be.

The White Sox game is on the radio, 98.7 Arizona Sports. For the other game, you might have luck if you have access to the road feed, one way or another... And finally, I’ll just leave this here: