Bunk and McNulty will not attend Globe and Mail's Spring Training Pajama Party

Tragic news out of Tampa: Jeff Blair blogs that upon arriving at the Globe and Mail's Spring Training digs, he discovered that Globe Junior did not ensure that the condo was fully equipped with HBO. As a result, there's no season five of The Wire for our boys on the beat.

Blair also reports that the temptation to lean on the horn while driving past local golf courses may be too much to resist. (And learning that he'd engage in those sorts of shenanigans is exactly why he remains our favorite Blue Jays beat writer.)

Fasano Wants Respect, Playing Time, Mustache Grooming Kit
In the next episode of the continuing saga of "J.P. Ricciardi: Liar or Full of Shit?", Sal Fasano told Globe Junior yesterday that he had a "verbal agreement" with the Jays GM that he would be the backup catcher this year. Fasano noted that if he'd known that the team was going to sign Rod Barajas, he would have "explored other options".

As much antipathy as Ricciardi has engendered in recent weeks, and as much as Pal Sal is a lovable guy, we're going to have to go ahead and side with J.P. on this one. It's doubtful that any of the 29 other teams would view Fasano as anything more than a third option as catcher. Moreover, J.P.'s job is to put the best team on the field possible, and not necessarily to appease the marginal players on the roster.

It's entirely possible that Fasano heard what he wanted to hear from the Jays brass when signing his deal. And to be completely frank, anyone signing a one-year minor league deal with a team shouldn't view that as a guarantee of a spot on the 25-man roster.