After a dark and chilly week here at Shea, at least the sun is shining this afternoon (50 degrees at first pitch). As manager Willie Randolph put it this morning, "Today's a heat wave." That's pushing it, but the bizarre conditions so far this spring might have persuaded Randolph to join the global warming camp. "I've got to watch that Al Gore special," he said. "What's it called again?"
Answer: An Inconvenient Truth.
On the baseball front, Endy Chavez gets his first start of the season, subbing for Moises Alou in leftfield. Chavez had only two at-bats in the first 10 games, so he was due. Ramon Castro also is starting in place of Paul Lo Duca, which is only natural for a matinee game following a late night Friday.
Had to ask Mike Pelfrey what possessed him to select Asia's "Only Time Will Tell" as his theme song for his season debut Friday night. The truth is Pelfrey didn't pick it. He admitted to not being much of a music fan -- hard to believe for a 23-year-old -- and couldn't even come up with a favorite song. When asked what he listens to in the car, Pelfrey said he has XM radio and just leaves it tuned to the Top 20 station.