Blue Jays: Jose Reyes injury devastating to best laid plans: Griffin

The Blue Jays may have won the game on Friday night in Kansas City, but if ever there was a sporting definition of Pyrrhic Victory, this was it. The Jays won that battle but ultimately may have lost the war, as during that 8-4 victory their most important player, shortstop Jose Reyes, was lost to devastating injury.

Beginning from Day 1 of spring training back in mid-February, it had already become clear that the one player the Blue Jays could least afford to lose from their revamped, ready to compete 2013 roster was their all-star leadoff man Reyes.

A nightmare scenario of life without Reyes became painful reality on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium after Reyes injured his left ankle, in an ugly, awkward slide at second base caused by indecision. He thought there was a foul ball. He usually goes in headfirst. Amidst tears of pain and frustration, Reyes' ankle was immobilized, he was carted off the field and left the ballpark in a wheelchair talking on his cellphone, likely reassuring family and friends that he would be alright. Teammates were stunned. 

The report following an MRI in Kansas City is that Reyes has a badly sprained ankle that at the moment will not require surgery. The estimate if all goes well is that the starry shortstop will be available after the all-star break in mid to late July. 

Not only is Reyes the best defender on the team at his position, he is the type of prototypical leadoff batter that the Jays have been missing for years, maybe since Otis Nixon -- and he pales by comparison. Reyes brought a passion and joy to the clubhouse that resulted, ultimately, in a similar focus to Jose Bautista once the game started, giving young Jays two role models to emulate at complete opposite ends of the leadership spectrum. And just as the Jays sorely missed Bautista when he was absent and rehabbing in the second half last season, so will they miss Reyes when he leaves to rehab his injury.

Where do the Jays go from here? For the moment, Bautista has offered his services as a third baseman, at which he is above average, but he is also the Jays' right fielder of the present and future and Rajai Davis is less than adequate as an everyday outfielder.

The first thing GM Alex Anthopoulos must do, then, is accelerate his timeline for third baseman Brett Lawrie, who finally had returned to game action on Thursday in Dunedin after a slow rehab of his injured left oblique. Lawrie had suffered the rib injury on March 6 in Phoenix and had surprised people, negatively, with the amount of time that it took him to feel comfortable enough to return to playing in a game.

Lawrie had suffered a similar injury to his opposite, right side in 2012, attempted to play through the pain and then likely attempted to come back too soon. He had reached the point, personally, this year where he preferred be too careful, as he explained, waiting until his left side felt just like his right. The Jays will place their baseball order from the only menu available, and are hoping that two good sides come with their order, even if they have to pay a premium in terms of patience with less than optimum offence as Lawrie's timing at the plate works its way back to normal -- at the major-league level.

That Lawrie promotion will solidify the third base defence that has been struggling with Maicer Izturis and Mark DeRosa demonstrating for 10 days how good Lawrie actually is at the position. Then Bautista would be able to go back to the outfield and Davis can resume as a part-time, platoon DH and explosive weapon off the bench.

As for the shortstop position, after the trading of Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria to the Marlins, there is nothing long-term on the immediate horizon within the organization. Mike McCoy is a utility player. Young Ryan Goins showed at spring training that he is not at the level where he can be trusted defensively at shortsop on a day-to-day basis. Beyond that, on March 14, the Jays signed free agent shortstop Munenori Kawasaki, who on a short term basis was the best option to be called up right now -- and was.

Kawasaki, 31, a fan favourite because of his Reyes-like attitude (not ability) about the game, played 61 games for the Mariners in 2012 -- 39 at shortstop. He is a defender, winning a couple of Gold Gloves in the Japanese major leagues. But offensively, despite good baserunning speed, he is inadequate on an all-round basis in the long-term.

On one of the visits to the Mattick training centre in Dunedin this spring, I saw Kawasaki in a game and he carried himself like a man among boys, like he knew he could still play at the next level. He started the season in Buffalo, where he had batted .400 in two games.

So where does Anthopoulos look for help, which he admits he is doing? Television images showed him already on the phone in a press level private box at Kauffman Stadium. He has his go-to GMs and there are some players out there with other teams that could help until Reyes returns, some maybe more. He said he's looking for defence first.

Just a quick survey of shortstops with major-league experience that could be available. The list includes Mike Aviles (Indians), John McDonald (Pirates), Yuniesky Betancourt (Brewers), Jonathan Herrera (Rockies), Ramiro Pena (Braves), Cesar Izturis (Reds) and, what would be a bold stroke move, the demoted Dee Gordon of the Dodgers.  

In the meantime, the Jays can survive the Reyes injury if other players in the batting order step up to produce offensively as had been expected -- guys like Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Colby Rasmus and Lawrie. But what they need more than anything out of shortstop is the defence to allow the starting pitching to find its stride.

It has come to pass that the most difficult man to replace in the batting order now needs to be replaced. Successfully bridging the timeline until Reyes returns will be Anthopoulos' most difficult challenge. Despite the stunning loss of Reyes, there is no Blue Jays excuse for not contending, even with General Pyrrhus leading the charge.    

 

Blue Jays struggling Emilio Bonifacio finds seat on the bench: Griffin

And on the third day, he rested.

The Blue Jays' struggling Emilio Bonifacio has had a tough time mastering the nuances of his new position, second base. The problem came to a head in Game 2 of the Tigers series on Wednesday at Comerica Park, failing to turn a double play with Prince Fielder trundling down the line, booting a grounder by Matt Tuiasosopo, being one of three fielders surrounding a short RBI popup by Jhonny Peralta and allowing a rare infield single to Fielder. No one could argue that a day off in the series finale would not do him good.

“I'm not saying it's a mental thing," manager John Gibbons said. "He's had a couple of games where it's a tough go. I don't know him well enough and I'm not in his head, but he's showed no signs of it really affecting him because he's getting after it. He's playing hard. I don't think he has that personality to really get him down. We'll give him a day off, but I'm not worried about Emilio."

It was another dark, overcast, threatening day with temperatures just above freezing in the Motor City as the tarp covered the infield with a forecast for heavy rain around 3:00 p.m. Twenty hours earlier in the Jays' energizing come-from-behind 8-6 victory on Wednesday, Mark DeRosa had contributed a pinch-hit two-run double and then drew a key bases-loaded walk in the seventh. His reward was a Thursday start at third-base, with Maicer Izturis moving over to his more natural second base position, replacing Bonifacio behind starter Josh Johnson.

“I want to be out there for my teammates," Bonifacio said, refusing to use cold weather or an unfamiliar position as excuses. "I'm going to be available when Gibby wants to use me. It's worse when you put your head down and something happens for that reason. The game's going to continue so you're going to have another chance. That next one can be worse if you let it. So you just have to keep your head up and keep going."

The former Marlins' utility man has made four errors, including a natural hat trick of miscues the first time Johnson started at the Rogers Centre. In addition, the Jays have turned just four double plays, even with the slick fielding Jose Reyes at shortstop. That low total of DP's is tied for 13th with the Red Sox in the AL, just ahead of the Angels.   

"He's playing a position now that he played once in a while,' infield coach Luis Rivera said. "He's moved around but now he's in one spot. I think he just needs to relax. I don't think there's anything wrong with him. I cannot say his hands are like rocks. He's got soft hands. He's got good feel. Maybe it's a little lack of concentration, I don't know what it is. He's got plenty of arm to throw. Sometimes he's just goes back and forth from the outfield to the infield, he throws long, short. I think sometimes he's too short (arm) when he throws."

Gibbons refused to indicate whether this was simply a one-and-done day off for Bonifacio or if the defensive alignment might remain this way with Izturis and DeRosa until Brett Lawrie is ready to return. Lawrie was scheduled to play an extended spring training game at the Jays' minor-league complex in Dunedin on Thursday.

“You get DeRosa in, he had a nice game yesterday," Gibbons said. "He's a good defender over there and you get Maicer in at second base. It'll probably do Bonny a little bit of good to get away from it for a day. Nothing jumps out at me. He doesn't quit playing hard. He doesn't drop his head. But he's got to be feeling it. It's been a tough go for him lately. He's going to be a big part of this team and we're going to need him if we're going to be successful. A day off's not going to hurt."

Or perhaps a few days off. Barring any physical setback, Lawrie should be back with the Jays sometime on the next homestand at the Rogers Centre, before the end of April.  

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Jays claim outfielder Casper Wells from Mariners

The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Casper Wells from the Seattle Mariners. The move was confirmed by the M's late this morning on the west coast and was first reported by Peter Gammons of MLB.com. The waiver claim was confirmed by the Jays as they sat out a rain delay at Comerica Park on Wednesday. Wells will not report until Thursday.

Wells, 28, was selected by the Tigers in the 14th round of the June 2005 free agent draft, out of Towson University in Maryland. He was traded to the M's in 2011 in a trade that brought righthanded starter Doug Fister to Detroit. Wells had been designated for assignment by the M's at the end of training camp to make room on the 25-man roster for Canadian outfielder Jason Bay.

The righthanded hitter batted .228 with 10 homers in 93 games for the Mariners in 2012. Due to the expected poor weather on Thursday, it is likely that Wells will only report to the Jays in Kansas City on Friday. A corresponding roster move, likely the removal of righthander Edgar Gonzalez will be announced before the team leaves Detroit. 

That means the Jays will return to a four-man bench and seven relievers. In further news, third baseman Brett Lawrie, out with an injured left side, is scheduled to play in an extended spring training game at the Mattick Training Centre in Dunedin. 

Earlier in the day, Jays' general manager Alex Anthopoulos had spoken of the importance of Lawrie's presence in the lineup.

“He’s a really good player and he helps us in so many ways," Anthopoulos said. "I don’t think the team’s built on one player though. I don’t think it’s fair to say, ‘OK, Brett comes back and all of a sudden we’re going to take off.’ But there’s no question [about] what he does defensively, range, the energy he brings.

"But at the same time we can’t just rush him back. We have to make sure he gets his at-bats. Last year when he came back there weren’t enough rehab games left because the [minor-league] seasons were all done, and he was a little shaky offensively for the first I guess two weeks when he came back. We’re anxious to get him back because defensively, obviously, he’s a plus for us."

Casper becomes the fifth Wells in Jays history, joining Greg, David, Vernon and Randy. Anthopoulos is hoping it's not a case of going to the Wells once too often.

 

 

Blue Jays game vs. Tigers threatened by rain: Griffin

DETROIT-The infield diamond at Comerica Park was uncovered by the grounds crew just once on Wednesday morning, around 10:00 a.m. to work on the home plate area, to make it dry and playable. That's optimism. The hope was that weather forecasters were wrong with their prediction of 100-percent chance of rain all day. Even to the most mathematically challenged observer, that sounded like trouble in Motor City.

Meanwhile, inside the Jays' compact, spartan clubhouse, an offensively challenged team was left to ponder the reason why this potentially potent batting order ranked last in base hits and runs scored. First-year batting coach Chad Mottola believes patience is required.

“As the season progresses we're going to see our lineup so stacked with relaxed at-bats that we're going to be able to mix and match parts based on maybe matchups or stuff like that,” Mottola said. “But the bigger concern, the thing we have to do now is get everybody to be themselves. When we get rolling it won't matter where everybody's hitting. It will be a consistent lineup throughout. From there we can worry about who's batting where. Right now we just have to get guys to be themselves.”

Mottola is also of a mind that any offence spins off a productive 3-4 hitters and that Edwin Encarnacion batting cleanup was affected by the strange spring, including WBC duty with the victorious Team Dominican. When he returned, it was with a bruised right index that kept him out of action until there was just several games remaining.

“It's a pretty big combination of having few at-bats before the WBC, having the time off, probably six or seven at-bats before the season and wanting to hit 40 home runs,” Mottola observed. “He knows this. He needs to start being a little more patient, getting his pitch and be ready when his pitch comes. He wants to succeed like the rest of the team and it's almost a case of wanting it too bad.”

Encarnacion headed into Wednesday's matinee at Comerica Park on an alarming 0-for-17 slide. Meanwhile, Bautista, the focal point of the Jays' lineup the last three seasons, missed the final three games of the homestand and showed rust when he finally returned on Tuesday. He was a little late on his swings, going 0-for-4 with his final at-bat being a warning track liner to centre field. On Wednesday, he was back in the lineup in right field. The Jays need Encarnacion and Bautista to lead the charge.

“Absolutely it can affect the other guys,” Mottola said. “This game is very contagious. Once we get a few balls to drop, whether it's Jose yesterday, had three line drives didn't drop, Edwin, (Adam) Lind had some good at-bats early on (that didn't result in hits). You see everybody pressing. Everybody wants to win so bad. It's a good problem to have. As the season progresses, you play day-after-day, you realize just be yourself, we'll be fine.”

The game was still on as scheduled, but the weather forecast was gloomy, with rain predicted all the way through Tursday's scheduled afternoon game.    

 

 

Blue Jays option Ricky Romero to Class-A Dunedin

Hours after manager John Gibbons had confirmed to media that Ricky Romero would remain in the Blue Jays' starting rotation, the club announced that the struggling lefthander was being optioned to Class-A Dunedin of the Florida State League.

Romero had been the Jays' opening day starter in 2012, but had slumped horribly, finishing the season with a 9-14 record and a 5.77 ERA, losing 12 of his final 13 decisions. Among 36 qualifiers for the ERA title -- more than 162 innings pitched -- Romero finished last in all three categories of ERA, WHIP (1.67) and WAR (-1.7). 

All winter and throughout spring training the Jays had maintained their confidence in Romero as the team's fifth starter, but GM Alex Anthopoulos hastily called an emergency staff meeting after Romero had pitched 4-1/3 innings vs. the Pirates, allowing six hits and three walks. The decision was made to send last year's ace to the low minors. The meeting was attended by Anthopoulos, Gibbons, pitching coach Pete Walker and AGM Tony LaCava.

The club had assured Romero all winter and at a pre-spring training meeting that he would be in the rotation, however he has spent the last 10 days attempting to incorporate an adjustment to his delivery that Walker maintains will benefit his health in the long run. That was the key that allowed them to make the move with a clear conscience.

"We ran out of time in making the adjustment," Anthopoulos said of the reason that the change was made. 

Romero, 28, has $23.1 million guaranteed remaining on his contract, through 2015. The GM said there is no timeline for Romero's return, but that the necessary adjustmenst of a more direct line to the plate would have to be completed before a return could even be contemplated.

Anthopoulos immediately called lefthander J.A. Happ to notify him that Romero had been optioned and that he would become the fifth starter heading into what is expected to be a contending season for the Blue Jays.

 

 

 

 

Canada blows late lead to USA and is eliminated from WBC: Griffin

PHOENIX-The USA is moving on. Canada is going home. Attempting to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic for the first time in three tries, Canada lost a heartbreaking 9-4 decision to a talented group of Americans, in a sudden-death showdown on Sunday at Chase Field.

Team Canada had been in control of its own destiny after the seventh inning. They reached the point in the game that manager Ernie Whitt always dreamed of, heading to the eighth with a lead and with Jim Henderson and John Axford ready to close out the game. The back end of the bullpen was what made Canada better.

But, of course, that's why they play the games. The Brewers' setup man, Henderson allowed the first two American batters to reach base, then a two run double to Adam Jones past Tyson Gillies to the wall and a run-scoring single by Shane Victorino gave them their first lead. Jones added another three-run double in the ninth, for six RBIs.

The win sent heavily-favoured Team USA on to Miami along with Team Italy from Pool D. The USA is now the only North American representative to reach the second round. Canada will have to wait another four years. The Canadian bullpen allowed a combined 15 runs from the seventh inning on in their two losses to Italy and the U.S.

Even in defeat, Canada battled to the end. Trailing by two in the bottom of the eighth, Canada loaded the bases with one out against righthander David Hernandez.

It would have been sweet for Adam Loewen to be the hero, returning to Chase Field for the first time since he defeated Team USA as a pitcher in a thrilling 8-6 victory in 2006. He was almost a hero, again, but second baseman Brandon Phillips dove to his left to rob the Canadian left fielder of a hit, leaving Canada a one-run deficit.

Reliever Steve Cishek entered to issue an intentional walk to Pete Orr, re-loading the bases. Tim Smith then pinch-hit for Cale Iorg, who was 1-for-11 in the tournament. Smith grounded to second. The Americans added a run against Scott Mathieson in the ninth.

No shame. Following the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Team Italy on Friday, nobody, except those in the dugout wearing Team Canada uniforms, would have imagined being still alive and taking a lead into the eighth inning against the powerful Americans, with six outs to go and a real chance to advance.

How did they get to that point? Seven years ago, on March 8, 2006, Loewen was a young 21-year-old pitching prospect, starting the biggest game of his life vs. Team USA. On Sunday, facing a different, but just as talented group of American players, Loewen, now an outfielder, had lined the go-ahead single for Canada in the sixth inning scoring Joey Votto, against lefty Glen Perkins. That was the lead they needed to protect.

But to even get the ball into Henderson's hands with that lead, reliever Phillippe Aumont pulled off another Houdini escape in the seventh. With runners on second and third and one out, Aumont got a popup and a groundball to third with a nice play by Taylor Green. Recall that in a loss to Team USA at the Rogers Centre in 2009, Aumont loaded the bases and then retired the side, including two strikeouts.

After Team USA tied the score in the fourth, Canada had needed a major re-group. Any baseball emotion, momentum or karma left over from the huge, sprawling, brawling victory over Mexico the night before, only carried Canada through the first three innings, Sunday.

Canada had led 2-0 behind 21-year-old Jameson Taillon, making his firtst internationals start for Canada. He was electric through the first three innings, but in the fourth, some shoddy defence led to Team USA tying the score and after that the aura was gone, it was “game on.”

Leading off the bottom of the second, Justin Morneau rocketed a double up the alley in right centre field. Michael Saunders followed with a long flyball home run that just stayed fair inside the right field pole. They were Canada's two best player. Canada led 2-0, but should have had more.

Chris Robinson and Loewen singled back-to-back and an error on the hit by left fielder Shane Victorino put runners on second and third, with nobody out. But Canada failed to score. Back in 2006, when Canada upset Team USA 8-6 at the same ballpark, they had taken an 8-0 lead against Dontrelle Willis and Al Leiter into the bottom of the fifth and even that was almost not enough.

Canada remembers that history. A total of nine members of this Team Canada were also in the dugout on March 8, 2006 when they shocked the baseball world. The list included manager Ernie Whitt and coach Greg Hamilton; Morneau, Stubby Clapp, Pete Orr, Chris Robinson, Adam Loewen, Scott Mathieson and Paul Quantrill. Clapp and Quantrill are now coaches. Loewen was a pitcher.

That early premonition of not enough runs proved prophetic in the fourth inning as Team USA pulled even wth a pair of runs against Taillon. With two on and nobody out, Green became confused by the bunt defence. Playing in on the grass, as Zobrist pushed one towards third, Green inexplicably retreated towards the bag. By the time he came back and made the play, Zobrist was safe and the low throw bounced away from Votto scoring the first run. Adam Jones tied the game with a sacrifice fly.

 

 

WBC: Canada takes fight-filled decision over Mexico setting up showdown with USA :Griffin

PHOENIX-Less than 24 hours after the Team Canada train fell off the tracks against Italy, a stunned group of baseball players needed a fast start on Saturday against Mexico to getback some of that national esprit de corps into the first-base dugout. Fortunately, in the top of the first inning they did just that, scoring four runs against Brewers' righthander Marco Estrada with the big boys in the order doing their thing.

Canada on the way to a 10-3 victory that sets up a showdown with Team USA, scored four runs in the first to bring some of their pre-tournament swagger back. They strung together five straight hits, capped by an RBI double by Justin Morneau, a two-run single by Michael Saunders and a line drive over a drawn-in infield by catcher Chris Robinson. But they needed more.

While Marco Estrada settled down and kept Canada at four runs, followed by lefty Cesar Ramos, Mexico began its rally. After allowing an unearned run on an errant first-inning throw by first baseman Joey Votto, righthander Chris Leroux settled down and finished three just at his pitch count.

The key defensive play for Canada, that allowed them to hold onto a one-run lead, came when Robinson blocked the plate as he took a throw from Tyson Gillies. Trying to score from second base, Karim Garcia crashed into the Canadian catcher. Robinson never tagged him, bu Garcia never touched the plate and when he reached the dugout he was the first out of the inning.

Earlier in the inning, Robinson had been felled by a foul tip to the high, inner thigh that left him doubled over on the ground. A couple of pitches later, came the bone-shaking collision. Canada has just two catchers on the roster, so could ill afford to lose their starter.

Mexico scored two more runs in the fourth, before Andrew Albers could escape, but Canada still held onto a slim 4-3 lead. At the end of that first Albers inning, and looking back to Phillipe Aumont retiring the first two batters in the seventh vs. Italy, facing 16 batters, Canada's bullpen had allowed 11 hits, two walks and 10 runs, while recording four outs.

Canada was going to need more runs if it was going to survive and remain alive. In the fifth inning they finally broke through again against lefthander Cesar Ramos. Using a familar strategy, manager Ernie Whitt asked Robinson to bunt, following a leadoff double by Saunders. Again, as he had done the day before, Robinson laid down a perfect sacrifice to third base. After a walk to Adam Loewen, Pete Orr singled through the right side for the fifth Canada run.

Recall, the day before vs. Italy, Whitt had bunted in the fourth inning, with runners on first and second, trailing by four runs. Then, with two men in scoring position, Loewen struck out and Orr popped to third base. Italy went on to overpower the bullpen and win 14-4. Whitt stuck with the strategy, but this time he was trying to extend a one-run lead in the sixth – and did.

Albers, who has had a solid 12 months for Team Canada, settled down to shut Mexico down through the sixth. Then in the top of the seventh the heart of the order did it again for Canada. Morneay crushed a line drive up the alley in right-centre, scoring Taylor Green, who had walked. It was Morneau's second hit and secon RBI of the game. Canada added another on a fielder's choice.

But the seventh and eighth is where Canada's bullpen hit the wall on Friday, allowing eight runs while recording four outs. This time, with a four-run lead, Whitt handed the ball to Trystan Magnuson.

The lanky great-nephew of the late hockey star Keith Magnuson, was asked to pitch two innings and then hand the game over to Canadian closer, John Axford. Normally the eighth inning would belong to Brewers' righthander Jim Henderson, but he had pitched against Italy on Friday and Magnuson had already breezed through the seventh vs. Mexico.

Canada's offence made it easier, tacking on a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, as Mornau and Saunders each collected his fourth hit of the afternoon. In fact, the 2-5 spots in the batting order, Green, Votto, Morneau and Saunders, combined to go 12-for-17 with three walks.

The game got ugly in the top of the ninth inning, as a hockey game broke out. Ithe ill feelings started when Robinson led off the ninth with a bunt single leading 9-3. The Mexican pitcher Arnold Leon reacted by throwing inside to Rene Tosoni with Gorman warning both benches. The next pitch hit Tosoni and the fireworks exploded.

This was not one of those fake baseball fights. This was a hockey brawl. Numerous punches were thrown and skirmishes erupted in ebbs and flows all over the field. As Canada retreated to its dugout, they began playing to the crowd, waving to the Canadians to raise the roof and tugging at the front of their jerseys to show the Canada name. It was about then that a water bottle was fired and hit pitching coach Denis Boucher in the back of the neck at full force.

That created further bedlam as one of the Canadians fired the offending water bottle at someone in the stands, while Boucher had to be held back as he tried to climb over the dugout.

When action resumed, it seemed that only Leon and Tosoni were tossed, but the confrontaton continued in the stands as fights erupted all around Chase Field. A dangerous moment occured when a ball was thrown from the stands thast sailed past first-base coach Larry Walker's ear and rolled onto the field.

John Axford came on for the ninth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Canada with backs to wall after Game 1 mercy loss to Italy: Griffin

PHOENIX-There was always a stated primary goal and an understood secondary one for Team Canada, entering the tournament opener against Italy at Chase Field on Friday afternoon. The primary reason for winning was to set up a situation wherein a win over Mexico on Saturday would ensure a berth in the second round. The unstated reason was to at least win one game and avoid the qualification round for the next WBC in 2017. Both goals were scuttled by a 14-4 loss to Italy, moving them to 2-0.

Once again, as in 2009, there will be some questioning of the strategy by manager Ernie Whitt in the wake of a loss, although this time it could be directly attributable to Canada's lack of major-league pitching depth. Recall in '09 at the Rogers Centre, following a tremendously exciting loss to Team USA in the opener, Whitt held back Scott Richmond, his bast available starter to have him face Venezuela in Game 3, allowing Vince Perkins to face Italy, an unkown baseball power at the time.

Unfortunately, in the one-and-done format of double elimination that year, Italy pulled off the upset and Richmond was left on the sidelines without being used, as Canada ignominiously headed home. With Italy already having a win over Mexico on Thursday, Friday was almost a must-win for Canada. This time they had their best, most experienced pitcher, Shawn Hill on the mound.

But once again, Whitt was unable to avoid controversy in another loss to Italy. Prior to the Italy game, Whitt had stated his intention of removing Hill before he exceeded 50 pitches, the reason being that if Canada advanced to the second round, they would need Hill for the Tuesday start in Miami, to open Round 2. More than that number and Hill would need four days off, missing Tuesday's start.

However, you basically have to win two of three in this round to worry about your pitching rotation next week and when Whitt removed Hill with two outs in the third inning, the game got away from him. Tied 1-1 with a runner on first, Mathieson, who pitched in Japan in 2012, walked Anthony Rizzo, gave up a bloop single to Alex Liddi and then surrendered a three-run blast to Chris Colabello. All of a sudden Canada trailed 5-1 with a steep hill left to climb.

Whitt continued to fuel the second guessers and Russell Martin continued to feed the fires of Canadian national wrath for his premature withdrawl at the last minute. A key moment when the game was close came in the fourth inning. Canada had leadoff runners on first and second, with lefthander Chris Cooper on the mound. Catcher Chris Robinson, one of two righthanded hitters in the lineup, replacing Martin as the starter, bunted the two runners over, even trailing by four runs. Canada played for two and scored zero, as Adam Loewen struck out and Pete Orr popped out to third base.

But it was Canada's obvious lack of top tier pitching that shone through as the game progressed. Whitt had been hoping that his piggy-back starters, Hill and Mathieson might combine for six innings in their 90 pitches, turning over a lead to the bullpen for the final nine outs.

“I like our bullpen, so we're going to try to keep all of our pitchers, our starting pitchers and our piggyback pitchers, at right around 45 pitches,” Whitt said prior to the game. “Hopefully that will get us to about the fifth or sixth inning, and then I'm comfortable with our bullpen after that.

 And then our bullpen guys, I really don't want to pitch them back-to-back days, so we'll try to separate that a little bit.

 This game today is very important. We're going to do whatever we can to get a victory.”

But Canada refused to buckle against a bullpen without the services of closer Jason Grilli, who exceeded his pitch limit in saving the game vs. Mexico. In the seventh, after a disputed hit-by-pitch of Justin Morneasu loaded the bases, Michael Saunders stroked a two-run single to right, narrowing the deficit to two runs. Brian Sweeney retired pinch-hitter Tim Smith with the tying run at first.

Philippe Aumont came in for the bottom of the seventh and after retiring the first two hitters, gave up three more runs, capped by a two-run double by Drew Butera, son of the Blue Jays' scout Sal. Two of the hits were broken bat, but the three runs broke Canada's back.

Italy piled on the Canadian bullpen, adding five runs in the bottom of the eighth, mercifully sending Canada to its first mercy loss in WBC play. Clearly Italy's Mike Piazza is a better hitting coach than Larry Walker of Team Canada.

Canada must now win games against Mexico on Saturday and the U.S. on Sunday and rely on other factors to fall into place in order to advance to the second round on Tuesday. But at least Shawn Hill is eligible to pitch at Marlins Park – or more likely back with the Tigers in Lakeland.

 

 

Blue Jays' Brett Lawrie forced to withdraw from WBC with rib injury: Griffin

Canada's hopes in the WBC took another body blow on Thursday, as a subdued Brett Lawrie emerged into the dugout at Chase Field to announce that he would not play in ther tournament, even if Canada makes it to the finals in San Francisco, March 17-19.

Lawrie suffered what he described as some discomfort in the area of the 10th rib of his left side in an exhibition vs. the Reds on Wednesday night. It's the opposite side and closer to the surface than the injury he suffered last June that kept him out for two months. 

“These are not things that you can mess around with," Lawrie said, after being diagnosed by the doctor juust 20 minutes earlier. "They get better when they want to. It doesn't matter how much you treat it. It's just all on time and right now it's about time to get it better. I think going out there and playing and still having it nag at me a little bit, would not benefit my team, nor my country, nor myself.

Lawrie had not yet spoken to Jays' general manager Alex Anthopoulos, but he said he had learned from last year's injury that caution is the best avenue in these situations.

"I just think right now it's important for me to take this time to get things back to where they need to be and I feel that if I went out there and continued playing, this thing could turn into something that it doesn't need to be," the Langley B.C. native explained. "It would eventually hurt the Blue Jays and that's not what I want. Right now it's looking to the future, looking forward to April and trying to get myself ready for that."

It's the second blow that Canada has received in the past seven days. Last week it was catcher Russell Martin who withdrew from the team for personal reasons, now it's Lawrie. Manager Ernie Whitt had been counting on Martin and Lawrie to provide righthanded hitting balance to a lineup that leans heavily to the left.

Lawrie will stay in Phoenix and be in the dugout for the game against Italy and then will fly back to Florida to rejoin his team. He is not available through the length of the tournament even if Canada reaches the finals. He will likely be replaced at third base by Taylor Green of the Brewers. The game against Italy will be played at Chase Field because of concerns about the weather forecast on Friday.   

 

Blue Jays Notes Feb. 28, 2013 including Jays-Yankees; Loria-Reyes: Griffin

Jays edge Yankees 1-0

The Blue Jays shut out the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on Thursday, behind the seven-hit pitching of Brandon Morrow and seven relievers. Morrow worked two innings, throwing an efficient 23 pitches, 15 for strikes. The righthander said that in his first start five days earlier in Lakeland, he treated it too much like an extension of live batting practice, rather than a game against a live major-league opponent. He made the adjustment.

“I treated it more like game speed,” Morrow said. “I was more aggressive to my spot, with the ball where I wanted to throw it. I felt the same kind of rhythm in my delivery last time but I was a little soft with throwing the ball. That's why everything was up. This time everything was down, good locations and a couple of good innings.”

The Jays' only run came on a solo homer by non-roster third-baseman Andy LaRoche in the seventh inning off rookie Chase Whitley that made a winner out of lefthander Brett Cecil. The young veteran Cecil touched 90 m.p.h. on the radar gun, but packed the wrong jersey for the trip across the bay, forced to wear the No. 26 of Adam Lind.

The Jays raised their record to 3-4 and will host Tampa Bay on Friday, with LH Mark Buehrle against RH Jake Odorizzi.

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Coach Luis Rivera breaks out the infield shift

For the first time this spring, the Jays made use of the exaggerated infield shift popularized in Toronto by former coach Brian Butterfield. In the first inning, with Mark Teixeira hitting, third baseman Brett Lawrie crossed the diamond to take his position at the back of the infield dirt between Edwin Encarnacion and Maicer Izturis. He played the situation at double-play depth with a runner at first, but Morrow struck Teixeira out.

With two outs, Lawrie backed up deeper into short right field for Travis Hafner. The Yankee DH ripped a hard ground ball off Encarnacion's glove that was then fielded by Lawrie and fired to first for the final out, the highly unusual 3-5-3 putout. Before the game, coach Luis Rivera had discussed the strategy.

“(Lawrie) is one of the keys to it,” Rivera said. “He can play so deep and he can come in and get the ball. I see him catching line drives to right field where it can be a base hit. We'll have to wait and see. There's a lot of video that I have to watch, even though last year I watched all those guys. Then we have to make a decision after that.”

It's not perfect. Later in the game, with Sergio Santos pitching, Hafner sliced a popup to medium left field. Using a normal defensive alignment, it would have been a routine play by the left fielder, but with the shift on, Jose Reyes had to race out at full speed and make a spectacular over the head catch. The shift taketh away and the shift giveth. Manager John Gibbons seems to have mixed feelings, but will leave the decision up to Rivera, with input from all five starting pitchers.

.”What I want (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) to do with some of those new pitchers when they get their gameplan together is sit down with Luis, the defensive guy, and make sure it all matches up,” Gibbons said. “Guys like (Mark) Buehrle, they know the (hitters). They know how they pitch. We want to make sure he's on board with it too, where he wants his defence to play. A guy like that is such a command guy. He's not going to miss a whole lot. We've got to make sure we get the guys in the spots where he likes them too.”

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Rasmus late scratch from lineup

Centre fielder Colby Rasmus had been in the original batting order that was posted on the board in Dunedin, but by the time the bus arrived at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, he had been replaced by Rajai Davis. Manager John Gibbons said that Rasmus had injured the back of his non-throwing shoulder on Wednesday, but nobody was quite sure of the play on which it occured or the circumstances. Rasmus is day-to-day.

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Gibbons not big on regulating home plate collisions

There have been suggestions raised by a couple of major-league managers, Bruce Bochy of the Giants and Mike Matheny of the Cardinals, that perhaps collisions at home plate wherein the baserunner charges home and often rolls over the catcher resulting in injury, should be eliminated. Runners would not be allowed to contact a defenceless catcher.

Recall that Bochy's catcher Buster Posey was injured in a collision at the plate early in the 2011 season and missed the remainder of the season. In Posey's rookie season, 2010, and in his next healthy season, 2012, the Giants were World Series winners both years.

Meanwhile, Matheny's career as a major-league catcher was ended by concussions, some of which were likely caused or enhanced by collisions at the plate.

Like Matheny and Bochy, Jays' manager John Gibbons is a former major-league catcher, but he does not agree. In fact, Gibbons won the Mets' starting catching job at the end of spring training 1984, before Phillies outfielder Joe Lefebvre raced home from third base and threw an errant elbow that fractured Gibbons' jaw. He never regained the starting post after returning from the DL. Despite that, Gibbons prefers the rules the way they are.

“I want (J.P. Arencibia) to play like the game's always been played,” Gibbons said when asked if we would advise his man not to block the plate. “Injuries are freak things. But when a guy gets one at home plate, that's usually pretty serious though. That's the only problem with that.

“If you look at it, most catchers in baseball, they drift out (in front of the plate) anyway. Very rarely do they hold their ground on that, unless it's important like a game-winning run. The big complaint was, well they start leaking out. They've got to make a swipe tag or a dive tag. You end up missing the guy, so you always tell them, 'Hey, hold your ground.' I want him to play the game the way it's always been played. Injuries at home plate are very rare anyway.”

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Reyes insists Jeffrey Loria advised him to buy a new house

Down the pike in Miami, the Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told the Sun Sentinel's Juan Rodriguez that Jose Reyes' memory of events was not quite correct.

Loria insisted to Rodriguez that Reyes is the one that told the owner at a charity banquet that he and his wife were house-hunting and, further, Loria said that as soon as he found out from team executive Larry Beinfest that the trade with the Jays was potentially happening, that the owner called Reyes' agent to inform him. The charity fundraiser took place on Nov. 11 in New York City raising money for research for Lou Gehrig Disease (ALS). Honourees were Reyes and Mets' starter R.A. Dickey. The 12-player trade was leaked on Nov. 14. 

When Reyes was informed during Wednesday's batting practice prior to the Jays' game against the Yankees, of Loria's differing memory of those events, he laughed and quickly repeated his earlier assertions he had made in Jays camp in mid-February that the owner had told him to “buy a nice house.”

Reyes several days later, then left on vacation and it was while he was away in Dubai with his wife that he found out he was traded to the Blue Jays.

 

 

 

 

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