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olittle had pitched in the previous two
« on: Mar 16th, 2015, 3:32am » |
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DUNEDIN, Florida - Blue Jays players assembled Monday afternoon for their annual spring meeting with the Players Association, the first gathering chaired by new executive director Tony Clark. Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. See a full explanation of the rule here: http://tinyurl.com/l4zaqo5 Here is a link to a play at the plate last season, involving Phillies base runner Chase Utley and former Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro, now with the Blue Jays. Watch the clip, keeping in mind the new rule didnt exist, and guess based on the new rule whether Utley would be safe or out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Qe310Bn4g Assembled media, waiting for Clark to emerge from his seminar with the Jays, couldnt agree on the call. Some saw fault with Utley for initiating contact with Navarro. Others believed Utley would be called safe because Navarro blocked the pathway of the runner to the plate prior to receiving the baseball. If you think Utley is safe, based on the new rule, Clark agrees with you. “My guess is, according to the rule, (Navarro) cant be sitting on the plate without the ball,” said Clark. “Its one thing to catch it and then move and block the baseline. Its another thing to block the baseline and not having the ball.” Blue Jays catchers hadnt seen the new rule as of Mondays availability and had plenty of questions, including the wisdom of asking an umpire to make a split-second determination about more than whether a runner is safe or out. “I think its tough to make that out/safe call at home and theyre always trying to get good positioning,” said Erik Kratz. “Now, is their positioning going to have to change? Are they going to have to talk about that? Are they going to have to look at the runner as hes running, ‘I saw the runners eyes, he was looking at the catcher. You did? What about the ball? What about the catchers eyes? Did he have his fist clenched?” “Im going to do you one better,” said Clark. “During a play on the field you may also have a rotation component here where youve got the home plate umpire running to third and the first base umpire running to home. Its a tough enough play as it is as hes running to try and call a close play but now youre also talking about trying to determine intent and where guys are positioned. Its difficult.” Many other nuances were discussed, which is why, according to Clark, the rule has been made public and is being explained to players only two days before Grapefruit League play is scheduled to begin. A Major League Baseball representative and an umpire will be visiting all 30 teams during spring training to further explain the rule. Manager John Gibbons has met with MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre and his right-hand man, Tony La Russa. The intent of the rule is to make close plays at the plate safer for both the catcher and the runner. A catcher in his playing days, Gibbons is skeptical. “I dont know about that,” said Gibbons. “I think when you start trying to mess with the game too much, I mean, youre going to run into problems. Its a big part of the game. The game on the line, thats the winning run or something, guys are trying to stop that run. Instinct tells them to do one thing. But if thats the rule then we live with that. Nothing we can do about that.” Clark of Free Agency Ervin Santana and Stephen Drew are two high-profile free agents whove yet to find work, in large part because there is draft pick compensation tied to their next contracts. “As a union its our responsibility to make sure that player rights are defended, protected and advanced,” said Clark. When asked over the course of the winter about the Blue Jays interest in select free agents, general manager Alex Anthopoulos repeatedly opined that market prices were too high and that the club was willing to wait for player demands to come down. Clark, speaking in general terms, not specifically about Anthopoulos or the Blue Jays, says the union will review the offseasons free agency activity. “If the free agent market as a whole is being manipulated on some level and we have an opportunity to reflect on this offseason, comments that were made, where those comments came from and how they may have affected the free agent market then it is a conversation were going to have going forward to make sure the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is upheld and that we dont find ourselves in a place where certain information is lending itself to certain understandings and appreciations publicly with respect to free agents,” said Clark. Clark on A-Rod Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez wont play in 2014, suspended for his role in the Biogenesis performance enhancing drug scandal. Rodriguez has since dropped a lawsuit which named, among others, the Major League Baseball Players Association. Clark says if A-Rod is playing in 2015, hell be welcomed back into the union he briefly considered taking to court. “Over the course of 140 years there have been, I believe, a little less than 20-thousand players who have ever worn a major league uniform for one day,” said Clark. “If you have worn a major league uniform for one day then you are part of that fraternity. There are guys that make decisions that guys dont appreciate, that guys dont like, but after Alex serves his suspension he will come back as a member of that fraternity and we expect to see him in 2015.” Clark on an openly gay player Jason Collins is back in the NBA, making history on Sunday night as the first openly gay athlete in the leagues history. Michael Sam appears poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL. Is baseball ready for such a scenario? “I dont see it being an issue,” said Clark. “Our locker rooms are more diverse than most and as youve heard with a lot of the leagues, whether its the NFL or any other place, inevitably its going to come down to can you help us win ballgames?” Pitching Schedule Manager John Gibbons has drawn up his pitching schedule for the first five Grapefruit League games. Here it is: Wednesday at Phillies: J.A. Happ (2 innings,) Todd Redmond (2,) Kyle Drabek (1-2,) Chad Jenkins (1,) Neil Wagner (1,) Mickey Storey (1.) Thursday vs. Phillies: R.A. Dickey (2,) Esmil Rogers (1,) Dustin McGowan (1,) Brett Cecil (1,) Aaron Loup (1,) Jeremy Jeffress (1,) Rob Rasmussen (1,) Marcus Walden (1.) Friday vs. Pirates: Mark Buehrle (1-2,) Brandon Morrow (1-2,) Steve Delabar (1,) Sergio Santos (1,) Liam Hendriks (1,) Sean Nolin (1,) Aaron Sanchez (1,) Juan Perez (1.) Saturday at Orioles: Drew Hutchison (2,) Ricky Romero (1-2,) Marcus Stroman (2,) Tomo Ohka (1-2,) Deck McGuire (1-2,) Mickey Storey (1.) Sunday vs. Yankees: Esmil Rogers (2,) Todd Redmond (1-2,) Brett Cecil (1,) Aaron Loup (1,) Jeremy Jeffress (1,) Chad Jenkins (1,) Neil Wagner (1,) Casey Janssen (1.) NOTE: Brandon Morrow experienced tightness in his calf on Monday. Gibbons says there is no concern the injury is serious and the plan is for Morrow to pitch on Friday. Authentic Maple Leafs Jersey . When you think teams you imagine a group of people who all shop at the same jersey store and move together in a large pack with a common goal, which is usually scoring goals. But at these Olympic Games the idea of becoming a team in figure skating makes perfect sense because of a new event called, shockingly, the Team Event. Phil Kessel Authentic Jersey . Hudson pitched into the eighth inning after having eight days between starts, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Saturday night. http://www.hockeyleafsshoponline.com/authentic-cody-franson-leafs-jersey -sale/. PETERSBURG, Fla. Darcy Tucker Jersey . That will be 35 more holes than the first time they played together. Walker was a senior at Baylor when he used his parents credit card -- against their wishes because it was during finals -- to go through Monday qualifying for the Byron Nelson Championship. James Van Riemsdyk Authentic Jersey . Toews was drilled by Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik with 6:30 remaining in the second period on Sunday night. The two were going for a loose puck.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir. The right-hander has been so effective in his first season with Oakland that Melvin might need to break out a thesaurus when talking about the veteran pitcher. Kazmir pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight start, Yoenis Cespedes hit his 14th home run and the As beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night. "Its a broken record talking about him because were seeing basically the same game out of him," Melvin said. "I had heard last year maybe this is a 100-pitch guy top, six innings maybe. Hes been anything but. Hes been absolutely terrific." Kazmir (9-2) went into the game with the second-lowest ERA among qualifiers in the AL and extended his streak to 18 1-3 innings without allowing an earned run before Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run home run in the sixth. He struck out eight and didnt walk a batter. Over his past five starts, Oaklands right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA. "Probably one of the best (games) I felt this year, for sure," said Kazmir, who has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts. "I was able to get ahead most of the time with my fastball and expand the strike zone with my breaking balls and my changeup. Didnt really use too many breaking balls. Just relied mainly on fastball location." Stephen Vogt had two hits and two RBIs, Jed Lowrie scored twice and John Jaso singled in an insurance run in the seventh to move the As a season-high 17 games over .500. Its the best record in the majors and continued Oaklands best start since 1990. Cespedes had not homered against the Red Sox until his two-out, solo shot off Jake Peavy in the third. Boston had played five straight one-run games heading into the series opener with Oakland. This one was tight as well. Thhe As led 3-0 after Vogts single scored Lowrie in the fourth.dddddddddddd Kazmir, who hasnt lost since May 23, took a shutout into the sixth that Pedroia ended with a two-out home run. It was the only mistake Kazmir made. "We faced a tough pitcher," Pedroia said. "To be honest, our at bats werent that bad. We have to find a way to have a big inning and get some momentum." Luke Gregerson pitched the eighth and Dan Otero worked the ninth for his first career save. Peavy (1-5) had a second straight strong outing but remained winless over his past 10 starts. Peavy allowed five hits over 6 1-3 innings, retired eight of the final nine batters he faced and struck out four with three walks. It wasnt enough to prevent the Red Sox from ending their three-game winning streak. Vogt hit an RBI groundout off Peavy in the second and singled in another run in the fourth. Lowrie, who walked and doubled, scored both times. Cespedes homered with two outs in the third. The Cuban slugger is batting .343 with four home runs and 12 RBIs through 17 games in June. Cespedes has driven in 49 runs already this season and could soon join teammates Brandon Moss (55) and Josh Donaldson (52) in the 50-RBI club. "When you look at the runs that weve put up this year, a lot of it has to do with those guys in the middle of the order," Melvin said. "Its pretty amazing." NOTES: Otero was in the closers role because Sean Doolittle had pitched in the previous two games. ... Cespedes has now homered against every team in the AL except Tampa Bay. ... RHP Clay Buchholz (hyperextended knee) pitched six scoreless innings during his second rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket. ... LHP Brad Mills starts Friday in his Oakland debut. Mills was acquired in a trade from Milwaukee earlier this week. LHP Felix Doubront (2-4) pitches for Boston. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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