CLEARWATER, Florida – J.
Daniel Norris
Tigers Jersey .A. Happ got the start in the Blue Jays rain-shortened,
Grapefruit League opener against the Phillies but it was Todd Redmond who left
an early impression on his manager. "Redmonds like anybody else, hes going to
get hit every now and then but all weve ever seen out of him is good pitching
and he gets guys out," said John Gibbons. "Hes pretty polished." The 29-year-old
pitched two clean innings, the second and third, striking out a batter over 22
pitches. He got the win, for what thats worth on February 26, in a 4-3 game
called midway through the seventh. Redmond is among more than a half-dozen
pitchers in contention for the last starting rotation spot. While not much can
be made of one outing, Redmonds performance resonated following a comment
Gibbons made before the game. "Usually what happens, when theres a spot open,
the guy that takes it, some of those guys have those springs where theyre good
all spring and theres no doubt about it ... a lot of times that guy from day
one, man, hes standing out and theres no hiccups." All Redmonds ever wanted is
an opportunity. Here it is, less than three months before hell turn 29. Think
hes overwhelmed? Redmonds been around too long – eight minor league cities over
nine seasons – to get rattled by the best chance hes had to crack an opening day
roster. "Im an easy-going guy," said Redmond. "Just give me the ball, Ill go out
there and pitch. Same thing as I do every day. I pitch." Redmond made 17
appearances for the Blue Jays last season, 14 of them starts. Hed only made one
previous appearance in the majors, a start for the Reds in 2012 that didnt go
well. Familiarity breeds a sense of comfort. "I have a little more confidence
coming into camp. Of my stuff, not of me, just of my stuff. More trusting of my
ability," he said. As a starter last season, Redmond slowly earned Gibbons
trust, which allowed Redmond to pitch deeper into games. If hes going to succeed
at the major league level, however, Redmond will have to vastly improve his
numbers facing hitters for a second and third time through the order. Batters
have a .627 on-base plus slugging percentage against Redmond the first time
through. Redmonds OPS against spikes to .939 when the lineup turns over and .914
the third time around. He insists durability isnt an issue. "My entire career,
if you look at my minor league side of it, I dont think Ive ever thrown under
160 innings a year," said Redmond. "The workload. Thats one thing I take pride
in is being able to go out there every fifth day and take the ball." Redmonds
almost right. In the seven seasons between 2007 and 2012, he logged at least 160
innings five times and never through less than 145 innings. Having worked a
modified heavy ball program this offseason, he would typically stretch with the
one-pound or two-pound weighted ball prior to throwing, Redmond says his should
feels strong as he makes the push for a job in the rotation. "Hes been a good
pitcher in the minor leagues," said Gibbons. "Every year hes pretty steady and
he never really had that opportunity until he came here last year. If this is
his year he makes it and he goes on to have a good year, hell be a big league
player and I dont think there will be any looking back." DRABEK UNHAPPY WITH
PERFORMANCE Kyle Drabek was visibly upset with his first spring performance, a
line that looked like this: 1.2IP/1ER/1H/3BB/1K. In his only full inning of
work, Drabek threw 11 pitches but only four for strikes. A candidate for that
final rotation spot, he was most bothered by the lack of command. "Ive had it so
good in all the bullpens," said Drabek. "Its just frustrating for me to kind of
fall back into being wild a little bit. I know what I can do and thats not me."
"Kyles whole thing, get it into the zone and hes fine," said Gibbons. "Hes had a
long layoff through the surgery. He pitched some last year but in a lot of ways,
hes been out for so long it may be something that he can build back into." The
26-year-old has a history of control problems. Hes averaged 5.8 walks per nine
innings over 169 1/3 big league innings. Returning from Tommy John elbow
ligament replacement surgery last season, Drabek vastly improved his walk rate,
issuing just six bases on balls over 43 innings. BAUTISTA IMPRESSIVE It took
Jose Bautista all of three pitches to appear in midseason form. He smacked a
2-0, Roberto Hernandez fastball out of the park, literally. The drive to left
field cleared the Phillies bullpen, the walkway behind the bullpen and the fence
beyond the walkway. "I dont know, for whatever reason, I feel like Im seeing
(the ball) better," said Bautista. "Theres nothing that I could have done
different. Im not going to go to play winter ball right now. Its kind of odd
because I havent played since August. But Im not complaining." CABRERA LIKELY TO
HIT SECOND Its not even March, everyone is healthy, and manager John Gibbons is
able to envision putting together a full lineup, something he wasnt able to do
all of last season. Jose Reyes will lead off and, as the plan was at this time
last year, Melky Cabrera has the inside track to bat behind him. "The only real
downfall is he does hit a lot of ground balls but you look at what hes done the
last few years, take away last year, and hes been one of the better hitters in
baseball," said Gibbons. "We like guys there that can get a lot of hits. Hes a
switch-hitter, he can manipulate the bat a little bit, he knows how to do those
things. Ideally, if hes the player we expect him to be, than hed be a good guy
for that spot." One thing Cabrera doesnt do often is walk, an ideal trait of a
two-hole hitter and something that would get him on base more often ahead of
sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. After walking 56 times in 2006,
his first full year in the big leagues, Cabrera hasnt had more than 43 bases on
balls in a season. A HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE Nobody wants to read about or hear
about injury as an excuse for the Jays disappointing 2013 year. But a little
perspective never hurt anyone, either. Last season, manager John Gibbons had
these six players – Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion,
Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie – in the lineup at the same time on only eight
occasions all year. It happened over an 11-day period, starting on July 21 and
ending on August 1.
Lance Parrish
Jersey . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the
last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with
the way I was playing,"said Pospisil.
Justin Upton Tigers
Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos
Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has
discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta.
http://www.baseballtigersgear.com/Miguel-Cabrera-Jersey/ . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of
production he was looking for from the top of the lineup.Eugenie Bouchards
impressive run at the Australian Open has put her into the top 20 of the latest
WTA rankings. Its the first time the 19-year-old reached the plateau, jumping
from 31st to 19th in the rankings that were released on Monday. She joins
Carling Bassett (No. 8) and Helen Kelesi (No. 13) as the only Canadians to reach
the top 20 on the tour. The Montrealers magic run Down Under came to an end in
the semifinals wheree she was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by world no.
Nick Castellanos
Tigers Jersey. 4 Na Li of China. Bouchard was making her first main draw
appearance in Melbourne after losing in qualifying last year. She became the
first Canadian since Bassett at the U.S. Open in 1984 to reach the semifinals of
a Grand Slam. Next for Bouchard is Canadas World Group II first round tie
against Serbia in Montreal on February 8-9.
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