DETROIT -- Brad Ausmus is hoping hell have a chance to use every position player on his roster before too long -- no sense letting backups become rusty at the beginning of the season. Jeff Teague Hawks Jersey . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday. The game will be made up June 19, when the Royals are back in town for what was initially supposed to be a three-game series followed by an off day. Detroit will move on to a three-game series against Baltimore thats scheduled to start Friday -- when the weather may not be much better. The Tigers are planning to push right-hander Anibal Sanchez back to Fridays start after he was supposed to face the Royals on Thursday. Rick Porcello is now slated to pitch Saturday, meaning left-hander Drew Smyly will be skipped in the rotation. Kansas City, on the other hand, will simply skip rookie Yordano Ventura, who was scheduled to pitch Thursday. Jeremy Guthrie will start Fridays home opener against the Chicago White Sox, as planned. Ventura will be available out of the bullpen. The Tigers won their first two games under Ausmus, scoring the winning run in their last at-bat both times. The new manager made a big move in Mondays opener, sending rookie Tyler Collins to pinch-run in the ninth inning of a tie game. Collins ended up scoring the winning run. Collins then started Wednesdays game in left field, but shortstop Andrew Romines first start was put on hold by Thursdays postponement. Outfielder Don Kelly and backup catcher Bryan Holaday havent played either. Now the Tigers face the prospect of additional postponements, and they have scheduled off days April 7, 10 and 14. It has the makings of a choppy start to the season. "You try to balance getting veterans rest and getting reserve players in, but when you have all these off days, the truth is the veterans probably dont need the rest," Ausmus said. "You still have reserves that need to get in, so it can be a little bit of a juggling act." Ausmus says hes settling into the Detroit area. As manager of the Tigers, hell have to deal with a certain celebrity status, and he says people recognize him. "I havent been around that much," Ausmus said. "Ive gone out to eat, but other than going out to eat, Ive kind of been holed up." The Thursday afternoon game was called about an hour before the scheduled first pitch, amid temperatures in the 30s and with significant rain expected. The decision to skip Smylys spot in the rotation came as no surprise. Its an easy chance for the Tigers to manage his innings as he makes the transition back to the starting rotation after spending last season in the bullpen. Detroits talented rotation has been on display already. Justin Verlander pitched the opener and Max Scherzer worked eight scoreless innings Wednesday. Thats part of the reason Royals manager Ned Yost isnt panicking over two losses in which Kansas City struggled to score. "Youve got to understand what youre dealing with," Yost said. "What weve dealt with here the last two days is Verlander and Scherzer. I mean, these are top-of-the-line pitchers in the American League, so theyre on most days going to shut teams offences down." At least the Royals were able to leave town without having to face Sanchez, too. "Hes nails, too," Yost said before the game was called off. "You just keep plugging until you start to get on track." NOTES: The Tigers claimed LHP Mike Belfiore off waivers from the Orioles and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. Al Horford Hawks Jersey . Dave Bolland joined TSN 1050 on Wednesday to discuss the teams mindset with a tough matchup versus the Bruins on deck and whether the pressure and scrutiny that comes with playing in Toronto is impacting the Leafs on the ice. James Harden Swingman Jersey . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. The Thunder earned their first win of the set with Sundays 106-97 victory and Ibaka played a big role. After suffering a left calf strain against the Los Angeles Clippers in the previous round, Ibaka was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason.Its amazing how the outlook on the Blue Jays has changed, and how energized the fan base has become over the past 48 hours. And its all due to the performances of two rookie right handers. Aaron Sanchez delivered two electrifying perfect innings of relief in the Jays 6-4 win over Boston in his Major League debut on Wednesday night. Then his good buddy Marcus Stroman followed that up with six no-hit innings against the Bosox Thursday afternoon and went seven innings of one-hit ball overall in Torontos 8-0 victory that gave them the series three out of four. Suddenly the Jays look like a threat in the AL East again as they head out on a crucial 10-game, three-city road swing through New York, Boston, and Houston. Reflecting back on Sanchezs performance, I decided to look back at the first Major League appearances of four of Torontos top homegrown starting pitchers and a closer who started elsewhere, but blossomed into a star with the Blue Jays. Lefty Jimmy Key debuted with the Jays on April 6, 1984 at Anaheim. He was like Sanchez, broken in as a reliever with a starting role as the near term goal. That day in Anaheim starter Doyle Alexander lasted only four and a third innings. One reliever later Key entered the game with an 8-5 lead. He proceeded to pitch three and a third near flawless innings and the Jays went on to win 11-5. Key was awarded his first major league victory because the scorer ruled him to have been the most effective Jays pitcher on the day, which he certainly was. The following year, Key made it into the starting rotation and went on to have a stellar career with the Blue Jays, Yankees and Orioles. Its a shame he couldnt have been a Blue Jays lifer. He was 22 years and 350 days old when he made his first appearance for the Blue Jays. Chris Carpenter was even younger when he first took to the mound for the Jays on May 12, 1997 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. He was just 22 years and 15 days old when he faced the Minnesota Twins. Carpenter started and got rocked. He only lasted three innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs, five of those earned. He also walked three and struck out five. The Twins pounded out 20 hits on that day and hammered the Jays 12-2. Ironically, former Jays catcher Greg Myers was behind the plate for the Twins, and went 4 for 5 with two runs batted in. Carpenter wasnt fazed by that humbling beginning. He was a solid contributor to the Jays rotation until he left for St. Louis as a free agent. There, he developed into a star and won a couple of World Series titles. Dave Stieb was the Blue Jays first star pitcher. His first start, like that of Carpenter, was nothing to write home about. The converted outfielder took to the mound as a Blue Jay for the first time on June 29, 1979. He was only 21 years and 342 days old when he faced Baltimore at old Memorial Stadium. His catcher that day was Bob Davis. Stieb pitched pretty well through five innings, gave up just three runs and was locked in a fairly tight pitchers duel with Os lefty Scott McGregor. But it all came undone for Stieb in the bottom of the 6th, when third baseman Doug DeCinces touched him for a two-run homer and the "Big Bopper" Lee May followed with a solo shot. Stieb was done after six and the Orioles won the game 6-1 in a tidy one hour and 56 minutes. Stieb went on to finish 8-8 that season with 4. Corey Brewer Rockets Jersey. 31 ERA. He pitched 129.1 innings, striking out 52 and walking 48 on a bad Blue Jays team. That was only the beginning though for "Sir David" as the late great Jim Hunt dubbed him. He went on to become arguably the best homegrown pitcher in Blue Jays history alongside Roy Halladay. "Doc" Halladay, who retired as a Blue Jay back in the spring, debuted on September 20, 1998 at Tropicana Field against Tampa Bay. I was in the ballpark that night, but honestly remember very little about it, or the significance of it being Halladays first game. The Jays were on the third leg of an 11-game, four-city trip that would see them go 4-7 and fall out of contention in the AL East. Halladay may have even been given the start, because the team was out of it. Roy was 21 years and 129 days old, the youngest of the four starters Ive mentioned. He went five innings and allowed eight hits, three runs - two earned - walked two and struck out five. The Jays ultimately won 7-5 in 12 innings, their only victory in that series as I recall. The funny thing about that game is the reliever who picked up Halladay that night was none other than Dave Stieb, who made a one-year comeback in 1998 as a reliever and spot starter. It was his second-last Major League appearance. He went 2.2 innings, giving up one unearned run on two hits while walking two and striking out three. It was the only time the two greatest homegrown starting pitchers appeared in the same game for the Blue Jays. Most fans remember Halladays second start with crystal clear clarity. On September 27 at the then-SkyDome Halladay pitched a complete game one-hitter versus Detroit. Pinch hitter Bobby Higginson slammed a home run to left-centre with two out in the top of the ninth to ruin the no-hit bid. Halladay and the Jays hung on to win 2-1. Though he didnt come up through the Blue Jays organization, I still believe "the Terminator" Tom Henke had the most hyped and anticipated debut in Blue Jays history. He was the closer the Blue Jays needed to get over the top in 1985. His first four years in the Texas organization hadnt panned out and the Jays got him as compensation for losing veteran DH Cliff Johnson to the Rangers as a free agent. Henke started the year at Triple-A Syracuse and his legend grew with every save. He finally was called up when it became clear Bill Caudill wasnt the answer in short relief. Henkes first appearance came on July 29 at Baltimore. Henke took over from Jimmy Key to start the 9th in a 3-3 tie in front of a jam-packed house of 41,599. He mowed down the Os in the 9th, but walked a batter in the 10th. With two down Henke got Cal Ripken Jr. to fly out to Jesse Barfield, who was playing centre in one of the deepest parts of the park. After a sigh of relief, Henke joined the celebration as he picked up the win in his first Major League appearance. The Jays went 36-25 the rest of the way with Henke as the closer. They set a franchise record with 99 wins and made it to the post-season for the first time. Well find out over the next few years if Stroman and Sanchez will write their own glorious chapters in Blue Jays history. After what theyve shown this week I cant see either one being traded before next weeks July 31 non-waiver deadline. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys Ray Ban Outlet Michael Kors Outlet Michael Kors Sale Cheap Michael Kors ' ' '