DUNEDIN, Florida – Despite a tweet reporting Ervin Santana to the Blue Jays as a done deal Saturday morning, the last marquee pitcher on the market remains a free agent.
Cheap Jerseys . The report made for an interesting day at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, a day that began with reporters scratching their heads at the absence from camp, for a second consecutive day, of starter J.A. Happ, whos battling pain and inflammation in his back. "If the doctor tells you to stay off your feet, you stay off your feet," said manager John Gibbons. The skipper then joked, "Hes not dead, Ill tell you that." Happ has struggled in two spring training appearances. His back hasnt been right during either, which led general manager Alex Anthopoulos to openly muse that there are two, rather than one, available spots in Torontos starting rotation. If multiple reports suggesting Santana has dropped the term demand of a new contract to one year are true, the Blue Jays will continue to kick the tires. There were reports on Saturday that Toronto had offered Santana $14 million for the season, which is roughly the value of the qualifying offer he turned down from his former team, the Kansas City Royals. The Baltimore Orioles also are believed to be interested, with reports they had tabled an offer with a $13 million base salary that could escalate with incentives reached. On the surface, Santana is a risky proposition. While he has been durable, throwing at least 211 innings in four of the last six seasons, he is 31 years old and there are concerns about the health of his right elbow. Santanas patented slider accounts for more than 32 per cent of the pitches hes thrown in his career, a heavy reliance on a pitch that puts severe torque on the shoulder and the elbow. The risk is reduced to almost nothing if Santana is signed only for 2014. The Blue Jays have the money, can afford to cough up the second round selection in Junes draft (their first round picks, ninth and 11th overall, are protected) and Santana is a better option than Happ. The club shouldnt, and fans likely wouldnt, balk at a rotation of R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle, Santana and Drew Hutchison. What to do with Happ would be a matter for a later date. While some in the organization are concerned about Santanas propensity to give up the home run, the Jays learned through a raft of injuries last season that a club can never have enough quality pitching. If Santana struggles in the meat-grinder that is the American League East, again, there is no fretting when there is no long-term commitment. The Blue Jays value the arms of Hutchison and Marcus Stroman, believing both to be ready to contribute soon to a successful team. While neither would be hurt by more seasoning at Triple-A Buffalo, Hutchison appears ready to return to the Blue Jays after a lengthy injury absence and Stromans major league debut doesnt have to be far behind. Santana could serve as a viable, experienced, bridge to Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. Hutchison started and threw three innings in Saturdays 4-3 win over Minnesota. His only blemish was a two-run home run by top prospect Byron Buxton in the third. He struck out five Twins, including the side in the second, and was routinely registering 93-95 miles per hour on his fastball. McGRIFFS STILL GOT IT Former Blue Jays first baseman Fred McGriff is back in the fold, serving as a consultant and an in-uniform coach this spring. Hes out on the field, stretching with the players and taking infield. Those are get-to-know-you opportunities for the long-time big leaguer. "Im just trying to get to learn these guys," said McGriff. "This is my first time in big league camp with the Blue Jays and just trying to see what makes guys tick and everything and help the pitchers. If Im running sprints or taking ground balls with the guys its just about getting to know guys." Now 50 years old, McGriff appears fit enough to still be able to play. He does P90-X workouts, Insanity too, although he jokes he "cant swing (a bat) … those days are over. "Just by me stretching and running with these guys, there may be a pitcher that says, Hey, Fred, what did you look for in this situation as a hitter or what did you do right there," said McGriff. "If Im taking ground balls, theyre trying to make Moises Sierra a first baseman a little bit and theyve got Adam Lind and those guys so trying to tell them little secrets I had, little things I did because I was blessed to play 18 years." McGriff spent four full seasons with the Blue Jays, from 1987-90. He was traded to San Diego, along with Tony Fernandez, in the famous deal that brought Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto prior to the 1991 season. Since retiring in 2004, McGriff has dabbled in broadcasting and served as an ambassador for the Rays, his hometown team and the club for which he played twice (1998-2001, 2004) While he enjoyed visiting patrons in the luxury suites to take pictures and sign autographs, he wanted more. As a consultant, hell spend a week out of each month visiting one of the Blue Jays farm cities, treks that will take him to, among other places, Buffalo, Manchester, New Hampshire and Lansing, Michigan. McGriff could see himself in a front office one day. "Ive got a brain, I was blessed to play and Ive got some knowledge," said McGriff. "I would love to try to help the Blue Jays in any way I can to get back to a World Series. Use my brain, ask me some questions about some different pitchers, hitters, maybe try to get into management, be a decision maker. Say a team may be interested in making a trade, maybe they can ask me, Hey Fred, why dont you go check out this player, see what you think or make some phone calls and see how this guy is off the field." McGriff, known as the "Crime Dog," is able to relate to todays player despite the many differences he sees. "They make a lot more money now," said McGriff. "When I was a rookie the minimum was $62,000 and now the minimum is $500,000. Its a whole lot different ballgame with social media and everything. Its so different. Guys, you may see them leave the field and go hop on the phone and get on their Twitter account or Facebook or something like that. "The game of baseball is still the same," he continued. "Youve got to try to get 27 outs and if our pitcher is better than your pitcher were going to win ballgames. Even though the dollars have changed and everything and everything else that goes on, its still baseball." WILSON PLAYS HERO Kenny Wilson played the hero in the Blue Jays 4-3 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. His ninth-inning triple, a drive off the centerfield wall, cashed Erik Kratz with the game-winning run. "It was just two strikes, looking for a pitch up in the zone and I was able to put a pretty good swing on it," said Wilson. Wilson, 24, was a second round pick in the 2008 draft. Hes been slow to develop offensively but the Blue Jays saw enough value in the defensively sound speedster to protect him from Decembers Rule 5 draft. He was added to the 40-man roster. "When I got the call from Charlie Wilson it was pretty surreal," said Wilson. "I went to the (Arizona) Fall League, playing there and I was really hoping I could get added to the 40-man in November and when he asked me I was really excited." A native of Tampa, Wilson has worked with the likes of McGriff on ways to shorten his swing. Hell need to improve on a six-year minor league batting average of .229 and OPS of .640. But if Wilson gets on base, hes a threat to run. Hes stolen 194 bases in 490 minor league games. RASMUS UPDATE Colby Rasmus reported no problems with his neck after playing catch and taking swings in the batting cage. Hes been out for more than a week with neck spasms and received a cortisone injection to settle down the affected muscle. The plan is for Rasmus to work out tomorrow, enjoy the team day off on Monday, then play on Tuesday in St. Petersburg against the Canadian Junior team.
Cheap Soccer Jerseys . Chicago striker Mike Magee tied for the MLS goal-scoring lead Saturday night by scoring his 19th goal when Alexs shot deflected off Magees ribs and into the goal in the Fires 3-2 win over FC Dallas on Saturday night.
Cheap NHL Jerseys . The second-ranked Azarenka double-faulted 15 times and was broken five times by Petkovic, who reached the final here in 2011. "Im very happy with my performance," Petkovic said.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. "About time, eh?" he said. "Ive been waiting for this one for a while." Anaheims consummate playmaker finally had a hat trick of his own in the latest overwhelming victory for the league-leading Ducks. Getzlaf had three goals and an assist in the first period, linemate Dustin Penner also scored four points, and the Ducks remained the NHLs only unbeaten home team with a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. Getzlaf nearly didnt play after taking a tumble in the morning skate. Instead, he got his first career hat trick before the first intermission as the league-leading Ducks (14-3-1) trounced the league-worst Sabres (3-15-1) for their seventh win in eight games overall. While improving to 7-0 at home, the Ducks got a landmark performance from their captain, who usually makes his living setting up longtime teammate Corey Perry for the bulk of the former Richard Trophy winners goals. With big assists from Penner and Perry, Getzlaf finally got his first hat trick in his 574th regular-season game. "They were really dominant tonight," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said of his top line. "There was no doubt. You could tell, as soon as he started his skating, that Ryan was great. When we got the power-play goal early, it was because he did something he doesnt normally do, which is jump right into the play after a shot. As soon as he did that, I said OK, hes going to have a good game." The veteran centre tied the franchise record for points in a period while picking up just the second first-period hat trick in Ducks history. Teemu Selanne also did it in November 1997. "Thats why hes got the C," said Penner, who had three first-period assists and a second-period goal in his first four-point game since December 2009. "He shows what a great leader he is by getting timely goals." Getzlaf finished the first period with nine points in his last nine periods, including three multipoint performances in Anaheims last four outings to move up to second place among the leagues overall scoring leaders. He has 13 points in the Ducks last eight games while playing with Perry and Penner, reassembling their line from the Ducks Stanley Cup-winning team in 2007. "The way we used to play together and work around each other, it feels like its the same," Getzlaf said. Frederik Andersen made 25 saves and improved to 5-0 in his NHL career as Anaheim won its seventh straight at Honda Center. Cam Fowler also scored in the first period for the Ducks, and Richard Rakell earned his first NHL point on a slick backhand assist for Andrew Coglianos second-period goal.
Cheap Jerseys From China. Mikhail Grigorenko scored his first two goals of the season for the Sabres, who finished their three-game California road swing with back-to-back losses. Ryan Miller stopped 28 shots in the first two periods while dropping to 2-11. "It was a disaster to be part of," Miller said. "Ive been a part of many disasters in my career. You just have to turn the page and move on." The Sabres struggled defensively without key defenceman Christian Ehrhoff, who sat out with a lower-body injury. Jhonas Enroth replaced Miller in the third period for the Sabres, who have lost six of seven overall. Anaheim also won 6-3 in Buffalo last Saturday. "Theyre a great team, (but) that line especially is the top one in the NHL," Buffalo centre Cody Hodgson said. "We didnt have a good start, and they capitalized on it. Its not the ending you want to a road trip, but we had a good win against the Sharks, and well take that from it. But there were not a lot of positives to build off of from this game." The Ducks were sizzling in their second game since returning from an eight-game East Coast trip. Anaheim is off to the best home start in the franchises two decades of existence, outscoring its opponents 33-12. The Ducks scored just four power play goals in their first 16 1/2 games this season, dropping to last overall in the NHL, before scoring four more in a 35-minute stretch that began Wednesday against Phoenix and extended into the lopsided first period against Buffalo. After Getzlaf batted home a rebound in the slot just 2:11 in, Fowler scored Anaheims second power-play goal midway through the period. Grigorenko answered with a goal on a nifty behind-the-net pass from Cody McCormick, but Getzlaf jumped on a Buffalo turnover and fired a wrist shot for an unassisted goal. Getzlaf completed the hat trick with 20 seconds left in the period, scoring on a backhand all alone in front after a pass from Perry. The traditional hat shower from the Anaheim crowd only began gradually, with many fans stunned by Getzlafs feat. NOTES: Ehrhoff was hurt in the third period Thursday night in Los Angeles. LW Ville Leino was a healthy scratch. ... ... Selanne played in his 1,400th NHL game. The 43-year-old Finnish Flash is just the third European player to reach the mark, joining Nicklas Lidstrom and Jaromir Jagr. ... The Ducks are 10-0-1 when Penner is in the lineup. ... Ducks C Saku Koivu (upper body) and F Jakob Silfverberg (broken right hand) sat out their seventh straight games. G Viktor Fasth missed his 12th straight game with a lower-body injury, but could return to practice soon.
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