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DUNEDIN, Florida – In one of his post-game scrums last summer, R. Martavis Bryant Black Friday Jersey .A. Dickey referred to his knuckleball as a "capricious animal," a phrase meant to describe the unpredictability, the figurative moodiness, of his strange pitch. Erik Kratz was behind the plate to start Thursdays 7-5 win over the Phillies. He was catching Dickey for the first time in game action and afterward, could attest to his pitchers apt terminology. Asked how he thought he did on Day One, Kratz turned the tables. "How did you think I did?" He was told he did fine. "Okay, well then I did fine," said Kratz. "It wasnt perfect. I had the anticipated anxiety that I thought I would." Just how anxious was he? "I caught myself not breathing a couple of times and everything like that." Armed with a first basemans glove rather than the oversized catchers mitt preferred by most knuckleball catchers, Kratz understands hell have to be a quick study in learning both the physical and mental requirements of the job. "Just the idea of trying to relax, being out there, getting a different visual but I felt like it went very well," he said. "I felt like there is plenty of room for improvement but I think a lot of things Ive seen in his bullpen sessions, it was good to see in the game. Good to see him be able to change speeds and everything like that." Dickey laboured through the first inning, giving up a lead-off dunk single to Ben Revere. One out later, Brett Lawrie airmailed a throw to second on a Bobby Abreu chopper, putting Phillies on the corners. After Darin Ruf walked to load the bases, a Dickey knuckleball to Maikel Franco eluded Kratz for a passed ball which scored Revere from third. Its not how you would think Kratz would prefer to have drawn it up. Its his first game catching Dickey, in the first inning and the first time with a runner on third and a knuckler gets by him. But he was more than happy to make a mistake in a spring game. Passed balls are going to happen. The key is to not get psyched out; dont make the same mistake twice. "You can say, okay, well, it was a passed ball, wild pitch, it was a tough one to get but you have to be ready for the next one," said Kratz. "I was proud of myself. I was happy about the way I was able to relax." Dickey limits the in-game responsibility of his catcher to receiving his pitch. He calls his own game, communicating velocity to his catcher in ways he wont describe publicly. Hes not going to tip his hand. Dickey doesnt even want Kratz to form a hard target with his glove. "Its probably better for the catcher and for me, for that matter, if hes just nice and relaxed," said Dickey. "Im far enough along in my process where I can pick out a shin guard and hit a fastball. I dont need him to give me a target. "Plus, if hes only giving a target on fastballs then everybody in the stadium is going to know that hey, if he gives you a target its going to be a fastball and if he doesnt give you a target its going to be a knuckleball so I just like him to be nice and relaxed back there, whatever gives him the best chance to consistently catch the ball." Given the uncertainty over Dioner Navarros ability to catch more than 100 games - since Navarro hasnt done so since 2009 - the Jays are looking for more offence from their second catcher. Kratz, with 18 home runs in a back-up role over the last two seasons with the Phillies, fits the bill. Josh Thole, who caught Dickey and served as the back-up catcher after Henry Blanco was released last June, appears to be the odd man out. "Hes going to play a lot," said Gibbons. "We want to make sure he gets some playing time and then well see how it develops. Kratz is going to catch (Dickey) early on, see how that develops, and then go from there." Dickeys knuckleball topped out at 73 miles per hour on Thursday. He struck out two Phillies over two innings, one on a 61-mile-per-hour knuckler and another at 63 miles per hour. He wants his hard knuckleball at 77 by opening day, his floater at 65. Dickey says hes on target to achieve those radar gun readings, adding hes feeling much stronger than he did at the end of last February, when his knuckleball was topping out in the low-70s in early Grapefruit League action. ENCARNACION HAPPY AT FIRST BASE Edwin Encarnacion chuckled at the suggestion he wants to be, or has asked to be, a full-time designated hitter. "No, whatever the manager wants to do Im ready for it," said Encarnacion. "If I have to play every day at first, Ill play. If I have to play both, Im ready for it." Encarnacion played 79 games at first base last season. He served as the designated hitter on 55 occasions. "I like to play DH sometimes because I have more time to go to the computer, watch the pitcher, watch the video," said Encarnacion. "When you play defence you dont have time to do that but for me, if I have to play first base, I dont have a problem with that." Funny, Encarnacions numbers last season were almost indistinguishable. As a first baseman, he compiled a .272/.367/.527 slash line with 19 home runs in 294 at-bats. As a DH: .270/.374/.530 and 13 home runs in 200 at-bats. ROGERS A FATHER Congratulations to Esmil Rogers, the proud father of a baby daughter. Mom and little Elaina are in Denver and doing well. Rogers was there for the birth, returned to Dunedin on Wednesday and pitched in Thursdays game, giving up two runs in one inning of work. Lynn Swann Black Friday Jersey . The Maple Leafs are three points behind Columbus for the last playoff spot in the East with only three games left on their schedule. You can listen to the game live on TSN 1050 starting at 7:30pm et/4:30 pm pt. Heath Miller Black Friday Jersey. -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings.After every game the players and coaches sit down and take a look at the video and evaluate the players, game plan, and execution. As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. It is safe to say that the two winning teams involved were confident they were better than people said leading up to the first week of the regular season. The biggest of the two upsets was when the Bombers handed it to Ricky Ray and the Toronto Argonauts. The game kicked off Thursday a couple of days after TSNs top fifty players were announced, where Ray was named the best player in the CFL. However, Ray was not the best quarterback on Thursday night, Drew Willy, who was starting just his 5th game in the CFL, outplayed the Argo quarterback. Willy finished the night throwing for 308 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception, better numbers than any of the week one starters. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for five more yards in Calgarys game versus Montreal but finished with half the touchdown passes. Willy was the best of the young guns in week one, so much so fans in Winnipeg were calling it Willypeg. The second upset was when Edmonton went into BC Place and beat the Lions by seven points. Odds makers heading into the season had the Lions as the early favorites to win the Grey Cup, those odds may change after week one. Almost ever expert across the country was predicting that the West would be a three horse race between BC, Calgary and Saskatchewan, and that still may be the case. However, week one proved that the Bombers and Esks may have something to say about that and may just join that race. It looks like perennial all-star, Korey Banks days in Winnipeg are over. Sources said that Banks may have been sore from camp but wasnt hurt enough to keep him out of the line up. Therefore, the fact he didnt play was a coaches decision and because of that Banks has asked to be released. Ottawa may be a good fit for the veteran, and if he did end up in the Nations capitol it would mean he would be returning to where his career began back in 2004. He played two years in Ottawa and in 2005 recorded ten interceptions. Banks played linebacker his last five years in BC and during that time registered that same total of INTs. If Ottawa did want to kick the tires on Banks, Rick Campbell may want to look at him as a defensive back, possibly free safety. The new rule change where by defensive pass interference is now reviewable, was tested in week one, when Bomber head coach Michael OShea challenged a missed call in the game versus the Argos. Despite the fact that there are still a couple of coaches that are noot completely convinced the change is a good idea, the challenge process was successful. 2014 Black Friday Steelers Jerseys Deals. There was no flag on the play and OShea challenged and won. It was a missed call that was corrected and a game changer, when the ball was placed on the one yard line and the Bombers scored on the next play. In the end the right call was made, and if hypothetically that was inside of a minute in the Grey Cup and the Bombers were down by four, a championship game would not be tainted by a controversial call. Case in point Montreal versus Hamilton in last years eastern semi final. Those coaches that are still not convinced have yet to give a solid argument as to why they dont like it. The current objections still include, it will slow the pace of the game, or "It just doesnt seem right." In Winnipeg the challenge wasnt longer than the average challenge and, with all due respect, because, "it doesnt seem right," really isnt an argument against this rule change. In Saskatchewan, the defending champions seem to have found a replacement for last years Grey Cup MVP Kory Sheets. It looks like Anthony Allen, who racked up 158 yards on 27 carries versus the Ti-Cats has won the audition to replace Sheets. The Riders are proving the old adage in football, that says games are won and lost in the trenches. It doesnt seem to matter who carries the ball behind that offensive line in Saskatchewan, and on the other side of the ball the defensive front dominated generating 10 sacks. Yes that is not a miss print, the Rider front seven got to Zach Collaros ten times. And finally, the hit by Montreals Kyries Hebert on Jon Cornish will certainly draw supplementary discipline from the league. Hebert is a hard hitting player, but does not have a history of crossing the line and playing dirty, so expect the linebacker/safety to be fined and not suspended. It wont be a complete shock however, if Hebert is suspended for one game, in that he clearly made a choice to hit Cornish high. The game is fast and both players were going full speed but when looking at the reply Hebert could have simply tackled Cornish so, therefore, it appears he made the choice to go high. Again he isnt a player with a track record of cheap shots so a fine from the league as a warning seems the right course of action. Most importantly, Jon Cornish, one of the games biggest stars appears to be ok. Ottawa will play its season opener in week two when they travel to Winnipeg. Drew Willy and the red hot Bombers will be a challenge, but wouldnt it be an interesting start to the season if Henry Burris led the Red Blacks to a win in their first game making Ottawa the first team from the east to win a game. Week two kicks off Thursday night. ' ' ' |
