|
You knew it was going to catch up to them but you just didnt know when. Dawan Landry . Im relating the reality of the slow starts in games by the Toronto Argonauts and how it had to stop as you cant always depend on fourth quarter comebacks and game-winning drives. The Argos have had an excellent year. At 9-4, they control the East and, unless they implode, should have the East Final at home. Thats a major advantage but they need Ricky Ray back. Zack Collaros has been entertaining and exciting and has established himself as a player in this league. But he is not Ricky Ray. Henry Burris completed his first seven passes and created an early lead. As important as it is to have come-from-behind skills, it is just as important to have create-a-lead skills and Ray has both. Getting a team ready to play is a process and takes a week. Why the Argos dont begin games better is a mystery but I do know what it takes: perfect preparation, emotional intensity and the combination of the two creates a unique and genuine level of focus. But the key factor is it has to be everybody; not just the starters but all 42 that dress for the game. In some ways, when the ball is kicked off, the vast majority of the work for coaches is over. But for the player, the important part has begun; seeing if your preparation and emotional intensity which creates your focus is there. This is by no means heavy psychological stuff, quite the opposite. It is easy to master if youre aware and make the effort over and over again. The Argos are a very good team that can be great if they would start games fast and hard and finish the same way. In Saskatchewan, it is a brand new season. The 31-17 win over the B.C. Lions breaks a four-game losing cycle and makes those four games complete history. And what is even more important is that it puts the Riders in second place and re-energizes the fact they still can host the 101st Grey Cup at home come November 24th. Im not sure about the trade. Patrick Neufeld is going to have a long career in CFL football but Alex Hall could be gone by next season. I know in other sports you "rent a player" for a block of time and it works but I am not sure it works in football. One is Canadian, one is American. There are countless football players of quality in the United States. In Canada, sometimes I think I can count them. I realize offensive line depth is a strength for Saskatchewan but Im still not sure who will win this deal as time moves on. The last two games on Saturday were painful to watch. Montreal took apart the Eskimos and Calgary did the same to the Blue Bombers. On the positive side, Mike Reilly played, survived and will play again. Im happy about that because the Montreal defence is intimidating. To me, Kyries Herbert and Chip Cox are the best two defensive players on the field at the same time on any team. You add Shea Emry and an excellent player in Mike Edem and the Alouettes can steal playoff games because of the hitting ability on that side of the field alone. The Calgary Stampeder are a complete team. In just about ever aspect of football, Calgary is as good or better than any team. One of their least recognized performers is kicker Rene Paredes. He has made almost every field goal that you can make and by doing so, either wins the close games or keeps the games close. You cant underrate his value. Lets be honest, with four games left in the regular season, Winnipeg and Edmonton are building for 2014. I realize it is not over until its over mathematically but the lack of energy expressed by both teams on Saturday was distressing. Not all players but for some, it came accross as a practice game, not a regular season battle. With four games left, teams are looking to host at least one game at home in the playoffs. During the regular season, home field is not as big an advantage as you might think. It is an advantage, but in an eight-team league, its not always a game-changer. In the playoffs? Oh yes! In the West, first place is no guarantee but the energy of playing at home in the Semi-Final, Final or Grey Cup Game is a feeling you never forget. The next four games mean everything to give yourself the best possible chance to win it all. Jaiquawn Jarrett . -- Former California coach Jeff Tedford has been hired as offensive co-ordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dee Milliner .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season.Baseball season is just around the corner and TSN.ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Today, TSN Blue Jays reporter Scott MacArthur answers the key questions facing the 2014 Toronto Blue Jays and how they stack up in the always competitive American League East. GM: Alex Anthopoulos Manager: John Gibbons 2013: 74-88 5th in AL East, Did not qualify for playoffs QUESTION: What is the answer to the Blue Jays starting rotation problems? MacARTHUR: Cross your fingers. This is a starting rotation that could pleasantly surprise. If it falters, well, that would lead some to conclude that it simply met expectations. If we work off the assumption that we generally know what the Jays will get from R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle (double-digit victories, ERAs on either side of 4.00 and more than 200 innings each,) then Brandon Morrow and Drew Hutchison become the keys to this whole thing. Morrow, 29, is healthy after missing the final four months of last season with an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm. He has never pitched 180 innings in a single season (he did come close in 2011 when he threw a career-high 179 1/3 innings) and is out to prove he can stay healthy and be effective. Win totals arent always an accurate reflection of a pitchers season but the Jays need Morrow to swallow up 15 to 18 victories. If nothing else, the win total reflects that the pitcher went deep into enough ballgames to factor in to the result. Morrow is potentially in a contract year. The Blue Jays hold a $10-million option on his services for 2015. Hutchison, 23, was Torontos best pitcher in the Grapefruit League. He underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in July, 2012, and threw 35 1/3 innings late last season in the minor leagues. The Jays, however, insist the gloves are off and Hutchison will not be subject to an innings limit this year. The right-hander is a control pitcher and routinely was clocked with a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s this spring. More importantly, Hutchison was painting both corners and was keeping hitters off-balance with his changeup. Take this whichever way you will, but if were talking in September about Hutchison having been the Jays best starting pitcher in 2014, I wouldnt be surprised. Thats a good thing if he turns out to be the ace of a surprisingly strong staff. Thats a not so good thing if Hutchison goes through the typical ups and downs of a young pitcher while the rest of the rotation implodes around him. Regardless, Hutchisons future is bright. Aside from his stuff and his command, the Blue Jays salivate over his mound presence and his desire not just to pitch in the big leagues, but to be a dependable, dominant staff ace. You can look at the addition of Dustin McGowan to the rotation two ways and both are accurate. From a personal perspective, McGowans perseverance through multiple shoulder surgeries and various other ailments is to be commended and celebrated. He was a trustworthy arm in 25 appearances out of the bullpen last year and when, in September, he expressed an interest in stretching out to become a starter once more, people looked at one another puzzled. What could he possibly be thinking? Well, at least to this point, hes proven this doubter wrong and good for him. Can he stay healthy? Who knows. Only time will tell. From a club perspective, McGowan is the best option, which reflects poorly on J.A. Happ, who will begin the season on the disabled list with a bad back and who pitched poorly in four spring games. Happ, essentially, pitched himself out of the rotation. Esmil Rogers, who cannot throw strikes consistently enough to be a starter and Todd Redmond, a strike-thrower who struggles the second time through an oppositions lineup, are better suited to the bullpen. Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez will begin their seasons at Triple-A Buffalo and Double-A New Hampshire, respectively. Both need more seasoning before they join Hutchison in what could be a potent starting rotation for years to come. Dont be surprised if both Stroman and Sanchez make their big league debuts this year. Both are more than capable of making spot starts in case of injury or the poor performance of others. General manager Alex Anthopoulos didnt secure external starting pitching help, either via free agency or via trade, and is left with some uncertainty at the back end of his rotation as a result.Jacoby Ford. QUESTION: Does Alex Anthopoulos take the blame if this season is a failure? MacARTHUR: Yes, Anthopoulos will take some blame if this season is a failure, as he should. So should manager John Gibbons. So should the players. So should everybody in the organization. Will Anthopoulos be fired? The heat is getting turned up on the general manager, who took significant risks when making the blockbuster trades with the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets last offseason. Those deals represented a sudden change in course, ushering in a "win now" mentality instead of the previous plan to draft, develop and patiently cultivate talent. If Toronto has another down year, the club will have to determine whether it can win with a nucleus of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Both are elite sluggers on team-friendly tickets, possibly through 2016, and could fetch significant return. Should Anthopoulos be fired, it will be interesting to see which direction the club takes. Anthopoulos was a lieutenant of former general manager J.P. Ricciardi and there are people who work for Anthopoulos who date back to the Ricciardi days. It could be time for the Blue Jays to fundamentally reset the baseball operations department by bringing in an outsider. QUESTION: Is this the final season of the championship window? MacARTHUR: This is a tough question to answer because, after last season, it feels like the window either never existed or was bolted shut. The strange thing, despite whats been sold in these parts over the last 15 months, is that the future of the starting rotation (Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez) seems to be much brighter than the present. Maybe the so-called "championship window" is down the road a little bit. The Blue Jays have shopped high-priced talent like Mark Buehrle in the past. Theyd be open to moving him again if the season goes bust, although its a difficult proposition considering Buehrle is owed $18-million this year and $19-million next season, the heavily back-loaded years of the contract he signed with the Marlins. R.A. Dickey is locked in at $12-million per for this year and next. He has a club option for the same amount in 2016. Hes being paid to be the ace. Would another club be willing to take on the money for an almost 40-year-old who throws an unpredictable pitch? Offensively, with good health the Blue Jays should score their share of runs. They wont be a station to station ballclub; dont look for a lot of stolen bases. It will be up to Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to combine for 75 home runs and for Colby Rasmus, in a contract year, to repeat the .840 OPS he posted last season while cutting down on the strike outs. Brett Lawrie, now 24, is showing signs of maturity at the plate. Hes devoted himself to studying video of opposing pitchers with Encarnacion. I believe the Blue Jays will be a better team this season. However, I also believe the Tampa Bay Rays and the defending world champion Boston Red Sox remain the two best teams in the division. The Baltimore Orioles have a potent offence but are dealing with questions in their starting rotation. The New York Yankees retooled after missing the playoffs for only the second time in 19 seasons but theyre dealing with health concerns of their own – namely Derek Jeter (how he bounces back from a serious ankle injury,) Mark Teixeira (recovering from a torn tendon sheath in his wrist) and CC Sabathia (had elbow problems last season; his fastball has topped out at 91 miles per hour this spring.) Typically, I dont like predicting because there are too many variables. Ill go so far as to say I think Rays starting pitching will catapult them to the American League East crown this year. The Red Sox will finish second in the division and win a wild card spot. That leaves the Blue Jays, Orioles and Yankees to finish in spots three to five. The order is anyones guess. Whos in?: 1B Dan Johnson (minor league deal), C Erik Kratz (acquired from PHI), C Dioner Navarro (Two-year contract) Whos out?: C J.P.Arencibia (Signed with TEX), OF Rajai Davis (Signed with DET), IF Mark DeRosa (retired), SP Josh Johnson (Signed with SD), RP Brad Lincoln (Traded to PHI), RP Darren Oliver (retired), SP Chien-Ming Wang (Signed with CIN) ' ' ' |
