collisions between base runners and catchers

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida - However you slice it, the Blue Jays need to add two starting pitchers before the season starts on March 31 in Tampa Bay. Whether the return to health of Brandon Morrow and the emergence of one of the clubs pitching prospects – Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman – add up to two arms or whether acquisitions are made via trade or through free agency, the rotation must improve in order for Toronto to contend. With the wrap up of this mass gathering of owners, executives, media and the odd player, general manager Alex Anthopoulos hopes now is the time he can truly get down to business. “I actually get relieved when we leave the winter meetings,” said Anthopoulos. “I find we can get back to work a little bit when we get back home. Theres too much going on here with every team. Theyve got agent meetings, clubs and I think people, including us, can just get paralyzed.” Despite his feeling toward the three day event, Anthopoulos believes hes laid the foundation for possible moves. “Similar, I would say,” said Anthopoulos when asked to compare his work to that of past winter meetings. “There are some things that we could do. Were trying to do more than one thing, especially on the trade market. We have so many assets so were trying to figure out, okay, how can we divide up all these assets and make sure that we get these two or three things rather than just use too many assets to get one and then were stuck.” Despite a disappointing 2013 and the expectation of a bounce back next year, he doesnt feel rushed to make a move and wont be pressured. “Were comfortable going into any time,” said Anthopoulos. “Theres no timeline of December, January. Whenever it happens, it happens. We did the Vernon Wells deal in late January.” KNUCKLING UP One-time Blue Jay Tomo Ohka is back in the fold, signing a minor league contract. Ohka, 37, is attempting to follow the path of R.A. Dickey and reestablish his career as a knuckleballer. “The one thing is hes a good athlete,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. “Hes got a repeatable delivery and he was a strike thrower, which is a pretty good combination. How much success he has, how it works, too hard to tell but he does have some of the ingredients and he has a will, he has a will to do it.” Anthopoulos has approached R.A. Dickey about tutoring Ohka and Dickey has agreed to be of help where he can. Dickey successfully transitioned from being a conventional pitcher to a knuckleballer. Expect Ohka to begin the 2014 season with Double-A New Hampshire. Ohka made 10 starts for the Blue Jays in 2007, posting a record of 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA. He spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Montreal Expos, winning 27 games, before moving with the franchise to Washington for the 2005 season. RULE 5 DRAFT The Blue Jays selected left-hander Brian Moran from the Seattle Mariners but promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Angels for international cap space. The deal affords the Jays a higher monetary ceiling in the pursuit of young, draft ineligible international free agents. CURBING COLLISIONS The push is on to ban collisions between base runners and catchers at home plate. “I dont have a strong feeling one way or the other, I could go either way,” said Anthopoulos on whether home plate collisions should stay in, or be removed from, the game. “Theres more money involved. Salaries are going up. Its tough when you lose these guys with collisions and things like that. I think thats a big factor, obviously. You just cant afford to have some of your star players going down.” A draft document detailing the new rule will be ready in January, at which point it will require approval from the rules committee, owners and the Players Association. Fines and suspensions are expected to be among the penalties for offenders in home plate collisions. Custom Sports Jerseys . “The shootout, theres nothing wrong with it, I think its an exciting part of the game but its just one small aspect,” said Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “Its a skill exhibition. If you can get it back closer to regular hockey and have it decided that way; that would be my preference.” “I dont think its a knock on the shootout, I think more of the managers would like to see it end in overtime,” added Washington Capitals GM George McPhee. Sports Jerseys For Sale . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/michael-jordan-jersey/ . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. Womens Michael Jordan Jersey . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. Authentic Tom Brady Jersey . -- Patrick Kueng of Switzerland was nearly flawless as he captured his first World Cup and halted Aksel Lund Svindals streak of four straight super-G victories on Saturday.MARSEILLE, France -- Top-seeded Richard Gasquet and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both reached the Open 13 quarterfinals with straight-sets wins on Wednesday. After the second-seeded Tsonga beat Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), his French countryman Gasquet followed up with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Slovenias Blaz Kavcic. Gasquet did not face a single break-point and took his opponents serve three times. Earlier, the second-seeded Tsonga, who had 19 aces, improved to 4-2 in career head-to-heads against the Russian who reached a career-high ranking of third. Davydenko saved one match point with a forehand pass down the line, but Tsonga clinched victory with the next when Davydenkos forehand hit the net. "Its never easy against him, hes a great player whos won a lot of titles," the 28-year-old Tsonga said. "Im trying to get my bearings again, which is why I was so happy to win." Tsonga next plays either sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of Francce or Ukraines Sergiy Stakhovsky, while Gasquets quarterfinal opponent is either fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia or Germanys Tobias Kamke.dddddddddddd "I didnt play well last time (in Rotterdam). But you shouldnt forget that, and use the experience," said Tsonga, referring to his straight-sets loss to Croat Marin Cilic in the second round of the ABN Amro tournament. "I absolutely must raise my level." In the remaining first-round matches on Wednesday, there were wins for seventh-seeded Julien Benneteau of France, No. 8 Nicolas Mahut of France, Spains Roberto Bautista Agut, Germanys Jan-Lennard Struff, Frenchman Michael Llodra and Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania. Benneteau of France won 6-1, 6-4 against Jesse Huta Galung; Mahut beat Kenny De Schepper 7-6 (2), 6-3; Struff beat David Guez 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Bautista Agut won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 against Dustin Brown; Llodra downed Lukas Lacko 6-3, 7-6 (2), and Berankis led 6-5 when Jan Hajek retired. ' ' '