TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. 1) With J.A. Happ heading to the DL, the Toronto Blue Jays have announced a starting rotation of R.A. Dickey, Drew Hutchison, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow and Dustin McGowan. Should the Blue Jays feel confident with that group or even this early in the season, should they be looking outside the organization for an upgrade? Or should they have kept a prospect like Aaron Sanchez or Marcus Stroman with the big club? The Blue Jays are starting the season with exact rotation they should be using. Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman both need more development but at some point they may be called upon to help. Certainly there are big questions for three-fifths of the starters but there is definitely upside. RA Dickey is just a year removed from his NL Cy Young Award and is predictable and dependable. I cant believe I am saying that about a knuckleballer but it is true. Mark Buerhle is a more than serviceable innings-eater who gives his team a chance to win start after start. After these two though the questions are significant. Brandon Morrow has suffered injuries in each of the past two seasons after looking like a number one starter at times in 2012. Dustin McGowan is throwing in the mid-nineties and is working on a curve ball to go with his devastating slider, but he has thrown just 46 2/3 innings since 2008 because of recurrent shoulder injuries. Drew Hutchison hasnt pitched in the Major Leagues for the past year and a half due to Tommy John surgery but prior to that he looked like he could be a long-term answer for the rotation. Before the season begins players, front office personnel and fans close their eyes and dream about what could be. I can close my eyes and see RA Dickey commanding his dancing knuckler that will baffle hitter. I can envision Buerhle getting a ton of grounders and working quickly getting the powerhouse offense back in the dugout and scoring a ton of runs. I can picture Brandon Morrow rifling his fastball by the games biggest sluggers and logging a ton of strikeouts. I can imagine McGowan and Hutchison fulfilling the potential that they once had as well. It could happen just that way. But it probably wont. My experience is that the more questions you enter with the more things that will likely go wrong. There is a bunch of unpredictability in this rotation. Depth will be important. It is safe to assume that health will be an issue at some point because it has been an issue in the past. Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond may make starts if necessary. But Alex Anthopolous is going to have to keep working the phones to look for upgrades. Early in the season other clubs arent typically trading good pitchers but he will need to be ready for when they do become available. So when you close your eyes and dream just hope it is not a nightmare. 2) Is manager John Gibbons on the hot seat with the Blue Jays? If the team is slow out of the gate again this year, will he be replaced? Are his and Alex Anthopouloss future tied together (if one goes, the other follows him out the door)? I dont think John Gibbons is on the hot seat during the season this year. I know there were big expectations last year but the collapse wasnt Gibbons fault. The starting rotation just fell apart on him as Morrow and Josh Johnson got hurt and Ricky Romero imploded. Jose Reyes injury crushed the offense early in the season and more injuries followed. The expectations are less this year than a year ago. It certainly behooves the Jays to get off to a good start so they can start to believe in themselves but Gibbons cant pitch for his team and the staff will be the key. I have never been a believer that managers and general managers are tied at the hip. The manager needs to look at the GM as his boss. Clearly Gibbons was brought back to the Jays because of his relationship with Anthopolous but if Anthopolous thinks a change needs to be made he will have to make it. If ownership gets to a point where they believe the roster is flawed and they decide to make a decision on the general manager it is unlikely Gibbons would survive a change in regime. Anthoplous can possibly survive the firing of Gibbons but I dont believe Gibbons would survive the firing of Anthopolous. As it stands today both the manager and general manager are on firm ground as they should be. They just need to be honest with themselves and their bosses about what the expectations are with the roster they have. The owners can hope to be competitive in the tough AL East but if they expect to win it then both Anthopolous and Gibbons are in trouble. This is a roster for which you can hope but not expect great things. 3) With Reds starter Aroldis Chapman and Rays starter Matt Moore both being hit in the head by comebackers to the mound in spring training, is it time for Major League Baseball and/or the players union to implement mandatory pitcher protection? It seems that pitchers have become more and more vulnerable over the past few seasons. Fortunately, we have avoided major catastrophe but we shouldnt be shocked if a pitcher were to be killed by a hit ball. We have just been lucky so far. I am a firm believer that we should never wait for someone to be killed to make a change. Baseball already did that once. Base coaches wear helmets now because a minor league first base coach was hit in the head by a line drive and killed. If protecting pitchers is being considered then protect them. Lets not wait for a tragedy. It is currently optional for pitchers to wear the new protective headgear that was developed by MLB for this year. The feedback so far is that the hats look funny and are not overly comfortable. MLB needs to keep refining the protective hats to make them functional. This needs to be a priority for the Players Association as well. Protective hats for pitchers need to be made mandatory at the minor league level initially. Let the kids get comfortable with them so by the time they are big leaguers it is commonplace. Once the hat is advanced enough make it mandatory for major league pitchers to wear. There is no clock in baseball but we need to put a clock on this. Every pitch thrown puts a pitcher at risk. Please hurry. 4) With the second and third opening days approaching for Major League Baseball it is time to make predictions. Here is how I see the American League:AL East AL Central AL West 1) Boston Detroit Oakland2) Tampa Bay* Kansas City** LA Angels3) Baltimore Cleveland Texas4) Blue Jays Minnesota Seattle5) New York Yankees Chicago Houston * first Wild Card ** second Wild Card AL CHAMPION: Oakland As defeat Detroit AL AWARDS AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DetroitAL MVP: Justin Verlander, DetroitAL Rookie of Year: Yordano Ventura, Kansas CityAL Manager of Year: Ned Yost, Kansas City Here are my predictions for the NL:NL East NL Central NL West1) Washington St Louis LA Dodgers 2) Atlanta** Milwaukee SF Giants*3) NY Mets Cincinnati Arizona4) Philadelphia Pittsburgh Colorado5) Miami Chicago San Diego* first Wild Card ** second Wild Card NL CHAMPION: Washington Nationals defeat Dodgers NL AWARDS NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta BravesNL CY Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington NationalsNL Rookie of Year: Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates Manager of the Year: Mike Matheny, St Louis Cardinals WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Washington Nationals defeat Oakland As LET THE GAMES BEGIN…..PLAY BALL!!!
https://www.nycityfootballshop.com/41-Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden.
https://www.nycityfootballshop.com/35-Jersey . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. https://www.nycityfootballshop.com/36-Jersey. - The Carolina Panthers believe Steve Smith lost "top-end" speed, a big reason the franchise parted ways with its all-time leading receiver.
https://www.nycityfootballshop.com/58-Jersey . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November.
https://www.nycityfootballshop.com/69-Jersey . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks.Sky Sports News Alex Hammond reflects on Cheltenham and looks ahead to the weekend action at Ascot and Haydock. Only one place to start sadly and thats with your reflections on Sundays events at Cheltenham. Can you sum up how you felt following the announcement of Sprinter Sacres retirement followed by the fatal injury to Simonsig?I was lucky enough to be at Cheltenham on Sunday so was pleased to see Sprinter Sacre paraded after Nicky Henderson announced his retirement due to a leg injury sustained in the week. It was at the Open meeting 12 months ago that he won his first race since coming back from his serious heart problem and it was a performance that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and saw you clear your throat before you could talk to the person next to you. It was just as emotional to see him this year too and it felt the right thing to do for Henderson to bring him up the road to Cheltenham to strut his magnificent stuff in front of an appreciative crowd. Calling him a dual Champion Chase winner doesnt accurately define this talented equine god. Yes, he won the race twice which takes some doing, but he was one of the few horses that we took to our hearts (ironically) and admired. He was beautiful, bold, brave and had overcome significant adversity and deserves a peaceful and long retirement. Sadly, that is something that wont be afforded to another of Hendersons stable stars. We had to endure the sad demise of gallant grey Simonsig who suffered a fatal fall in the Shloer Chase. Like his illustrious stablemate he also had problems over the years and probably delighted and frustrated his trainer in equal measure. As soon as he got to his feet after the fall that claimed his life you could tell something was horribly wrong and a hush fell over the racecourse when it became apparent it was serious. I had backed Fox Norton in the race, but along with the rest of the crowd, watched in silence as he continued his step up the chasing ladder for new trainer Colin Tizzard. Yes, we all know that with racing comes risks, but accidents like this are hard to take. Having been involved with racing for all of my adult life I know that horses can get themselves into scrapes just standing in their boxes or fields at home (as we saw with Vautour) and thankfully it doesnt happen as often as some people think. I feel most of all for the person that looked after him at home and the staff who had most to do with him. Having been in that situation myself it is heartbreaking. It is also a real blow for both his patient owner and trainer. However hardened you are to life and life with animals, it still cuts to the quick.The Friday night rain helped Taquin Du Seuil roar back to form with victory in the BetVictor Gold Cup - what now for him and disappointing stablemate More Of That?What on earth happened to More Of That?! To coin a phrase, he ran too bad to be true and Im sure he will put that behind him in the future. It was great for Jonjo ONeill to win it with Taquin Du Seuil who was by no means a rank outsider, but I was convinced More Of That would take this en-route to much better things over fences this season. ONeill had flagged the 2014 World Hurdle winner up as the best he has ever trained before the race on Saturday and said a recent breathing operation should have helped his cause. However, he ran moderately and was pulled up, so hopefully something will come out in the wash. I was slightly concerned beforehand that the stable hadnt been churning out the winners of late, but Taquin Du Seuils win disproved that theory, although it is possible for some horses to run well even when a stable is a bit quiet. More Of That has burst blood vessels in the past and maybe that is still an issue, although the vet didnt find a problem in the immediate aftermath. That wasnt his running and its back to the drawing board for the time being. As for the winner, hes sure to go back to Cheltenham in December where the ground should be suitably soft.Sunday was a great day for the Skeltons who went one better than last year in the stanjames.com Greatwood Hurdle. How high can North Hill Harvey scale on the hurdling ladder this term?JP McManus had to watch a couple of his fancied horses run below par over the weekend, the other was Winter Escape in the Greatwood. He lost his unbeatenn record and could only finish 11th behind North Hill Harvey; again I hope he can put that behind him.dddddddddddd As for the winner he showed a likeable attitude to hold off the staying-on Modus and he looks a bright prospect. I dont know when they will send this 5 year-old chasing, but that is the long term aim for this point to point winner and I expect we wont see the best of him until he jumps a fence.What are going to be the main factors that decide who takes home the Betfair Chase crown this year?Well, the main factors will be:* Is 2015 Gold Cup winner Coneygree ready to roll on his first start for a year?* Can Cue Card put his seasonal reappearance defeat at Wetherby behind him?* Can Seeyouatmidnight step up to the plate and take on the big boys in his second season chasing and cut it at the highest level?* Has Silviniaco Contis run at Down Royal two weeks ago left its mark or will we see the best of him in the King George?* Was Irish Cavaliers win in the Charlie Hall a true reflection of what he is capable of, or did the opposition run below form?I think the Bradstocks know exactly what it takes to get Coneygree ready first time up and its just a shame that Nico de Boinville is injured and misses the ride. I really hope Richard Johnson is free to take the ride (at the time of writing there was no news on that front and a decision will be made on Thursday morning). He has had a couple of away days to gallop at Haydock and schooled at Nicky Hendersons, so that will have all helped in getting him tuned up for this and I hope we see the same Coneygree on his return to action. Theres no doubt Cue Cards run at Wetherby was less than expected, but I think hell be ridden more patiently on Saturday. Seeyouatmidnight has his favoured soft ground on Saturday and hes an exciting chaser for the North. Id be worried about his prominent style of running though which would see him take on Coneygree up front. Silviniaco Conti has won this twice and finished placed twice in four starts in the grade 1, but hes 10 now and may be vulnerable. Id be happy to watch him, rather than back him, but theres no doubting this is a race that suits him well. Irish Cavalier had race fitness on his side in the Charlie Hall and he needs to run here to see where he stands at this level for the rest of the season. I hope that Coneygree wins the race and hes my selection. Im interested to see how Seeyouatmidnight fares. He has something to find at the weights and looks likely to be taken on for the lead, but his trainer Sandy Thomson is in form and in Brian Hughes he will be partnered by a jockey riding at the top of his game.Does anything else catch your eye looking ahead to the weekends action?Well if Richard Johnson rides at Ascot rather than Haydock Id be interested in anything he rides at the Berkshire track! There is the possibility hell be claimed for Menorah against Coneygree of course. Philip Hobbs has some nice horses entered at Ascot though, so it wouldnt be a huge surprise to see Dickie head there to ride those horses for his main stable.At Haydock Ive already backed the Paul Nicholls trained Caid Du Berlais in the Fixed Brush Hurdle on Saturday. Stan Sheppard claims 5lb off his back and was on board for his win at Aintree in a handicap hurdle earlier this month. He has been raised 8lb for that decisive win and there should be more to come from this 7 year-old who has run well off this sort of mark over fences and with his conditional riders claim looks to have a great chance of winning again. He has won over fences so these obstacles will hold no fears. At the time of writing he was an 8/1 shot for the 2 mile 7 furlong race.I think it could be a good day for the champion trainer as his Dodging Bullets is expected to have come on for his reappearance third in the Haldon Gold Cup. He is one of the favourites for the Stellar Artois 1965 Chase at Ascot. Also See: Live results service Full racecards Get Sky Sports ￡10 completely free bet! ' ' '
