ERST LESEN! » y, in Washington, he will not make in Clevelan

BALTIMORE – Jose Reyes ran the bases while Casey Janssen threw a bullpen session at Oriole Park on Saturday afternoon. Both men are close to being ready to play in minor league rehabilitation games. This is the one time when manager John Gibbons cant wait to see his starting shortstop and his closer leave the team. "The plan is theyre probably going to fly to Florida (on Sunday)," said Gibbons. "I know Reyes will probably start playing a game on Monday. Casey … its probably Monday or Tuesday." Janssen simulated a game situation during his side session. He warmed up like he normally would and then had hitters stand in the batters box to provide a game-like feel. He estimates he threw 35 pitches in total. "I think I threw pretty much as hard as I could without facing a hitter," said Janssen. "There wasnt any holding back or any questioning is it going to hurt type of stuff." While Janssen feels the worst is behind him, including the pain of his abdominal strain, theres still something there, although he struggles to describe it. "I feel stuff," he said. "It doesnt hurt. They say youre going to feel stuff and as long as it doesnt hurt well keep on going forward and thats what Ive been doing. Ive been able to do everything theyve asked me to do to this point and the next part of the progress is a game." Reyes, like Janssen, simulated game situations on the base paths. He reported feeling "good," much the same as when he first ran sprints before Fridays game. The plan, at the moment, is for Reyes and Janssen to play their rehab games for Single-A Dunedin, due to weather concerns surrounding both higher minor league affiliates in Buffalo and New Hampshire. While no firm timetable is set for either players return to the big league team, the Blue Jays have six games scheduled between Minneapolis and Cleveland through to next weekend. The air is still cool in both cities at this time of year. "I dont care about that," said Reyes. "If Im ready to play in Cleveland Im going to play." Dealing with the shift Every time Adam Lind steps into the batters box, he looks up and sees an exaggerated defensive shift to his pull side. Lind wonders if the man sometimes credited with inventing the sport is rolling over in his grave. "They said it in spring training, what would Abner Doubleday think? "He wouldnt even recognize it," said Lind. Very rarely will you see hitters change their approach to deal with the shift, which is typically applied against the dead pull power hitters. If they run into one, theyll elevate the ball but if they hit the ball on the ground, the defence will scoop it up. "It depends on the pitcher," said Lind. "If its someone that I dont feel, that Im consistently late with then I just try to hit it to the left side." "Sometimes you get them tinkering with it and trying to flip balls the other way, I mean it does you a favour in a lot of ways, it takes them out of what their game is," said manager John Gibbons. "The only thing, we have concerns at times doing it, there are a couple of guys out there that will lay down a bunt on you. They dont have to be good bunters. Say its a tight ball game, leading off an inning, not a one-run game but like a two-run game, you fear somebody might drop it down, it doesnt have to be a good bunt, they beat it out to get an inning going." In the scenario Gibbons just illustrated, youll see the shortstop cheat in on the grass to discourage the bunt. Colby Rasmus is another grip it and rip it left-hander in the Blue Jays lineup. He said in spring training he doesnt like to be considered a dead pull hitter anymore but old habits die hard. It used to be a hitter like Rasmus could get a read on the type of pitch and pitch location based on the defensive alignment but thats out the window with the shift. "I try not to even pay attention to it because then you start thinking about where theyre going to play you, where theyre going to pitch you, thinking maybe theyre going to shift so maybe theyre going to throw me in, thinking that Im just going to hit it into the shift and then they throw you everything away," said Rasmus. Lind says the part of the shift thats affected him most is when the opposition places its shortstop in line with the pitcher behind second base. On Friday night, against Chris Tillman in the second inning, Lind lined out to the shortstop, who positioned himself right where Lind hit the ball prior to the pitch. If its anytime earlier in the at-bat, the ball gets through. Lind understands. "Youve got to do it," he said. "Like, if you show patterns, whats the point of having the third baseman there if you never hit it there?" BB-Bautista Jose Bautista walked three more times on Saturday night, spiking his major league-leading total to 16 on the young season. "Theyre not going to give him anything to hit until Eddie gets going," said manager John Gibbons. "Right now, my guess, theyre going to make Eddie beat them. When he gets going, then its a little bit different." Encarnacion singled in the second inning and went 1-5 on Saturday night. Hes hitting .160 through the first 12 games and is still looking for his first home run of the season. Discount Old Skool . The Suns termed Fridays surgery by team doctor Thomas Carter a success. No timetable was given for Bledsoes return but the team said in a news release that he "will pursue a possible return to action during the second half" of the season. Cheap Old Skool Sale .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov. http://www.cheapoldskool.com/ . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return. Wholesale Old Skool .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. Cheap Old Skool Authentic .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders.Time to go to work. After four months of everyone telling you how good you are, the transition of now proving how good you are begins. Yes, the contract still has to be signed and a residence found, but in a matter of 30 days for those drafted in the first round of this years NFL Draft, expectations will be high, as now you have to prove your worth. As always, it was an interesting process at Radio City Music Hall with limited drama and more logic than risk. The logic began early with with Jadeveon Clowney and Greg Robinson going #1 and #2 to the Houston Texans and St. Louis Rams, respectively. Blake Bortles at #3 was a surprise, but then again the Jacksonville Jaguars have serious quarterback developmental problems, so this was a need pick more than a move for the best available player. Where the draft became interesting was when the Buffalo Bills moved up to take Sammy Watkins out of Clemson. As an organization, I doubt they will regret the move 365 days from now, as Watkins is about as sure as you can get (barring injury, of course). When you look at the Bills right now, and this is despite the trade earlier today of Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers, Watkins and Robert Woods make for a solid tandem at wide receiver. Add CJ Spiller at running back and EJ Manuel has a lot to work with. And all four are similar in age , that age being young . A #1 pick in 2015 is a lot to give up, but Watkinss ability to take a short pass and make it into a major gain is phenomenal. A good aggressive move by the Bills. The next 3 picks (Khalil Mack to the Oakland Raiders , Jake Matthews to the Atlanta Falcons and Mike Evans to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) were expected. But then how about the Cleveland Browns? Justin Gilbert at corner to work in tandem with Joe Haden, also a first-round pick, was a bit surprising, but getting Johnny Manziel buy trading up four spots with the Philadelphia Eagles was smart, Draft day football. So the Browns created a top cornerback and a new quarterback and will have two first-rounders in 2015 with the Bills pick. Nice day of Draft strategy for Cleveland. I think Manziel will do well in the NFL. Kyle Shanahan will be his offensive co-ordinator and personal coach and that is significant in that it was Shanahan who coached Robert Griffin III in Washington. Whatever developmental mistake he made, if any, in Washington, he will not make in Cleveland with Manziel. The next seven picks had reason and thought about the until # 16 with the Dallas Cowboys. Now Zack Martin from Notre Dame will be a solid player, but Dallas allowed the third-most points in NFL history last year, so it did not make sense to draft a guard/tackle with their first. Yes, their center and last years first-rounder, Travis Frederick, was outstanding lastt year, but there were glaring needs ignored.dddddddddddd The Pittsburgh Steelers beat Dallas to the Ryan Shazier pick one spot before and he was a player who Dallas wanted, but Calvin Pryor and CJ Mosley went to the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens with the next two picks! Both would be instant starters in Dallas. This one made no sense unless Zack Martin is a star very soon. Another team that made a good move was the New Orleans Saints with Brandin Cooks. They traded up with the Carolina Panthers and took the player who most emulates Darren Sproles, who is now an Eagle. Sean Payton is a master designer of both physical football on offence and speed football the next series. Cooks is a speed element that, in the Mercedes Superdome, could be difficult to contain. Pick #23 by the Kansas City Chiefs was pretty smart too. Dee Ford of Auburn fell off the evaluation radar completely as the Draft came closer to happening. He is a good speed rusher and now the Chiefs have three of them on their Roster. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos because of the pass rush in this years Super Bowl and the Chiefs took notice. Maybe the biggest risk/reward draft pick was #29 by the New England Patriots. i dont know much about Dominique Easley, a defensive lineman out of Florida, other than that he has had two ACL surgeries. If you are unfortunate to have a third, it is tough to remain explosive as your main body part is wearing out. I am sure the Patriots investigated his health intensely, but it is a risk, especially when you consider Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, that I am surprised they would take. Finally, Mike Zimmer and his Minnesota Vikings had a good day. Anthony Barr at # 9 out of UCLA could be a star on the horizon and then trading up with Seattle to get Teddy Bridgewater was also smart. The fans at Radio City Music Hall gave Bridgewater a standing ovation for a quarterback who lives for his mothers heath and dropped hard after his pro day. It will be really interesting to see how he does and, if he does well, it will put into dispute the emphasis on physical skills versus football skills coming out of college. He is in a great situation as Mike Zimmer will improve the defence, Adrian Peterson will be Adrian Peterson and with Phil Loadholt at right tackle and Matt Kalil at left tackle, Teddy Bridgewaters in-pocket skills will be supported. Bridgewaters coach by position is Norv Turner, who is responsible for Troy Aikmans success and Alex Smiths best year in San Francisco. Its a nice place to be. The first round is over in the NFL Draft and you know every team will say they got precisely what they wanted. We know thats not the truth, but with six more rounds to go, there still is optimism for all involved . ' ' '