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DUNEDIN, Florida – If Jose Bautista ends the season on the baseball field, itll mark the first time since 2011 but the Blue Jays slugger bristles at the suggestion he isnt a durable ballplayer. "Its not because I was neglecting my training regime or anything like that," Bautista said of his injuries. "It is disappointing and it is upsetting that I dont get to go out there and finish the season with the team and finish strong. Thats been the case in the last two years so hopefully it doesnt happen again." Bautista tore the tendon sheath in his wrist while taking a swing in a game at Yankee Stadium on July 16, 2012. The injury essentially cost him the remainder of the season, save for five plate appearances over two games in late August. Last year, Bautista jammed his hip while running the bases in July. He played with pain for about a month and then removed himself from a game at Yankee Stadium on August 20. He wouldnt set foot on the field for the rest of the year. Bautista continues to hit home runs at a prodigious pace. He went deep on 6.2 per cent of his at-bats in 2013, a trend that has steadily declined since his career-high 54 home run breakout season in 2010 (8.4 per cent in 2011, 8.1 per cent in 2012) when he rounded the bases in 9.5 per cent of his at-bats. Considering he was recovering from serious wrist surgery, a body part that when injured can sap sluggers of their power, his numbers remain impressive. The 33-year-old describes as "great" his just-getting-to-know-you relationship with new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. The two have spoken briefly in Dunedin and had a couple of phone conversations during the offseason. Broadly put, Seitzers modus operandi is to encourage his hitters to use the entire field. Bautista is among a number of Jays, Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus included, who are almost dead pull hitters. "You just watch the way they throw the shift on him," said manager John Gibbons. "They leave some big holes (on the right side) for him. There are some cheap RBIs that way. I mean, the way I look at it, you get 500 at-bats in a season and say you hit 50 home runs, which is an unbelievable year. Thats still a lot of at-bats without home runs. If youre more of a complete hitter and youll take some hits (to the right side) to get a rally going or drive in a big run or something, that can only help." Leadership and its role on a baseball team continue to be topics of debate among those who follow the game closely. The consensus amongst players is that winning breeds camaraderie, something directly reflected in the success of last years world champion Boston Red Sox. The Jays buried themselves with a 10-17 April last season, injuries mounted and not even an 11-game winning streak in June could salvage the year. As a result, the clubhouse, while it didnt have any crippling divisions, wasnt a tight-knit unit. Players on winning teams, with something to play for, may be more willing to push a single through the opposite side to score a run instead of being concerned primarily with their own stats. "I think if everybody does as well as theyre capable of doing, with some leadership – and hopefully I get to help out in that area – I think we can be a much better team than we were last year and a closer team than we showed last year that we were," said Bautista. The slugger doesnt share fans angst over Torontos relatively quiet offseason. "Not at all," said Bautista. "I think we have a good group of guys. Were very competitive. Were really talented and I think if we remain healthy and everybody plays up to their capabilities, nobody needs to go do anything outstanding or hit 60 home runs or have a sub-1.00 ERA, we just need to play up to our capabilities." Pitching Depth The Blue Jays announced on Friday theyve claimed RHP Liam Hendriks off waivers from Baltimore. To make room for Hendriks on the 40-man roster, the team designated infielder Brent Morel for assignment. Hendriks, 25, was born and raised in Perth, Australia. Hes struggled in limited big league action over three seasons, all with Minnesota, compiling a record of 2-13, an ERA of 6.06 and a WHIP of 1.590. Morel is a former third round pick of the White Sox, selected off waivers from Chicago on December 23. A right-handed bat, there was thought that Morel would compete for a job off the bench. Understanding the Business Reliever Neil Wagner, 30, is caught in the middle of a numbers game and he knows it. "Taken in the 21st round in the middle of nowhere, youre forced to prove yourself and thats how Ive done it my whole career," said Wagner. "I plan on doing that in camp as well." The Blue Jays will consider going with an eight-man bullpen out of camp but that still wont guarantee Wagner a big league job. Casey Janssen, Sergio Santos, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup and Steve Delabar are guaranteed spots. Dustin McGowan will be stretched out this spring but it seems more likely he will be a reliever. Wagner has an option remaining, whereas Jeremy Jeffress, Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond do not, which doesnt bode well for his chances to make the team. "They havent told me anything," said Wagner. "Im expecting that Ill be here until Im not. I plan on going out and pitching well and pitching my way onto the team and if things dont work out that way, then Ill go down to Buffalo and do the same thing." Wagner has a live arm, his fastball routinely clocking in the mid to high 90s and can touch 100 miles per hour. He allowed only one run, earned, in his first 12 appearances with the Blue Jays last season. He ended the season with a 3.79 ERA over 36 appearances, striking out 7.8 batters over nine innings while walking 3.1 hitters per nine innings. He had a 1.368 WHIP over what, to this point, was his longest stint in the majors. "I feel like I proved that I can pitch at the big league level but in this game, nothing is given to you, nothings owed to you, so anything could happen at any time and Im perfectly okay with that." Nickeas Cant Lose Catcher Mike Nickeas kept an eye on the Canada-USA semi-final hockey game in Sochi. "Im a winner today, either way," he joked in passing. Nickeas was born in Vancouver in 1983, while his father, whos English, was playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the now-defunct North American Soccer League. His mother is American and Nickeas grew up in California, which explains his allegiances to both sides. Guess is hell be cheering for Canada in Sundays gold medal game against Sweden. Gibbons Talks Haircuts Manager John Gibbons, himself sporting a new, shorter haircut this spring, didnt appreciate my efforts to update my do. "It looks like a ducks ass," Gibbons joked before starting his daily scrum with the media. Well, I cant change the haircut now. My pride wont allow it. Alphonse Areola Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Marquinhos Jersey . -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew practiced in a limited capacity Friday, a positive sign he might be able to play against the Tennessee Titans. http://www.parissaintgermainfcstore.com/...Germain-Jersey/. I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Giovani Lo Celso Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. Angel Di Maria Jersey . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season.Sometime in the not too distant future... After a thorough 12-month development process, the Canadian Soccer Associations board of directors approves their new five-year strategic plan. The board gives the CSAs General Secretary the green light to begin the strategic activities laid out in the plan, setting in motion a flurry of activity. The CSAs Technical Director immediately convenes a video conference with the Technical Directors from each of the provincial branches of the CSA. (Provincial associations were deemed an unnecessary complication long ago, and were replaced by provincial branches of the CSA. These branches are staffed by CSA employees, and there is no provincial branch board of directors hindering operations). The provincial branch Technical Directors then conference in their regional Technical Directors. (Districts were also deemed an unnecessary complication long ago, and were replaced by regional branches of the CSA. Likewise, these branches are staffed by CSA employees, and there is no regional branch board of directors.) The CSA technical director informs his staff on the video conference that the latest instalment of the CSAs training curriculum is available for all members on the CSAs website. Grassroots coaches across the country need only to log onto the CSA website with their user name and password (which they receive when they register for a CSA coach education course) to download age and ability specific session plans and video demonstrations for their respective age groups. Online resources are freely available for coaches to continue their education through the CSA. On the CSA website, coaches can also book mentoring sessions with CSA coach educators, who are dispersed throughout the country working at the provincial and regional branches. There are three levels of play within the CSAs player development pathway: Recreational (formerly known as house league); Regional (formerly known as "rep" or "competitive" soccer, with travel occurring within a provincial region); and High Performance (the highest level of the development pathway, where training and competition takes place at high performance organizations that work in partnership with the CSAs network of coaches and coach educators across the country.) Each level of play is standards-based; if your club or academy (because the CSAs development pathway is open to ALL organizations) meets the standards set by the CSA for recreational, regional or high performance competition, your organization has the opportunity to participate at that level. Clubs and academies do not fight each other for players. Instead, they put the needs of the player ahead of their own. If a players ability exceeds the level at which his or her organization currently competes, the player is encouraged to move to the nearest organization that competes at the appropriate level for the player. Clubs and academies offer a variety of programs throughout the year, including futsal and technical skill development courses, all delivered by trained, professional coaches. Many of these coaches only coach part-time, as the program costs are kept to a minimum. But they all receive the same access to learning opportunities through the CSAs coach education program. This program is free of charge, as the CSA has signed a long-term sponsorship contract with one of Canadas major corporations to offset what the CSA considers to be the single biggest factor in developing better players - developing better coaches. When I register my daughter to play soccer for the Oakville Soccer Club, I simply navigate to the CSAs website where, through a series of drop-down menus, I choose Ontario (province), Peel Halton (region), Oakville SC (club), Girls (gender), Recreational (program). I pay the registration fee online, and the payment is instantly distributed from the CSA to the appropriatte recipients.dddddddddddd The largest portion goes to the club, who naturally bear most of the financial cost of delivering the program, but a percentage also goes to the regional and provincial branches of the CSA, who oversee player, coach and referee development in those areas. The CSA retains a portion of the fee itself, so that it may operate its national team programs accordingly. Within five days, I receive a laminated registration card for my daughter in the mail. It has her name, photo (because I uploaded her picture when I registered her online) and registration number displayed on the front of the card. This registration card serves as her player identification card for the upcoming season, which she brings with her to every game. On the back of the card is a list of all of the CSAs corporate partners. Presenting this card entitles me to a 20 per cent discount on any merchandise I purchase from any one of those partners. So, at the beginning of the year when I purchase my daughters new soccer shoes, I simply do my shopping at the preferred CSA partner, where I receive my discount... This sounds great, doesnt it. Its almost utopian, its so simple. It makes you wonder why it hasnt been this way all along. This isnt fiction, though - I didnt make this up off the top of my head, trying to build some crazy, idealistic vision of how soccer in Canada should function. This could very well be what soccer in Canada looks like in the not too distant future. I took some artistic license, yes. My frustration at the inane bureaucracy that has plagued our game for decades prompted me to eliminate provincial and district boards in the scenario I just described. That isnt going to happen. The best that we can hope for is that all provincial and district members of the CSA mirror the national bodys governance structure - something that is written into the new strategic plan. Some of the other ideas are not as far from becoming reality as one might think, though. The concept of a registration card for each and every one of the CSAs 850,000 members - including the idea of direct access to discounts through the CSAs network of corporate partners - is very real, and is also written into the strategic plan. It falls under the pillar of "professional governance of our sport" as "building a national database." Remarkably, despite having 850,000 members, the CSA has no database of information about its membership. There are no names on a list, no email addresses neatly filed away on a server somewhere - because the CSA has never had a mechanism to centralize its registration process. That is all going to change under the new strategic plan. Direct access to the CSAs membership is a goldmine for the CSA, for its corporate partners and for its members. What company doesnt want to have a direct relationship with their customers? And what customer (CSA member) doesnt want to get a discount on merchandise? The simple step of centralizing registration will give the CSA tremendous marketing power, its corporate partners real value for their investment in Canadian soccer, and most importantly, its members a tangible benefit for registering with the CSA. The success of the CSAs plan will depend on a number of factors, not least of which is you. Will you support the CSA, get behind their ideas and strategic priorities (which, I have to say, were developed in part through your consultation) and do whatever you can to make these initiatives a success? Or will you do what so many have chosen to do in the past - stand on the sidelines and criticize, never once offering to help turn ideas into reality? Not all of the objectives listed in the CSAs strategic plan will be met in the years ahead. But if the most important ones can be achieved, we can all start looking forward to a much brighter future for soccer in Canada. 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