In the brief time I was around Josh Donaldson, I managed to collect a few of “baseball-life” lessons that I squirrelled away in the back of a notebook as well as the back of the brain. Some of it was kind of rocket-sciency because, well, that’s how Josh talks hitting. He has a PhD in it: as in ‘Pretty Hard to Dispute.’ But there is one thing he told me after a loss in which he had grinded out – and I mean grinded – at bats in one of those stupid summer games where bugger-all is working for you.
“Fouled off some tough pitches,” I told him.
Because that’s a good thing, right? Battled like hell and didn’t give in etc., etc., etc. The honest tradesman grafting and grinding for every inch and then finally succumbing, secure in the knowledge he’d given it his all and that the baseball gods – with their sense of justice – would surely reward him on the morrow, that the game rewards those with a promise of a brighter tomo…
“Any idea how many of those I fouled off I would normally barrel up?” he said.
Translation: I was missing my pitch, you jackass.
OK, it’s not Camus – as in Albert Camus, the French philosopher name-checked by Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker in one of his recent post-season interviews – but it was a reminder that it’s always good to check your pre-conceived notions; that what you see when you watch a high-performance athlete isn’t always what they see.
So I thought of him (Donaldson, not Camus) as I watched the Los Angeles Dodgers foul off pitch after pitch after pitch in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series win over the Atlanta Braves — when they saw a simply stupid average of 4.6 pitches per plate appearance — and I started to question the accuracy of my sense that these Dodgers are less Hollywood and more hard-assed, that they’re something more than glamour boys. Resilient, as opposed to resplendent.
Watch every game of the 2020 World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers on Sportsnet and SN Now.
Nah. I’m giving in to the pre-conceived during this World Series. I just can’t get past the payroll thing. Yes, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman cut his teeth with the Rays and developed a keen understanding of the use of analytics but it still seems a bone of contention in L.A. as it is accepted reality with the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s almost like a front: the Dodgers the spoiled rich kids fiddling with analytics because they have the money to clean up the mess made whenever the thing blows a gasket; the Rays the poor kids who need to squeeze out every single, tiny, advantage.
And the fact is you’d be hard-pressed to take many of the Rays position players over their Dodgers counterparts, especially the way they’re hitting now. Pitching? Yeah, we can argue that chiefly because the Rays have much less warped history around their pitching than do the Dodgers – you know, Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and all that stuff. But let’s be real: baseball people have felt for years – years! – that the Dodgers were destined to win a World Series.
The Rays? Destined to re-locate, maybe.
So, yes, while it is true that this is a meeting between the teams in each league with the best records, albeit over 60 games, and it is true that’s only the fourth time it’s happened since the wild-card format was born in 1995, it is still the Dodgers vs. the Rays. I called this matchup on Baseball Central when the pandemic ended and, yeah, I’m sticking with my predicted outcome. I hope J.D. understands.
With the World Series set to begin Tuesday, these six players could have a significant impact on how the series unfolds…
JEFF BLAIR’S PICK: Rays in six games.
SIX TO WATCH
1. Randy Arozarena, LF, Rays Without him the Rays wouldn’t be in the World Series because, well, nobody else has hit. N-o-b-o-d-y. Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz and Willy Adames have combined to slash .109/.268/.124 — in the entire month of October. Austin Meadows is 4-for-35 (114) and Rays TV analyst Orestes Destrade thinks COVID-19 and injuries have turned this into a write-off for him: he looks heavier and that might be impacting his bat speed.
Since the wild-card era started in 1995, only the 2019 Houston Astros and 2016 Cleveland Indians had a lower team average coming out of their league championship series. Both ended up losing the World Series. Oh: the Rays are also hitless in their last 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
All Arozarena has done is lead all players in post-season runs (14), hits (21) and extra-base hits (11). The Rays have scored a total of 57 runs — he has scored or driven in 21 of them. No wonder he was named most valuable player in the American League Championship Series. I see Clayton Kershaw hanging a curve… I see Arozarena killing it. He’s .383/.433/.855 in 60 plate appearances this month, so let’s not do the Dave Roberts thing and out-think the narrative.
2. Mookie Betts, RF, Dodgers Ooh, going out on a limb here, right? The guy who signed a 12-year, $365-million contract extension after his market-rattling trade from the Boston Red Sox has made shining defensive play after shining defensive play in right field and has a chance to – in his first year – write himself all over the franchise’s first World Series win since 1989.
It’s true that Betts’ offence in the post-season hasn’t matched that defensive excellence. He hit .269 in the NLCS and has been more consistent than exceptional – just kind of there compared to, say, Corey Seager. But he knows the Rays from his time in the AL East with the Boston Red Sox: he’s 7-for-23 with a home run against Blake Snell and 6-for-20 against Charlie Morton and 3-for-9 against Tyler Glasnow.
He’s won a World Series before and knows none of the sphincter-tightening fear of a Dodgers player in the post-season.
3. Ji-Man Choi, 1B, Rays Look: I could just go Glasnow or Snell or Anderson or Franklin as Rays to watch and pretty much be done with it. Pitching, pitching, pitching. But, I don’t know: Choi seems to be having so much damned fun whenever the camera finds him, or at least always seems to be wearing some sort of bemused, confused or enthused facial expression.
He actually had a decent ALCS and his proficiency around first base is an important part of the tight defence that is a Rays calling card. He is the ultimate whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts player. And unlike some of his teammates he can handle velocity, especially from right-handers which will come in handy against Walker Buehler, Brusdar Graterol, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May — hell, maybe even Joe Kelly.
The Rays will need somebody other than Arozarena and it just kind of feels it might be Choi. Hope so.
4. Kike Hernandez, IF-OF, Dodgers He might not be needed. He might hit .071 as he did in six games against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 NLCS, when he struck out in half his 16 plate appearances. Or he’ll hit a homer. Or two.
Because, of Hernandez’s 24 post-season hits over 52 post-season games, one-third have been homers, and given the fact that the Dodgers have enough depth on their roster to play the matchup game you can see Hernandez lying in wait for Jose Alvarado or Aaron Loup or maybe even a Ryan Yarbrough cameo out of the bullpen. He’s like an add-on run lying in the bushes. Waiting. Shh… nothing to see here.
5. Julio Urias, LHP, Dodgers See, here’s the thing about Dave Roberts: playing pin the tail on the relief pitcher isn’t really his strength, whereas for his Rays managerial counterpart, Kevin Cash, it’s the way he’s always done things. I mean, the Rays didn’t have a starter with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Or a reliever for that matter. So Cash is quite comfortable playing the long game using short relievers and his pitchers have bought into it because, well, they have no choice.
I have to think watching Urias toss three perfect innings of scoreless relief in Game 7, hitting 96 m.p.h., needing just 10 pitches to get his first three outs and then surviving a 10-pitch battle with Freddie Freeman in the eighth innings, left Roberts feeling all sorts of giddy. Four days earlier, Urias made the start in Game 4 and threw 101 pitches. Unlike the division and championship series, there are off-days baked into the World Series schedule – between games two and three and five and six – so Roberts might be less tempted to tap into Urias or Dustin May.
But the way this is setting up, with Kenley Jansen having pitched just well enough to put himself in position to break Dodgers hearts again? I can see Urias’ schedule getting hectic.
This season, Dan picks an issue, trend, news item or story from around MLB, and digs in on it with a guest. And he does it five times a week for about 15 minutes a day. Enough time to inform and entertain, but also get fans back to all the sports going on.
6. Ryan Yarbrough, LHP, Rays The Dodgers had difficulty handling slop-tossing lefties this season – their OPS on soft pitches from southpaws was 17th in the Majors – and, well, they’re going to see a lot of 81 m.p.h. from Yarbrough, who doesn’t light up the gun like the Rays other starters but is in fact the embodiment of what they do: he can start, come on following an opener as a ‘bulk’ starter, or just relieve.
Plus? He’s dull as spit, his pitching velocity matched by opponents’ exit velocity – 82.6 m.p.h. this season, second slowest in the Majors among pitchers who yielded 50 batted balls. He loves his cutter and why not? He gets soft contact and lots of swings and misses.
If this series goes six or seven games my guess is we’re going to see him a great deal. Bring a pillow. Deal with it. As the hashtag says, #RaysUp.
MONTREAL – Canadian National Railway Co. told employees this week it plans to relocate its operations in Jasper to near Hinton, Alta., about 100 kilometres away.
In a memo sent to employees in the fire-ravaged town, the company said it’s aiming to increase efficiency by minimizing train stops between Edmonton and Blue River, B.C., which sits across the Rockies.
CN plans to close its Jasper bunkhouse and build a crew change facility east of Hinton, with workers slated to clock in at the new site starting in September 2025, according to the document obtained by The Canadian Press.
“CN has made the decision to implement operational changes to improve network fluidity,” regional vice-president Nicole James said in the memo.
The union representing rail workers criticized the relocation, which affects about 200 employees, though no layoffs are expected.
“This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper, after this year’s catastrophic wildfires. Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after tourism, and CN’s move will cripple this community even further,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
“And for the workers who’ve already lost so much — some even their homes — this is a truly cruel blow.”
Union spokesman Christopher Monette noted that most residents or their spouses must work in town to qualify to live there under Jasper National Park’s residency rules. The company has told the union it will apply for an exception for the workers, he said.
CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says the railway is committed to supporting employees through the transition and keeping them updated.
“These types of changes take time to fully plan out and implement. That’s why one of our initial steps was to have this discussion with our employees as well as advising the town of Jasper,” she said in an email.
A wildfire ripped through Jasper in July, destroying a third of the mountain town and displacing many of its 4,800 residents.
The blaze also caused smoke damage to the CN bunkhouse, which the company says it has worked to restore since it was allowed to re-enter the community with contractors on Aug. 16.
Engineers and conductors have been reporting for work in Hinton, roughly an hour away, since the wildfire.
With roots as a fur trade outpost, Jasper launched as a railway town in the early 20th century after tracks built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway — CN’s predecessor — paved the way for the municipality.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
