General manager Ross Atkins can’t wait to see slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s busy off-season translate on the baseball field this year for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Guerrero spent a lot of his time shedding weight, certainly looking fit and fit and trim in pictures posted on his Instagram account. The 21-year-old has reportedly dropped 40 pounds from last season.
That certainly bodes well for the Blue Jays, who have pitchers and catchers arriving at camp this week. The team’s first full-squad workout is set for Monday.
“It’s incredible to see the smile on his face, the shape he’s in, how his routine has developed and how it’s become his own,” Atkins said of Guerrero on Friday during a Zoom call with reporters. “Every day this off-season he’s got better, he looks great, he’s in a really good position.
“I’m really excited to see how that’s going to impact every aspect of his game this year.”
‘Vladdy is special’
The six-foot-two Guerrero, whose weight is listed at 250 pounds, had nine home runs and 33 runs batted in last year while appearing in all 60 of Toronto’s games. The Jays posted a 32-28 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season to secure the eighth and final spot in the expanded American League playoffs before losing to Tampa Bay.
Guerrero Jr., the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, made his much-anticipated major-league debut in 2019, hitting .272 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs in 123 games. He was sixth in voting for the American League’s rookie of the year award.
“Vladdy is special,” Atkins said. “What he’s able to do with his athleticism when he’s maximizing it and his swing are really fun to watch.”
Atkins can see Guerrero’s off-season work paying off in 2021.
“If you think about the reps it takes and how many swings they [hitters] will take before they get into a batter’s box . . . so much of it is about the athleticism that you can repeat,” he said. “So the better shape you’re in, the more repeatable things are going to be because you’re able to repeat them more in your practice.
“Hitting is in some ways, and I think, is harder to evaluate, assess and project and predict or study than pitching because it’s so dynamic and you don’t know what the hitter’s thinking. You always know what they [pitchers] were trying to do, based on the outcome, where the catcher is set up . . . but with a hitter you don’t.”
Guerrero Jr. playing 1st and 3rd base in spring
The expectation is Guerrero will see time at third base during spring training. He was used exclusively at first and as a designated hitter last year.
As well, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who played left field in 2020, will get reps at first and third. Atkins said spring training is an ideal time for players to get time playing different positions.
“I think we have to envision all of those things and think about all of those potential scenarios that could occur,” Atkins said. “In an ideal world we don’t need to see that for an extended period of time because that means everyone is healthy, everyone is playing the positions they’re accustomed to.
“But what we don’t want to do is not think about that early in spring training, not use this time to give guys exposure to different positions so in the event we do have injuries . . . and really wanting ways to get different bats into the lineup this is the time to work on that, to give different players exposure to different positions.”
Atkins added it also gives manager Charlie Montoyo more options during games.
“It also creates different late-game decision-making opportunities for Charlie as he thinks about pinch-running, pinch-hitting and what that means for re-positioning and realigning our defence,” Atkins said.
The Blue Jays’ first exhibition contest is Feb. 28 in Tampa against the New York Yankees.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
