Sports

Displaced ace not ready to compete? More on the shutdown of Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah

Published

1 year ago

September 13, 2023

Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays wipes his brow in the dugout after getting pulled in the first inning against the Houston Astros at the Rogers Centre on June 5, 2023. Photo by Mark Blinch /Getty Images

The ongoing saga of one-time Blue Jays ace starter Alek Manoah keeps getting more bizarre by the day.

The big arm of the rotation and an all-star a year ago and now banished to the minor leagues, the explanations for the big right-hander’s demise continue to be both vague and eye-opening.

Speaking on MLB Network radio on Wednesday, Jays manager John Schneider endeavoured to explain the most recent shutdown of Manoah — including the fact that he won’t be pitching again this year. And not just with the big-league team, but in the minors.

Schneider’s comments were particularly intriguing given they run counter to the type of competitor Manoah had shown himself to be early in his big-league career.

“At the current time he feels like he’s not ready to compete so we’re going to respect that and kind of move on from it,” Schneider said. “We’ve been working through every decision with him together as a group and respecting his requests along the way.”

Schneider elaborated on his comments to the Toronto Sun prior to Wednesday’s game, describing what he meant by not being ready to compete.

“You don’t want to put guys in position that they are not comfortable with,” Schneider said. “Kind of just leaving it at that.

“It’s always been a back and forth between player and team. So you’re going to listen to your players’ input, for sure, and you don’t want to put him in a (bad) spot.”

Schneider acknowledged that the entire ordeal has had its frustrations.

“He’s a big part of our team,” the manager said. “So obviously not an ideal outcome.”

Not ready to compete is one of the last descriptions we’d expect to hear of Manoah, given his fiery approach to his craft. So is it something physical? Is it something mental? Will the full story be shared in the off-season? Is it Manoah who feels he’s not ready to compete or is it his employers?

Who knows?

The 25-year-old former first-round pick last pitched for the Jays on Aug. 10 and his activity since then has been kept largely a mystery by the team, leading to rampant speculation, much of it ridiculous.

The Jays have claimed that Manoah had undergone some physical testing with the Jays, though the specifics of any injury — if there is one — has yet to be revealed.

With much more pressing concerns, Manoah’s teammates are understandably not interested in discussing the situation.

Schneider elaborated on Manoah’s delayed reporting of almost two weeks to the triple-A Bisons after his most recent demotion.

“He took a little bit of time to report,” Schneider said. “We, meaning us and him, wanted to make sure he was physically in a good spot to ramp back up.

“When he got (to the Bisons) throwing and the timing of the season isn’t going to be enough for him to get stretched out.”

As bizarre as the handling of the Manoah affair has been, it certainly seems an unnecessary distraction at a time when the Jays are battling for an American League wildcard.

Thus far, Manoah has declined to comment on his situation, only adding to the intrigue. It’s been quite a tumble from a year ago when he was the lead man in the rotation and preparing for a big post-season start.

Source link

Sports

Receiver Justin Hardy to miss Redblacks’ regular-season finale

Published

4 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.

Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.

American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.

Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.

Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Bologna-AC Milan soccer match postponed following extensive flooding

Published

4 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.

The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.

Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.

The game was not immediately rescheduled.

“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.

___

AP soccer:

Source link

Sports

Shapovalov advances to Swiss Indoors quarterfinals with win over Bautista Agut

Published

4 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.

The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.

Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.

He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.

Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

Source link