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Six players who could have a significant impact on 2020 World Series – Sportsnet.ca

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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…

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“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.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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