Just when the Toronto Blue Jays were ready to play 11 of their next 15 games against teams below .500, they got bad news on centre fielder George Springer.
Springer left Saturday’s game with a left ankle sprain after running into the wall while tracking down a fly ball. On Monday’s off day he informed the team that his left knee was also sore, and an MRI revealed a sprain. It’s unclear how long he will be out, but manager Charlie Montoyo saying that he hopes to have Springer back before the end of the season implies it is a fairly significant sprain.
This is horrible news for the Jays. The one thing that remains clear is that the team’s pitching staff needs a margin for error as they are not a shutdown crew. The continuing issues in the bullpen scream for three- and four-run leads to safely close out games.
Springer’s bat will no doubt be missed, but the Jays have gone through this before. Their big free-agent signing this off-season has only played in 49 of the team’s 119 games. Springer has shown why the Jays gave him the big contract, hitting .269/.362/.610 with 16 homers, 35 RBI and 40 runs scored.
The Blue Jays can still earn a wild-card berth, but the loss of Springer is going to make a difficult task that much harder. But where there is a crisis, there is an opportunity. Everyone is going to have to compensate for some part of Springer’s absence.
Randall Grichuk will likely get most of the playing time in centre field, and he is more than capable of playing at a high level, even if he can be streaky. The Jays also need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to return to the slugger he was in the first three months of the season, when he was the best hitter in the American League. They need Bo Bichette to get hot like he was in July. Cavan Biggio is due back from the injured list soon as he is on rehab assignment. He needs to get on base and produce runs.
Clearly, Springer’s injury comes at an inopportune time as the Jays need to make up ground in the playoff hunt. The division title seems unattainable as they are 10.5 games behind, but they only trail the Oakland Athletics by 4.5 games in the wild-card race. The path has narrowed for the Jays to get to October baseball.
Cohen’s tweets aren’t helping
The New York Mets had a change in ownership last off-season. New owner Steve Cohen is a life-long Mets fan who made his money in hedge funds. He has been very active on social media since taking over the club. He banters with fans and even asks for their opinions on the team.
On Wednesday Cohen tweeted, “It’s hard to understand how professional hitters can be this unproductive. The best teams have a more disciplined approach. The slugging and OPS numbers don’t lie.”
This tweet is reminiscent of former Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who would often publicly call out his club for underperforming.
Owners certainly have the right to say what they want but someone needs to have the courage to tell Cohen that comments like the ones in his tweet do not help. When hitters aren’t hitting, it isn’t because they aren’t trying hard enough. Likely they are trying too hard. Pressure from the owner, boos from fans and constant questions from the media only add to the problem. They do not help hitters break out of slumps; they prolong them.
The next time Cohen goes in the clubhouse, he should expect a bit of a chilly reception. Players don’t criticize the owner and they expect the same from the owner. One of the first rules you learn in professional baseball is that you never show up your teammates. The owner is a different kind of teammate, but a teammate all the same.
The Mets have an interim general manager in Zack Scott. He certainly won’t call out his owner for his tweet because he’s hoping to have the interim removed from his title. If anyone is to sit with Cohen and tell him what he did doesn’t help, it will be club president Sandy Alderson.
General managers must manage up and down the organizational chart. Owners have a little bit more knowledge about the game than fans because they sit in meetings and learn, but that little bit of knowledge can be dangerous when they communicate through social media.
Another scary pitcher injury
A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt was hit with a line drive in his face on Tuesday night but avoided a catastrophic injury. He does have a displaced tripod fracture in his right cheek, but it could have been worse. It’s shocking this doesn’t happen more often, considering how hard pitchers throw and how much hitters in today’s game seek exit velocity.
I fear that at some point we will see a catastrophic event. I think we must ask ourselves: If a pitcher were to die after getting hit by a line drive, would we legislate pitchers to wear some sort of head and face protection? I believe the answer is yes. That’s what led to base coaches wearing helmets in the coach’s boxes. A minor-league coach was killed when he was hit in the head by a line drive, which led to the rule being instituted.
We should not wait for a pitcher to die. There is technology for hats that can protect a pitcher from line drives. It may not have saved Bassitt from his injury, but it could save a life.
The other way pitchers can be protected is as a residual effect of a potential rule change. It is under consideration to move the mound back a foot or more. The Atlantic League, an eight-team independent partner league of MLB, is currently experimenting with the change.
The intent is to add offence to the game by giving hitters more time to react to high-velocity fastballs. The other benefit of this rule change is that it would give pitchers that much more time to react on a line drive back up the middle.
I think it should be mandated that all hitters wear C-Flap helmets to protect them from high-velocity fastballs at their face and head. The same care should be shown to pitchers.
Spitting Seeds
– The New York Yankees have come storming back into the playoff picture as they are now the top wild-card team in the American League. They are 28-11 since July 6. On Thursday night they implemented what they call their goal-line offence. In football, that is where all the biggest players enter the game to pound the ball over the goal line. For the Yankees it meant five big boppers in the front of the lineup: Luke Voit (DH), Anthony Rizzo (1B), Aaron Judge (CF), Joey Gallo (LF) and Giancarlo Stanton (RF). They are looking to pound the ball over the wall.
– There are reports that MLB made a proposal to the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) for the new collective bargaining agreement that includes a $100-million floor on payrolls for all teams and a competitive balance tax starting at $180 million (down from $210 million) with more stringent taxes that would help subsidize the smaller-market teams to be able to spend at least $100 million. This is an effort by the owners to satisfy the players’ desire to do away with tanking and rebuilding teams. This plan would make every team spend on players, but the trade-off would be limits on the upper end, likely keeping teams under the $180-million threshold. It’s unlikely the union accepts this structure. The MLBPA always has been reluctant to negotiate a floor for salaries because once that is in a CBA a ceiling is the next step, which they do not want. The union will be in favour on the $100-million floor but not the strict limits on the upper end.
– Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto reached the 2,000-hit threshold this week, prompting discussion about whether the Canadian is a Hall of Famer. In my view, there is no doubt about it. He absolutely is headed for Cooperstown. Votto won the MVP award in 2010. He has led the league in OBP seven different seasons. He led the league in OPS twice and in slugging percentage once. Plus, he has a .303/.417/.520 slash line. He has a 63.1 WAR in his 15-year career. He has a 148 career OPS+, which means that he has been 48 per cent better than average – slightly better than Hall of Famers Edgar Martinez, Willie McCovey and Willie Stargell.
– The Atlanta Braves have been red-hot since the All-Star break. They are 21-11 since then and have gone from third place and four games behind the Mets to first place with a four-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies and five games over the Mets. Credit general manager Alex Anthopoulos for acquiring four outfielders at the trade deadline, which has sparked this team back to the top of the division. They will win the NL East.
– Don’t look now but the St. Louis Cardinals are playing good baseball and are just 3.5 games behind the second wild-card team (San Diego). The Reds are just one game behind the Padres. The Padres have long been considered a shoo-in for the playoffs but have been fading quickly as their starting pitching is wilting. It would not be a surprise now to see the Reds or Cardinals as the second wild-card team and the Padres fading completely out of the picture.
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.
