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Vancouver Canadians staying in Jays' family with prime MiLB affiliate – TSN

Published

4 years ago

December 10, 2020

TORONTO — Months of speculation and uncertainty for those involved came to an end Wednesday, alongside baseball’s minor leagues as we knew them.

Since news broke of a significant restructuring of Minor League Baseball last year, both those inside the game as well as invested fans scattered across small North American outposts have paid close attention with their fingers crossed.

This week, as MLB teams try to fix their on-field rosters at the big-league level, there was finally some clarity for the large number of people twisting in the wind when all 30 clubs announced their four minor-league affiliate invitations.

For the Blue Jays, it’s a positive outcome, as the one ugly downside to all of this could’ve been losing its only Canadian affiliate in Vancouver.

A handful of reports had already broken up the Jays and the Canadians, but, instead, Wednesday’s final announcement will see Nat Bailey Stadium hosting full-season High-A baseball in the coming years.

It’s a nice development for baseball fans in British Columbia, as they’ll now get a parade of elite Jays prospects making their way through High-A, a level that is very rarely skipped and features a 132-game schedule.

“The Blue Jays value the opportunity to continue strong associations with these four franchises,” the club wrote in a release. “Foremost among them, the Blue Jays share a close affinity with the Vancouver Canadians and baseball fans in Western Canada. As this country’s only Major League Baseball team, the club takes great pride in maintaining a west coast presence, introducing future Blue Jays players to Canadian fans, and helping grow the game nationally.”

With the whole plan scrapping short-season baseball, the rookie-level Bluefield Blue Jays club that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started his minor-league journey with in the summer of 2016, is no more.

Same with the Lansing Lugnuts, previously the first full-season stop for prospects in the Low-A Midwest League.

With Vancouver shifting to High-A, the Jays are now logistically set up better than ever with their lowest rung on the affiliate ladder — a player’s entry into pro baseball — now the Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays.

From now on, Jays prospects will essentially move from honing their skills on the newly-redeveloped complex backfields to TD Ballpark for A-ball games.

After that, it’s up to Vancouver, and then off to Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo, two affiliations that have been around since 2004 and 2013, respectively.

While MLB clubs believe streamlining the minor leagues and dropping from 162 franchises to 120 overall will allow them to become more efficient with player development — a movement from organized games to more controlled backfield situations as a development tool is the reason — there’s the obvious sting of more jobs lost across the sport.

For the Jays and Canadian baseball fans, however, Wednesday’s news was as positive as it could have been on a day 42 minor-league teams were officially informed they no longer exist in MLB’s world.

JAYS STILL BEING PATIENT

Not counting loose connections to teams, it’s been a quiet start to hot-stove season around baseball.

More than five weeks into free agency, only a handful of pitchers have signed, and just five of the top 50 free agents on this list are off the market.

At some point soon, the necessary domino will fall like it does every year, but there’s so much financial uncertainty for all involved that it’s hard to know what to expect.

For the Jays, being in on the entire top tier of the market to some extent — Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, George Springer, D.J. LeMahieu — could leave them playing a waiting game that might get uncomfortable if other alternatives start to sign.

“(We’re) trying to balance the best deal we can possibly get versus not losing a good deal versus some other permutation in there,” Blue Jays assistant GM Joe Sheehan said. “(We have) some interest in getting stuff done to just make our team better, while the chances are there to do that, but at the same time not being reckless and not being too aggressive. Trying to strike that balance.”

VLADDY MAKES DWL DEBUT

Intent on proving he can still be an option at third base heading into his age-22 season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s winter of work got started Tuesday night with the Escogido, a club he suited up for as an 18-year-old in 2017-18.

While Vladdy Jr. debuted as the designated hitter, going 0-for-4, the Dominican Winter League club reitered that he’ll be their third baseman.

“I came to Escogido to play third base and to prepare to play third,” Guerrero told MLB.com, speaking with media in Spanish on Tuesday. “That’s one of the main things I’m here for. I’m going to focus on third. Next year, I’m going back to my third base.”

As for the Jays, they’ll just sit back and monitor their corner infielder’s play and hope he gives them a surprising third base option when he arrives at spring training in February.

How they address the third base position this off-season after Travis Shaw was non-tendered will be a good indicator of how realistic even a part-time move back to the hot corner will be for Guerrero.

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

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.

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AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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