Jays calm in clubhouse, busy in front office
Saturday, 31 July 2010 15:23
Rumour-mill darlings Scott Downs, Jason Frasor and Kevin Gregg engaged in a leisurely game of cards while right-fielder Jose Bautista and catcher John Buck kicked back in the leather chairs in front of their lockers.
That calm belied the hard work general manager Alex Anthopoulos and his staff were putting in several flights up at the Rogers Centre. One source said the Blue Jays were busier than usual with trade talks but it was unclear if anything would get done.
With no need to trade players for financial reasons, Anthopoulos was aiming high in talks knowing Downs, Frasor, Gregg and Buck will fetch the team at least one compensatory pick if not two in the first 45 or so spots in the draft should they depart as free agents. He had no reason to accept less talent in a trade.
Bautista, under club control through 2011, is a different story with the sense around the team that he has blossomed into a core piece for the future this season. The Blue Jays would need at least a legitimate big-leaguer and a prospect for the 29-year-old who is also a strong defender at multiple positions.
Still, the deadline forces some teams into action, as it did across the diamond in Toronto when the Cleveland Indians dealt Saturday's scheduled starter Jake Westbrook to St. Louis in a three-way deal that also included San Diego.
Things came together quickly in that deal.
"Every time I talked to my agent it was nothing going on until (Friday) night," Westbrook said before taking a flight to St. Louis. "I was under the impression I probably wasn't going to start so I was just kind of hanging out, waiting to hear the final word.
"I'm excited to go to a club contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ball games."
Getting to that point is what the Blue Jays are after and the deadline may be a chance to help themselves reach there faster.
Asked before the game how far away he felt they were from being a contender, manager Cito Gaston said, "maybe a couple of years, that's what I think."
He added that the Blue Jays might have been in better shape right now had Adam Lind and Aaron Hill performed the way they did last season and the relievers had been better.
"If those guys were hitting, maybe we would have won some of those games, maybe we would not have," said Gaston. "The problem we had this year is we lost some games out of the bullpen. That's what has really bothered us a lot. Then there's time we didn't score, but there are times we didn't pitch well out of the pen, either. It's real close now, but you've got to win those games."
Regardless, the Blue Jays are likely to be younger next season, when prized prospects like starter Kyle Drabek and catcher J.P. Arencibia are expected to complete their climb to the majors. It's very possible the team takes a step backwards as they experience growing pains to take two steps forward in 2012.
"There's a good chance that might happen," said Gaston, before qualifying his answer. "If these kids come back and pitch like they have this year, and if the guys come back and hit, if Lind comes back and Hill comes back and Vernon (Wells) just does what he's doing and Bautista comes back and does something close to what he's doing ... you talk about (Yunel) Escobar, (Fred) Lewis, (Travis) Snider, that's still a pretty good hitting lineup there, pretty good power there, so I think the thing that will throw them a step back might be the bullpen.
"The bullpen might have a problem if (Downs, Frasor and Gregg) are not there."
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Swollen knee keeps Haynesworth from test
Saturday, 31 July 2010 15:11
The two-time All-Pro defensive tackle arrived early at Redskins Park and told the team he had some irritation in one of his knees. Doctors recommended that he not take the test and instead ride a stationary bike and get treatment.
"Here's a setback already," coach Mike Shanahan said. "His knee's a little bit swollen. Hopefully it's not too bad."
Shanahan is requiring Haynesworth to pass the test, which consists of two timed 300-yard shuttle runs, before taking part in practice. Haynesworth is the only player required to do so because he skipped the team's off-season conditioning program.
Haynesworth failed the test Thursday and Friday, and it's uncertain when he will try again. He had been undergoing specific training to help him pass the test, which might have contributed to the knee problem.
Haynesworth did make his first appearance on the field during a practice, albeit briefly. Wearing his No. 92 jersey for the first time at this training camp and holding a piece of paper in his hands, he stood to the side and watched the defence walk through some plays for about 10 minutes.
He stood next to defensive line coach Jacob Burney, who kept pointing to the other players to help explain the terminology of the team's new 3-4 defence.
After practice, Haynesworth emerged again to walk through some plays individually with Burney and defensive co-ordinator Jim Haslett, as he has done after every practice so far during camp. Shanahan said Haynesworth would again be an observer at the afternoon team walkthrough.
The switch to the 3-4 is the main reason Haynesworth did not want to stay in Washington, but the Redskins did not bow to his wish for a trade after he accepted a US$21 million bonus in April.
Now he has to learn the defence, but he is getting taught without actually practising it. In addition to observing the workouts, he is attending the regular team meetings to learn the schemes and terminology.
"Even though he's not in pads," Shanahan said, "he's still getting the work in."
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