DUNEDIN, Florida – The Blue Jays kick off their 31-game exhibition schedule on Wednesday and there are decisions to be made at key positions.cheap jerseys from china free shipping . Heres a breakdown of where the battles will be, the players involved and how one decision may have an effect on another. This goes without saying: Were working within the confines of the current Jays roster. STARTING ROTATION: Guaranteed: R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark BuehrleAlmost Certain: J.A. Happ As many as nine guys, some with almost no chance of landing the job, but are included here, anyway, are vying for the final available spot. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin, Ricky Romero, Chad Jenkins, Aaron Sanchez and Dustin McGowan. This will be intriguing because there is a business case to be made and, depending on how spring training plays out, potential performance cases to be made. On the business end, Rogers and Redmond are out of options, meaning both must break camp with the club or risk being lost on waivers. The bullpen is an option if neither gets a starting spot – more on that later when we look at the possibility of a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Hutchison and Drabek each have big league experience. Drabek dating back to 2010 and when he cracked the opening day roster a year later and Hutchison when he was a mid-April call up two seasons ago. Both are back to full health following Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgeries in the summer of 2012. Drabek needs to drastically improve on 1.683 career WHIP over 169 1/3 innings, particularly in the walks department – hes averaged 5.8 bases on balls per nine innings over his brief career. Hutchison is a control pitcher, not overpowering, and appears to be the most polished of the non-established big leaguers in the group. Nolin, a big lefthander, and top prospects Stroman and Sanchez would have to mesmerize Torontos brass to break camp with the club, which itself will be a tall task. There are voices amongst the decision-makers who caution against putting too much value on Grapefruit League numbers because there are occasions when pitchers are facing what amount to minor league-calibre line-ups. Jenkins, like Nolin, has options remaining and can be sent to the minor leagues without waivers. Stroman and Sanchez arent on the 40-man roster at the moment and can be sent to the minors without burning one of their three option years, at least not right away. Romero appears to have been relegated to afterthought status, a deep valley for the one-time ace, just three years removed from a 15-win season and All-Star appearance. McGowan has interest in starting, but after multiple shoulder surgeries and not having consistently started in six years, its an unlikely scenario. Hell be stretched out this spring, but McGowan is likely destined for the bullpen. Barring an incredible spring performance, it seems one of Rogers, Redmond, Hutchison or Drabek will come away with the final starting spot. Stroman has an outside shot. If the decision is strictly business, itll be Rogers or Redmond starting the season in the rotation. Regardless, most of the kids on the list are bumping their heads on the minor league ceiling and are expected to be contributing to the Blue Jays sooner rather than later. BULLPEN (SEVEN-MAN or EIGHT-MAN?): Guaranteed: Casey Janssen, Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos, Aaron Loup and Dustin McGowan. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has to decide on whether to go with a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Choose the latter and youll have one fewer bench player (three instead of four) at manager John Gibbonss disposal. The eight-man bullpen scenario occurs if neither Rogers nor Redmond secures the final rotation job. The Blue Jays were reminded last year that a club cant have too much pitching and theres a strong probability either would be lost if exposed to waivers. Jeremy Jeffress, a flame-throwing right-hander, who briefly impressed with a 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 big league innings last season, also has a shot at making the team. He adjusted his arm slot downward late last season and is in the process of successfully treating a juvenile epilepsy diagnosis. Jeffress is out of options and clubs love hard-throwing pitchers. The Jays got Jeffress through waivers at one point last season. There is no guarantee they could do it again. Left-hander Juan Perez, 35, has returned to health after straining his elbow last summer. Hes caught in a numbers game. Meantime, Neil Wagner appears destined for Triple-A Buffalo regardless of performance. He has an option and he, too, is caught in a numbers game. SECOND BASE: Competing: Ryan Goins, Maicer Izturis, Chris Getz (non-roster invitee,) Jonathan Diaz (non-roster invitee,) Munenori Kawasaki (non-roster invitee) and Steve Tolleson (non-roster invitee.) Goins is the incumbent, having concluded last season as the Jays second baseman. Anthopoulos loves Goinss defense, saying last week he believes Goins is the best in Toronto since the days of Orlando Hudson. Goinss biggest challenger is Getz, a former Royal, who has familiarity with both Gibbons (Royals bench coach, 2008-2011) and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer from his days in Kansas City. Getz is a left-handed bat. BENCH: Here is where the Blue Jays thin out considerably, especially if they begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. Backup catcher: Erik Kratz or Josh Thole. Kratz, who strikes an imposing figure at 64", 255 lbs, is a right-handed bat whos hit 18 home runs in 378 at-bats over the last two seasons with the Phillies. Considering the likelihood the second catcher will play more this season (Dioner Navarro hasnt played more than 89 games in a season since 2009,) the Jays could value Kratzs offense over Tholes long history with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Navarro wont catch Dickey. Kratz spent a week with Dickey in Nashville in the offseason and has caught all of his bullpen and live batting practice sessions so far this spring. Right-handed Bat to Platoon with Adam Lind: Moises Sierra is out of options and Toronto needs to determine if he is the viable option. Backup Infielder: Manager John Gibbons has said on more than one occasion that he prefers to use Izturis off the bench because he can play around the infield. Its a role Izturis became accustomed to in Anaheim. So, if the Jays go with an eight-man bullpen, thats it. Anthony Gose, under the scenario presented above, would begin the season in Buffalo. Should the Jays go with a seven-man bullpen, the roving outfielder spot opens up and is likely Goses to take with the likes of Kevin Pillar and Kenny Wilson getting more seasoning in the minor leagues. REPLAY Each club will play five games this spring under the new instant replay rules. Managers will be encouraged to throw the challenge flag at some point each game during the exhibition contests. "We had that meeting last week and they said the umpires will notify us before the game and say, hey if you get a chance, try it," said manager John Gibbons. INTRA-SQUAD GAME The Blue Jays played a four-and-a-half inning intra-squad game on Tuesday at the Bobby Mattick Complex. Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin each pitched a scoreless inning. Aaron Sanchez gave up the games only run, a Maicer Izturis single. It was the fourth and final hit he allowed in his inning of work. Cheap NBA Jerseys China .ca. Hi Kerry, I am sure you will get a ton of emails on this one. Last night, the Kings went up 2-1 on the Sharks around eight minutes remaining. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Marcus Hogberg stopped all 21 shots he faced in net for Sweden. Jake Paterson made 31 saves in net for Canada. Burakowsky opened the scoring for Sweden at the 2:37 mark of the second period. A backhand pass by Jacob de la Rose from behind the goal confused Paterson, leaving a wide-open net for Burakowsky.SALT LAKE CITY -- Nick Young gave the Lakers a reason to smile near the end of this gloomy season. Young scored a season-high 41 points and helped Los Angeles snap a seven-game losing streak with a 119-104 victory against the Utah Jazz on Monday night. The mercurial guard bounced around the court, playing full-throttle. "You have to find the joy even when you may be frustrated with the way things have been going," Young said. Coach Mike DAntoni said: "Nick is fun, a good guy in the sense that he is always laughing and smiling,". "He can get his shot off of anybody and when he gets on rolls, he uncanny in how he can score." Jodie Meeks had 23 points and Jordan Hill added 21 for Lakers, who had only eight healthy players. Alec Burks scored 22 points and Gordon Hayward had 21 points for Utah. Enes Kanter had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Trey Burke chipped in 17 for the Jazz, who have lost 10 of 11 games. The game was tied at 86 after the third quarter, and then the Lakers found their range. Los Angeles outscored the Jazz 33-18 and the Utah players heard a mix of cheers and boos as the clock expired in their last home game of the season. Los Angeles converted Utahs 18 largely unforced turnovers into 29 points and outrebounded the Jazz 21-12 in the second half. "They were turnovers that didnt give us a chance to get back and make stops. They made us pay," Utah coach Ty Corbin said. Young fought through ball denials to get off shots all over the court -- jumpers and acrobatic drives to the baskets. He yelled at the crowd and bobbed his head, flashing a variety of hand signals after swishing 3s. "Hey Swaggy P can play a little bit and I just want you people to see that. I got a future. I can do my thing, Im telling you all. Better watch out for me," Young said, referencing his self-proclaimed alter-ego. Three late misses stopped him short of his career-high of 43 points. "That was tough. It was great to have my teammates and my coach try and help me out there. I wish I had those last few shots back," Young said. In recent days, the teams were loocked in a battle for lottery seeding and a better chance at one of the top four picks in the 2014 draft. cheap jerseys from china paypal. The Jazz seem to have solidified the fourth slot and may match their club-worst 24-58 record in 1979-80, the first season after the franchise moved from New Orleans to Utah. The Lakers have no reason to tank for a better lottery seed as most will be elsewhere next season. A dozen of the 15 players on the roster could be free agents, including Young if he opts out of his $1.2 million deal for next season. The Jazz started the presumed core of their future -- Hayward, Derrick Favours, Kanter, Burks and Burke -- for the third time this season but all three games have ended in late-game collapses and losses. The Lakers have already set a record for most losses in a season, the worst since the NBA went to an 82-game slate. They will miss the playoffs for the just the second time in two decades but this win stopped them short of their first eight-game skid since March 2005. "Were not last place now," Young said. "Were not quitters." DAntoni and Corbin are both rumoured to be on their way out and the game resembled a pre-season contest with porous defences, lots of broken plays and sloppy turnovers. The lack of defensive intensity did lead to excellent accuracy as the Lakers hit 55 per cent of their field goals and the Jazz shot 52 per cent from the floor. The Jazz led by as many as 13 points before the Lakers closed the half on a 19-2 run, powered by Meeks nine points. "Early on we struggled, but thats basketball. We knew we were going to make some runs," Meeks said. NOTES: A significant portion of crowd was dressed in gold and out-cheered the home crowd as the Lakers rallied to take the lead at the end of the first half and opened a big advantage in the fourth quarter. . Not one of the Lakers that started this game was in the lineup of the opening game of the season. . Burke, Burks, Kanter, Favours, Jeremy Evans, and Rudy Gobert are the only players with guaranteed contracts with the Jazz for next season. . Kendall Marshall had 2 points and 15 assists for the Lakers. ' ' '
