106 shots. The most impressive thing about Bony

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This week, topics include the "bean wars" between the Red Sox and Rays, Blue Jays draft pick Jeff Hoffman, Justin Verlanders struggles, and surprising all-star voting results. 1) In light of the “bean wars” between Tampa Bay and Boston, what should the league do to reduce the number of retaliatory on-field incidents? Are the suspensions enough of a deterrent? Major League Baseball has reduced the number of on-field violent confrontations in a pretty significant way from the 1980s and before. The issuing of warnings to teams after a potentially intentional beaning has reduced the number of retaliatory responses. As we saw in the Rays/Red Sox series, boys will still be boys but it is better now than it used to be. Baseball also has a “heads up” program where umpires are alerted prior to a series about any bad blood that exists between the teams. Umpires can issue warnings before a game if they believe the lingering animosity could surface. This pregame warning serves as a deterrent and puts players on notice that at the first sign of monkey business there will be action taken. There are two changes that I would make to further address this issue. Firstly, I would encourage umpires to eject the instigator in a bean ball situation. Too many times the pitcher who strikes first suffers no penalty. Rays pitcher Davis Price hit Res Sox slugger David Ortiz with a pitch that may have been intentional. The umpire chose to only issue a warning to both teams. That was done with the intent of heading off possible retaliation against the Rays. That warning didnt work and Brandon Workman, Red Sox pitcher, was later ejected for throwing a pitch behind Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. If Price had been ejected, then the Red Sox would not have felt as compelled to bean Longoria for payback. Price didnt get a suspension at all. Second, I would institute a “no third-man in” policy. If there is a fight on the field, no other player can leave his position on the field or in the dugouts and bullpen. If they do then they face an automatic 10-game suspension. This should serve as a team deterrent that will keep all-out brawls from occurring. Thirdly, I propose that penalties become stiffer for the initial combatants as well. If you fight, you know you will serve at least a five-game suspension for a position player and relief pitcher and a 15-game suspension for a starting pitcher. It would be great to end all on-field violence. It wont ever happen but these changes would get us a bit closer. 2) The Blue Jays used the ninth-overall draft pick on Jeff Hoffman on Thursday; a player who just underwent Tommy John surgery. What does this say about the Jays development strategy, especially in light of Alex Anthopoulos drafting habits in the past? The Blue Jays have been drawn to the high-ceiling type players in the first round under Anthopoulos. They have shot for the moon. They want impact from their first round pick. Nowadays, many teams like predictability in first round selections. They will take less impact and a lower ceiling for a greater likelihood that the player will get to the majors. Not the Jays. Jeff Hoffman was thought to be one of the top three picks in this draft prior to injuring his arm and undergoing Tommy John surgery. This selection makes a statement on so many levels. First, the Jays believe that Hoffman is an extraordinary talent. Why else would any team take a baseball player whose injury prohibits him from doing what he does best? Secondly, the Jays believe in Tommy John surgery. It isnt quite as predictable as getting ones tonsils removed but the track record of success is very good. The Jays fully expect Hoffman to be 100 %. Thirdly, the Jays are saving money. Hoffman is a value because they took him with the ninth pick when many thought he could go as high as second overall. With the injury, the Jays will likely save some money but they are also assuming some level of risk and that has dollar value. With multiple first round selections, the Jays gave themselves the financial flexibility to get their picks signed this year. The fact that Hoffman is a college pitcher means that he is a bit more advanced in his development than if he were a high school pitcher and therefore missing some playing time now should not set his development back much at all. 3) Justin Verlanders 2014 numbers have been less than inspirational. Hes 6-5 on a first-place club, has an ERA over 4.00, is presently sporting the worst WHIP of his career, and hasnt logged a complete game since 2012. Should the alarm bells be going off for the Tigers? The Tigers should be alarmed about Justin Verlander. He is still a good pitcher but the dominant overpowering ace from a few years back is no longer on their roster. Verlander has thrown 1,885 innings in eight and a half years, which includes seasons of 251, 240, and 238 innings pitched in individual seasons. He has thrown the most pitches in baseball this year. In fact, he has thrown the most pitches in baseball since 2009. He has led the league in pitches thrown every year but one from 2009-2014. In 2010 he finished four pitches behind Dan Haren for second most. Verlander is a workhorse. He loves to go deep in the game and he loves to strike out hitters. He has been an amazing pitcher. The fact that he has such great stuff is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because he has won a ton of games for Detroit. It is a curse because he has been so good that he works deep counts since he strikes out so many hitters. And he has always been a better option for the manager than anyone in the bullpen, so he pitches deeper in the game. All of this has taken a toll. He is wearing down a bit. We have seen CC Sabathia fall off over the past couple of years because of the same reasons. The arm only has so many bullets and they have both used their fair share. Verlander can still be successful, but he is going to have to make adjustments. Command has to be more important than velocity for him. He used to regularly run his fastball into the high 90s. He no longer can pitch there. If he tries to generate too much velocity from delivery, his command suffers. Verlander needs to try and retire hitters on three pitches or less with well-located pitches. Velocity cant matter. This will allow him to be more efficient now and give him more years on the back end of his career. 4) The most recent All Star vote tally had some very interesting results. Torontos Melky Cabrera, is ranked third among AL outfielders in voting. Orioles designated hitter, Nelson Cruz, passed Red Sox slugger David Ortiz for the top DH. Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is in a close race in the NL outfield as well. Why are these results so significant? All three of these players have served suspensions for performance enhancement drugs. Yet, the fans seem to be putting that aside as they consider their performances this year. The fans believe that what they are seeing on the field is legitimate and real. They dont think it is enhanced. It is just good ol fashioned baseball. The All Star balloting has long been a popularity contest. The fans votes dont always coincide with the players votes or the stats. If the fans like a certain player, he has a shot to be an all-star regardless of his numbers. What is even more amazing is that the fans arent holding grudges like they have in the past. It had seemed that fans wanted to send a message to cheaters that their actions were unacceptable. One of the few ways they could do that was with their voting. But that feeling seems to be waning. Fans are either forgiving the players for past wrongs or just accepting of what has happened to the game. Either way, we all win. I have learned that giving forgiveness is not for the other person but it is for me. When I forgive someone they may react in any number of ways. But when I give forgiveness it releases a burden on me. I no longer feel pain and resentment. Baseball fans are showing healthy growth by surrendering their anger to baseball players. It shows growth. It shows a certain trust in the drug policy. It shows compassion and understanding. My hope is that baseball writers will take the lead of the fans. Writers feel duped by players. They feel like they were made fools of for celebrating home runs and record-setting accomplishments. They resent it and dont ever want to get burned that way again. My hope is that the writers will move to a place of forgiveness of the players as well. It is time to move forward. The writers need to look at the steroid era as just that, an era. It wasnt done to them. It was just what happened and they were there to document it. So they should document it. Vote steroid users in the Hall of Fame. Lets appropriately remember what happened so we dont repeat our mistakes. The writers should make history by passing that history forward. It is time to heal. It is the right thing for all of us that made mistakes in the steroid era of baseball. So let this day start the all-out campaign for Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and Ryan Braun for the All Star team! Salomon Shoes Outlet . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Discount Salomon Shoes Online .Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Kroekrit found the target twice in the 57th and four minutes from fulltime.Vietnam and Malaysia play their second leg on Thursday. Vietnam won the first leg 2-1. http://www.salomoncheap.com/ . - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 — on the preliminary card. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . Ryan Getzlaf certainly got them started in the second. Getzlaf scored the first two goals in the second, and Teemu Selanne scored the go-ahead goal late in the period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night. Cheap Salomon Shoes .com) - NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of the Buffalo Bills.This week the 2013/14 Premier League season comes to a close. Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. This list is based purely on their performances this season. It is not a list of who we think the best 50 players in the league are. Fourteen members were asked to take part (panel below) and submit their top 20 players of the season. Their list was then placed into a scoring system and then the totals determined the overall positions in the top 50. Each day this week we will release the list in 10s. The sport is very much about opinions, so please feel free to write your own list in the comments below. You can read part one of the list here. Here is how the Top 20 were scored – 1st place – 30pts; 2nd place – 25; 3rd place – 22; 4th place – 20; 5th place – 18; 6th place – 17; 7th place – 15; 8th place – 14; 9th place – 13; 10th place – 12; 11th place – 10; 12th place – 9; 13th place – 8; 14th place – 7; 15th place – 6; 16th place – 5; 17th place – 4; 18th place – 3; 19th place – 2; 20th place – 1. The Panel Six members of TSNs soccer team were on the panel and were joined by eight other members from around the world who were asked to represent their specific field. Joining our staff members were two outstanding statistical experts, Jonny Blain and Simon Gleave, two brilliant reporters/commentators covering the league, Stewart Coggin and Paul Sarahs and two extremely knowledgeable tactics writers, Tim Palmer and Ritesh from the False9 website and a man who covers the development side of the league like no other, Aidan from the England Youth website. In addition, also involved was arguably one of the knowledgeable writers covering the league in the world, Michael Cox, aka Zonal Marking. Follow the Panel on Twitter Aidan from England Youth – https://twitter.com/englandyouthJonny Blain - https://twitter.com/jonoblainNoel Butler - https://twitter.com/TheSoccerNoelStewart Coggin - https://twitter.com/StewartCogginMichael Cox - https://twitter.com/Zonal_MarkingJason DeVos - https://twitter.com/jasondevosSimon Gleave - https://twitter.com/SimonGleaveKristian Jack - https://twitter.com/KristianJackTim Palmer - https://twitter.com/timhpalRitesh from The False9 - https://twitter.com/TheFalse_9Paul Sarahs - https://twitter.com/PaulSarahsPete Schaad - https://twitter.com/PeteSchaadGareth Wheeler - https://twitter.com/WheelerTSNLuke Wileman - https://twitter.com/LukeWileman 40. Kevin Mirallas (Everton) – Part of the reason for Evertons success this season has been their consistency, with many of their players, weekly, reaching a standard they require. Mirallas is not one of them. Some weeks he looks like someone who could one day be sold for a lot of money, going above that standard with electrifying runs, great positional awareness and some clinical finishing. Then, other weeks, Mirallas looks tired, unfit and easy to mark out of a game. There is room for his up and down unpredictability in a usually reliable Everton team but one wonders what road he will go down more in the future. 39. James McCarthy (Everton) – There were a couple of people on the panel who loved McCarthy and pushed hard for his place on this list (this writer included). It is hard to believe he played some Championship games for Wigan this season. Although his move to a bigger club was long overdue, being reunited with Roberto Martinez ensured Everton, once again, ticked a key box for the club by selling a bigger player for more money (Marouane Fellaini) and replacing him with a better one for less. 38. Asmir Begovic (Stoke) – Under new manager Mark Hughes, Stoke City slowly went about a modified change in style this season which meant they allowed more shots and goals conceded but none of this fell on the shoulders of Begovic. He remains one of the leagues best goalkeepers and had another standout campaign, which also included a goal! Not sure how much longer teams liike Arsenal, for example, will allow a much superior goalkeeper to play for a team like Stoke.dddddddddddd 37. David Marshall (Cardiff) – The relegated team went through a lot of turmoil this season but had no such worry in goal. "I wouldnt swap him for anyone, thats for sure," said manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Scot has backed him up, making more saves than any goalkeeper in the league. His save on Aston Villas Andreas Weimann in February was one of the best youll ever see. 36. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) – Another goalkeeper from a team who had a season full of turmoil, Lloris gets his spot after an outstanding season. The modern day goalkeeper is required to be an excellent distributor and the Frenchmans reflexes off the line often see him playing as a sweeper. Too bad for Lloris that the defence in front of him got worse as the season went on. 35. Dejan Lovren (Southampton) – Many of Lovrens team-mates have received plenty of plaudits for a record-breaking season for the Saints but you could make the case that the most valuable of all of Southamptons players was the Croatian international. It is hard to believe he is only 24 years old. When he first joined Lyon he struggled for a while in the French league but grew in stature and showed tremendous poise on the ball. He brought those qualities and more to the Premier League this season and the Saints may have a hard time keeping him away from some of the bigger clubs. 34. Sylvain Distin (Everton) – What a player. At 36, Distin has arguably been one of the most underrated players in world football for half a decade. This season he went past the 400 Premier League appearances mark and has now played more games in the league than any non-British outfield player. All for a player who never received one cap for his country. Selling Joleon Lescott and buying the Frenchman for a quarter of the price, back in 2009, remains one of the smartest pieces of business the league has ever seen. 33. Rickie Lambert (Southampton) – The Englishmans 12 goals this season give him a total of 27 over the last two seasons and that is quite a haul for a man who spent most of career in the lower leagues of English football. However, Lambert is not on this list purely for his goals. This season, under Mauricio Pocchetino, he evolved as a player, comfortably playing wide, dropping deep, and making up the triangles needed in Southamptons breathtaking attack. His total of ten assists shows his improvement in this regard. 32. Wilfried Bony (Swansea) – Last season Michu led Swansea with 18 goals and 110 shots and no other player at the club had half that amount in either category. No one saw Michus rise to fame coming and the smartest thing Swansea did was not betting on it to continue. They needed a proven goalscorer at that level and, as many clubs have shown, those are not easy to find. The Dutch Eredivisie doesnt always get much respect but last seasons top scorer was poached and the Ivorian has more than delivered, scoring 15 goals on 106 shots. The most impressive thing about Bony is the range of different goals he scores. He looks like a player who has a big future at this level and could one day reach that special 100 in the Premier League. 31. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) – When the season entered its fourth month, the Spaniard was unhappy. He had played less than 30 minutes combined in just three substitute appearances, and was back on the bench again at Newcastle in early November. Chelsea would lose 2-0 that day and for the next game the right back replaced Ashley Cole at left back. For the next five months he has played at such a high level that the high-profile Englishman hasnt deserved his spot back. Azpilicueta is versatile, a tremendous reader of the game, excellent defending in one-on-one situations and is, crucially, comfortable defending narrow, closer to his centre-back, which has helped Jose Mourinhos side become very difficult to break down. Its been a season that deserves his spot on this list and in Spains World Cup squad, which is no mean feat after all. ' ' '