Technik » Sixth-rounder Hagelin is proving to be perhaps the fastest s

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Right-hander Brandon Morrow, who started last season second in the Jays pitching rotation, will open the 2014 campaign as the Jays fifth starter. Toronto manager John Gibbons says the move to the fifth spot is partially to give Morrow more time to get ready. He declined to provide further reasons, saying all would be revealed on the rotation in good time. Prior to Tuesday, Morrow had pitched eight innings this spring, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits with four strikeouts and four walks. He was scheduled to throw in a minor league game Tuesday. Gibbons said hes happy with what hes seen from the 29-year-old Morrow, who is due to make US$8 million this season. "Yeah, hes fine," he told reporters prior to the Jays road game Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. "The key with him is his health. Thats whats limited him the last couple of years. If hes good, hes strong and makes all his starts or at least most of them, weve got one of the better pitchers in baseball. But thats been tough for him to do the last couple of years." Morrows 2013 season was cut short by an impinged nerve in his right forearm. He went 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts before being shut down. A torn oblique muscle cost him more than two months of the 2012 campaign. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will open the season on the mound for the Jays on March 31 in Tampa. Gibbons has said left-hander Mark Buehrle will start third, to separate him from Dickey. If Morrow goes fifth, he will pitch the home opener April 4 against the Yankees. That leaves the No. 2 and 4 positions with Gibbons saying one spot goes to left-hander J.A. Happ. The team has yet to confirm the last starter but it is widely believed that Drew Hutchison has pitched his way into the rotation. Gibbons said hes happy with the pitching weapons at his disposal. "Yeah, I really like the way its setting up. I really do ... Theres still some decisions to be made but Im very pleased," he said. Pitching was a major problem last season when Toronto starters combined for a 46-57 record and a 4.81 ERA. Only Minnesota had an higher ERA (5.26) among its starters. Morrow threw 3 2/3 innings Tuesday in a Jays minor league intra-squad game that also saw Buehrle pitch. Morrow gave up two runs with two walks and two strikeouts. He threw 63 pitches, 36 for strikes "Everythings coming along well," he said. "I got established what I wanted to establish today with the fastball command, with the nice zip and pop on that, and you could see the guys were behind it at times, regardless of the velocity. "It wasnt my best velocity, but the swings tell you whether or not youre locating well and the kind of life on it, so that was positive. Everything else has been coming along really well." Buehrle gave up three runs (two earned) in 4 1/3 innings with two walks and three strikeouts. NOTES -- Closer Casey Janssen, on a slower spring training track to protect against shoulder soreness, threw live batting practice Tuesday. "All in all, good to get on a mound, good to get a little bit of adrenalin going, and most importantly, its good to feel good," he said. Kevin Durant Shoes Free Shipping . LeBron James believes hes a major reason for their early failures. Kevin Durant Shoes Outlet . The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. https://www.kevindurantshoescheap.com/ . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Kevin Durant Shoes Deals . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. Wholesale Kevin Durant Shoes . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute.Most diminutive players are forced to take the long road to NHL arenas, if they get there at all. The Habs Brendan Gallagher waited until the fifth round to hear his name called at the 2010 draft. Teammate David Desharnais never heard his name called and needed to ply his trade in the ECHL before the Habs took notice and signed him as a free agent. Mike Weaver was similarly undrafted. Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec went in the third round of their respective drafts. St. Louis was passed over by midget teams, ironically, ignored by the QMJHL, undrafted, signed by the Flames but later bought out after being exposed and unselected during the 2000 expansion draft, signed by Tampa Bay, and then became a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup winner, and Olympic gold medalist. But too small to play in this mans NHL, for sure.(h/tNational Post)If smaller skaters are in tough against the closed-mindedness of hockeys front offices, then life is near impossible for wee goalies. If the hockey community had its way, Dustin Tokarski would be working the take-out window at a Tim Hortons in Saskatchewan. At 511, he is everything the scouts are not looking for in a goalie. He is not the prototype. He is not Carey Price. Tampa Bay scout Charlie Hodge (himself a small, 56, NHL goaltender who accomplished nothing in the league with his limited stature other than six Stanley Cups and two Vezinas) had to beg the Lightning to draft Tokarski in the fifth round. And while, despite Montreal folklores contention, the legend of Tokarski is still being written, his play in the Eastern Conference Final is argument for a less structured approach to the game in both drafting and roster building.In a league that clings desperately to intangibles like "grit", "sandpaper", and "hockey sense", its laughable that they ignore these very qualities in players simply because they couldnt look Chris Pronger in the eye if standding on a barstool.dddddddddddd. And perhaps its the fact that they are ignored that makes them the players they are, products of adversity. More likely its a lack of ambition and creativity in front offices, which denies ambitious and creative players the opportunity to play in the league, and to better the game.The argument in favour of a broader notion of what makes an NHLer is on the ice this postseason, and in particular in the Rangers-Habs series and their respective runs to the Conference Final. Desharnais has been arguably Montreals best forward, if not their most consistent. Gallagher is proving that strength comes from within, and not gigantism. Tokarski has gone from relative obscurity to revelation. Weaver is more adept at blocking shots than Peter Budaj. Sixth-rounder Hagelin is proving to be perhaps the fastest skater in the league. Zucarello, affectionately nicknamed the Hobbit, is a force with his speed and creativity. And the grandfather of them all, St. Louis, is authoring a tale for the ages, the kind of postseason story that makes the playoffs so compelling.(h/t 5 Minutes For Fighting)Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull and son Brett were 510. Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr were measured at 6, but they were wearing their shoes. Guy Lafleur was also listed at 6, but at least two of those inches were hair. At some point during the 90s, when scouting staffs inflated and Eric Lindros arrived, the NHL experienced a sea change in philosophy. They became infatuated with size and believed they could manufacture skill and scoring through systems. The result was lower scoring, issues with concussions, and endless tinkering with rules in order to create the very scoring that they themselves had diluted. In witnessing one of the most entertaining and compelling postseasons in recent memory, one hopes that the NHL can again changes its ways, and value skill no matter what size the package it comes in. ' ' '