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DUNEDIN, Florida – If Jose Bautista ends the season on the baseball field, itll mark the first time since 2011 but the Blue Jays slugger bristles at the suggestion he isnt a durable ballplayer. "Its not because I was neglecting my training regime or anything like that," Bautista said of his injuries. "It is disappointing and it is upsetting that I dont get to go out there and finish the season with the team and finish strong. Thats been the case in the last two years so hopefully it doesnt happen again." Bautista tore the tendon sheath in his wrist while taking a swing in a game at Yankee Stadium on July 16, 2012. The injury essentially cost him the remainder of the season, save for five plate appearances over two games in late August. Last year, Bautista jammed his hip while running the bases in July. He played with pain for about a month and then removed himself from a game at Yankee Stadium on August 20. He wouldnt set foot on the field for the rest of the year. Bautista continues to hit home runs at a prodigious pace. He went deep on 6.2 per cent of his at-bats in 2013, a trend that has steadily declined since his career-high 54 home run breakout season in 2010 (8.4 per cent in 2011, 8.1 per cent in 2012) when he rounded the bases in 9.5 per cent of his at-bats. Considering he was recovering from serious wrist surgery, a body part that when injured can sap sluggers of their power, his numbers remain impressive. The 33-year-old describes as "great" his just-getting-to-know-you relationship with new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. The two have spoken briefly in Dunedin and had a couple of phone conversations during the offseason. Broadly put, Seitzers modus operandi is to encourage his hitters to use the entire field. Bautista is among a number of Jays, Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus included, who are almost dead pull hitters. "You just watch the way they throw the shift on him," said manager John Gibbons. "They leave some big holes (on the right side) for him. There are some cheap RBIs that way. I mean, the way I look at it, you get 500 at-bats in a season and say you hit 50 home runs, which is an unbelievable year. Thats still a lot of at-bats without home runs. If youre more of a complete hitter and youll take some hits (to the right side) to get a rally going or drive in a big run or something, that can only help." Leadership and its role on a baseball team continue to be topics of debate among those who follow the game closely. The consensus amongst players is that winning breeds camaraderie, something directly reflected in the success of last years world champion Boston Red Sox. The Jays buried themselves with a 10-17 April last season, injuries mounted and not even an 11-game winning streak in June could salvage the year. As a result, the clubhouse, while it didnt have any crippling divisions, wasnt a tight-knit unit. Players on winning teams, with something to play for, may be more willing to push a single through the opposite side to score a run instead of being concerned primarily with their own stats. "I think if everybody does as well as theyre capable of doing, with some leadership – and hopefully I get to help out in that area – I think we can be a much better team than we were last year and a closer team than we showed last year that we were," said Bautista. The slugger doesnt share fans angst over Torontos relatively quiet offseason. "Not at all," said Bautista. "I think we have a good group of guys. Were very competitive. Were really talented and I think if we remain healthy and everybody plays up to their capabilities, nobody needs to go do anything outstanding or hit 60 home runs or have a sub-1.00 ERA, we just need to play up to our capabilities." Pitching Depth The Blue Jays announced on Friday theyve claimed RHP Liam Hendriks off waivers from Baltimore. To make room for Hendriks on the 40-man roster, the team designated infielder Brent Morel for assignment. Hendriks, 25, was born and raised in Perth, Australia. Hes struggled in limited big league action over three seasons, all with Minnesota, compiling a record of 2-13, an ERA of 6.06 and a WHIP of 1.590. Morel is a former third round pick of the White Sox, selected off waivers from Chicago on December 23. A right-handed bat, there was thought that Morel would compete for a job off the bench. Understanding the Business Reliever Neil Wagner, 30, is caught in the middle of a numbers game and he knows it. "Taken in the 21st round in the middle of nowhere, youre forced to prove yourself and thats how Ive done it my whole career," said Wagner. "I plan on doing that in camp as well." The Blue Jays will consider going with an eight-man bullpen out of camp but that still wont guarantee Wagner a big league job. Casey Janssen, Sergio Santos, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup and Steve Delabar are guaranteed spots. Dustin McGowan will be stretched out this spring but it seems more likely he will be a reliever. Wagner has an option remaining, whereas Jeremy Jeffress, Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond do not, which doesnt bode well for his chances to make the team. "They havent told me anything," said Wagner. "Im expecting that Ill be here until Im not. I plan on going out and pitching well and pitching my way onto the team and if things dont work out that way, then Ill go down to Buffalo and do the same thing." Wagner has a live arm, his fastball routinely clocking in the mid to high 90s and can touch 100 miles per hour. He allowed only one run, earned, in his first 12 appearances with the Blue Jays last season. He ended the season with a 3.79 ERA over 36 appearances, striking out 7.8 batters over nine innings while walking 3.1 hitters per nine innings. He had a 1.368 WHIP over what, to this point, was his longest stint in the majors. "I feel like I proved that I can pitch at the big league level but in this game, nothing is given to you, nothings owed to you, so anything could happen at any time and Im perfectly okay with that." Nickeas Cant Lose Catcher Mike Nickeas kept an eye on the Canada-USA semi-final hockey game in Sochi. "Im a winner today, either way," he joked in passing. Nickeas was born in Vancouver in 1983, while his father, whos English, was playing for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the now-defunct North American Soccer League. His mother is American and Nickeas grew up in California, which explains his allegiances to both sides. Guess is hell be cheering for Canada in Sundays gold medal game against Sweden. Gibbons Talks Haircuts Manager John Gibbons, himself sporting a new, shorter haircut this spring, didnt appreciate my efforts to update my do. "It looks like a ducks ass," Gibbons joked before starting his daily scrum with the media. Well, I cant change the haircut now. My pride wont allow it. Air Max 97 Factory Outlet . With the Pirates in the thick of the race in the NL Central, the timing couldnt be better. Liriano struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Tuesday night. Air Max 97 Vapormax Cheap . -- With the Memphis Grizzlies struggling to find their offensive rhythm, O. http://www.outletairmax97.com/nike-air-v...allic-gold.html. Setting United on its way to a 2-0 victory, Rooney sent the ball high from inside the halfway line over goalkeeper Adrian after just seven minutes. "Its just instinct, Ive turned and had a quick look and seen the goalkeeper off his line," Rooney said. Air Max 97 Undefeated China .K. Subban and Matt Duchene will be the two skaters sitting out the teams opening game. Air Max 97 Have a Nike Day . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night.MONTREAL - The Montreal Impact face a tough task this weekend as they try and turn their season around. Bottom-of-the-table Montreal (1-4-6) welcomes Major League Soccers hottest team, the streaking New England Revolution, to Saputo Stadium on Saturday, and the encounter comes at a bad time for the Impact. Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN 690 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Montreals season-long woes are seemingly without remedy. The team is racking up the league-lows: they have seven points from 11 games, own a minus-13 goal differential, and have scored just four times on home soil. The Revolution (7-2-3), meanwhile, are riding a five-game win streak, their longest since 2005. A victory against the Impact would tie the club record for most consecutive wins. Sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference standings, the Revs are four points clear of second-place Sporting KC with a game in hand. The team is also unbeaten in its last seven games, outscoring its opponents 16-5 over that stretch. New England scored five goals in two of its last three contests. But the red-hot Revs arent getting complacent. Midfielder Chris Tierney knows the Impacts unfavourable position at the bottom of the standings could make them more dangerous. "Montreal, theyre a good team. Its the same team that put together a really solid run last year," he told the teams website from Foxborough, Mass., on Thursday. "Theyve got plenty of dangerous players and were going to have to go to their place, which is a tough place to play." Tierney is one of eight Revolution players to have scored during the clubs five-game winning stretch. He scored his first goal of the season in New Englands 5-3 road romp over Philadelphia on May 17. "Were not expecting to go there and win 5-0," he said of Saturdays matchup. "Its going to be a tough game for us and were going to have to have our best stuff to come out with a result." And some of New Englands best stuff during the streak is coming courtesy of two young forwards. Diego Fagundez, 19, and rookie Patrick Mullins, 22, have combined for eight goals and three assists in the last five games. In contrast, the entire Impact squad have only scored nine times during the season. "Mullins and I are working very well with each other," Uruguayan-born Fagundez told the teams website last weekend. "We are moving off the ball wwell and are making good runs.dddddddddddd As long as we keep playing like this, more goals will come." In New Englands last contest, Fagundez scored the winner in the 77th minute of a 2-1 home victory over D.C. United. Mullins netted the opening goal and became only the second rookie in MLS history to score in four consecutive games. "(Mullins) has a great awareness of where he needs to be, where the ball is," Revolution coach Jay Heaps told reporters after that game. "You have to have a knack for it. Hes done it his whole life and hes just now finding hes good enough to do it at this level." The rookie will look to take advantage of a Montreal back-line that concedes a league-worst two goals per game, and that gave up four on the road to the Colorado Rapids in their last MLS outing. The defensive four might get a boost from Matteo Ferraris return from injury. Ferrari injured his calf in a pre-game warmup last month, and hasnt played since Apr. 26. His return is still questionable for Saturday. Montreal will also be looking to build on a solid mid-week performance on the road versus Toronto FC in the Amway Canadian Championship final. Justin Mapp scored a beautiful left-footed strike from just outside the 18-yard box in the 73rd minute to give the Impact a 1-1 draw and a much-need away goal. "Thats the kind of thing that can change the season really quickly," said defender Heath Pearce from Montreal on Tuesday, before the cup tie. "It can bring a whole other dynamic to whats been a difficult season so far. Weve been facing adversity the whole season, from the start." The return leg of the Canadian Championship goes June 4 at Saputo Stadium, where the Impact will look to defend their Voyageurs Cup, and claim the title for the third time. Aggregate score will determine who will represent Canada in the next CONCACAF Champions League. Notes: Striker Jack McInerney has scored four times against New England in nine career appearances, including three game winners in 2012 and 2013. … New England has never lost at Saputo Stadium (2-0). … The Revs are unbeaten when scoring first (6-0) and when leading at halftime (3-0). … Montreals recent acquisition Issey Nakajima-Farran will likely make his Saputo Stadium debut versus the Revs. … The Impact and Revolution will face off twice more this season. ' ' '