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In the first period of Saturdays Montreal
DUNEDIN, Fla. Calgary Flames Pro Shop . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Just look for a big smile atop a compact five-foot-nine, 155-pound body. The 28-year-old Florida native is also hard to miss on the field -- an elegant, mobile shortstop with a slick glove. A career .230 hitter in the minors, Diaz is not likely to stick with a major league club that already has a superstar at shortstop in Jose Reyes, the versatile Ryan Goins at second base and Maicer Izturis as a utility infielder. But his skills are appreciated and have been on display again in the Blue Jays organization after a one-year stint with the Boston Red Sox and former Jays manager John Farrell. "Id heard about them," Toronto manager John Gibbons said of Diazs fielding talents. "Everybodys always said youre not going to find a better shortstop or defender, period. You can put him anywhere out there and hes definitely shown that this spring." Diaz has appeared in the infield and outfield this spring, often as a late inning replacement. He has turned heads with a nifty double play and scored the 10th-inning game-winner on some aggressive base-running in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles last Sunday. As of Wednesday, he was hitting .077 with one hit in 13 at-bats this spring. He knows defence is his ticket in baseball. "Ive always love to be out there making plays and doing acrobatic things," he said. "Luckily thats kept me in the game for as long as it has." He was given No. 1 to wear by the Jays, the same number as former great Tony Fernandez. "Its a honour to be wearing that number," he said. "He was an unbelievable shortstop." A 12th-round pick -- 360th overall -- by the Jays in the 2006 draft out of North Carolina State, Diaz is happy to be back in the Toronto fold after his year away. "It feels like I never left," he said. "It feels like home. I was here for seven years and then I took a little hiatus with the Red Sox for a year." Boston had its moments, however. He was called up to the majors for the first time, "which was amazing," he said. He saw action in five games, with four at-bats. He had no hits but scored two runs. "I was there for a week ... Fortunately Im going to get a World Series ring and all that so Im really excited about that. It was a good time," he said. Coincidentally, Diazs debut in the majors came against Toronto and he threw out Reyes from third in Torontos first at-bat. He also scored the winning run against the Jays. These days his locker is just down the row from Reyes in a largely Spanish-speaking neighbourhood of the clubhouse. With a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother, he grew up with Spanish as his first language. "This is my corner. These are my people," he said with a grin. Diaz says he tries not to think of where he might end up. The goal is the big leagues and the plan is to play as well as possible. After that, que sera sera. "Make sure youre healthy and just try to be ready when the time comes," Diaz said by way of summary. "Im just out there trying to show I can help the team in any way possible." Away from the field, Diaz is married with three daughters -- 10, eight and 16 months. The family makes its home in Dunedin with his wife and daughters joining Diaz "wherever Im at," when school breaks for the summer. "By now, theyre used to it ... Its a crazy fun life," he said. But it has not always been fun for Diaz. In 2011, he was one of the final cuts out of the Jays major league camp. He went to double-A ball and then triple-A in Las Vegas. "I was doing really well," he said. "I went to have dinner, took a cab and woke up in a hospital." There was an accident and Diaz suffered a concussion, lost some hearing and his two front teeth, among other injuries. His wife, then his fiancee, was on the side of the cab that got hit and took the brunt of the impact. She suffered broken ribs, a torn spleen, separated shoulder and cuts. "It was pretty ugly," he said. "But luckily were healthy now." The injuries also took a toll on his playing career. "That took me out of it for a couple of months," he said. "That window, I felt like, was a good chance of being called up at the time." Two false front teeth have not impacted Diazs smile. He seems to savour every baseball moment. Flames Jerseys China .ca. Kerry, In the first period of Saturdays Montreal-Ottawa game, Brendan Gallagher is called for goaltender interference. Craig Anderson is outside the blue paint trying to make the save. Calgary Flames Store . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season.CHICAGO - The Chicago White Sox had one of the majors most powerful right-handed bats last season in Jose Abreu. Now they are hoping Adam LaRoche can help balance their lineup.LaRoche has agreed to a contract with the White Sox, a person familiar with the situation said Friday night. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the deal with the free-agent first baseman.USA Today first reported the move.LaRoche is likely to see most of his time at designated hitter. Abreu is entrenched at first after the Cuban slugger hit .317 with 36 homers and 107 RBIs in 145 games, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award.LaRoche, who turned 35 on Nov. 6, gives the White Sox some sorely needed power from the left side. Flames Jerseys 2020. He hit .259 with 26 homers and 92 RBIs in 140 games this year for NL East champion Washington. He has 243 career homers and 838 RBIs in 11 years in the majors.But LaRoche has spent almost his entire career in the National League, save for six games for Boston in 2009. Now it looks as if he will have to make the adjustment to regular DH duties.It was the second big addition for the White Sox this week. They bolstered their bullpen on Tuesday with a $15 million, three-year contract for left-hander Zach Duke, who was 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA in a career-high 74 appearances this year for Milwaukee.___AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker in New York contributed to this story.___Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '
