they exit the NCAAs with an appreciation of simply getting

TORONTO – Minutes after Kevin Pillar played the hero in Monday nights 5-4 Blue Jays walk off win over the Twins, he alluded to a conversation he shared with Jose Bautista earlier in the evening. David Clyde Jersey . The two were in the batting cage moments before game time. Bautista was taking final warm up cuts. Pillar was hitting soft toss. The one-time utility player turned All-Star pulled aside the clubs young, fourth outfielder and offered him some advice. Pillar described it as a discussion about hitting. Bautista told him there was nothing wrong with his swing, that he should remain aggressive in the batters box in order that the pitcher doesnt get too comfortable. He reminded Pillar that in Pillars role, he could step to the plate in crucial, late-game situations. Sure enough, Pillar got the game-winning single to snap a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning. Sure enough, he remained aggressive, perhaps too much so early in the at-bat when Pillar swung at the first two pitches down and out of the strike zone. With the count 1-2, Pillar took a pitch on the outer half to right field, Erik Kratz came around to score and the Blue Jays celebrated. Pillar thought enough of the conversation to share it with the assembled media postgame. Bautista seemed surprised to be approached on the topic. "You hope to have an effect on all your teammates, no matter what you talk about or discuss," said Bautista. "Even if its, hey youre opening up a little bit or having a 10-minute talk about being mentally ready, preparation and mindset and all that. You hope that your teammates listen to you. You dont hope that they do exactly what you say and if you say hop on one foot they start doing it, but if you make a comment that you think is going to help you hope they at least listen. Digest it and if it helps and it works then so be it." The type of conversation Bautista had with Pillar is rare this season, according to Bautista, because the Blue Jays are laden with veterans. The need doesnt arise as often. This, too, is the second year the group has been together after being arranged in the flurry of high-profile offseason moves made in November and December, 2012. "I think each person is more knowledgeable of others capabilities, more realistic with the expectations," said Bautista. "I think last year, people didnt know what to expect exactly with other players. Expectations might have been a little unrealistic, sometimes on the higher end and sometimes on the lower end. Sometimes you might have expected more out of somebody and that might have been not right. Sometimes you expected less and the guys surprise you. So now I think everybody is more in tune with each others capabilities." DICKEY THROWING MORE FASTBALLS R.A. Dickey is using his fastball more this season than he did last year. Hes thrown a heater 14.3 per cent of the time in 2014, compared to 11.9 per cent last season. This years number is more reflective of his 2012 Cy Young award season with the Mets, when 14 per cent of his pitches were fastballs. "I think its conscious because Ive had a lot of high-pitch games," said Dickey. "I had a 31-pitch first inning against (the Twins on Monday night), I had like a 30-pitch against the Royals, first inning. I need to get back to trying to induce contact earlier in counts so in that regard it has been something that Ive consciously tried to do. Especially with teams, Minnesota for instance is a team that leads the league in pitches taken so whenever you have a club like that you want to try to get ahead of guys as much as possible." Dickey is also conscious of his walk rate, which has skyrocketed this year. Hes issued a free pass to 10.2 per cent of hitters hes faced, compared to 7.5 per cent last year and 5.8 per cent in 2012. In each of his last two starts, hes allowed home runs off his fastball. On June 4 in Detroit, Miguel Cabrera took him deep on a first pitch fastball in the first inning. On Monday night against the Twins, leadoff hitter Danny Santana hit a home run off a full count fastball. Dickey had been falling behind in that first inning in Detroit and thought he could sneak a heater by Cabrera. "That was just a roll of the dice," said Dickey. "I had gone 2-0 with the first two hitters and felt that he would want to get in a hitters count. I tried to steal a strike the first time through the lineup and his numbers off me, I think hes had like 14 at-bats and two first-pitch swings and so the percentages were in my favour that he was taking and so I tried to play to those and got burned." Half of the home runs Dickeys allowed this season, five of 10, have been off fastballs. Has he become too predictable, throwing fastballs when in need of a strike? "I would hope not because I try to do a good job of throwing a lot of 2-0, 3-1, 3-2 knuckleballs," said Dickey. "Im not in the habit of routinely throwing a fastball in a fastball count but because I dont feature the same velocity as a lot of guys its a lot easier to put the barrel on the ball if theyve seen multiple fastballs in an at-bat; if theyre not well located in particular." JAYS INK TWO MORE PICKS The Blue Jays locked up their second and fifth round picks from last weeks amateur draft. They are highly-touted right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley (49th overall) out of Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Florida and centerfielder Lane Thomas (144th overall) out of Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. Both players are 18 years old. Mike Minor Rangers Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals. Kyle Bird Jersey . The club was unable to retain hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who is bound for Atlanta. Seitzer replaces Greg Walker, who was assisted by Scott Fletcher this season as the Braves finished 79-83. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/432h-ronald-guzman-jersey-rangers.html . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone.MILWAUKEE -- While Michigan didnt have a particularly pretty start to its NCAA tournament, coach John Beilein felt his team proved a point to the rest of the field on Thursday night. Yes, they can play defence too. Glenn Robinson III scored 14 points in the arena his father used to call home in the NBA, Jordan Morgan added 10 points and 10 rebounds, and the second-seeded Wolverines held No. 15 seed Wofford to 34 per cent shooting in a 57-40 win. "We were able to get a win basically with our defence today," Beilein said, "and thats something a lot of people wouldnt say if they watched us this year." However the method, what mattered most was that Michigan is still in the hunt to return to the Final Four in spite of pesky Woffords best efforts. Michigan (26-8) capitalized on its decisive edge in athleticism on the undersized Terriers (20-13) but had some nervous moments after missing 15 of their first 18 shots in the second half. Karl Cochrans 3 with 9:25 left whittled an 18-point deficit to 40-33 -- the only 3 Wofford hit all night. But the Wolverines regrouped, and Caris LeVerts 3 with 4:17 left gave them a 15-point lead to deflate Woffords dreams of an upset. "We know were pretty efficient offensively. Most times we dont have trouble scoring the basketball," said Morgan, whose hustle in the paint helped turn away Wofford. "We know were only going to go as far as our defence carries us." When it counted, Michigan exerted its will on an overmatched opponent. Shooting 1 of 19 from 3-point range didnt help Wofford, either. But the Terriers knew they were heavy underdogs coming into the game, and they exit the NCAAs with an appreciation of simply getting into the tournament. When players were asked why they shot so poorly from behind the arc, forward Lee Skinner spoke up first and said "I dont shoot from the 3-point line" before drawing some smiles. A 39 per cent shooter from long range on the season, Cochran finished with 17 points on 1-of-10 shooting from 3-point territory on Thursday and 8 of 21 overall. "Some nights unfortunnately the ball doesnt drop in the basket," he said. Rangers Jerseys 2020. . "Unfortunately we just faced a tough night from the 3-point line." Nik Stauskas had 15 points for the Wolverines, while Robinson hit big shots in the same arena his father played in while with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1990s. The elder Robinson, sitting in the Bradley Center stands, surely was impressed with Wofford, the Southern Conference champions who hustled to the final buzzer. Michigan opened the second half shooting 2 of 12, and Cochrans 3 with 9:25 left got Wofford within seven points. Even the crowd broke out into a "Lets Go Wofford!" chant. "Hats off to them," Beilein said. "I was a coach that was today very concerned about how well they would guard us, and they did." As if flipping on a switch, the Wolverines then turned up their intensity. Morgan glided in for a basket and Robinson followed with a tip-in. "Inside, they were a bigger team, they were physical," Skinner said. After a missed jumper by Spencer Collins, LeVert hit his 3 from the top of the circle to get the lead back to 15. Michigan shot 33 per cent in the second half after shooting 63 per cent in the first. Fortunately for Beilein, his defence held firm. He said it was an emphasis in practice all week. "That probably was our best defensive performance overall for everybody," said Beilein. The spunky Terriers fell well short of their goal of the perfect game required to have any shot at taking down Michigan, though they played with energy most of the night and never seemed intimidated. "You always have to keep an optimistic mindset, especially in an off night," Cochran said. Smiling two seats away, coach Mike Young appreciated the positive vibes. "Im beaming with pride with these guys sitting to my left and their accomplishments," he said. "So, well walk out of here with our head high." Michigan was never truly threatened in spite of Woffords second-half spurt, leading 34-20 at halftime thanks in part to 11 points from Robinson. ' ' '