TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. [url=http://www.cheapstansmithaustralia.com/]Buy Adidas Stan Smith Australia[/url] . This week, topics cover if and when the Blue Jays should start rebuilding, how good catchers handle a pitching staff and how best to develop young

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. Buy Adidas Stan Smith Australia . This week, topics cover if and when the Blue Jays should start rebuilding, how good catchers handle a pitching staff and how best to develop young pitchers to best avoid arm problems. 1. Jim Bowden wrote on ESPN.com this week that the Jays should already be thinking of blowing the team up, deeming last years deals a failure and suggesting that waiting to tear it down would compound the problem. Agree or disagree with Bowdens assessment? Let me first say that I respect Jim Bowden for his knowledge and his experience. He has been around the game for quite a while and knows what he is talking about. That being said, I do not think it is time for the Jays to blow this team up. We are only in the first week of the season. It is far too early to consider demolition plans. The Jays have a ton of offensive talent. I agree with Bowden that on paper they are under-manned in the pitching department. But the game is not played on paper. It is played by people. RA Dickey could return to his Cy Young form of a couple of years ago. Mark Buerhle looked amazing in his first start and Brandon Morrow at one time, when healthy, was dominant. Drew Hutchison and Dustin McGowan have some upside. Of course, there is plenty that needs to go right but funnier things have happened. I didnt think the Pirates had enough pitching last season nor did I think the Orioles had enough pitching in 2012 to be a playoff team. But they both were. Fans need hope. The season begins with hope for all 30 major league teams. Why rob them of that feeling unnecessarily? I agree with Jim Bowden that it is unlikely that the Jays will make the playoffs. I picked them to finish fourth. So I get it. But I have been wrong before and so has Jim. The season is a marathon. There is plenty of time to disassemble if it is appropriate. Quite honestly, if they should do it now, they should have done it in the offseason when more teams could vie for the Jays talent and had money to spend. This may be the worst time to create a market for players as most teams are tapped out financially at the start of the season. They spent their money in the winter. Just ask Kendrys Morales, Stephen Drew and Scott Boras how difficult it is to find GMs with money to spend. The trades of 2013 were a bust for the Jays but it doesnt necessarily mean that things cant work out this year. If and when it becomes clear that hope is lost for 2014, there will be time to tear things apart. But that wont mean that everything has to be done during the season. Take a deep breath and at least enjoy some hope. 2. The Jays players are already expressing admiration for new catcher Dioner Navarro and the way he handles the staff, in some ways taking not so veiled shots at former catcher JP Arencibias struggles behind the plate. What is your assessment of Navarro and can you explain the intimacies of "handling a staff" and what that really means? Many fans know and use the term, but few really understand the minute details or why it is so important. I am not surprised that Dionner Navarro is getting rave reviews for his ability to handle the pitching staff. Some part of that is about him and some part of that is about the deficiencies of JP Arencibia in the past. We often talk about a catcher "handling a pitching staff" and just assume that everyone knows what we mean. Let me see if I can explain it. It is imperative for a catcher to know his pitchers. He doesnt just have to know what pitches they throw but he has to know when they should be thrown, to whom they should be thrown, how hard to throw them and where to throw them. He has to understand how each individual pitchers arsenal of pitches can attack each hitter on the opposition. The catcher has to know how each pitcher handles pressure. He has to understand when they arent quite right on a given day and what to do to get them right. He has to know the keys for each pitchers delivery and when they are out of sync how to get them back on track. The catcher has to read body language. He has to communicate confidence and support with his own body language. Some players are smart. They can rationally think through situations and know what to do. Some players have instincts, which is defined as a "feel" for the game; an idea about what needs to be done in this time and space. Their natural reactions can lead them down the right path without tremendous thought. The best players have a combination of intelligence and instincts. Navarro has both and it can be seen in his work behind the plate. He has the feel and intelligence to evaluate the situation and what is needed to be successful. This will lead to improved preparation and execution over the course of the season. The Jays need to maximize the talents of their pitching staff as they are not as deep as other teams. Navarro is just the guy for the job. 3. Another season, another rash of pitching injuries, with the Mets Bobby Parnell the latest to possibly face Tommy John surgery. He would be the third Met to have TJS in under a year. GM Sandy Alderson told the NY Times its an "industry-wide problem." Pitch counts and innings limits for young pitchers dont appear to have made much of an impact. Do you acknowledge this as an industrywide problem - or is it more of a team/system problem as it does seem to hit some teams (including the Jays) more than others. What do you think is the best way to bring a pitcher along after draft day? And has your mind changed on that over time? Injuries for pitchers is a GMs worst nightmare. Just when you think you have enough pitching, injuries happen and you can find yourself shorthanded. The arm is not built to throw a baseball. Every time a pitcher throws the ball, there are fibers that tear in the shoulder, bicep, tricep and forearm. I have seen thermodynamic pictures of a pitchers arm before and after pitching. The amount of heat given off from the bleeding in the arm after pitching is profound. You can only imagine the toll that throwing a couple of hundred innings can take on a pitchers arm. In 2013, Justin Verlander threw 218 innings and 3692 pitches (most in majors). That doesnt include the 23 innings he tossed in the playoffs, nor does it count spring training innings and pitches. In addition to all of this game activity, Verlander had pitching practice between starts. The bottom line is that his arm took a ton of abuse. When I became general manager of the Mets in July of 1997, one of the first things I did was call a meeting with our top pitching coaches and team doctors. We were having a significant number of arm injuries and it was severely impacting the pitching depth in our organization. The outcome of that meeting was clear; pitchers can injure their arms in two ways: fatigue and poor mechanics. Too much throwing for any pitcher can lead to injury. It doesnt matter if he has perfect mechanics or the worst mechanics; too much throwing can break down any arm. There was an old school belief that the more pitchers throw the stronger they get. The science doesnt support that. Fatigue breaks down the arm. Mechanics for a pitcher is critical. He has to be able to repeat his delivery in order to throw consistent strikes. If a pitcher has poor mechanics in his delivery, he can put more pressure on his elbow or shoulder, making it more prone to injury. Pitchers can pitch with poor mechanics but they are much more prone to injury, especially if they are fatigued. Poor mechanics lead pitchers to tire more quickly and when tired, the poor mechanics make the pitcher more vulnerable. It is really that simple. After this meeting, we implemented very stringent pitch count limits in our minor league system and dramatically reduced the number of arm injuries. The arm only has so many bullets in it. They cant all be wasted in the minor leagues. We had to learn to be more efficient in our player development. I predicted Stephen Strasburgs arm problems a couple of years ago. He has poor mechanics, which put a significant amount of stress on his elbow and shoulder. You might wonder why they just dont try and correct his mechanics. Often times, cleaning up a pitchers poor mechanics can rob him of what makes him special: velocity, movement or deception. In Strasburgs case, his mechanics are his mechanics. It is how he is wired to throw a ball. I completely supported the Nats when they made the unpopular decision to shut Strasburg down even when they were going to the playoffs in 2012. If the Nats dont take dramatic steps to protect their big right-hander moving forward, he will break down again. He is so valuable to their franchise they are crazy if they dont. Arm injuries will always be part of the game. But I truly believe that individual organizations can make significant strides in reducing arm injuries. Throwing less to pitch more is the answer. Adidas Stan Smith Australia .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Cheap Stan Smith Australia . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. http://www.cheapstansmithaustralia.com/ . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday.TORONTO - With just over seven seconds left on the clock and Fridays game hanging in the balance, a sellout Air Canada Centre crowd rose to their feet, holding their breath in anticipation. Theyve been holding their breath for six years now, but finally they can exhale. As Celtics forward Jared Sullinger forced up a wild, off-balance runner, the building erupted. It was official. The Raptors are heading back to the post-season. "We made it," shouted Amir Johnson repeatedly as the media filtered into Torontos locker room. "Its a satisfying, kind of overwhelming feeling," he described, following his teams 105-103 victory over Boston, officially snapping the Raptor five-year playoff drought. "Its been six years since this team, this organization made it to the playoffs. This team has worked so hard. We deserved it. Weve been playing our butts off, playing through injuries. Weve had our ups and downs." "Weve made it." Not lost on the team was the fact that they stole a game, their 41st victory of the season, that probably shouldnt have come down to the final possession. Down by four with under three minutes to play, it looked like the Raptors would have to hope for a New York Knicks loss later in the evening or wait until Sunday to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Theyve been resilient all year, so why wouldnt they be now? First DeMar DeRozan drained a fadeaway jumper, then Johnson hit the game-winning put-back layup. "It was fitting," Dwane Casey said. DeRozan and Johnson, the teams longest tenured players, were responsible for Torontos final four points. For them, this moment was a little sweeter. "It means a lot, honestly, man," said DeRozan, the Raptors fifth-year guard, who will make his post-season debut next month. "Especially for me and Amir and what weve been through here with the tough seasons, through the ups and downs and the struggles. We stuck with it." The only player in the building that could give a firsthand account of the Raptors last playoff experience - a five-game, first round defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic in 2007-08 - was Celtics forward Kris Humphries. Only four other players from that team are currently on an NBA roster, but DeRozan and Johnson – who arrived the year after – have both been in Toronto long enough to appreciate what a night like this means to the franchise, the city and the Raptors long-suffering fan base. "It was all worth it," said DeRozan. "These fans stuck behind us every single day and theyre going to continue to do so. Thats the reason why we work extremely hard. Our fans definitely push us." Of course, it was just a formality. It was inevitable, only a matter of time. Toronto wasnt going to go winless in its remaining games, just like the Knicks were not going to run the table the rest of the way. Still, they have refused to count their chickens before they hatched and for that you can credit the humility and focus of their head coach. Moments after the win, a loud chorus of applause could be heard from outside the teams locker room. Finally, they could celebrate, albeit behind closed doors. Even Casey, who wouldnt pat himself on the back and likely never will, found a way to indulge in what the evening represented. "Were excited about it," he admitted. "My hat is off to all the guys whove come through here," said Casey, crediting MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum as well as former general manager Bryan Colangelo for their contributions to the process. "To DeMar DeRozan [and] Amir Johnson, who have been through it all and for the fans, the fans for understanding and being patient. I know they didnt see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but its a process. You dont build Rome overnight in this league. Is very difficult to do. You talk about rebuilding, its a hard gig." The Raptors have surpassed every rationaal expectation, going 35-19 since the trade of Rudy Gay in early December. Adidas Stan Smith Discount. Its been a season of firsts for a franchise on the cusp of its 20th birthday, a franchise many pundits wrote off for dead after selling off its highest-paid player. "Everybody who writes something on a piece of paper isnt always right, thats how I look at it," said DeRozan, the first-time All-Star. Hes right. He and his team have proven a lot of people wrong. As the Celtics made their run, cutting their deficit - once 14 - down and ultimately taking the lead, DeRozan came through yet again. With Kyle Lowry slowed by an ankle injury he sustained in the first half, DeRozan picked him up and scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the final 24 minutes. 16 of his 27 career 30-point games have come this season. With 10 games remaining and their spot in the pos-tseason locked up, the team can shift its attention to seeding but most importantly, going into the playoffs healthy and with momentum. "We cant be satisfied," Casey repeated, with his team moving into soul possession of the third seed following the Chicago Bulls loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. "We still want to continue on and weve still got to get better." Lowrys injury scare With three minutes to go in the second quarter, Lowry limped to the locker room after turning his right ankle while back-pedaling to get back on defence. After being examined by the medical staff, the Raptor point guard and most important player was able to return, starting the second half with his ankle taped up. As per usual, Lowry shrugged off whatever pain he was in after the win. "Im a little sore, but Im fine," he said after scoring nine points in 33 minutes. "Im okay. Good to go." Revenge of the second unit Naturally, Casey was frustrated with his under-performing bench after they were outscored 51-7 in Boston on Wednesday. "I challenged them before the game," said the Raptors coach. "I got on them about their productivity or lack thereof in the Boston game. I challenged them. I said, Look, guys want playing time, when the opportunity comes, youve got to do something, whether its defence, knocking somebody down, taking a charge, whatever. And they came through." Greivis Vasquez, who scored all seven of the benchs points on Wednesday, led the teams reserves with 15, but Chuck Hayes and John Salmons were also productive on both ends of the floor. Combined, the three former Kings - along with Tyler Hansbrough, who logged five minutes - totalled 28 points on the night. Patterson nearing a return Although he missed his 12th straight game, Patrick Patterson has been making progress and appears to be on the verge of returning from his right elbow injury. Although the Raptors havent had much practice time to get Patterson back up to speed - a concern Casey expressed before Fridays game - the Raptors forward has been able to participate in smaller, three-on-three scrimmages since being cleared for contact earlier this week. "[His] conditioning is probably going to be step behind a little bit," Casey acknowledged. "Its not going to be where he was before stepping away, so thats going to be expected. Thats why now we need to kind of get him back in rhythm and with the lack of practice time its going to have to be in a game situation." Patterson could be back in uniform this weekend in Florida, as the Raptors begin a back-to-back set with the Magic on Sunday before visiting the Heat Monday evening. The stat With their 41st win of the season, the Raptors secured a .500 record for the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2007-08, the last year they qualified for the playoffs. The quote "My grandmother called," Johnson told the media after his team clinched a spot in the playoffs. "She said that she was proud." ' ' '