Die Macht » felt the speed was good in that heat. Piotr P

DUNEDIN, Florida – General manager Alex Anthopulos was expected to return on Tuesday from a business trip to the Dominican Republic. While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. Jimenezs signing leaves only one remaining marquee starting pitcher on the market. That would be Ervin Santana, with whom the Jays have been linked for what feels like an eternity. Santana is coming off a strong year for the Royals, in which he authored a 3.24 ERA and a 1.142 WHIP over 211 innings. Hes exceeded the 200-inning plateau in four of the last six seasons, which reflects positively on his durability but would give a club pause when considering how much, and how long, to invest in a 31-year-old. "Some things could still change but were going forward with what we have unless something happens," said manager John Gibbons. "We like this group. Thats not my department. You know, Alex is working hard. Hes been doing it all winter, half of last season, looking at some different options." Its anyones guess who will fill out the back end of the Jays rotation. Esmil Rogers (4-7, 4.89, 1.434 WHIP in 106 2/3 innings as a starter last season) and Todd Redmond (4-2, 4.41, 1.240 WHIP in 69 1/3 innings as a starter last season) appear to have the inside track, if only because both are out of options. Whoever doesnt win the starting job, if he isnt sent to the bullpen, could be lost on waivers if an attempt is made to send him to the minors. There appears to be a preference for starting Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek, both of whom had Tommy John elbow surgery during the 2012 season but who have returned to full health, at Triple-A Buffalo. Marcus Stroman, a top prospect, doesnt expect to crack the opening day roster but hopes to prove in spring training he can compete with big league talent. Lefthander Sean Nolin, shelled in his one-off debut against the Orioles last May, could be a factor. Chad Jenkins, who is effective more often than not when called upon, should be afforded consideration. Ricky Romero would have to show significant signs of improvement this spring to have a chance at cracking the roster. Hutchison and Drabek come from similar backgrounds in that theyve both had regular turns in the rotation, only to go down with injury. Now theyre trying to work their way back to Toronto – this time for good – knowing the odds, at least initially, are stacked against them. Drabek pays his predicament no mind. "You just kind of have to go into it thinking its your job," said Drabek. "Ive won a job before and, you know, thats kind of how I prepare for it. Thats how my Dad wanted me to. Just go in there, do every thing you can right and really not think about it." "You obviously have to earn it," said Hutchison. "You got there once so you obviously know youre capable of it and you believe in yourself and you know what you can do. Its really about just coming out here and competing and getting the job done." If Santana eludes them or the term and money prove to be too much of a gamble for Anthopoulos, the Jays will need one of their young pitchers to emerge a pleasant surprise. Its not the situation a team built to win now wants but after a quiet offseason, its the scenario which seems most favourable at the moment. Mallex Smith Jersey . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox. 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Investigators found that guard Richie Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed at tackle Jonathan Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer.British champion Danny King tells Sky Sports all about appearing at the biggest event in Speedway - The British GP. King qualified for the showpiece event in the Grand Prix Series by winning the British Title at Belle Vue the previous month but the Coventry and Ipswich man says he tried to focus on domestic action before his Grand Prix debut.I tried not to think about it as I had a job to do in domestic league racing so I didnt want to think too much about Cardiff and sacrifice my league racing, said King. I think I showed that by getting a maximum at Ipswich on the Thursday before but once that was over I put my concentration on Cardiff which was also good as I didnt want to put any pressure on myself at Cardiff. I wanted to go there and enjoy it and if I did that I knew Id do well and I think that showed in the end. It was a hectic turnaround for the Ipswich skipper and his team after domestic action in Suffolk on the Thursday before making the trip to Cardiff the following day.On the Thursday after the meeting at Ipswich we went straight back to the workshop in Peterborough and we washed the bikes as you cant turn up to a Grand Prix with dirty bikes! We finished at the work shop at about 2.30am and got back to my house at about 3am and we left at 6am to go to Cardiff.After a busy night of cleaning bikes and travelling across Britain in the early hours, it was back to work for King and his team with Practice on the Friday afternoon at the iconic venue.Practice went really well on the Friday and we were putting in some good times which we were happy with because we knew if we could make the start then we would win races.After Practice was finished we had the evening to relax and we went into the city centre for a team meal and just had some downtime. Then I went straight to bed as I was tired as you can imagine and tried to get a good nights sleep which I did. King was recently crowned British Champion After a relaxing evening in the Welsh capital, the day the Speedway world waits for with much anticipation was upon the Wildcard and the 29-year-old talks us through his build-up to the event.Waking up on Saturday I felt good, I dont get much sleep at home with the two kids nowadays but it was nice to have a lay in and not get woken up until I woke up! We went for a nice breakfast and by the time wed had breakfast and left for the track, my mechanics were already there and set up in the pits.I did the usual things like signing on and then me and my good friend Ritchie (Hawkins), who is also my Team Manager at Ipswich, went for a walk in the city to soak up the atmosphere and take my mind off the meeting aa little bit really.ddddddddddddI then went across to the FanZone for a signing session with the fans and that was amazing. I loved what they did there but after that it was back to the stadium for the track walk and then it was time for the meeting. King with Ritchie Hawkins (left) and Richard Maull (centre) at Cardiff It was Kings debut in the Grand Prix against the worlds best but after a tough start the Great Britain World Cup star showed he was not out of place at the top table of Speedway. The Maidstone-born rider reviews his evening heat-by-heat.I knew it would be tough from the outside in the first heat. I nearly got round Nicki Pedersen into third but with the track the way it was at that stage it was always going to be difficult to pass and you dont pass those guys easily, they are there for a reason, its the world championship so its tough.Before my second ride they put a lot of water down on the track which we didnt realise as we were trying to rush about in the pits and get the bike ready with two rides on the trot. That caught us out and it was really disappointing to start the way we did, but whether that relaxed me even more or it just gave us more time to get things ready I dont know - but it was a turning point that night and we went on to put a good show.The next heat I got second behind Jason Doyle after a tussle with Freddie Lindgren which was good and it was another second place in my fourth ride. In that ride we pulled away from Chris Holder and Peter Kildemand which was good. We had a good ride there and I felt the speed was good in that heat. Piotr Pawlicki who won that heat was fast all night but he couldnt pull away from us so we left the bike after that one.In my final heat I made a good start off gate three and we knew there was a bit of dirt there as we had been watching the heats before that and we were out in the third race of the last session. I went straight for that dirt from gate three and it was a bit like the British Final; I generated some speed down the back straight and it was enough to get round the outside of Bartosz Zmarzlik to take the lead and get the win.King had shown that he has the ability to compete on the world stage and hopes the opportunity will come again one day.I absolutely loved it and Id love to do it again and its given me a taste of what could be. I enjoyed every minute of it and if I ever get the chance to do it again Ill grab it with both hands.Watch Wolverhampton v Coventry in the Elite League live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm on Monday, August 1. Also See: Bet on Speedway with Sky Bet ' ' '