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The Toronto Blue Jays are going to see the Texas Rangers next week for the first time since their dramatic Game 5 American League Division Series victory, which included the famous bat-flip home run by Jose Bautista. I fully expect the batting practice music at the Rogers Centre to be blaring Taylor Swift’s song Bad Blood. The Rangers were very upset in the aftermath of that game and will be subjected to countless replays before the series opens Monday night in Toronto. 

So will Monday turn into a "hockey game" or will it just be a baseball game? That is the five-game suspension question.

Baseball players have long memories and can be emotional. Those emotions can get sparked when teams return to the scene of the crime. The energy can get stoked by the media’s incessant questions about what happened in the past. 

In my experience, managers don’t order pitchers to hit the opposition with pitches. Therefore, I don’t expect Jeff Bannister to direct his staff to retaliate. If there is going to be payback, it will come from a pitcher directly to Bautista. The likely candidate will be Sam Dyson, who was most unhappy after the Jays’ slugger took him deep in Game 5. In a post-game interview last October, Dyson said Bautista needed to tone it down a bit because he is a role model for young kids. 

Cole Hamels said the bat flip and reaction from the right fielder was tough to see and that the Rangers don’t carry themselves that way. Hamels is slated to pitch Sunday so he won’t have a shot at Bautista. Remember, it is not beyond Hamels to plunk a hitter “just because.”  He hit Bryce Harper the first time he faced him a few years back.  He was trying to teach the young stud humility. 

The decision to go after Bautista will come from the players. The question is who has the loudest voice. The Rangers have quality player leaders on their club: Hamels, Adrian Beltre and Prince Fielder have the biggest presence. Beltre and Fielder aren’t fighters. Plus, if Bautista gets plunked, the two Rangers’ sluggers would have a bullseye on their backs.

Beltre feels like the man in charge. I don’t think he will sanction any hit on Bautista. If there is trouble it will be solely based on the actions of the pitcher who does it.  That being said, if a pitcher does throw at Bautista, his teammates will support him and have his back.

Bautista has proven that you throw at him at your own risk. Just ask the Baltimore Orioles who paid for two missed attempts last year with homers on the next pitch.

Let the games begin! Lace them up and let’s go!

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This past week, Yankee manager, Joe Girardi, suggested that if he were commissioner for a day he would ban infield shifts. If you remember, the real commissioner, Rob Manfred, had said that he would be open to any suggestions to improve the game, including things like banning shifting. Manfred used the banning of shifts as an example, not as a directive, but his comments may have opened the door for Girardi and others. 

I just don’t understand all of the negativity about shifting. It is strategy. Teams implement shifts to adjust to what hitters’ tendencies are. How is it different than a pitcher throwing a breaking ball to a hitter who crushes fastballs? Isn’t the idea of the game to adapt and adjust to limit the other team's chance of scoring?

There was a time when relievers would throw three innings at a time. Then managers decided to start to use specialists for specific situations that came up during the game. How is shifting the shortstop to the first base side of second base different than a manager bringing in a left-handed pitcher to face a lefty hitter?

It would be a mistake to dictate the placement of the players on the field. If you want to beat the shift, teach your hitters to use the whole field. Teams have the ability to beat the shift if they make an adjustment. Those who complain have players who can’t make the adjustments.

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The Jake Arrieta story is an amazing story of opportunity and perseverance. It also reinforces the fact that sometimes all a player needs is a change of scenery. The Chicago Cubs starter has had a remarkable career turn around since making the move from the Baltimore Orioles, becoming a Cy Young winner as well as throwing two no-hitters during his short time on the North Side. 

After the Chris Colabello suspension was announced, it stirred up all of the suspicions again around the game. If one guy got caught surely there must be others. Whispers have gotten louder, speculating that Arrieta must have used PEDs to have progressed so significantly from his Baltimore days. 

The Cubs’ right-hander responded to the rumours that PEDs are to thank for his resurgence by calling those comments “funny.”  He went on to challenge the doubters to go through his workout routine with him. He detailed the diet and exercises that he believes are responsible for his success.

What is he supposed to say? It’s impossible to prove a negative, other than to take every drug test that is requested and pass them. He has never failed such a test, nor has he ever been implicated or associated in any way with steroids. 

What people forget is that Arrieta showed flashes of brilliance at times in Baltimore but just couldn’t repeat his delivery on a consistent basis. He throws across his body, which makes finding a consistent release point difficult unless he is precise with his delivery. He needs a very strong core to be able to maintain the deceptive delivery. That core is exactly the area that he conditions the most. He is a Pilates nut. He stretches and builds strength using his own body weight. 

I understand the raising of eyebrows, but there is a legitimate answer in Arrieta’s case. So he is laughing at those who doubt him. In fact, he will be laughing all the way to the bank. 

Some Random Thoughts: 

- For all those who believe that there is a conspiracy in baseball when it comes to drug testing and that MLB catches far more players in its drug testing net than get suspended, what do you think now? They didn’t just nab a utility man like Colabello, they caught a big fish as well - or at least a very speedy fish. Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon’s positive test and suspension for PEDs makes it pretty clear that the program isn’t selective. This is a devastating blow for the Marlins, who have been playing much better baseball of late. 

- I have always believed as a general manager it is much easier to find pitching than hitting. Jake Arrieta is an example of this. So are Rich Hill of the Oakland A’s, Mat Latos of the White Sox, A.J. Griffin of the Rangers and the Padres’ Drew Pomeranz. It is much easier to find consistency among pitchers with good tools as opposed to hitters with good tools. 

- The Braves (5-17 .227 win percentage) are currently on pace to have the worst winning percentage in the modern era of baseball. They have hit only four home runs as a team, a shocking number when you consider that are 62 players who already have at least four homers on their own. Yikes.

- I can’t help but worry that Zack Greinke’s struggles in Arizona might be due to the dry conditions at home. He is a command and control guy who needs to have the feel of the baseball to manipulate it for his extraordinary movement. The problem is that the climate isn’t about to change anytime soon, so he better figure it out.

- Rockies SS Trevor Story is tied for the league lead with nine homers, but he has 34 strikeouts in just 84 at bats. He reminds me a bit of Joc Pederson from last year with the Dodgers. I won’t be shocked if he ends up in the minor leagues before the year is over.

- There are more than a few teams that are in rebuilding mode. In fact, there are six in the NL alone. Among the six teams that came in to the season with no legitimate chance to win, the Philadelphia Phillies feel the most competitive. They are 12-10, which is a bit surprising. They have young hitters and pitchers that are showing they can compete at the major-league level. The Phillies will still likely finish in fourth place in the division, but if you are going to lose you might as well do it with purpose. That purpose is learning who is part of the problem and who is part of the solution. It seems like the Phillies are doing it right. By the way, I guess former GM Ruben Amaro wasn’t such a dope after all, Phillies fans. You are reaping the benefits of some pretty good trades that he made before being dismissed.