FU Turniere » Howard manning the net, another move would need t

Every year you make sure to check out the players an organization sends to the Arizona Fall League. These can be players the team is fast tracking to the Bigs, players changing positions or players needing extra work while rehabbing from injuries. The Blue Jays have seven prospects playing this year with the Salt River Rafters: four pitchers, a catcher, an infielder and an outfielder. The four of most interest are all pitchers - Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and John Stillson. Hutchison, coming off of Tommy John surgery, pitched 35.1 innings this past season split among Single, Double and Triple-A. Clearly, the Jays are trying to get him more work to hasten his return to the big club. Hutchison has been pretty sharp making four starts for the Rafters, going 1-0 with a 0.57 ERA and with two walks and 14 strikeouts over 15.2 innings. As good as he looked, when you consider how few innings he pitched this past season, it would still make a lot more sense for Hutchison to spend the bulk, if not the entire coming season, in Double and Triple-A. Aaron Sanchez is two years younger than Hutchison at 21, but is regarded as the Jays top pitching prospect what with the trades of Justin Nicolino to the Miami Marlins and Noah Syndergaard to the New York Mets a year ago. The only real knock so far on Sanchez has been his control. With the Rafters, he has eight walks in 13.1 innings, but otherwise, the numbers look pretty good. In four starts hes 0-1 with 10 strikeouts and a 1.35 ERA. However, it still looks as though hes at least another year away from a shot at the Majors. The other two are puzzlers. After a year starting at Double and Triple-A, 22-year-old Marcus Stroman is only working in relief in the AFL. Hes pitched in seven games, just 7.2 innings and is 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA. Hes struck out six and walked only 3 and opponents have only hit .207 off him. Alex Anthopoulos said towards the end of this season, he might trade some of the Blue Jays bullpen depth, to fill other holes. So, perhaps, Stroman will move into the Jays pen to fill one of the created openings. The fourth pitcher is right-hander John Stillson, who greatly impressed skipper John Gibbons last spring. The 23-year-old right out of Texas A&M went 6-2 at Triple-A Buffalo out of the bullpen with four saves. He struck out 47 and walked 15. Unfortunately, he hasnt pitched well in the AFL. Hes appeared in just three games out of the pen going only two-and-a-third innings and getting hit hard. Stillsons ERA is 23.14 and batters are hitting .438 against him. Yes, there is still Kyle Drabek and the impending return of Brandon Morrow from his injury and the possibility that Ricky Romero has a shocking return to form, but its still pretty clear Alex Anthopoulos is going to have to do most of his searching for pitching help outside the organization in the off-season. Monday at 5:00pm et. is the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers of to their perspective free agents. The Blue Jays are not expected to tender right-hander Josh Johnson who went 2-8 in an injury plagued first campaign with the Jays. The Blue Jays were supposed to have met with their medical people over the weekend to determine if it was worth making Johnson any sort of offer at all, say in the $2-3M range for one season. Interest in Tanaka A reworked Japanese player-posting system havent been put into place yet, but the interest in Masahiro Tanaka continues to skyrocket. The 25-year-old who went 24-0 this season for the Rakuten Golden Eagles, threw 160 pitches in a complete game loss in Game 6 of the Japanese World Series to the Yomiuri Giants. The very next day, though, in Game 7, Tanaka came right back and threw 15 more pitches in the ninth to nail down the victory and give Rakuten its first league title ever. The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs just a few of the clubs who want to get into the bidding once a new posting system is in place. Bay Area Share? There is a chance that the Oakland Athletics could be playing in the San Francisco Giants ballpark for the next two years. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, unless the As can get a two-year lease agreement in Oakland rather than the six-to-eight-year deal the O.co Coliseum people want, they will be playing out of AT&T Park as soon as this spring. The As want to maintain their flexibility so they can move someplace else if a new facility isnt built in Oakland. A few scheduling details would have to be worked out, since, right now, the As and Giants are both scheduled to play eight games at home on the same days. End of the Astrodome? The fate of the sports first indoor facility, the Houston Astrodome, could well be decided shortly. There is a vote being taken on Tuesday on a $217M bond issue on whether to transform the Astrodome into a convention and exhibition centre. If the nays carry the vote, the Astrodome, which opened in 1965, will be leveled. Chicago Blackhawks Jerseys . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal. CM Punk Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. http://www.authenticblackhawkspro.com/Ch...ckhawks-jersey/. Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival. Steve Larmer Jersey .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes. Artem Anisimov Jersey . Edmonton opened the season with 14 straight victories before falling Friday night 10-8 to the host Colorado Mammoth in National Lacrosse League action.Ryan Millers short – and unsuccessful – tenure with the St. Louis Blues is all but over. Brian Elliott was signed to a three-year contract extension on Monday by the Blues and general manager Doug Armstrong noted that Jake Allen will be the other goalie in the tandem, leaving Miller as the odd man out. On July 1, the 33-year-old will likely hit the market as an unrestricted free agent. Being one of the most coveted free agents in this years market, especially in net, where do you think Miller will end up? The Pittsburgh Penguins seem to be a logical fit. Theyre coming off another disappointing early playoff exit which led to the firing of GM Ray Shero and the possible termination of head coach Dan Bylsma in the near future. Marc-Andre Fleury had another less-than-stellar post-season performance between the pipes, leading to the desire for change in Pittsburgh. Miller might be the guy to fill the void for a team that expects to hoist the Cup every year. The Minnesota Wild are a solid club lacking a reliable presence in goal as well. Darcy Kuemper took over as the starter last season after Josh Harding (multiple sclerosis) and Niklas Backstrom (strained abdominal muscle) struggled with health issues. Ilya Bryzgalov was sharp in his playoff stint in relief of Kuemper, but his career has shown he cant be counted on as a starter. The Washington Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. For most of the season, Braden Holtby was the man between the pipes for the defensively-challenged Capitals and Miller would be considered an improvement.dddddddddddd With GM George McPhee and head coach Adam Oates out, change is in the air in Washington. California could also be a viable destination for Miller. The San Jose Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round and even though it wasnt Antti Niemis fault, a change might be in order. The Dallas Stars is also an option with Lindy Ruff – Millers former coach in Buffalo – behind the bench. However, Kari Lehtonen has four more years left on his contract and has been solid for Dallas since joining the club in 2009. Its possible Miller would like to play in his home state of Michigan with the Detroit Red Wings, but with Jimmy Howard manning the net, another move would need to be made to accommodate the Michigan State product. Could Canada be desirable for Miller? The Vancouver Canucks used to have Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider. Now they have Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom. With the Canucks window closing by the day, Vancouver might be interested in giving Miller an expensive, short-term deal for one last kick at the can. The Edmonton Oilers are another franchise that could use an upgrade in net, but Miller wants to win now and Edmonton is a tough sell for that reason. The same could be said for the Winnipeg Jets, who may not be convinced that Ondrej Pavelec is the answer. Miller is entering the latter half of his career. The time for him to choose a winner is now. So, where will Ryan Miller play next season? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '