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Rude Welcome for Canada
Topic Started: Friday Mar 3 2006, 06:13 PM (372 Views)
Cougar
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Quote:
 
DUNEDIN, Fla. (CP) - Thrown together for the first time early in the morning, the last thing the Canadian national team needed was to face a nasty A.J. Burnett in their exhibition opener Friday.

Burnett tossed a pair of shutout innings and struck out four in his first pre-season outing for the Toronto Blue Jays, who knocked around Canada's team for the World Baseball Classic 9-4.

''He threw the ball well, he threw some nasty pitches,'' said Canada manager Ernie Whitt, who also serves as bench coach for the Blue Jays.

Burnett, who signed a $55-million US, five-year contract in the off-season, said he was amped for his first outing with his new team. He popped Gregg Zaun's mitt with a few of his fastballs but the catcher was most impressed with Burnett's curveball.

''It was dynamite today,'' said Zaun.



Burnett also showed good escapability, twice emerging unscathed after allowing a runner to reach third with less than two outs.

''That's big to do that early,'' said Burnett. ''I tried to get out there and get the strut, get the glare and the feeling. This is my first spring training game with a new squad. I wanted to start off on the right foot.''

That wasn't so much the case for Canada, which fell behind 9-0 before hitting the scoreboard. Lyle Overbay led the way with a pair of two-run doubles while non-roster invite Wayne Lydon hit the club's first homer of the spring, a two-run shot to right.

The Canadian offence started several rallies but had trouble bringing runners home until the sixth, when Adam Stern hit an RBI groundout, Pete Laforest followed with a run-scoring double and Pete Orr later added an RBI single.

Kevin Nicholson, who started at shortstop and later moved to third, added an RBI single in the eighth. Whitt expects his team to get sharper before it opens play at the World Baseball Classic against South Africa in Scottsdale, Ariz.

''Our situational hitting wasn't as good as it could have been, we left a lot of guys on base, but again it's the first game,'' said Whitt. ''These guys are pretty good tournament player guys. They seem like they can turn it on and do a pretty good job for us.''

Notes: A Blue Jays split-squad team lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. Starter Scott Downs tossed a pair of scoreless innings but the Rays put up four against reliever Matt Blank in the fifth. ... Jays OF Reed Johnson will try to take some swings on Saturday after being shut down for nearly a week with a sore elbow. ... Stern is nursing a mild back injury that is keeping him throwing all out. Canada C Max St. Pierre has a sore left elbow after getting drilled by a pitch at camp with the Detroit Tigers earlier this week.


Um, so do they mean that Canada played the Blue Jays? :blink: I'm a little confused...
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PSUSyr5
The Board Idiot

Yeah. This doesn't count. It's just an exhibition game...like a tune-up for Canada before the WBC and the Blue Jays before the MLB season. I believe the Arizona State Sun Devils and Miami Hurricanes baseball teams (to name a few) play pro teams to get warmed up.
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Cougar
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We couldn't beat the Blue Jays? :mellow: HMm...well even though the Blue Jays are supposevely better this year....
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WeatherManNX01
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The Yanks are coming!

The Mets also played Puerto Rico, and the Astros played the Dominican Republic (or vice versa - I don't remember ;)) and lost.
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