Neues » Hutchison and his manag

MELBOURNE, Australia - Victoria Azarenka is in an unfamiliar position as the Australian Open gets underway: unseeded after a long injury layoff and no longer a heavy favourite to capture a title shes already won two times.While much as changed for the Belarussian, one thing has remained the same — her opponent on the other side of the net Tuesday. For the third consecutive year, Azarenka knocked American Sloane Stephens out of the Australian Open.Their matches at Melbourne Park have all been one-sided — Azarenka has won all three in straight sets — but they havent lacked drama.Two years ago, the two women faced off in the semifinals when Azarenka was the defending champion and Stephens a fresh-faced 19-year-old who had just upset No. 1-ranked Serena Williams in the quarters.Azarenka was comfortably ahead for much of the match, but the momentum began to shift in the second set. Azarenka, appearing flustered, called for an extended injury time-out that was considered by many to be strategic. Azarenka went on to win the match and her second title at Melbourne Park.Last year, the tension between the players was evident when Stephens icily described their relationship as nonexistent before they met in the fourth round. Despite her pre-match confidence, though, the result was the same: another Azarenka victory.When the Australian Open draw came out this year, Stephens said she had a funny feeling.I knew I was going to play her. Of course, Im not seeded, shes not seeded and were going to play each other, she said, before joking, The draws rigged, I swear. I need to go talk to (tournament director) Craig Tiley because this is ridiculous.Both Azarenka and Stephens came into 2015 on the mend — and hoping for a good result in Australia to build on.Azarenka played in just nine tournaments last year due to a left foot injury, causing her ranking to slip to No. 44 and for her to be unseeded at a major for the first time since the 2007 U.S. Open.She said she still needs more matches to feel comfortable on court again, though she looked sharp in her 6-3, 6-2 win over Stephens as she guided backhand winners down the line and volleyed with crisp precision.She even sounded like the Vika of old, pumping herself up with emphatic Come ons! and punctuating her shots with high-pitched hoots.Can she hoist the trophy again this year?The dreams are always big, and I think thats kind of the light in the end of the tunnel, Azarenka said. I dont know if its going to happen here or whenever, I just want to work and have that mentality that thats what I want to achieve.Stephens game, on the other hand, remains a work in progress. She is coming back from a wrist injury and is now on her third coach in the past year, Nick Saviano, who previously coached her when she was a rising junior.She believes shes due for a turnaround soon, particularly against Azarenka.Im going to do my best and hopefully, she said before stopping herself, No not hopefully. I will beat her one day. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. Martin St. Louis Jersey . Horford is out 3-to-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six games. 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After Sundays outing in which he tossed only three innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits (two home runs) and one walk in a 5-0 Toronto loss which dropped his personal win-loss record to 4-4, the splits look like this. Hutchison at home: 5 Games Started, 1-3, 8.72 ERA, 7 HR allowed and a 1.892 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP). Hutchison on the road: 8 Games Started, 3-1, 2.03 ERA, 3 HR allowed and a 0.973 WHIP. Both Hutchison and his manager appear to be at a loss to explain the discrepancy. "Obviously I feel the same when I take the mound every time, at home and on the road," said Hutchison. "I just havent executed well here and I havent put together good games." "Some guys are like that, its hard to put a finger on it," said manager John Gibbons. "But you cant pitch him on the road every time … He wasnt very good today. They hit him around a little bit. But hes been pretty good for us." Hutchison is coming off of Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, which was performed in July, 2012. He rehabbed for a full year and pitched briefly at Triple-A late last season and then in the Arizona Fall League. His 75 innings this year surpass, by far, his allotment from the abbreviated 2013 campaign. The Blue Jays are taking care of the 23-year-old. Prior to his last start, a scoreless, seven-inning gem last Tuesday in Detroit, Gibbons gave him a full weeks rest after he struggled in a home start against the Tampa Bay Rays. That leads to the second trend. Hutchison pitches much better when hes had extra rest, five or more days in between starts, than when he pitches on the usual four days of rest to which starters are accustomed. Here are the numbers: Hutchison on four days rest: 6 Games Started, 3-3, 5.94 ERA, 14 walks, 21 strikeouts, 7 home runs allowed. Hutchison on five or more days rest: 7 Games Started, 1-1, 2.62 ERA, 5 walks, 34 strikeouts, 3 home runs allowed. Expect Gibbons to cherry pick spots to give Hutchison extra rest over the course of the season but its difficult to do at the moment due to a lack of off days. Toronto has two more before the All-Star Break, one on Monday, June 16 and another on Monday, June 30. The task becomes easier in August when there are five off days in the month and becomes difficult again in September, when there is only one. By that point, though, the Jays hope to be counting on Hutchison in important games down the stretch. Hutchison, arguably, has been the Blue Jays second-best starter to Mark Buehrle and its likely the club will allow the 23-year-old to work through the ups and downs of a long season. Few are the young pitchers who thrive every time they take the ball. With a long road trip coming up, Hutchisons next two starts are scheduled to be in Baltimore on Friday night and against the Yankees, in New York, on the following Thursday. Dont expect Gibbons to take the ball out of Hutchisons hands on either occasion. LINDS SPLITS Adam Lind is strictly a platoon player these days. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer is bound and determined to change that. "Im working my butt off to change that because I think he can be just as effective, or almost as effective, off lefties as what he is off righties," said Seitzer. "What happens with lefties and its guys that Ive worked with in past years, they get pounded in by hard stuff and they get to chase stuff and the breaking stuff and secondary pitches in any count." The narrative is that Lind, a left-handed hitter, cannot hit left-handed pitching consistently. The talking point is backed up by his career statisticss and the sample size, over nine seasons, is large enough.dddddddddddd Lind, versus right-handers: 2,263 plate appearances, .290/.347/.512, 122 home runs, 17 per cent strikeout rate. Lind, versus left-handers: 875 plate appearances, .216/.261/.337, 21 home runs, 25.8 per cent strikeout rate. Manager John Gibbons has worked accordingly this season, relegating Lind to starts against right-handers. Entering Sundays play, Lind had 20 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers for the entire season. "We have a team thats versatile and can do a bunch of different things," said Lind. "I face lefties at the end of the game. I just dont start when they start the game. I get my share of at-bats against those guys." Lind is quick to point out that he often gets the more difficult left-handed challenges. "I dont get the normal starters but Ill take the lefty specialists." Lind faced an old nemesis in Friday nights win over the Cardinals. He drew a full count walk off left-hander Randy Choate, a guy who Lind saw frequently when Choate was with division rival Tampa Bay. He fouled off some tough pitches in that plate appearance. "I played against some lefties at the beginning of the year and had some good at-bats, hit the ball hard, just didnt get a hit," said Lind. "When youre in June and you look back at May you dont remember who you faced and you dont remember what really happened. Its just a statistic now. I get it, thats just how it goes and thats how people are going to look at it over the course of a season." Seitzer, as much a psychological coach as a mechanical instructor, wants Lind to look for pitches out over the plate. He believes positive results will follow. "Thats all it boils down to is breaking that bad wound that hes put in his brain that hes got to get to pitches inside because thats where theyre going to come," said Seitzer. DICKEY ON STROMAN Marcus Stromans curveball has been on full display during his first two big league starts. Hes baffled Royals and Cardinals hitters with the pitch and hes impressed his veteran teammates. "Its his ability to spin the baseball that separates him from other guys," said Dickey. "He can really spin a ball and that takes a lot of arm speed, a lot of God-given, innate natural ability to be able to do that. You cant learn that." Stroman is scheduled to start Wednesday afternoons series finale against the Twins. Teams are developing a book on the 23-year-old, information which will only increase each time he takes the mound. Hitters will make adjustments. Itll be up to Stroman to do the same. "Thats one of the things that makes you successful and able to endure at this level," said Dickey. "Do you have an aptitude where you have the ability to make adjustments quickly? I dont see anything that would lead me to believe he doesnt have that. Hes got a lot of moxie, too. He seems pretty confident out there, which is great." In the spring, general manager Alex Anthopoulos joked that Stroman was the first pitcher hed ever seen blow a bubble in the middle of his windup. Its a common occurrence. "We were on the bench thinking, like, what is Matt Holliday thinking when hes in the middle of his leg kick and a big bubbles in his mouth," joked Dickey. "Hes probably just thinking, Throw the ball. I mean, thats just what you think but everybody has their own little thing." BLUE JAYS SIGN TWO PICKS The Blue Jays signed their fourth and eighth round draft picks from last weeks amateur draft. Right-handed hitting catcher Matt Morgan, an 18-year-old out of Thorsby High School in Alabama, put pen to paper on a contract. He was taken 114th overall. Right-hander Justin Shafer, a 21-year-old whos completed his junior year with the University of Florida Gators, is on board. He was taken 234th overall. 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