DUNEDIN, Florida – The Blue Jays are on the record with the clubs plan to start Brandon Morrow in the seasons fifth game, the home opener on April 4th against the New York Yankees. "Right now were kind of looking at him at the end of the rotation right now," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Not indicative of how hes doing or how hes feeling. Its just, it seems like the spot we want him right now." Morrows final outing last season came on May 28. He was suffering from pain and stiffness in his right forearm. The diagnosis was an entrapped radial nerve. When rest and treatment didnt solve the problem, Morrow was shut down for the year in late July. Now, with just more than two weeks left until opening day, Morrows high count for the spring is 47 pitches. His last outing came last Tuesday, March 11, against the Baseball Canada junior team, during which he threw only fastballs and splitters. He has struggled to command his fastball, which the club and Morrow insist isnt worrisome due to his long layoff. "Were looking at the way guys are throwing and Brandon, right now, we want to make sure hes healthy, we want to make sure he gets through the season healthy," said Walker. "We need him to be a big part of this rotation and right now its just where he fits in." Morrow has been throwing relatively consistently since November. The Jays have brought him along carefully this spring but with the regular season looming, Morrow is running out of time to build up to go deeper into games. With too few innings to spread among all of their rotation hopefuls, the Jays are giving minor league games to rotation certainties like R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle. Morrow is included in that bunch. The plan is for Morrow to pitch four or five innings against the Yankees Scranton affiliate on Tuesday in Tampa. Tuesdays start will come a full week after Morrows last appearance. Walker says theres no concern about Morrows health. "No, no, but just past history we want to make sure we take care of him as best we can," he said. "Tuesday will be a good outing for him," continued Walker. "Hes going to get some good work on Tuesday and hell still have two outings after that." The Blue Jays have off days on three consecutive Mondays in April: April 7, 14 and 21. The club will require a fifth starter on four occasions during the first month of the season, although Walker and manager John Gibbons will be able to make adjustments as they see fit. "It depends on who youre playing, how you line up sometimes as you look at the first couple of weeks of the season," said Walker. "We can always slot him back in where we want to put him but, right now, this is how things look right now. Things could change." Meanwhile, Gibbons reiterated on Sunday morning that, in his mind, there is one spot open in the starting rotation. Neither the manager nor anyone on his coaching staff will publicly confirm Drew Hutchison has a big league job. However, the 23-year-old has been the best starter in camp. It would be a hard sell, barring the unforeseen, to keep Hutchison off the opening day roster. That leaves J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond and Ricky Romero fighting for the final spot. "Im a big Happ fan," said Gibbons. "I think hes going to have a heck of a year for us. All indications the other day, his backs fine, he threw very well and that was a big question. Now, if his back flares up, it may be a different story." Casey Janssen, Steve Delabar, Sergio Santos, Aaron Loup and Brett Cecil are assured bullpen jobs. What isnt yet decided is whether there will be a seven reliever contingent or an eight-man bullpen heading north. An eight-man bullpen would shorten Gibbons bench but with much uncertainty about the group of starters, Gibbons wouldnt rule out taking an extra arm. There is also the business matter of options – who has them and who doesnt – to factor in. The Jays may have no choice but to put one of their pitchers through waivers but the club is loathe to lose the bodies. "What makes the team the strongest," said Gibbons. "Do we feel we need to carry that extra guy to help the rotation out? Because theyre all really good; I mean, were not going to keep a guy just to keep a guy unless theyre valuable and we think everybody we have is valuable." CAMP CUTS The Blue Jays optioned pitchers Kyle Drabek, Sean Nolin and Chad Jenkins to Triple-A Buffalo prior to Sundays 4-3, 10-inning win over the Orioles. Drabek, 26, struggled to command his repertoire this spring, giving up eight earned runs, 10 hits and six walks over eight innings. "Go down there and start pitching," said manager John Gibbons. "Were running out of time. Hes not going to make the team. He needs to go down there and get his work in." Jenkins, 26, allowed three runs over 6 2/3 spring innings, including one each in his final two appearances. He was a contributor as a call up last season, both as a starter and as a reliever, but he has options remaining. The Blue Jays can get Jenkins to Buffalo without first passing him through waivers. "He should be pitching in the big leagues," said Gibbons. "Theyre not far away. If somebody falters, if we keep somebody in the bullpen and they falter and we feel like they can help us more, theyll be right back up. Thats just the way the game works." Nolin, a 24-year-old lefthander, appeared in four spring games, starting one. He made his big league debut last May in a loss to Baltimore, was quickly demoted and not recalled the remainder of the season. Hes an option for the Blue Jays if the rotation suffers from underperformance or an injury. China Shoes Wholesale . Nikolai Khabibulin was yanked in the second period, and the Ottawa Senators looked ready to put away a big road win. China Shoes Free Shipping . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. https://www.chinashoesshop.com/. That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. China Shoes Nike . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. China Shoes Jordans . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard.The phrase most valuable player is a tricky one for a lot of people, me included. I think there is a large sect who, without pause, heap that label onto Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, indisputably the league’s most talented player. However, I think it’s impossible to ignore the fact that team effects play a significant role in determination of how valuable a player is to his team. While Crosby plays second fiddle to no one in the National Hockey League, I think there’s a compelling argument to be made about the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins being an adequate hockey team. That is to say, when Sidney Crosby’s off of the ice, the team is doing a bit more than just surviving. On the other hand, we got our first taste of Philadelphia without center Claude Giroux Saturday night, and it wasn’t pretty. The Flyers conceded five goals to the lowly Devils in a game that wasn’t particularly close. Giroux, of course, missed the game after suffering a left leg laceration, and could miss a week of action. The problem with the Flyers -- perhaps true for them more than any other team pushing the thresholds of the hard salary cap -- is that they don’t have enough talent on the roster. A large reason why this is true is because the team made indefensible decision after indefensible decision over the past couple of years to bleed the cap dry, including a six-year, $30MM contract for already-healthy-scratched Andrew MacDonald (contract originally described as an “atrocity”), and trading a productive Scott Hartnell for a less productive R.J. Umberger (“trade is pretty clearly a loss for the Flyers”). So, too, does $22.5MM for an already-healthy-scratched centre (“Why would you spend precious remaining dollars on an aging center?”) and trading James van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn (“Luke Schenn was one of Toronto’s worst defensemen last season”). These moves aren’t hindsight-guessed – the links, from the blogosphere and beyond, were posted around the time of the moves. Surprise! Extremely few of these worked out. And it’s created a situation where the Flyers basically have nothing to offer outside of their top-line. I note that this top-line is fantastic – Jakub Voracek complements Claude Giroux so well, that it hardly even matters who the third player is in that group. However, the Flyers are nothing short of a lottery team when they come off of the ice. This gets back into the ‘most valuable player’ part I alluded to earlier – just how deependent the Flyers are on Giroux to do, well, everything.dddddddddddd To show this, I pulled the Corsi% and Goal% numbers for both Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux in 2014-2015 at even-strength. The difference is startling. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are comparatively dominant when their top-lines are on the ice. We can see this in the Corsi% With Player On and Goal% With Player On, where Crosby, et al., and Giroux, et al. routinely dominate the opposition. The difference is when those players are peeled from the ice. In Pittsburgh’s case, without Sidney Crosby, the team controls 49.7% of play and scores 50.0% of the goals – a respectable number made from the team’s weaker forwards and defensemen. In Philadelphia’s case, without Claude Giroux, the team controls 45.4% of play and scores 43.8% of the goals. That’s a good way to lose a bunch of hockey games at even-strength. What’s ultimately problematic about Philadelphia’s situation at the team-level – and what’s certainly going to be their downfall this season – is that the gap between their toughs and the forward/defense depth compiled by the front office has grown to unbelievable levels. To illustrate this, I pulled Scoring Chance% and Corsi% data for the Flyers over the last four calendar years, and noted the beginning of the 2014-2015 season with a vertical black line. For years, Philadelphia’s depth has lagged behind their top-line, one that’s regularly featured superstar Claude Giroux. Now, we know second, third, and fourth lines – and the associated pairings they play with – have different performance expectations. In most cities, pulling 50% away from the top-line is usually good enough to routinely pick up playoff berths, assuming the top-line routinely wins their battles. Sure, Philadelphia’s depth players have lagged behind for years. But, they have never been this bad. The gap is sad. Draft lottery worthy, really. And for a team that’s pushing the outer limits of the salary cap, it’s inexcusable and unacceptable. As a result of all of the above, I’ll be interested in seeing how the Hart Trophy ballot looks at the end of the year, especially if, by some miracle, Philadelphia reaches the postseason. Claude Giroux, to me, feels like the league’s most valuable player. Partially because he’s great at hockey, and partially because his teammates – assembled by the front office, I remind you – are tragically bad. ' ' '