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PEORIA Ryne Sandberg Jersey , Ariz. (AP) — San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges expected to see Manny Machado make acrobatic plays at third base and hit clutch home runs. What Hedges has learned this spring about his new teammate is just how smart he is.“Everybody knows he can do that,” Hedges said of Machado’s Gold Glove-caliber defense at third base. “I think people notice the things that are God-given but they don’t get to see what we get to see and that’s the work that he puts in and the way he studies the game, which is taking a very talented player and turning him into arguably the greatest player in this game right now.”This is Machado’s first spring with the Padres after signing a $300 million, 10-year contract in February. He batted .297 with 37 homers and 107 RBIs last season.“I played against him for years and his talent speaks for itself,” Padres second baseman Ian Kinsler said. “You understand what he’s capable of on the field, that he can impact the game in many different ways offensively, defensively, and he’s a smart baserunner.”Machado, 26, also brings energy. When Fernando Tatis Jr. sprinted from first base to score in the sixth inning Friday night, Machado jumped out of the dugout to celebrate.“He’s been a great teammate,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “I have every anticipation that he will be through all the years to come.”Machado’s impact could be more important behind the scenes.“The biggest impression he’s made on me is not what he does physically,” Hedges said. “It’s not been the great plays he’s made at third, the great at-bats he’s had but it’s the way he sees the game in slow motion. I’ve tried to go out of my way to have little conversations with him, whether it’s during games, before games, after games Billy Williams Jersey , just any time. It’s ‘Hey, what was your thought process through this play, in this at-bat?’“You don’t do what he’s done consistently for that many years without really having a high baseball IQ. I’ve tried to let him walk me through some of his thought process and what gives him an advantage, which is his brain. He’s really, really smart. I don’t think people understand how smart he is.”First baseman Eric Hosmer has talked baseball with Machado in the dugout as well. It’s been an education.“That’s what makes him really valuable, especially as a teammate,” Hosmer said. “You’re picking his brain, you’re hearing what he says, you’re hearing the approach that he has. It’s opened a lot of guys’ eyes.”On Friday, Machado deftly handled a grounder by the Colorado Rockies’ Mark Reynolds, picking it up with his bare hand and throwing Reynolds out.“There are going to be some plays on the left side of the infield that a lot of us never thought could be done,” Hosmer said. “It’s impressive to watch. Everything is extremely smooth.”On Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, Machado doubled in the first inning and scored one out later on Franchy Cordero’s home run. Machado also flew out to center in the third and singled in the fourth.In the Angels’ second, Machado nearly threw out Dustin Garneau, who hit a grounder down the third-base line. If teams could use replay in spring training, Green may have challenged the call.Machado is heating up at the right time, going 5 for 13 in his last four games with three RBIs and his first homer for the Padres. San Diego has one more game in Peoria on Sunday against the Cubs Jon Lester Jersey , and then closes the exhibition season with two games against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Monday and Tuesday.The Manny Machado era officially begins next Thursday at Petco Park against the San Francisco Giants.“You’ve always appreciated the way he plays against you but it’s different when you’re with guys every day, you see them practice, you see them prepare, you see the way they go about it,” Hosmer said. “It’s kind of a misconception — everyone thinks he’s naturally good and goes out there and makes it look easy. Getting to see all the work that goes in behind the scenes drives up that appreciation level you have as a player.” Toronto finalized a last-minute deal with Oakland on Wednesday, putting them down a Kendrys Morales for the start of the season."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsDetroit Tigers PreviewsTigers vs. Blue Jays Preview: The new-look Blue Jays are getting younger on Opening DayNew,20commentsToronto finalized a last-minute deal with Oakland on Wednesday, putting them down a Kendrys Morales for the start of the season.EDTShareTweetShareShareTigers vs. Blue Jays Preview: The new-look Blue Jays are getting younger on Opening DayKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsOn the eve of baseball’s Opening Day, the Blue Jays made a blockbuster trade that freed up a roster spot for one of their top prospects. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales is moving out west to play for the Oakland Athletics. With the DH role now clear, the Blue Jays have decided to turn to......outfielder Anthony Alford.While we, the greater baseball world, are still being deprived of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 24-year-old Alford is deserving of his call-up. He hit a robust .242/.342/.636 with four home runs during spring training, and as we noted in our Blue Jays season preview, has the highest upside of any outfielder on Toronto’s roster this year. Kevin Pillar still has another year of arbitration eligibility remaining, but the absolute best case scenario for the 2019 Blue Jays might be that Alford plays well enough to make Pillar expendable. You know, besides that whole “winning championships” thing.We have already seen plenty of takes on Toronto’s manipulation of Guerrero Jr.’s service time http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , and will likely see more in the aftermath of the Morales trade, so we won’t go into that here. The bottom line? Toronto is not as good of a team without Vladito or Morales, which bodes well for the Tigers in this series.Welcome to Opening Day.Detroit Tigers (0-0) at Toronto Blue Jays (0-0)Time/Place: 3:37 p.m., Rogers CentreSB Nation site: Bluebird BanterMedia: Fox Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio NetworkPitching Matchup: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (7-8, 4.52 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (4-9, 5.54 ERA)Game 2 Pitching MatchupPitcherIPK%BB%FIPfWARPitcherIPK%BB%FIPfWARThere are two different ways to look at Marcus Stroman right now. You can view him the same way that many scouts have throughout his amateur and professional career; Stroman is an undersized starter who always drew questions about his durability. Few MLB starters are just six feet tall these days, and fewer still stand four inches shorter than that (5’8) like Stroman. That he suffered a shoulder injury and missed six weeks of action in 2018 only further validates those concerns, even if it is the first time Stroman has dealt with any arm issues. Can he continue to stand up to 200-inning workloads? We’ll see.You can also view Stroman in another light — namely, the way he views himself. His #HDMH (height doesn’t measure heart) hashtag is a rallying cry not only for himself, but also for other undersized athletes around the game. Whether due to heart or just a lot of athletic ability, Stroman has put together a solid young career, including a career-best 3.09 ERA in 201 innings of work back in 2017. He worked back-to-back 200-inning seasons in 2016 and ‘17, and only saw a slight dip in fastball velocity as he worked through his injuries last year.Given his age and relatively clean injury history — he missed nearly all of 2015 due to a torn ACL, but injuries like that are not usually chronic in nature — I think Stroman is a solid bet to bounce back in 2019. He was somewhat victimized by shoddy defense last year, especially on fly balls (.152 BABIP compared to .088 for the league) http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , and could especially benefit if the Jays toss Alford or Billy McKinney out in left field in place of the stone-handed Teoscar Hernandez (-16 DRS last year). Shortstop Freddy Galvis, who was +16 DRS better than Aledmys Diaz in 2018, should also help.Key matchup: Jordan Zimmermann vs. the home run ballExpect this to be a consistent theme in 2019. Zimmermann made a few under-the-radar strides last season, chief among them some of the best strikeout and walk numbers of his career. However, he still finished the season with a mid-4s ERA and a 4.88 FIP, almost entire thanks to the 28 home runs he gave up in 131 1鈦? innings. Only three pitchers (minimum 100 innings) gave up dingers at a higher rate than him — and to no surprise, they all had ERAs of 5.45 or higher.Zimmermann was a little different, though. He and Dylan Bundy (2.15 HR/9) managed solid strikeout and walk numbers despite all of the home runs allowed, resulting in respectable xFIP numbers. While Bundy had a much larger gap between his 5.45 ERA and 4.28 xFIP, Zimmermann was still potentially a bit unlucky according to this measure.That said, his high fly ball tendencies may not play well at Rogers Centre. The Jays’ hitter-friendly home has been one of MLB’s better parks for socking dingers over the past several years — though perhaps not as favorable as one might expect. That said, opponents knocked them out of all sorts of ballparks with Zimmermann on the mound last year, so relatively short porches in left and right field shouldn’t matter much if he hangs a spinner or two throughout the game.PredictionZimmermann gives up three home runs, but all are solo shots and the Tigers rally for an Opening Day win.

A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness. It finds the thought and the thought finds the words.

Robert Frost (1875-1963) American Poet.