MONTREAL - After last years roaring success, playing more pre-season games in Montreal was an easy choice for the Toronto Blue Jays.The ball club and co-promoter Evenko announced Tuesday that Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds will face the Blue Jays in exhibition games April 3-4 at Olympic Stadium.Toronto hopes to duplicate the frenzy last year when 96,350 fans turned out to see the Blue Jays sweep a pair of exhibition games from the New York Mets, although the turnout was spurred mostly by the fans wish to bring Major League Baseball back to Montreal.The fans of Montreal, the way they welcomed us, it was a no brainer for us to come back here again this year, Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston said at a news conference. I dont think we could ever have expected what we received last year.There was an atmosphere in there you cant describe. I said to the commissioner You had to be there and feel it. It may not be a World Series game, but it certainly had the feel of a playoff game.General manager Alex Anthopoulos said he hopes to play at the Big O every year until Montreal lands its own team.The event will include tributes to former Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar and manager Cito Gaston as well as Tony Perez, who starred for the Reds and the Expos.Turning out in large numbers is viewed as a means to show the city is ready to have a team again. The Montreal Expos, who played in the National League from 1969 to 2004, moved to Washington to become the Nationals.It would require finding an owner and a building a new stadium, likely at public expense, but Mayor Denis Coderre backs the idea and there is an organization called the Montreal Baseball Project led by former Expo Warren Cromartie working on building support and trying to land a franchise.Beeston said the Blue Jays would welcome a rival in Montreal. Moreso if they played in the same division in the AL.It would be the best that could happen, he said. Hockey (is) six games a year, that would be 18, it would be a weekend.And now, with interleague play, its not like you can say we need the two leagues represented in the country. It would just make it more exciting. I would endorse that in a heartbeat.Reports said the Tampa Bay Rays, who play in Torontos division, may be looking to move if they dont get a new downtown stadium, but Beeston was not about to endorse the relocation of any team.Theyve had a lot of success on the field and maybe, with a new stadium in a new location, the game can grow there, he said.Coderre said Montreal will make an action plan to help land a team. We need to send a clear message, he said. Everyone has to do their part for baseball.The Blue Jays had several requests from teams interested in being their opponents at the Big O. Beeston said the Votto factor was part of the decision to play the Reds. Votto, a Toronto native, was National League MVP in 2010.The games will be Torontos last before their regular-season opener on April 6 against the Yankees in New York. Instead of playing before a few thousand fans at a spring training game, they expect a boisterous throng in the domed Big O.But rather than seeing it as a distraction, Anthopoulos calls it an ideal tune-up for the regular season.You cant ask for anything better, he said. Thats why so many clubs reached out to us.The game was watched across the league. It was an event. Olympic Stadium, packed house. In spring training games, you dont have that type of environment. It was a great way to get your team ready.Anthopoulos said the Blue Jays plan to be aggressive in the free agent and trade markets in the off-season, but did not get into the specifics of his plans.We think were very close, he said. We were in first place last year for quite a while. We were eliminated with for or five games to go. We just need that one little push to get us over the top.Im as excited about this off-season as Ive been. Vapormax Plus Ale . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Nike Vapormax Tukku .com) - Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard notched a win, while second-seeded two-time champion Ana Ivanovic, third- seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and fifth seed Sabine Lisicki all exited the draw at the Generali Ladies Linz tennis event. http://www.vapormaxsuomi.com/.ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup. Vapormax 2020 . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. Vapormax Flyknit 3 Suomi . But that changed when he committed a five-minute major penalty and helped pave the way for a comeback by the Philadelphia Flyers. Vincent Lecavalier scored at 2:45 of overtime and the Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 5-4 victory on Sunday.DUNEDIN, Florida - Blue Jays players assembled Monday afternoon for their annual spring meeting with the Players Association, the first gathering chaired by new executive director Tony Clark. Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. See a full explanation of the rule here: http://tinyurl.com/l4zaqo5 Here is a link to a play at the plate last season, involving Phillies base runner Chase Utley and former Cubs catcher Dioner Navarro, now with the Blue Jays. Watch the clip, keeping in mind the new rule didnt exist, and guess based on the new rule whether Utley would be safe or out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Qe310Bn4g Assembled media, waiting for Clark to emerge from his seminar with the Jays, couldnt agree on the call. Some saw fault with Utley for initiating contact with Navarro. Others believed Utley would be called safe because Navarro blocked the pathway of the runner to the plate prior to receiving the baseball. If you think Utley is safe, based on the new rule, Clark agrees with you. “My guess is, according to the rule, (Navarro) cant be sitting on the plate without the ball,” said Clark. “Its one thing to catch it and then move and block the baseline. Its another thing to block the baseline and not having the ball.” Blue Jays catchers hadnt seen the new rule as of Mondays availability and had plenty of questions, including the wisdom of asking an umpire to make a split-second determination about more than whether a runner is safe or out. “I think its tough to make that out/safe call at home and theyre always trying to get good positioning,” said Erik Kratz. “Now, is their positioning going to have to change? Are they going to have to talk about that? Are they going to have to look at the runner as hes running, ‘I saw the runners eyes, he was looking at the catcher. You did? What about the ball? What about the catchers eyes? Did he have his fist clenched?” “Im going to do you one better,” said Clark. “During a play on the field you may also have a rotation component here where youve got the home plate umpire running to third and the first base umpire running to home. Its a tough enough play as it is as hes running to try and call a close play but now youre also talking about trying to determine intent and where guys are positioned. Its difficult.” Many other nuances were discussed, which is why, according to Clark, the rule has been made public and is being explained to players only two days before Grapefruit League play is scheduled to begin. A Major League Baseball representative and an umpire will be visiting all 30 teams during spring training to further explain the rule. Manager John Gibbons has met with MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre and his right-hand man, Tony La Russa. The intent of the rule is to make close plays at the plate safer for both the catcher and the runner. A catcher in his playing days, Gibbons is skeptical. “I dont know about that,” said Gibbons. “I think when you start trying to mess with the game too much, I mean, youre going to run into problems. Its a big part of the game. The game on the line, thats the winning run or something, guys are trying to stop that run. Instinct tells them to do one thing. But if thats the rule then we live with that. Nothing we can do about that.” Clark of Free Agency Ervin Santana and Stephen Drew are two high-profile free agents whove yet to find work, in large part because there is draft pick compensation tied to their next contracts.dddddddddddd “As a union its our responsibility to make sure that player rights are defended, protected and advanced,” said Clark. When asked over the course of the winter about the Blue Jays interest in select free agents, general manager Alex Anthopoulos repeatedly opined that market prices were too high and that the club was willing to wait for player demands to come down. Clark, speaking in general terms, not specifically about Anthopoulos or the Blue Jays, says the union will review the offseasons free agency activity. “If the free agent market as a whole is being manipulated on some level and we have an opportunity to reflect on this offseason, comments that were made, where those comments came from and how they may have affected the free agent market then it is a conversation were going to have going forward to make sure the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is upheld and that we dont find ourselves in a place where certain information is lending itself to certain understandings and appreciations publicly with respect to free agents,” said Clark. Clark on A-Rod Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez wont play in 2014, suspended for his role in the Biogenesis performance enhancing drug scandal. Rodriguez has since dropped a lawsuit which named, among others, the Major League Baseball Players Association. Clark says if A-Rod is playing in 2015, hell be welcomed back into the union he briefly considered taking to court. “Over the course of 140 years there have been, I believe, a little less than 20-thousand players who have ever worn a major league uniform for one day,” said Clark. “If you have worn a major league uniform for one day then you are part of that fraternity. There are guys that make decisions that guys dont appreciate, that guys dont like, but after Alex serves his suspension he will come back as a member of that fraternity and we expect to see him in 2015.” Clark on an openly gay player Jason Collins is back in the NBA, making history on Sunday night as the first openly gay athlete in the leagues history. Michael Sam appears poised to become the first openly gay player in the NFL. Is baseball ready for such a scenario? “I dont see it being an issue,” said Clark. “Our locker rooms are more diverse than most and as youve heard with a lot of the leagues, whether its the NFL or any other place, inevitably its going to come down to can you help us win ballgames?” Pitching Schedule Manager John Gibbons has drawn up his pitching schedule for the first five Grapefruit League games. Here it is: Wednesday at Phillies: J.A. Happ (2 innings,) Todd Redmond (2,) Kyle Drabek (1-2,) Chad Jenkins (1,) Neil Wagner (1,) Mickey Storey (1.) Thursday vs. Phillies: R.A. Dickey (2,) Esmil Rogers (1,) Dustin McGowan (1,) Brett Cecil (1,) Aaron Loup (1,) Jeremy Jeffress (1,) Rob Rasmussen (1,) Marcus Walden (1.) Friday vs. Pirates: Mark Buehrle (1-2,) Brandon Morrow (1-2,) Steve Delabar (1,) Sergio Santos (1,) Liam Hendriks (1,) Sean Nolin (1,) Aaron Sanchez (1,) Juan Perez (1.) Saturday at Orioles: Drew Hutchison (2,) Ricky Romero (1-2,) Marcus Stroman (2,) Tomo Ohka (1-2,) Deck McGuire (1-2,) Mickey Storey (1.) Sunday vs. Yankees: Esmil Rogers (2,) Todd Redmond (1-2,) Brett Cecil (1,) Aaron Loup (1,) Jeremy Jeffress (1,) Chad Jenkins (1,) Neil Wagner (1,) Casey Janssen (1.) NOTE: Brandon Morrow experienced tightness in his calf on Monday. Gibbons says there is no concern the injury is serious and the plan is for Morrow to pitch on Friday. ' ' '