- Safety Steve Gregory announced his retirement from the NFL Saturday

BALTIMORE – Manager John Gibbons likes to claim he doesnt read what gets written. But he will, on occasion, when something gets passed along. Recently, he was on the receiving end of an article detailing the key difference between his Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles, Torontos opponent this week and the team closing in on its first American League East crown since 1997. "When you really compare our pitching, its almost neck-and-neck when you go by the stats and all the newfound formulas that they have. The same way with the offence, two home run-type hitting teams," said Gibbons. "The big thing this article pointed out has been the defence. Plays made, balls not gotten to because they definitely have one of the better defensive teams in baseball." Successful ball clubs prioritize up-the-middle defence. Teams look for a catcher who not only calls a good game but is a good pitch framer – that is, he receives the ball in a way that will ensure borderline pitches are called strikes and not balls – and who can keep the ball in front of him – that is, prevent wild pitches and passed balls which advance baserunners. While Dioner Navarro has had a nice offensive season for the Jays, hes not in the class of Baltimores Matt Wieters (Wieters is out for the season with an elbow injury and has been replaced by the tandem of Caleb Joseph and Nick Hundley). In the infield, the Orioles hold a decided advantage at shortstop. While there is debate about the effectiveness of Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), which aims to measure the number of runs prevented or allowed based on a players ability to get to balls hit his way, based on the statistic, Baltimores J.J. Hardy (6.1 runs saved entering Mondays action) has badly outperformed Jose Reyes (-9.1, meaning hes given up about nine runs). At second base, Ryan Goins is the Blue Jays best defensive option. The problem is he provides next to no offence. While Goins has made better contact more often since his last recall, his .190/.215/.268 (.483 OPS) slash line in 164 plate appearances doesnt reflect a player "holding his own" offensively, which Gibbons said in spring training Goins would have to do to stick on the big league roster. In centrefield, with the impending departure of Colby Rasmus, Anthony Gose will provide a defensive upgrade but, similar to the situation at second base, an offensive regression at the position. While Gose has improved his on-base percentage to a career-best .321 this season, thanks to a vastly improved walk rate (9.9-percent), it remains to be seen whether he can carry the freight over an entire season. The problems the Jays have experienced at second base this season, including having to resort to platooning Brett Lawrie and then overusing Munenori Kawasaki after Lawrie got hurt, arent solved without going outside the organization. Its a position that must be addressed in the offseason. The same, however, could have been said a year ago. Reyes, 31, is about to get really expensive. His heavily backloaded contract, signed with the Miami Marlins before the 2012 season, calls for salaries of $22 million for the next three seasons through 2017. Theres a $22 million option for 2018, which requires a $4 million buyout should the club decline it. Should the Blue Jays, at the very least, explore a positional change for Reyes, perhaps a move to second base, where the club could better cover his lack of range? Speaking to people in the organization, its difficult to get a read on whether anyone is willing even to broach the subject with Reyes. Given the uncertainty surrounding the health of Brett Lawrie, who by the end of this year will have appeared in slightly more than 62 per cent of the Blue Jays games since the start of the 2012 season, there are doubts about who will man third base every day. Can Gose play centrefield every day? If Melky Cabrera, a free agent, isnt retained, who takes his outfield spot? Is Reyes best suited to continue at shortstop? Who plays the middle infield with Reyes? What about Lawrie? There are plenty of questions for the organization to answer between now and spring training. Outfield Configuration A few eyebrows were raised when the Blue Jays posted Mondays starting lineup, which included Jose Bautista in centre field, John Mayberry, Jr. in right field and Kevin Pillar in left field. Pillar, it would seem, would be the right fit in centrefield. Hes played their extensively in his minor league career. Manager John Gibbons explained his rationale. "Against a lefty tonight, weve got our left-handed bats in there," said Gibbons. "The tough part in this park to play is left field and left centre so well put Bautista in centre field and he and Pillar should be able to cover that. Right centre and right field are smaller here. They dont require as much range." Gibbons had to use one of Anthony Gose or Ryan Goins, both lefthanded hitters, in the starting lineup. He opted for Goins, whose plus defence at second base was valued because starter Marcus Stroman works a 55 per cent groundball rate. Orioles Jerseys 2020 . Anderson is scheduled to have neck surgery April 8 to repair the injury, which occurred when he collided with the Celtics Gerald Wallace during a game in Boston on Jan. 3. The 6-foot-10 Pelicans forward, who had been averaging 19. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. 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Anthony Richard and Ryan Graves also scored for Val-dOr, which extended its win streak to seven games, while Keven Bouchard made 22 saves for the shutout. Miguel Sullivan kicked out 34-of-37 shots for the Titan (18-35-6). --- SCREAMING EAGLES 6 ISLANDERS 4 SYDNEY, N.S. -- Guillaume Gauthier had two goals and two assists as Cape Breton held on to defeat Charlottetown. Raphael Corriveau scored twice for the Screaming Eagles (30-24-4), who led 5-1 after 40 minutes, while Cameron Darcy and Jeremy Beaudry each had a goal and an assist. Bradley Kennedy registered two goals for the Islanders (18-35-5), Spenser Cobbold had a goal and two assists and Daniel Sprong added a single goal. Cape Bretons Alex Bureau made 27 saves for the win. Charlottetowns Mason MacDonald turned away 39-of-44 shots in defeat. --- MOOSEHEADS 7 CATARACTES 1 HALIFAX -- Nikolaj Ehlers had a pair of goals and Jonathan Drouin scored once and set up three more as the Mooseheads crushed Shawinigan for their fifth straight victory. Darcy Ashley, Philippe Gadoury, Luca Ciampini each had a goal and an assist for Halifax (39-18-3) while Brandon Vuic added a single goal. Felix-Antoine Bergeron scored the lone goal for the Cataractes (16-35-8). Zachary Fucale made 22 saves for the Mooseheads as Shawingans Marvin Cupper stopped 35-of-42 shots in defeat. --- SAGUENEENS 4 PHOENIX 1 SHERBROOKE, Que. -- Nicolas Roy scored twice and Julio Billia stopped 39 shots as Chicoutimi downed the Phoenix to halt a six-game skid. Laurent Dauphin and Simon Tremblay also scored for the Sagueneens (26-31-1). Mathieu Laverdure scored for Sherbrooke (15-36-7), which lost its 10th in a row. Francis Desrosiers turned away 26-of-30 shots for the Phoenix. --- TIGRES 3 REMPARTS 0 VICTORIAVILLE, Que. -- Francois Tremblay only had to stop 17 shots for his fifth shuutout of the season as the Tigres blanked Quebec.dddddddddddd Carl-Antoine Delisle had a goal and an assist for Victoriaviile (30-22-6), which snapped a three-game slide, while Julien Leduc and Jan Mandat added a goal apiece. Mikhail Grigorenko was a team-worst minus-2 for the Remparts (34-16-9). Adam Chapman picked up a match penalty 4:56 into the game for checking-to-the-head. Quebecs Callum Booth turned away 36-of-39 shots in a losing cause. --- OCEANIC 4 ARMADA 1 BOISBRIAND, Que. -- Frederik Gauthier scored twice as Rimouski toppled the Armada for its seventh straight win. Peter Trainor and Samuel Courtemanche also scored for the Oceanic (36-15-7). Blainville-Boisbriand (37-12-9) got its goal from Christopher Clapperton. Philippe Desrosiers made 25 saves for Rimouski while Etienne Marcoux gave up four goals on 28 shots for the Armada. --- OLYMPIQUES 8 DRAKKAR 4 GATINEAU, Que. -- Martin Reway scored once and added four assists and Emile Poirier and Simon-Tardif Richard each had a pair of goals as the Olympiques doubled up Baie-Comeau. Vaclav Karabacek scored once and set up two more for Gatineau (36-19-4), while Jake Coughler and Taylor Burke added single goals. Alexandre Belanger scored twice for the Drakkar (40-15-4), who had their three-game win streak stunted. Gabriel Verpaelst and Alec Jon Banville also scored for Baie-Comeau. Robert Steeves made 21 saves for the Olympiques. Baie-Comeaus Simon Lemieux allowed four goals on 16 shots before giving way to Philippe Cadorette, who stopped 15-of-18 shots in 27 minutes of relief. SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz have acquired veteran forward Steve Novak from Toronto in exchange for guard Diante Garrett. The Jazz also received the rights to New Yorks second-round draft pick in 2017 as part of the deal, which was struck last Friday but formally announced by Utah on Thursday per league rules. The 6-foot-10 Novak has a .432 3-point percentage over his eight-year career, second only to Golden States Stephen Curry (.440) among active players. Novak, the 32nd overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Marquette, has averaged 5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 13 minutes over 414 career games, playing with Houston, the Clippers, Dallas, San Antonio, New York and Chicago. Last season he averaged 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 10 minutes per game over 54 games with the Raptors. Novak was acquired by Toronto in a deal last July that sent forward Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks in exchange for Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby, and future draft picks. Garrett, a call-up from the NBA D-League last November, averaged 14.8 minutes, with 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 71 Jazz games. 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Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better.Davie, FL - Safety Steve Gregory announced his retirement from the NFL Saturday following an eight-year playing career. Gregory, who had been participating in training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs, declared his decision through a statement released through his agent, David Canter. The 31-year-old entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with San Diego and spent six seasons with the Chargers, making 13 starts in 2011.dddddddddddd Gregory then signed with the New England Patriots and started 23 games over the last two years. Gregory recorded 79 tackles and one sack in 14 games with the Patriots last season. He was released by New England in February and signed with the Chiefs at the start of training camp. Over 111 career games, Gregory compiled 357 tackles, seven interceptions, 25 passes defensed and three sacks. ' ' '--- HUSKIES 6 WILDCATS 1 ROUYN-NORANDA, Que. -- Jean-Sebastien Dea and Jason Fuchs scored 19 seconds apart in the second period as the Huskies went on to down Moncton. Liam OBrien, Mathieu Lemay, Francis Beauvillier and Redgie Bois also scored for Rouyn-Noranda (32-21-5) and Marcus Power chipped in with two assists. Christopher Caissy scored the only goal for the Wildcats (30-27-3). Alexandre Belanger made 21 saves for the Huskies. Monctons Alex Dubeau gave up five goals on 24 shots before getting pulled. Jason Rioux made 25 saves in 33 relief minutes. ' ' '