DUNEDIN, FL – The offence found its groove and the pitching was solid in Team Canada’s first Spring Training game as the Canadians took care of the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4. Justin Morneau (New Westminster, BC) led the way offensively for the Canadians going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Peter Orr (Newmarket, ON) knocked in a pair of runs with a double, going 1-for-3 on the day and Luke Carlin (Aylmer, QC) also had a two-run double, going 1-for-2. On the mound, Scott Richmond (North Vancouver, BC) threw a solid two and two-thirds innings, allowing a pair of runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts. For Richmond, it was all about getting things right. “I just wanted to go out there and work on my pitches,” says Richmond. “I think I got it down. I worked on my breaking ball and it looked good. I just want to get the kinks out.” As for when he will take the mound next, that is yet to be determined. But when the call comes, Richmond will be eager to get the ball. “I’m just going to be ready. I’m ready. It’s only my second start of the spring, but I came into camp in shape so I can handle (the work load).” Russell Martin (Chelsea, QC), who came into camp with a minor foot injury, looked healthy and ready to compete going 1-for-2 with a double and a walk and was solid defensively behind the plate. But in exhibition play, Martin is taking it one day at a time. “Right now I’m just taking the necessary precautions to make sure that I can be as good as I can be when the tournament starts,” says Martin. “It’s a hundred times better now than when it first happened. Moving behind the plate I’m not a hundred percent but there’s still four days before the tournament starts and like I said it already feels a hundred times better.” One thing that was on display today on this edition of Team Canada is more balance at the plate. There are six right handed hitters this time around, a rare commodity in 2006. Manager Ernie Whitt will have more options to matchup in this year’s tournament. “Today was the first time I’ve seen (Chris) Barnwell play and I’ve looked at his numbers and he has really good numbers with a good on base percentage and he’s a hardnosed player. So it’s nice to have him as a right-handed hitter,” says Whitt. “We have Martin, we’ve got (Jason) Bay so it does break it up a little bit.” Team Canada on the mound we’re able to hold the Blue Jays to four runs on 11 hits with three walks on nine strikeouts. Chris Begg (Uxbridge, ON) got the win, allowing only one run on three hits with three strikeouts over two and one-third innings. David Davidson (St. Catherines, ON) earned the save pitching a perfect ninth with one punch out. Team Canada will hit the field again on Wednesday, March 4th against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater. Game time is 1:05 pm and Vince Perkins (Victoria, BC) is scheduled to start for Canada.
DUNEDIN, FL – Team Canada held its first team workout in Dunedin, Florida today and as the team prepares for the World Baseball Classic, it is also fine tuning the finer points prior to beginning the tournament on March 7th. Team Canada Manager Ernie Whitt has some work ahead of him in order to piece together the lineup he will put out on the field. “These three days will be interesting,” says Whitt. “Hopefully we will have enough time to take a look at (the players we haven’t seen), evaluate them and do the best that we can.” If there is one thing the Team Canada staff does not have to worry about, and is common with Canadian teams in the past, is team bonding. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 20 years experience or if you’ve got no experience, that doesn’t matter here,” says Adam Stern. “Everyone get treated the same and everyone is here for one goal and that is to win.” One example is Team Canada newcomer Mark Teahen. Teahen was born in Redlands, California, but his father Michael is from St. Mary’s, Ontario. Michael was a member of the Canadian National Team in the 70s and the stories he would share with his son was motivation to follow his roots. “My dad would tell me stories about playing for the Canadian team and going to the Pan-Am Games and everything else he got to do and he still has alot of close friends who played with for those years and I’m excited to be able to follow in his footsteps in that way,” says Mark Teahen. But if his father was not motivation enough, there were some extra nudging from contemporaries. “I’ve been talking with (Justin) Morneau quite a bit and I played with Matt Stairs for two years in Kansas City and this is something I’ve wanted to do is represent Canada,” says Teahen. “I’m sorry I missed out on the first WBC, but it was just too early in my career and the Royals needed me in camp. It’s nice to be able to finally to play for Team Canada.” On the field today, players went through fielding and batting practice and some strategy in order to get in the best game shape as quickly as possible. The pitching continues to be the biggest head scratcher for the coaching staff as they are still deciphering through who will get the ball in the first game. “Our biggest challenge at this time is that we have 27 innings to cover with 13 pitchers and if you do the math it just doesn’t work out very well,” says Whitt of using his pitchers over the three upcoming exhibition games. Team Canada begins their exhibition schedule on Tuesday, March 3rd against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin. Game time is 1:05 pm. The Canadians will follow that up with contest against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater on March 4th and finally against the New York Yankees in Tampa on March 5th. Then Canada will make its way to Toronto for Pool C action of the World Baseball Classic and will first take on the United States on March 7th at 2 pm at the Rogers Center.
OTTAWA – As Canada is gearing up for the World Baseball Classic, it will not only be the players who will get the chance to represent their country. Corrie Davis of Sherwood Park, Alberta and Stéphane Dupont of Mascouche, Québec will both get the opportunity of a lifetime as they will both be participating in the WBC… as umpires. The two longtime Canadian umpires will be on the field in San Juan, Puerto Rico officiating in the first round of Pool D action of the upcoming World Baseball Classic. In the inaugural event in 2006, there were no Canadian umpires. This time around, 15 international umpires, including Davis and Dupont, have worked with Major League umpire supervisors to refine their skills to prepare for the biggest assignment of their umpiring careers. “The fact that we have two Canadian umpires working at an event of this magnitude is a testament to the quality of our development program,” says Davis. “I hope that we can be successful at the WBC so that other Canadian umpires will have a chance to enjoy this experience in the future.” Davis and Dupont went down to Long Beach, California for a week to learn from some of the best umpires in the world. Everyday, their training would begin in the classroom. They were being taught lessons about mechanics and drills before going out on the field later in the day to work on those lessons with former Major League umpires such as Bruce Froemming, Steve Rippley and Larry Young. Then they would umpire live baseball games with the help of the Compton Community College. “When you’re next to legends like Steve Rippley, Larry Young and Bruce Froemming, it can give you a bit of an inferiority complex,” says Dupont. “But it helped me gain confidence because I realized that ‘hey, I have 27 years experience doing this and I’ve done this before at many different levels.’ And all the Major League umpires were very helpful and inclusive.” But it was not only on field training for these two Canadian umpiring veterans. They were also taught important lessons about nutrition and exercise from experts such as MLB Director, Umpire Medical Services Mark Letendre. Letendre taught them some new exercises to help cope with the rigours of the profession. “A neat thing Dr. Letendre taught us was that you aren’t just stretching for today, but you’re stretching and doing these exercises now so you can have a good quality of life after you’re done your career,” says Davis. “It can wear your body down after a while.” Even with all of this new training, both Davis and Dupont bring a combined 50+ years of umpiring experience to the table. Davis, who started umpiring at the age of 12, has been in the game for 25 years. He’s umpired numerous national and international tournaments in his career, including the most recent World Cup of Baseball in Taiwan. He has also officiated over 150 games in the pro ranks in the Pacific Coast League For Dupont, he has been an umpire since 1985 and has also officiated in several national and international events. His resume includes the 1999 Pan-Am Games, the 2002 World Junior Championship and the 2005 World Cup of Baseball. Both have also been supervisors and instructors to help grow and develop officiating in Canada. In fact, Davis is now the Supervisor of Umpires for Baseball Canada. “(The MLB Umpire Supervisors) may have been a bit nervous at first, not knowing what they had to work with, but I think by the end of the week we showed them we could umpire,” says Davis. Both are looking forward to the chance of being on the big stage. Now that baseball has been removed from the Olympics, the World Baseball Classic is easily the biggest international event for the sport with Major League players on the field representing their countries. Both Davis and Dupont hold that same sense of pride when they will take the field in Puerto Rico. “It is simply an honour to get a chance to represent your country at an event that, I believe, is the most prestigious and where amateur umpires can take part,” says Dupont. “I am extremely honoured to be representing Canada at this illustrious event,” adds Davis. “It’s going to be amazing to be in that environment…in a huge, sold out stadium, on the field with guys like Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Carlos Delgado and David Ortiz and working with MLB umpires is going to easily make this the most incredible experiences of my career.” Davis and Dupont will report to MLB Spring Training in Orlando prior to the start of the tournament to call a few exhibition games in preparation of the big event. They will then report to San Juan, Puerto Rico for Pool D action, which features the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. Canada also begins play on March 7 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto when they take on the United States.
