Malkin (1.22) -- so its going to be interesting to see when

TORONTO – Jose Bautista struck an optimistic tone following Sundays game in Cincinnati, speculating his injured left hamstring wouldnt keep him out of action for too long. Nike MLB Jerseys For Sale . An MRI on Monday seemed to confirm Bautistas assumption. A mild, or grade one, hamstring strain and Bautista is day-to-day. "Thats what my assumption is but Ive got to see how my body responds," said Bautista. "At least for me heals the same to a headache or, lets say a hamstring strain. I guess every situation is different. Well see how I feel tomorrow. I dont want to say Ill be ready in two days or three days and I dont know because I dont." "I think we lucked out there," said manager John Gibbons. Bautistas confident he wont require a trip to the disabled list. "Theres a really good chance that I can avoid it, yes," he said. In fact, he didnt rule out an appearance at some point in the series with the Yankees, which concludes on Wednesday night. "Theres definitely a chance," said Bautista. "Im not saying a start but you never know, a pinch hit at-bat here or there, thats a possibility." It was a rough finale to a tough 10-game road trip on which the Blue Jays went 3-7. Bautista left Sundays game in the third, one inning after Brett Lawrie was hit on the hand by a Johnny Cueto fastball, fracturing his right index finger in the process. Bautista felt a pull as he charged down the first base line, beating out a sacrifice bunt. He remained in the game until two batters later when he advanced to second on a Colby Rasmus single. The problem with a muscle pull or strain is that a player can feel relatively normal walking and doing normal daily activities. Its when the muscle is put through the rigour of exercises and baseball activities that a player finds out the degree to which hes healthy or unhealthy. Recall that Colby Rasmus was hopeful of avoiding the disabled list when he felt tightness in his hamstring. Rasmus did end up on the DL, on May 13, and didnt return until June 18. He missed 33 games and he suffered a setback about halfway through when the muscle grabbed as he was running sprints in the Rogers Centre outfield. The Blue Jays had lost 11 of 15 games entering Monday nights play. Gibbons said he expected Bautista would be honest regarding the status of his hamstring. Bautista promised he wouldnt fudge facts in an effort to get back into the lineup too soon. "If I feel like Im going to make it worse by starting to play again, Ill be doing the team and myself a disservice," said Bautista. "Ive got to know that Im at least not going to make it worse. If my recovery becomes slower or I still have to deal with some pain point, I can handle that but if theres an increased chance of me making it worse, no, I cant do that." The club recalled outfielders Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar, moves facilitated by the disabling of Lawrie and the optioning of catcher Erik Kratz to Triple-A Buffalo. Gose and Pillar are expected to platoon in rightfield for as long as Bautista is out, something they did in centrefield in the absence of Rasmus. Adam Lind returned to the starting lineup on Monday night. He had three pinch-hit appearances since suffering a bruised foot on June 14 in Baltimore. Pressed into action due to Bautistas and Lawries absences, Lind admitted hes not yet returned to full health. "They said a while, maybe three weeks," said Lind. "If I could just sit around and chill, it would probably less time. I havent played but Ive still been on it, in spikes, not totally resting it but thats part of the job I signed up for." The Road Ahead Beginning with Mondays tilt against the Yankees, Toronto has 19 games remaining before the All-Star Break. The first nine are at home; three with New York, four against Chicago and two versus Milwaukee. The Jays then embark on a taxing 10-game road trip, both in terms of miles traveled and quality of opponents. The club will visit Oakland for four games, Anaheim for three and Tampa Bay for three. After an otherworldly May in which the Jays went 21-9, the club has stumbled to a 9-11 mark in June. The doubting segment of the fanbase has become increasingly vocal, voicing opinions on radio call-in shows and on social media. Bautista wasnt pleased to hear it and offered a matter of fact response. "Well, good for them," said Bautista. "I dont have to defend ourselves. If they want to root for the Yankees or the Red Sox, be my guest. They shouldnt be Jays fans if thats how they feel. Thats my opinion." MLB Jerseys From China . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. MLB Jerseys 2020 . FIFA said in a statement Friday that "several racist and discriminatory incidents were apparently perpetrated by local supporters during the match, in particular by displaying neo-Nazi banners and by making monkey noises and gestures as well as Nazi salutes. https://www.mlbjerseys2020.com/ . Dumont, a fifth round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2009, has four assists and 20 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Bulldogs this season. The 23-year-old split last season between Hamilton and Montreal, recording 16 goals and 15 assists in 55 regular season games with the Bulldogs.Scott Cullen takes a look at the stories from October 25th thorugh the 31st in the NHL, including the Kings cap concerns, health issues for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the first suspensions of the year and more. Voynov Suspension The suspension itself goes back to October 20, after he was arrested for assault after an alleged domestic violence incident and Voynov has remained out of the lineup, with pay, while that case is investigated. His first scheduled court date is December 1. The domestic violence issue is, of course, very serious and theres no reason to have any sympathy for Voynov if he has done what hes been accused of. Where this becomes interesting, from a competitive aspect in the NHL, is how the fallout has left Voynovs team, Los Angeles Kings, jammed up against the salary cap less than a month into the season. According to Cap Geek, the Kings currently have just over $525,000 in available cap space, so when star centre Anze Kopitar got hurt, the Kings didnt have enough room to add a player from the AHL for Tuesdays game in Philadelphia so, in their ninth game of the season, the Kings dressed 19 players instead of the usual 20. They have since brought up winger David Van Der Gulik, a 31-year-old who has played 49 career NHL games and makes a pro-rated portion of $550,000 when hes in the NHL, on an emergency basis. Most teams that are up against the cap can gain relief with a player on long-term injured reserve, but that option isnt available to the Kings as it pertains to Voynov, so theyve been seeking some form of help from the league. According to the TSN Insiders, the hang up comes from the NHLPA, that isnt inclined to give cap relief because that will only lead to higher escrow payments for its membership. Its one thing to say that a team should leave itself some cushion to prepare for unexpected occurrences, but when its a $4-million cap hit that cant play, yet isnt suspended without pay, then it can put a team in a real bind. Olli Maatta Second-year Penguins defenceman Olli Maatta is facing surgery to remove a likely-cancerous tumour in his neck, with the expectation that he should make a full recovery and miss about four weeks of action following the surgery. The 20-year-old was a first-round pick, 22nd overall, in 2012, and is playing a top-four role on the Pittsburgh blueline, putting up six points in nine games while averaging 20:09 of ice time. Injury news happens every day in the NHL, but getting this kind of news out of the blue is more shocking. Hopefully, the early detection will allow for a smooth recovery for a promising young player. Blue Jackets Injuries Injuries are part of the game etc. etc., but come on. The Columbus Blue Jackets are currently missing: right winger Nathan Horton, left wingers Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno and Matt Calvert, centres Brandon Dubinsky, Mark Letestu and Artem Anisimov, defenceman James Wisniewski and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Nine injured players at the same time is crazy. That all of the forwards could qualify as top-nine-calibre forwards along with a top pair defenceman and their starting goalie is an impossibly bad run of luck. What are they left with? Ryan Johansen, Scott Hartnell and Cam Atkinson are bona fide NHLers on the first line, but then its rookies Alexander Wennberg and Marko Dano along with journeymen Jack Skille, Adam Cracknell, Corey Tropp and enforder Jared Boll. Add in AHL call-ups Brian Gibbons, Michael Chaput and Sean Collins and -- voila -- theres 12 forwards for a team playing in the NHL right now. Get healthy Jackets. The Race for McDavid/Eichel A story that is going to linger over the entire season -- the peril of having spectacular talent available at the top of 2015 NHL Draft -- but its also notable because there are two teams that are decidely ahead of the rest in the race to the bottom. While winless (0-6-2) Carolina has the leagues worst record, theyve gone through some injuries and as they get healthier, they dont figure to be as bad as the Buffalo Sabres. While the Sabres have somehow managed to win a couple games, going 2-8-1, their performance has them ticketed for a likely last-place finish. Its all well and good to put a bad team in position to draft a franchise-changing talent, but there is only a 20% chance that the worst teamm ends up with the No. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic. 1 pick and, the way the Sabres have started this season, they are going to have a long way to climb, even if they get their saviour. The Role of Replay There have already been four goals scored on plays that were offside and now phantom penalties are being handed out, as Detroits Luke Glendening was charged with tripping Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby when, quite clearly, he did not. Can improved replay procedures avoid these missteps in the future? Suspensions The NHL season got off to a relatively peaceful start, a couple weeks with nary a concern for the Department of Player Safety. Those sweet days of innocence are gone now, as Sharks enforcer John Scott got handed a couple of games for coming off the bench and getting into a fight with Ducks tough guy Tim Jackman, then Rangers defenceman John Moore got five games for a high hit on Wild centre Erik Haula. Not only that, but Chris Kreider, Nikolay Kulemin, Corey Tropp and Eric Gryba all managed to avoid supplemental discipline for questionable hits in the past week and Alex Burrows has a hearing lined up for his late hit on Canadiens defenceman Alexei Emelin Thursday night. Looks like the NHL is back to business as usual. Marian Hossa records his 1000th career point in Ottawa That Hossa could reach this milestone in the city where he started his NHL career, in 1997-98, is something extra special for a player who has seen quite a change in his reputation over the past 17 years. Early in his career, he was dogged by the Senators playoff shortcomings, even taking the blame early on for his lack of production in the postseason, but Hossa has become one of the premier two-way wingers in hockey. He has played a prominent role on a team that reached the Conference Final six times in his career. Hes won two Stanley Cups and, at 35, remains an elite winger in part because he still backchecks like hes trying to earn a spot in the lineup. In any case, its nice for Hossa to reach a scoring milestone, but his game is about so much more than putting up points; thats what ultimately makes him so valuable. Rangers score five in the third vs. Wild The Minnesota Wild have been a dominant team early in this season, owning the leagues best possession numbers, and they appeared well on their way to an impressive road win Monday at Madison Square Garden before the Rangers scored five goals in the third period, turning a 3-0 Wild lead into a 5-4 Rangers win. It shouldnt be a long-term issue for the Wild, but it was a notable blip in an otherwise sensational start to the season, one that is pushing Minnesota among the top contenders in the Western Conference. Devils snap 18-game shootout losing streak Considering that the shootout is basically a coin flip, its outrageous that the Devils somehow lost 18 straight. Of course, the player to put them over the top Thursday nigth against Winnipeg was Jacob Josefson, a forward who has eight goals in 122 career games. Ovechkin Slump I wrote about Ovechkin going scoreless in five games, for the first time in his career, and the bottom line is that hes actually playing very well right now. The points arent there and thats notable for a player that has 820 points in 688 career games -- his 1.19 points per game ranks third among active players, behind Sidney Crosby (1.40) and Evgeni Malkin (1.22) -- so its going to be interesting to see when Ovechkin actually snaps out of his drought. And a bonus one... Gordie Howe When word came that Mr. Hockey suffered a serious stroke this week, it brought back memories for many hockey fans, myself included. The second NHL game I saw in my life was in the Montreal Forum, March 22, 1980, when my Dad took me to see the Habs and the Hartford Whalers, just so I could say that I got to see Gordie Howe play. Thanks for that, Dad. I remember more about Whalers centre Mike Rogers scoring from centre ice on Bunny Larocque that night, but having read about Howe at his best, when he was a first or second-team all-star year after year after year, there is a feeling of mortality that sweeps over when inevitable health issues catch up to an 86-year-old man, even one that appeared superhuman for so long. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '