Podivinsky was the last to do so, taking downhill bronze

DUNEDIN, Florida – In one of his post-game scrums last summer, R. Samuel Pahlsson Jersey .A. Dickey referred to his knuckleball as a "capricious animal," a phrase meant to describe the unpredictability, the figurative moodiness, of his strange pitch. Erik Kratz was behind the plate to start Thursdays 7-5 win over the Phillies. He was catching Dickey for the first time in game action and afterward, could attest to his pitchers apt terminology. Asked how he thought he did on Day One, Kratz turned the tables. "How did you think I did?" He was told he did fine. "Okay, well then I did fine," said Kratz. "It wasnt perfect. I had the anticipated anxiety that I thought I would." Just how anxious was he? "I caught myself not breathing a couple of times and everything like that." Armed with a first basemans glove rather than the oversized catchers mitt preferred by most knuckleball catchers, Kratz understands hell have to be a quick study in learning both the physical and mental requirements of the job. "Just the idea of trying to relax, being out there, getting a different visual but I felt like it went very well," he said. "I felt like there is plenty of room for improvement but I think a lot of things Ive seen in his bullpen sessions, it was good to see in the game. Good to see him be able to change speeds and everything like that." Dickey laboured through the first inning, giving up a lead-off dunk single to Ben Revere. One out later, Brett Lawrie airmailed a throw to second on a Bobby Abreu chopper, putting Phillies on the corners. After Darin Ruf walked to load the bases, a Dickey knuckleball to Maikel Franco eluded Kratz for a passed ball which scored Revere from third. Its not how you would think Kratz would prefer to have drawn it up. Its his first game catching Dickey, in the first inning and the first time with a runner on third and a knuckler gets by him. But he was more than happy to make a mistake in a spring game. Passed balls are going to happen. The key is to not get psyched out; dont make the same mistake twice. "You can say, okay, well, it was a passed ball, wild pitch, it was a tough one to get but you have to be ready for the next one," said Kratz. "I was proud of myself. I was happy about the way I was able to relax." Dickey limits the in-game responsibility of his catcher to receiving his pitch. He calls his own game, communicating velocity to his catcher in ways he wont describe publicly. Hes not going to tip his hand. Dickey doesnt even want Kratz to form a hard target with his glove. "Its probably better for the catcher and for me, for that matter, if hes just nice and relaxed," said Dickey. "Im far enough along in my process where I can pick out a shin guard and hit a fastball. I dont need him to give me a target. "Plus, if hes only giving a target on fastballs then everybody in the stadium is going to know that hey, if he gives you a target its going to be a fastball and if he doesnt give you a target its going to be a knuckleball so I just like him to be nice and relaxed back there, whatever gives him the best chance to consistently catch the ball." Given the uncertainty over Dioner Navarros ability to catch more than 100 games - since Navarro hasnt done so since 2009 - the Jays are looking for more offence from their second catcher. Kratz, with 18 home runs in a back-up role over the last two seasons with the Phillies, fits the bill. Josh Thole, who caught Dickey and served as the back-up catcher after Henry Blanco was released last June, appears to be the odd man out. "Hes going to play a lot," said Gibbons. "We want to make sure he gets some playing time and then well see how it develops. Kratz is going to catch (Dickey) early on, see how that develops, and then go from there." Dickeys knuckleball topped out at 73 miles per hour on Thursday. He struck out two Phillies over two innings, one on a 61-mile-per-hour knuckler and another at 63 miles per hour. He wants his hard knuckleball at 77 by opening day, his floater at 65. Dickey says hes on target to achieve those radar gun readings, adding hes feeling much stronger than he did at the end of last February, when his knuckleball was topping out in the low-70s in early Grapefruit League action. ENCARNACION HAPPY AT FIRST BASE Edwin Encarnacion chuckled at the suggestion he wants to be, or has asked to be, a full-time designated hitter. "No, whatever the manager wants to do Im ready for it," said Encarnacion. "If I have to play every day at first, Ill play. If I have to play both, Im ready for it." Encarnacion played 79 games at first base last season. He served as the designated hitter on 55 occasions. "I like to play DH sometimes because I have more time to go to the computer, watch the pitcher, watch the video," said Encarnacion. "When you play defence you dont have time to do that but for me, if I have to play first base, I dont have a problem with that." Funny, Encarnacions numbers last season were almost indistinguishable. As a first baseman, he compiled a .272/.367/.527 slash line with 19 home runs in 294 at-bats. As a DH: .270/.374/.530 and 13 home runs in 200 at-bats. ROGERS A FATHER Congratulations to Esmil Rogers, the proud father of a baby daughter. Mom and little Elaina are in Denver and doing well. Rogers was there for the birth, returned to Dunedin on Wednesday and pitched in Thursdays game, giving up two runs in one inning of work. Stitched Ducks Jerseys . Or maybe he already did. Clark hit his first homer, Wily Peralta pitched into the seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 Wednesday night. Hampus Lindholm Jersey . Theres little time for rest, too. The Flyers and Rangers play again Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Simmonds scored in the first period and twice more in the second for his first career post-season hat trick. Mason survived a busy first period and stopping 31 straight shots until Carl Hagelin scored late in the third. https://www.cheapducks.com/817c-derek-grant-jersey-ducks.html . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit.TORONTO -- Canadian skier Manuel Osborne-Paradis learned how it felt to compete on the sports biggest stage during his Olympic debut in Turin eight years ago. He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. "In Vancouver there was a lot of prep but not very directed prep," he said Wednesday. "I think this year weve really fixed all the bugs and the kinks that we felt in Vancouver. Obviously theres not as much pressure, not being in Canada and being as far away (from) Canada as pretty much possible. "I think the nerves are a lot more settled and hopefully were able to direct the energy down the hill and not towards the media." The veteran skier will anchor the mens alpine team at the Games along with Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Calgarys Jan Hudec. The three "Canadian Cowboys" were officially nominated to the Sochi 2014 Olympic team Wednesday. Some of their teammates still have a chance to join them in Sochi. The qualification window is open until Jan. 26 and the roster is expected to be finalized the next day. Guay had the top Canadian result at the Vancouver Games, finishing fifth in the downhill and the super-G. Osborne-Paradis was 17th in the downhill and didnt finish the super-G while Hudec didnt crack the top 20 in either discipline. "Weve learned from it and obviously you figure out how you felt there and how youre going to feel in Sochi," Osborne-Paradis said. "You try to make a plan around that. But I cant foresee the pressure being at that peak as it was in Vancouver before the downhill." The trio has recorded some impressive results on the World Cup circuit last month. Osborne-Paradis was fourth in the downhill at Beaver Creek, Hudec won silver in Italy and Guay took gold and bronze. Hudec and Guay were unable to attend Wednesdays news conference at Casa Loma due to travel issues, so Osborne-Paradis was the lone skier to be presented with his Olympic jacket. George Parros Jersey. Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was also on hand along with national teammates Morgan and Conrad Pridy of Whistler, B.C. The Canadian mens team traditionally does well at the January stops on the World Cup circuit. That bodes well for peak performance at the Feb. 7-23 Winter Games. "To have momentum coming now really shows that our summer plan was done properly and that were really ready to compete in Sochi," Osborne-Paradis said. "Obviously we have a month, we have four more races out of the 16 races that we have in a year to keep building momentum to the Olympics. "It has been a good break, we just had a week at home and to be able to go into this next group of World Cups prior to the Olympics with a good attitude and a really good feeling on snow, you really cant ask for much more." Osborne-Paradis has three career World Cup victories on his resume and has reached the podium on nine occasions overall. He was out of action for nearly two years after he tore a knee ligament and broke his leg in a January 2011 crash. His confidence returned last season and he feels ready for big things as his 30th birthday approaches. "The experience on courses, the experience with the pressure, its really something that I think youre able to grasp and to use to your advantage more," he said. "When youre younger, its harder. There are guys for sure that get medals when theyre 20, 21 years old. But in ski racing, especially in speed, its so much about knowing yourself and adapting as you go down. "Just the experience that we have from Olympics to world championships to World Cups, time on snow is time when youre learning." Guay won the world downhill title in 2011 and recently picked up his 21st career World Cup medal to break Steve Podborskis Canadian record. Hudec won world silver in 2007 and has two career World Cup victories and five podiums over his career. It has been two decades since Canada last won an Olympic mens alpine ski medal. Ed Podivinsky was the last to do so, taking downhill bronze at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer. ' ' '