JUPITER, Fla. -- After spending years trying to find a quality shortstop, the St. Louis Cardinals now appear to have an excess. The Cardinals introduced their newest acquisition, Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz, on Monday. Within the organization, some have compared him to a young Derek Jeter. "He walks like him you can see some of that there," St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said. Diaz liked to heard that. "He thinks Derek Jeter is definitely the model ballplayer that everyone should look up to, that he looked up to in the opportunities that he had in Cuba to watch baseball games," said translator Moise Rodriguez, a team employee. "Hes a world-renowned baseball player that comes across as somebody thats a leader and somebody that everybody should try to be like." The Cardinals signed Diaz to a four-year deal over the weekend only months after signing current shortstop Jhonny Peralta, a two-time All-Star, to a free agent contract of the same length. Having Peralta will allow the Cardinals to take their time with the 23-year-old Diaz, who will begin this season in the minor leagues and likely be given a chance to learn multiple infield positions. "We plan on being patient with him," Mozeliak said. "He hasnt played baseball in, really, over a year and a half competitively. Its not something where were looking to have him put his fingerprints on the major league team tomorrow. We can give him time to develop and let him, from a talent standpoint, take his time to get back to where he was." Diaz defected from Cuba to Mexico in 2012. The Cardinals scouted Diaz in Mexico and worked him out earlier this spring at the Roger Dean Stadium complex. "I thought he did a lot of things well," said St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, who attended the Jupiter workout. "You are just looking at tools at that point. You can see that hes had some repetitions out there. He knows what hes doing. Swinging the bat, the ball jumped off. Just a guy that you could tell hes been around the game a while." Diaz hit .315 with 12 home runs in 270 at-bats during the 2011-12 season in Cuba. Mozeliak expects Diaz to continue to hit for average with gap power as a major leaguer. "Were very confident that he can be an offensive middle infielder, specifically a shortstop," Mozeliak said. Diaz went through practice with his new team before Mondays game against Detroit, but it will be some time before he appears in a major league spring training exhibition. Later this week, he will return to Mexico to finalize his work visa. Until that issue is cleared, Diaz can work out with the big league club but can only play in games on the back fields. "Its always been his dream to try and compete at the highest level in the world," Rodriguez said. "Obviously this represents that. Yeah, there are some challenges and difficulties. But for him, being able to come here and try to compete with the best in the world in the industry is something that hes always looked forward to doing." . The midfielder had an operation on Saturday, and is set to miss seven Premier League games, the third round of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the League Cup. . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay.
http://www.cheappadresjerseysauthentic. ... ard-jersey. Smiths former Atlanta teammates were glad to hang on for an ugly win. . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday. . The 26-year-old Regina native teamed up with Denny Morrison and Mathieu Giroux to win gold in 2010. Makowsky also was 13th in the 5,000 metres and 19th in the 1,500m in Vancouver. He also represented Canada at the 2014 Games in Sochi, helping the pursuit team finish fourth and finishing 28th in the 1,500.KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- The B.C. Lions turned to a familiar face when their ground game was in tatters late last season, and Stefan Logan is looking forward to once again exploiting his unique backfield partnership with Andrew Harris in 2014. "Its like ketchup and mustard," Logan said of the Lions running back duo. "If you dont have ketchup and mustard on your hamburger, it wont be any good." Logan was a dynamic threat for the Lions in 2008 before jumping to the NFL, but when the phone stopped ringing with offers down south he decided on a return to his former CFL club. "As I was at home waiting on calls I was working out and staying in shape and stuff like that," said Logan. "When I talked to the B.C. Lions I was more than willing to come up here and help us win games." A leaky offensive line and a tendency to abandon the ground attack meant the Lions were without a 100-yard rusher for 11 straight contests in 2013, but the speedy Logans injection into the lineup helped the situation improve almost overnight. A more south-runner, Harris was no longer the only focus for defences, and both he and Logan found some traction as the Lions ran for almost 200 yards a game over the seasons final three weeks. "(Harris) does a lot of different things that I dont do," Logan said at training camp last week. "Hes more of a downhill, patient runner and hits the hole. Im more of a slasher, getting inside and outside. "He has the ability to do certain things that Im not that great at, and I can do certain things that he cant do. Thats what makes it such a great running back (combination)." Despite all the struggles last season, Harris still managed to rush for 998 yards and seven touchdowns. Clearly frustrated at times, the Winnipeg native never criticized his coaches or teammates and is now looking forward to having Logan as a backfield counterpart for a full season. "Its going to be a great give-and-take scenario. Having two guys to spell each other and feed off each other ... any time he makes a play, Im going to want to make a play," said Harris. "I think we both bring a different skill set and thats something we can utilize. Having us both on the field at the same time is going to create mismatches with linebackers and in the pass game as well. "I think no mattter what we do were going to be productive.dddddddddddd." Not unfamiliar with the spotlight of being a ball carrier after mainly returning kicks in the NFL, Logan had sympathy for Harris when things werent going well last season. "I understand when people point the finger at you and its not your fault. Its not like his running style had changed or he started tipping (plays) or anything like that," said Logan. "When youve got people pointing the finger, its always going to be towards you because youre running the ball. "If guys miss a block, the fans dont see that. All they see is you." Lions head coach Mike Benevides parted ways with offensive co-ordinator Jacques Chapdelaine after last season and replaced him with former CFL quarterback Khari Jones in hopes of reinvigorating a stagnant attack. "What everybodys seen the last couple years in our league is you have to run the football," said Benevides. "Two years ago we were the best running team, last year we werent but I think we showed an identity at the end of the season when we were running for 200 yards a game. "With (Logan and Harris), you have two changeup guys. You have two elite players with different skill sets that can attack out of the backfield." Jones has made it clear he wants to be aggressive, and with starting quarterback Travis Lulay still struggling to come back from shoulder surgery, the Lions could lean on Logan and Harris even more. "Its going to give us some great options on offence," said Jones. "Its going to be our job as an offensive staff to find out how to best utilize those two guys and get them the ball in the right positions." The Lions will host the Grey Cup in November, and with the CFL and its players association now waiting to ratify a new labour agreement, the team is eager to see what a Logan-Harris backfield can do from the start. "Were all about getting those positive yards and not putting that heat on our back. We want to put the team on our back to move forward," said Logan. "I felt (Harriss) pain last year and I wanted to come in and boost him up and let him know that its going to be OK. "I told him: You and I are going to be back here together and were going to run this thing down their throat until the season is over." ' ' '
