* James Hinchcliffe: “Safety is the most important thing for p

On opening day at Triple-A Buffalo, the Bisons rotation was made up of Marcus Stroman, lefty Sean Nolin, Kyle Drabek, veteran southpaw Ricky Romero and journeyman right hander Liam Hendriks. Of those five today, only Nolin is still with the "Herd" and he missed a chunk of the season with an injury. Stroman is up with the Blue Jays as a key member of the starting rotation. Drabek was just called up this past weekend to be part of the Jays bullpen after the organization decided he was better suited to relief pitching. Romero is done for the season with a knee injury and Hendriks was part of the trade with the Kansas City Royals that brought Danny Valencia to the Blue Jays. So the Bisons rotation for the final two weeks of International Leage season looks distinctly different and appears to offer the Blue Jays a lot more upside. Nolin is still pitching well. Lefty Daniel Norris has been brilliant in his first two Triple-A starts, striking out a total of 23 batters. Raul Valdes is a 36-year-old southpaw, adding a bit of veteran stability. Then, you have a pair of young right handers whove been more than holding their own in Scott Copeland and Kendall Graveman. Graveman is the one who really caught my eye. On Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies-affiliate Lehigh Valley Pigs, he got a no-decision while pitching seven shutout innings. He struck out four and walked none. The 23-year-old right-hander out of Alexander City, Alabama has had a meteoric rise through the Blue Jays organization, especially considering he was just an eighth-round draft pick in 2013. Graveman, or maybe we should start calling him "the Undertaker," has made four different stops throughout the Blue Jays system this season. He started at Low-A Lansing, then moved up to Dunedin in the High-A Florida State League, where he spent the bulk of this season. Then, it was on to Double-A New Hampshire and finally Buffalo. Youvre got to be pretty impressive to move up that fast. In total, Graveman has pitched 155 innings this season. He has built a 12-6 record with a sparkling 1.68 ERA. Opponents have only managed to hit .223 off of him and he has surrendered only two home runs in total. The Blue Jays playoff hopes are looking iffy at best right now with just 37 games to play, but the pitching future looks encouraging, especially with the likes of Stroman, Sanchez, Hutchison, Norris, Nolin and now maybe Graveman. This may be the best group of young arms, this side of the New York Mets. --- All this talk of pitching brings me to a great bit of research by Woody Paige of the Denver Post. Going back over the archives, Paige discovered that the Rockies had drafted 569 pitchers (414 right-handers) over their 22-year history. Of those numbers, the only arms that had made any significant impact with Colorado were Canadian lefty Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Jason Jennings and Jamey Wright. Is it any wonder then, that Colorado has the worst record in the National League and second-worst in the Majors, just a game ahead of Texas? --- The Detroit Tigers have been stumbling around since June 1, compiling a meagre record of 35-34. They are sitting a half-game back of Seattle for that second Wild Card slot in the American. But one reason not to count Detroit out is that hey have 11 of their remaining games left against the Central cellar-dwellers, the Minnesota twins, and they close out the season at home against with seven-straight games against the Chicago White Sox (three) and the Twins (four). The Mariners, on the other hand, play 13 of their final 27 against the two teams ahead of them in the West in the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland As. Peyton Manning Jersey . Ryan Callahan trade talks caught a lot of people off guard. Details are now emerging about why the Rangers would consider such a move. Darren Dreger: He wants a lot of money. 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Joe Flacco Broncos Jersey .com) - Wayne Simmonds, Scott Laughton and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers thumped the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on Saturday.11:30am A clutch of excited boys cleverly disguised as middle-aged writers take turns sampling assorted sensations of speed at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The reason were here: its nearly time for Torontos Honda Indy and Honda Canada is gearing up for the big race with this event featuring Indy racing rock star James Hinchcliffe. The event features track time in three different cars: a Formula F race car; a 2014 Honda Civic Coupe Si, a zippy street monster whose 2.4L 4-cylinder engine emits 205hp and 174lb.-ft. torque; and some dangerous-looking go karts that speed up to 70 km/h mere centimeters from the ground. Hinchcliffe is just the big draw for our editors. Its driving the cars that were here for! To be fair, Hinchcliffe is a draw. Not only are his racing credentials impeccable—Hinch managed three Indy victories last year and took home 2011s ‘Rookie of the Year title—but hes a rare Canadian who has made a name for himself as a professional racer. Calling my own experience on the track “racing” is something akin to sitting in a 25-cent grocery store ride-on space-ship and calling that a trip to the moon. But, let me try to explain what it felt like anyway, because its about as close as most of us normals will get to the moon—or to being a professional race car driver. 9:00am Appropriately Lightening Crashes and rains falls until just minutes ago. So, despite the rising heat, the three tracks are patchily damp and puddled. My group is driving the go karts first. 24 year-old Daniel Morad, already a Canadian racing legend (he won the 2007 American Formula BMW championship and 2010 World Championship in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy), warns us of oversteer. We have rear brakes only on this wet, yet wonderfully challenging track. In spite of Morads warnings, for a half hour, we all spin 360 degrees in turns tighter than LIVE performing a third encore after a four-month tour. 10:30am ‘Use the whole track. The peppy Civic Si is my flying classroom. Voice crackling instructions via walkie-talkie, pro driver Jeff Boyce coaches us. We take turns flying through the circuit behind Boyce, observing where he floats, brakes, begins and completes turning. Pylons at corner apexes beckon the eye (briefly) into turns. Other series of cones, grouped into threes, twos and ones inform when to brake, then turn. Theres a lot to know and years of poor habits to overcome. It occurs to me how fortunate my group is. We began with fun go karting to quell nerves, then this technically challenging and massively educational hands-on schooling in Civics to heighten awareness — saving the best for last. Then we see the Formula F racer up close. ‘Will we eeven fit in that? 11:20am Im a sausage, zipped inside a Honda suit that restricts breathing, shimmying into the Formula F ‘casing.dddddddddddd They remove the steering wheel for driver access. My small Caucasian keister and broadish shoulders barely fit. Its uncomfortably tiny, like the suit. Then they say, “Go!” Suddenly, this restrictive cylinder magically expands to an angelic extension of my consciousness — a roaring vengeful angel! The steering is too precise; it feels unreal. Marking then finding apex and braking cones becomes almost second nature. The shifter is the width of a pencil and tempting to shift with pinky extended as though drinking tea. Power? The uninitiated may scoff at the 2013 Honda Fit engine, outputting 110 hp. But this speedster weighs just 1,125 lbs with driver (keep in mind that a driverless Smart car weighs 1,650). Then theres the speed sensation. Consider: why does sliding prone on a skateboard, face near the ground, trump 900 km/h at 20,000 ft? Perspective. The VanDiemens view is about as high as the go kart — but 17 times more powerful. Imagine driving a really fast and stiff sleeping bag. And the feeling? Like a sunny Friday June afternoon when you got a raise and your boss was fired. 11:40am Im shotgun as Hinchcliffe rips out a hot lap. Weirdly, its nothing compared to the crack hit I was riding just minutes back. The car is so much higher up, it feels more normal, and when youre just a passenger youre not the one with all that power at your disposal. For Hinch doing these hot laps must be about as thrilling as an unintended afternoon nap. Leading up to lunch, I poll the events professional drivers for tips on driving better. * James Hinchcliffe: “Safety is the most important thing for people who want to drive better. For young people interested in racing, theres a whole other side to your career — the marketing.” * Chris Bye: Three-day racing courses re-teach important basics. They cost thousands but nobody ever told him it wasnt worth it, even if they never raced afterwards. * Jeff Boyce: Take his race-school training. * Daniel Morad: Using a different language, he said the same. What acute irony that Hinch emphasized marketings importance just before his colleagues shilled for their driving schools. Yet they werent wrong. If dangerous idiots were forced to buy track lessons and learn the essentials of speed and motion, our roads would be far safer. Noon Aglow from driving the light speed Formula F, I spy a pretty woman grilling meat and accept the rawest steak she has. Steven Bochenek is a freelance contributor forAutofocus.ca, Canadas pit stop for auto enthusiasts and car buyers alike. ' ' '