Over the winter, we wrote about the Blue Jays coming to terms with a pair of pitchers who were trying to become knuckleballers. They were Josh Banks and Tomo Ohka. Banks had been a Blue Jays draft pick who had a brief stint with the club in 2007 before moving on to San Diego and then Houston, compiling a career record of 4-8. The other was Ohka, a journeyman from Japan who spent time with six organizations, including the Blue Jays in 2007, where he went 2-5. Ohka, who turns 38 next week, was already sent to the minor league camp last week. Now there is a third. Hes 30-year-old Frank Viola III. If the name is familiar, it should be. Hes the son of former big league star lefty, Frank Viola Jr. Frank Jr. had a very good career, predominantly with the Twins and the Mets. He was the MVP of the 1987 World Series - the Twins first win ever - and won the Cy Young Award in the American League the following season - his final full season with the Twins with a 24-7 season. Frank "Sweet Music" Viola, as he was affectionately known, is a member of the Twins Hall of Fame. Viola actually finished off his major league career in a short stop over with the Blue Jays in 1996. He went 1-3 for the Jays and ended his career on May 28 of that year. His son chased that major league dream as well and pitched in the White Sox organization thtough 2007 before injuries appeared to cut his career short. He dabbled in the media doing Florida State League games and even had his own fishing show, but Viola III never gave up his dream of pitching in the majors. The next step was trying to master the knuckleball. He worked with the likes of R,A Dickey, Tim Wakefield and Hall of Famer Phil Niekro and finally impressed the Blue Jays enough that they signed him last week. This doesnt necessarily mean the 30-year-old will make it to the big club. The Jays game plan is to have a knuckleballer or two in the minors to work with their catching prospects. That way, if they get called up to the Jays theyll be ready to work with Dickey without any major adjustment. Still, it would be great to see one of these knuckleballers eventually make it to the majors. Frank Viola Jr. incidentally is entering his second season as the pitching coach with the Mets Triple A farm club, the Las Vegas 51s. After writing about the passing of Dr. Frank Jobe, the man who pioneered Tommy John surgery last week, I discovered another interesting twist to the Tommy John story. Back in 1968, in a game at old Tiger Stadium, John was pitching against Detroit. In the first inning he hit Dick McAuliffe with a pitch. He later scored on an RBI single by Al Kaline. When McAuliffe came up again in the third, threw one pitch high and tight and then a 3-2 pitch behind McAuliffes head that sent him sprawling in the dirt. When he got up he dusted himself off and started to head to first glancing out towards John. McAuliffe claims that John taunted him by saying "What the F are you looking at?" That was the final straw for McAuliffe and he charged the mound. John got into a defensive position and the knee of the charging McAuliffe dug into Johns left shoulder. He suffered a separated shoulder and torn shoulder ligaments and missed the rest of the season. McAuliffe was suspended for five games and was fined $250.00. The interesting thing about John is that he resisted the advice to have surgery and let the shoulder heal with rest and rehab. The plan worked, though it took a while for John to get back to peak efficiency. 1974 was different. When Tommy John blew out his elbow, he said his arm simply felt dead. This time he agreed to surgery, which not only changed his career but revolutionized baseball in terms of treating this type of elbow injury. The Detroit Tigers have made history over the last three years, winning five of the six major awards handed out. They have won three straight MVP awards - the last two by Miguel Cabrerra and three straight Cy Young awards. The Tigers have made the postseason in each of the last three years. The only other time the organization did that was in the hay day of Ty Cobb in 1907, 1908 and 1909 when they dropped three straight World Series - two to the Cubs and one to the Pirates. This season under rookie manager Brad Ausmus, they will be trying to make the playoffs for the fourth straight time and for the first time in franchise history. Over the weekend, Tigers GM Dave Dumbrowski denied rumours he was listening to offers for starting pitcher Rick Porcello. In fact, he denied trying to trade any of his starters. But considering the Tigers have question marks at 3rd base and left field, you have to wonder a bit. Its still a bit too early to get too excited or too worried about this but Baltimore is 8-2 so far this spring and is scoring nearly eight runs-again, even without a rehabbing Manny Machado (knee) at full strength. Cheap Nolan Ryan Jersey .com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to get back on track Monday night when they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to Chesapeake Energy Arena. Cheap Mets Jerseys China . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. http://www.cheapmetsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-lenny-dykstra-jersey . A police inspector told The Associated Press the crane operator is not yet suspected of any wrongdoing but is considered a key witness to the accident at the Arena Corinthians. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Cheap Tug McGraw Jersey .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer.DETROIT -- Don Mattingly wouldnt mind a rematch. The Los Angeles manager knows full well that if his Dodgers face the Detroit Tigers again this year, it can only happen in the World Series, so despite Wednesdays 4-1 loss in Motown, Mattingly would be happy to return. "Well take that right now, and Im sure the Tigers would, too," Mattingly said. "Wed love to be here again." The Dodgers split two games against the Tigers in Los Angeles in April, and Detroit swept the two-game series this week. Max Scherzer pitched seven impressive innings Wednesday, outdueling Zack Greinke and lifting the shorthanded Tigers. Detroit was without sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, but the AL Central-leading Tigers scored two runs in the first inning against Greinke, and Scherzer (11-3) made the lead hold up. The All-Star right-hander allowed a run and four hits. He struck out seven and walked two. "Hes a great pitcher, and he showed why again today," Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon said. "You dont get many chances against him, and when you do, hes got so many pitches that hes able to throw that you cant just sit on something." Joba Chamberlain struck out two in the eighth, and Joe Nathan fanned two in a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 23 chances. Greinke (11-5) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out eight without a walk. "You look at their lineup today, and you think you are getting a break with Cabrera and Victor being out," Greinke said. "But they were putting up great at-bats all day. I was throwing good pitches." Miguel Rojas of the Dodgers hit his first career homer in the fifth. Cabrera was given a day off by Detroit manager Brad Ausmus, and Martinez is dealing with a lingering back issue. The Tigers won without them. Scherzer escaped a first-inning jam thanks to some impressive fielding behind him. Yasiel Puig hit a one-out triple, butt with the infield in, Hanley Ramirez hit a sharp grounder to Eugenio Suarez, and Detroits rookie shortstop threw quickly to third to catch Puig off the base.dddddddddddd "That was a great play," Scherzer said. "He just made an instinct play -- saw Puig was off the base, and made a quick little snap throw. That just helped keep the game where it was." Rajai Davis made a sliding catch in left field for the third out. Austin Jackson opened the bottom of the inning with a triple of his own and scored on Ian Kinslers single. Kinsler advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Don Kelly. Greinke was sharp after that. Detroit scored again in the fourth on an RBI single by Nick Castellanos, but the Los Angeles right-hander retired the last nine hitters he faced, striking out the final four. But the Dodgers couldnt overcome Scherzer. They put men on first and second in the third, but Puig hit into a double play. In the sixth, Puig hit a leadoff double, but the next three batters couldnt hit the ball out of the infield. Matt Kemp went hitless with three strikeouts. Hes now 0 for 21 against Scherzer. Torii Hunters sacrifice fly in the eighth gave Detroit another run. NOTES: Mattingly says he doesnt plan any major changes to the lineup when OF Carl Crawford returns from a sprained left ankle. There could be a logjam with OFs Kemp, Puig and Andre Ethier also in the fold. "Were playing pretty well," Mattingly said. "Well just talk about it with (Crawford) -- let him know where everything is." ... Kelly drew the second intentional walk of his career in the eighth inning. ... Detroit faces Kansas City on Thursday night. The Tigers send LHP Drew Smyly (4-8) to the mound against RHP Jeremy Guthrie (5-7). ... The Dodgers return home to take on San Diego. Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw (10-2) faces RHP Odrisamer Despaigne (2-0) of the Padres. 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