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TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista will likely miss a few days with a mild hamstring strain but is not expected to go on the disabled list. The all-star right-fielder had an MRI exam done Monday after leaving Sundays game in Cincinnati. "Its definitely some of the best news I could have gotten," Bautista said. "I could have got the news of a torn hamstring or a higher-grade strain. But its the lowest grade strain that there could be -- grade one -- so its day by day." Bautista said theres a "really good chance" he wont have to go on the DL and added he might even be able to return during Torontos three-game series against the New York Yankees, which began Monday night at Rogers Centre. "Im not saying a start but a pinch-hit at-bat here or there, thats a possibility," he said. The Blue Jays have led the American League East standings for the last month but they won just three games on their recent 10-game road trip. Entering play Monday, Toronto had a 1 1/2-game lead on New York and the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto lost another key player over the weekend as infielder Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., will miss three to six weeks with a fractured right index finger. The Blue Jays placed him on the 15-day DL on Monday and recalled outfielders Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar from triple-A Buffalo. "We need the two extra outfielders to cover while Jose is out," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "When he comes back, I dont necessarily think we need two. But for the time being, we do." "Its an opportunity for somebody," Gibbons added. "Thats what it comes down to." Lawrie is batting .244 this season with 12 homers and 38 RBIs. The Blue Jays also optioned catcher Erik Kratz to the Bisons on Monday. Bautista is enjoying another strong season with a .305 average, 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 77 games. His defensive play has been excellent and he leads all major-league players in fan voting for the July 15 all-star game in Minnesota. He suffered the injury while trying to leg out a single in the Blue Jays 4-3 loss to the Reds. "I was running down to first and I extended my leg to step on the bag and I just felt a little sharp pain," Bautista said. "The usual feeling when you strain a muscle. Ive been there before so I knew what was going on. I had a good idea at least. I just didnt know how bad it was. "I knew I could have made it worse by staying in the game so I came out." Gibbons was unable to provide a specific return date but was relieved it didnt appear to be a serious injury. "Hopefully just a couple days," he said. "Well see." The Blue Jays opened June with five straight wins but have gone 4-11 since, entering the series opener against the Yankees. The timing of the injuries and the recent slide have not helped ease concerns from a jittery fanbase that the teams rare first-place run could soon come to an end, especially with New York and Baltimore now so close in the standings. "I dont think it should be blown out of proportion," Bautista said. "I think we have capable guys that can fill in on a short-term basis and hopefully do a great job. "Certainly the other guys that are in the lineup that are still regulars, they are plenty good to carry the offence and the team on the field. So I wouldnt blow it out of proportion." At the end of his five-minute pre-game availability, Bautista was asked what hed say to the portion of the fanbase who believes the teams strong play last month was an aberration, and that the results from the last two weeks are more the expected norm. "Well good for them," he said. "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." Torontos lineup card for the opener of the three-game series against the Yankees had a different look. Designated hitter Adam Lind moved into Bautistas No. 3 slot, batting behind shortstop Jose Reyes and left-fielder Melky Cabrera. First baseman Edwin Encarnacion remained in the cleanup spot and centre-fielder Colby Rasmus batted fifth and catcher Dioner Navarro was in the No. 6 spot. Third baseman Juan Francisco batted seventh, ahead of second baseman Munenori Kawasaki and right-fielder Gose. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Shoes Australia Outlet . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Fake Shoes Australia . Halak did not get the start in the Washington Capitals Tuesday night game against the St. Cheap Nike Shoes Australia . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning.Canadas largest sports company wants the Maple Leafs to become Chinas favourite hockey team, in much the same way Manchester United is the most popular soccer team in the worlds most populous country. At the same time as Chinese government officials have asked the NHL to stage a regular-season game in China as early as next season, TSN has learned four executives with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment are scheduled to leave Friday for Beijing for meetings to help grow hockey in China, an untapped frontier for many sports leagues around the world. MLSE chief commercial officer Dave Hopkinson, Bo Hu, MLSEs executive in charge of Chinese business, and two colleagues will attend meetings in Beijing with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his staff, and Chinese government officials. Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan was scheduled to participate but canceled at the last minute, a team spokesperson said. (The NHL and NHLPA announced forward Carter Ashton was suspended for 20 games on Thursday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Ashton said he borrowed another athletes asthma inhaler.) MLSE executives, the 27-year-old Hu in particular, have quietly laid the groundwork for building the companys profile in China over the past three years. Because basketball is so popular in China, MLSE staff first established relationships with companies interested in sponsorship agreements with the Raptors. The basketball team now has sponsorships with Chinese auto tire maker Aeolus Tires and Asus, a laptop maker. MLSE has also partnered with I.T. company Huawei on music-industry projects. Its believed that MLSE garners more than $300,000 from each of those sponsorships. Company officials declined to say how much sponsorship revenue they make from China-based companies. As MLSEs relationships in China matured, the company landed meetings with the Chinese government - meetings where MLSE received an attractive offer. China is competing with Kazakhstan to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. China wants to have hockey teams that are competitive. But with a mens national team thats ranked No. 38 — behind New Zealand, Belgium and Iceland — China needs help getting to that point. China wasnt a sports nation before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but it is now, Hopkinson said in an interview. The president of the country attended the Team Canada mens hockey games in Sochi and said he fell in love with hockey. Whats important to the president of China is important to China. Chinese officials said in exchange for helping to develop grass-roots hockey programs in China, the government would help MLSE promote the Maple Leafs brand there. This is the most storied and established brand in the game, Hopkinson said. We were told that if they were going to partner in the NFL, it would be with the Dallas Cowboys. If they were doing a baseball deal, it would be with the New York Yankees. And if theres a partnership in the NHL, its going to be with the Maple Leafs. It doesnt hurt that the Leafs are based in Canada. Tensions might appear if a U.S.-based team tried to do what the Leafs hope to do. The Chinese have told us they really appreciate what we are doing, boots on the ground, helping them to develop a hockey competency, said Hopkinson, who has made four previous trips to China. In March, the Leafs converted all of their rink boards to Chinese to welcome Chinese viewers. In August, the team sent staff to Beijing and Shanghai to stage hockey camps for young amateur players. In coming weekks, the Leafs will aid in the production of a 10-part Hockey 101 series to be included in NHL broadcasts on CCTV in China to educate viewers.dddddddddddd We arent the only team in China, Hu said. The Canucks and Islanders are there, too, but we really have a plan to become the biggest hockey brand there. We want to keep holding camps for kids, building grass roots interest, and eventually take our Maple Leafs players there. This is the Manchester United model. The worlds most famous soccer club says it has 108 million fans in China, where it has played almost a dozen times since 1975. Hu said because the NHL prevents teams from promoting themselves outside their local territories, MLSE has been targeting Chinese companies such as Air China and the Bank of China that want to expand their business in Canada. There are a lot of Chinese mining companies that have investments in Canada, although we just signed an agreement with a Colombian mining company, Hu said. Hu confirmed Chinese officials have told the NHL they are interested in hosting an NHL game as soon as next season. As any seasoned marketer knows, the payoff for a team to break through in China is huge. In its recent filing for an initial public offering, Alibaba reported just 45.8 per cent of Chinas population uses the Internet, far lower than Canada or the U.S. In 2000, four per cent of urban households in China were considered middle class; by 2012, more than two-thirds of those homes had gained that status, earning between $9,000 and $16,000. In 2022, Chinas middle class may eclipse 630 million consumers. There already are signs that China, a non-traditional hockey market to be sure, is open to a new sport. Last year, the state broadcaster CCTV began showing four live NHL games every week. This is CCTVs second year of a three-year deal with the NHL. NHL games broadcast on the weekend in China have attracted an average 800,000 households - airing at 7 a.m. local time. By comparison, televised Leafs games in Canada with national distribution this season have attracted about 1.5 million viewers. This year, Beijings 150 registered teams have 2,300 players between the ages of six and 15, MLSE says. Still, there are challenges to growing hockey in China. For starters, its an expensive sport, Hu said, thanks to 30 per cent import duties for hockey equipment shipped from the west and expensive ice time. There are politics to consider. In 2005, the newspaper Beijing Today accused western soccer teams of gold-digging, using their tours of China solely to build their brand and commercial presence. Some efforts simply dont translate. Manchester United closed a pair of theme restaurants after fans didnt see a connection between soccer fandom and eating out, The New York Times reported in 2007. Also, its unclear whether the NHL sees a big upside in China. The league does not have a senior vice president in change of expanding its international business, a position common in other pro sports leagues. Moreover, the NBA has a long head start in China, where it began to lay a toehold during the 1990s. Now, the NBA attracts some five million viewers a game in China. In the U.S., NBA broadcasts on cable TV get about two million viewers per game. Its doubtful that the NHL would ever grow business through the sale of team jerseys. While authentic jerseys now sell for $330 in Canada, counterfeiting has flourished in China, bringing down the price of knock-off jerseys to $5 or $10 in some cases. ' ' '