BALTIMORE - Jose Reyes first season in Toronto didnt go as planned. Michael Gallup Cowboys Jersey . The Blue Jays didnt win as expected and Reyes was injured for much of the first half, missing 66 games with a badly sprained ankle. Reyes sat down with TSN.ca prior to Thursdays series finale against the Orioles to discuss a variety of topics, including a response to a theory that sometimes gets floated: A team with an abundance of Latin American players doesnt win. You can listen to the audio here. Below is the transcript of the interview: TSN.ca: Jose, lets start the season that has been. You spent a good portion of it injured, missed 66 games with your ankle. Where is your ankle now compared to, say, where it was when you came back at the end of June? REYES: Im going to say its way better. Its close to 100 per cent. When I first started, it gave me a lot of trouble like moving around on the field. Now it seems like Im moving around a lot better. Its getting closer but its going to get right, like 100 per cent, in the off-season when I rest on it and hopefully come to spring training 100 per cent and do what I love to do on the field; just do everything on the field without worrying about anything. TSN.ca: What kind of schedule are you going to have in the off-season in terms of rest, relaxation and treatment and how different will this off-season be compared to ones in your recent past just because of the injury you had? REYES: A couple of days ago, I called my trainer, the one that I work out with in the off-season. Hes got a plan for me and after the season, Im going to take a few weeks off. Im not going to do anything. Just family time and get the ankle to rest and my whole body and after that my trainer has a good program for me, for my lower half and strengthening my ankle. I cant wait, I cant wait to start all over again and just be healthy in spring training because I know what I can do when Im healthy on the field. TSN.ca: How would you describe your first year in Toronto? It was very strange because you were hurt and you missed so much time and the team certainly hasnt performed. Whats this entire year been like for you, personally? REYES: Im going to say its been tough. Besides that I got hurt, Ive been disappointed because when we got to spring training the first day, the expectation was by this time, this team was going to be in contention. Were here with four games left in the season and were in last place. You know, thats disappointing because of the great talent we have on this ball club. I mean, its not acceptable to finish last but this is baseball. We understand that and hopefully next year can be better because with all the talent we have, we should be better. TSN.ca: Is there a such thing as a season being early? Because back in April, when you guys were struggling, a lot of people would say, well, its early. Weve seen other teams have great late runs to make the playoffs in years past but next year, how important is going to be getting off to a strong start in April and May? REYES: Its going to be important because we need to learn from what happened this year. We have to start the season good and feeling the same way. This year, we only played consistent baseball when we had the 11-game winning streak. Thats the only time I feel we played consistent as a team. Other than that, I dont think we played consistent baseball. TSN.ca: Why not? What was it? People point to pitching. Sometimes its defence or hitting with runners in scoring position. Seemed to be a lot of things but can you put your finger on what went wrong? REYES: Everything went wrong. Everything. As a player, I dont want to point the finger at one thing because different stuff went wrong. A lot of injuries, some key players got hurt and stuff like that and we didnt perform the way we should perform on the field. That was the key and like I said, if you dont play consistent baseball, especially in the division that we are, youre going to be in trouble. TSN.ca: And about the American League East. Youre a career National League East guy until this year. I know you saw a lot of the AL East in interleague play over a number of years but whats your general impression of this division and how different is it playing in it than only playing it on occasion? REYES: For me, now that Im playing in this division, this is the hardest division in baseball. Every team in this division is tough. Good pitching, great hitting, its tough. Youre not allowed to start the season in April and play bad baseball because thats going to hurt you in September. Out of the gate, you have to come out and play good baseball if you want to compete. TSN.ca: Jose, this is not necessarily a comfortable topic but there is a perception in some circles that a team that has as many Latin American players as the Blue Jays do may struggle to succeed. Whether that is ignorant or whether that is fact is certainly not up for me to decide but I want your opinion. What is your reaction to people who may throw that suggestion out? REYES: I dont believe in that. I dont believe in that. In 2006 in New York, we were one game from going to the World Series and we had like 15 Latin ballplayers on that ball club and the chemistry was unbelievable. We were one game away from going to the World Series. If you look at other teams around, like the Tigers, if you count how many Latin players they have, they have a lot, too. There are a lot of teams who have a lot of Latin players. That has nothing to do with how you perform on the field, how many Latin players you have. If you come out, no matter where youre from, if youre Latin American, youve got one thing to do is play baseball and enjoy it and try to do your job. It doesnt matter how many Latin guys you have in your clubhouse. TSN.ca: How important is clubhouse chemistry in general? It seems like you guys have done a great job of sticking together this year but how important in general, in such an individualistic sport, when youre out there on the field, how important is it for the 25 guys in that room to get along as best they can? REYES: Its the key, thats the key. I think we have unbelievable chemistry. That wasnt our problem, the chemistry because everybody got along good in this clubhouse. Chemistry is something you need because youre going to spend more time here, like, Im going to say, than with your family. This is your second family. Youre going to be together here for like six, seven months and thats a lot of time so you have to get along with the boys if you want to be successful on the field. TSN.ca: Is that something youve taken pride in over the course of your career? You seem to be a guy who can bounce around to any corner of that clubhouse, at any point in the day, and joke and laugh with someone. REYES: Thats the way that I am. Thats nothing new for me. Ive been like that since I was born, I think. Ive been like that since the minor leagues. Guys like to be around me because Im always happy. Im always happy, I always have a lot of energy and I like to bring positive energy to the ball club that I play with and go from there. When I step on the field, I like to enjoy the game as much as I can but at the same time, I know that I have a job to do which is to put my team in a good position to win a game every single day and every single night. TSN.ca: Looking ahead to spring training next year, I talked to Mark DeRosa about this last week, and he said that he agreed with John Gibbons and the coaching staffs approach this previous spring training. So many new guys from so many different organizations, it was best to take a hands off approach and allow you guys to get ready at your own pace, the way that you were used to doing it. But Mark said, based on performance this year, you guys have lost the right to do it the same way next spring. Do you anticipate a lot of changes in the team-wide approach when you report to Dunedin next February? REYES: Probably. The way that we played, we think there are going to be some changes in spring training. Its always good to make some changes, especially the way we played this year and there was a lot of stuff that we didnt do right on the field. Its something that we need to address. Hopefully when we come to spring training, we dont have to worry about so many different things and just continue to play baseball. Hopefully, next year will be better because its good to be this late in the season competing. Thats all about baseball, winning. Im tired every year to go home and seeing some other ball club in the playoffs. I want to be part of that. TSN.ca: How much fun is it playing next to Brett Lawrie on the left side of that infield? REYES: Its unbelievable. I enjoy playing beside Brett. When the team put him at second base, I dont know what they were thinking about, to be honest with you. I think, defensive-wise, hes one of the best, if not the best at third base. Hes good. Ive played with him for a little bit now and Ive had the opportunity to watch him, how he approaches the game, he works hard in batting practice and stuff like that. Hes a guy who has a lot of energy but hes one of the best defensive guys at third base that Ive ever seen. Its unbelievable how well he can play that position. TSN.ca: Just in closing, over the last five or six weeks, have you seen some positive trends, some positive things happen on the field that would lead you to believe – Im thinking a lot about defence and you and Brett playing together is part of that – have you seen some things that give you confidence that this team can, in fact, get off to the start that it needs to get off to in 2014? REYES: Theres no doubt. Right now, we have some key players on the DL like Edwin and Bautista. Theyre huge for this ball club. When we have everybody together, as a team, I think right now because the talent is still here and everybody is still young here, we just need to put it on the field and dont worry about anything else. Just focus and do our job and everybody contribute and go from there. TSN.ca: Might it be nice next year, when you show up to spring training, that youre not going to be the national darlings? You can just go about your business and maybe the whole world wont be picking you to win the World Series. You can sneak up on people. REYES: I dont think everything that people said this year, oh the Blue Jays are going to go to the World Series, I dont think that got to our heads. We know there were a lot of high expectations on our ball club but this is baseball. In baseball, you never know what is going to happen. There are some other good ball clubs that are going to go home at the same time that we do. In baseball, its crazy, you never know whats going to happen. Next year, I cant wait for next year. This year isnt over yet and Im already excited about next year. TSN.ca: Jose, thanks for this. Good of you to do it. REYES: Thank you. Thank you. Terrell Owens Cowboys Jersey . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Tavon-Austin-Jersey/ . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s. LONDON -- Greg Jennings showed that the Vikings have someone other than Adrian Peterson who can make big plays. Jennings and Peterson provided the kind of 1-2 punch Minnesota had been hoping for when it signed the wide receiver in the off-season, and each scored two touchdowns in a 34-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Londons Wembley Stadium for the Vikings first victory of the season. "It would have been a long flight back to take after a loss," Jennings said. "It was a special day. To do this at Wembley Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Not so for the Steelers, who fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1968. Thats a hole only one team has dug itself out of to make the playoffs, the San Diego Chargers in 1992. So much for the city of Big Ben giving a lift to Ben Roethlisberger. "We are in unchartered territories and the water is dangerous right now, so we have to stick together and get out of it," Roethlisberger said. "Right now, you could say were the worst team in the league. That hurts." In one of the most entertaining NFL games yet in the annual International Series in London, Jennings provided the biggest highlight -- breaking several tackles on a 70-yard catch-and-run that opened up a 10-0 lead for the Vikings (1-3) in the first quarter. "You throw a 5-yard hitch, and he goes 70 yards," said quarterback Matt Cassel, who started in place of the injured Christian Ponder. "It makes your job a lot easier. Those guys made plays all night." Not to be outdone, Peterson ran for a 60-yard touchdown in the second quarter. They still needed a big stop from the defence in the closing moments, when Everson Griffen stripped Roethlisberger of the ball on the 6-yard line with 19 seconds left and Kevin Williams recovered the fumble to seal the victory. "It feels great to get our first home win of the season," Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier said. "And we had to come all the way to London to get it. I think Ill always have a special place in my heart for Wembley Stadium." He suddenly has a bit of a quarterback controversy as well. Cassel finished 16 of 25 for 248 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. But with Ponder hoping to have recovered from a rib injury after the coming bye week, Frazier said he doesnt expect a permanent switch. "If youre asking, our quarterback is Christian Ponder," Frazier saidd. Allen Hurns Jersey. "Now well discuss a lot of things when we come out of the bye, but ... were going to enjoy this victory for a little while at least." Regardless of the quarterback, Peterson and Jennings will pose a threat to any team going forward. Peterson ran for 140 yards on 23 carries while Jennings finished with 92 yards on three receptions. That offset two touchdown runs by Pittsburghs rookie running back LeVeon Bell, who made his long-awaited debut for the Steelers after a foot injury. He gave the team its first rushing touchdowns of the season by breaking off to the right for an 8-yard score to make it 10-7, somersaulting into the end zone, and again pulled Pittsburgh within 3 by plowing in from the 1-yard line in the third quarter. But Peterson and Jennings added their second touchdowns to help Minnesota pull away, although Pittsburgh made sure it was a tense finish after Jerricho Cotchery caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Shaun Suisham kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game with 3:40 left. The Steelers got the ball back on their own 22-yard line with 1:43 left and no timeouts, and Roethlisberger completed six passes to get a first-and-goal at the 6. But after spiking the ball, he overthrew Cotchery in the end zone and was stripped on the next play. Roethlisberger finished 36 for 51 for 383 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Steelers are still looking for their first turnover of the season, as they failed to recover Cassels fumble on the Vikings 38 in the second quarter, with the ball bouncing forward before being recovered by Jerome Simpson for a 10-yard gain. "We came up short, but we played better than we have in recent weeks," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. "We gave up explosive plays, you cant do that. ... Were going to focus on getting better, and thats whats going to change the outcome of football games." ------ NOTES: British heavyweight Boxer David Haye blew the Vikings giant horn when the team ran onto the field before the game, while Kiss member Gene Simmons sang the American national anthem. ... This is the seventh year of the International Series in Britain, but the first year Wembley will host two NFL games, with the Jacksonville Jaguars playing the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 27. ... Jennings has seven career 70-yard TD catches. Jerry Rice holds the record with nine. 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