TORONTO - It seems that Casey Janssens time in Toronto is coming to an end. While the Blue Jays closer of the last three seasons wouldnt formally shut the door on a return, Janssens poised to test the free agent waters for the first time in his big league career. Janssen reflects on his time in Toronto, his pitch selection and adjustments during a second half that didnt go as well as the first half and he shares the names of three teammates whove impressed him during his nine seasons with the Blue Jays. Listen to the interview here. Here is the transcript of the interview: TSN.ca: Casey lets not waste any time getting down to brass tacks. Do you anticipate being a Toronto Blue Jay next season? JANSSEN: Its really tough to say. Ive never had the opportunity to test free agency. Ive enjoyed my time here and the opportunity that Ive got here to show what I was able to do is something Ill forever be grateful for. What the future holds is really out of my control and is something not only the Toronto Blue Jays would have to want me back but something that, you know, see what other opportunities arise and see what happens. TSN.ca: You have had, I think, two different halves to this season. The first half you looked like the guy from 2012 and 2013, locking down games. The second half its been a bit more of a struggle. I know youre not an excuses guy but we are looking for reasons. So maybe give me a reason or two that you think your second half has been a struggle for you and did the food poisoning from your trip to the Dominican Republic over the All-Star Break play a role? Did it take you longer to bounce back then maybe you were willing to acknowledge because you didnt want to make excuses? JANSSEN: I mean, looking back and looking at my first half and the rhythm I was in, yeah, I mean its very easy to point the finger at the food poisoning and what I had lost right there. Like you said, Im not one to make excuses but I think, looking back now its easy to say that probably affected him to some level and then from there I believe I probably created some little bad habit. TSN.ca: Mechanical? JANSSEN: Mechanical or pressing or whatever you want to call it. I left balls up and instead of being on the black they were catching a little more white. I wish I could go back and change those last two months. Obviously I cant but I think there was something, a portion and I dont know how long to say it affected me but I think from there I created some kind of flaw in my delivery that led to the downturn. TSN.ca: Over the last couple of months there have had to have been some frustrations that build up inside you. You just mentioned the word "pressing" there just a little bit. Was some of this mental too? Because I would think youre going through impending free agency for the first time, plus youre obviously wanting to close out games for a team that had won more than it had lost and was contending. Was there an element of that at all? JANSSEN: I would say it was more the team portion than the free agency portion. I want to win so bad. Thats all I want to do. I want to bring a championship to Toronto. Ive always wanted to do that. Pressing on my end, saying that man, I want to be flawless every time out there because I know every time Im out there the game is on the line and every win is so important. So, yeah, I was pressing. I wanted to save five games in the one game that I was trying to close and obviously put ourselves in the best position to win the AL East and to make the playoffs and then as I struggled I think the snowball started to get a little bigger and you know, maybe a touch there of loss of confidence and its a tough game and when youre struggling, youre searching. Youre searching for answers and sometimes its hard to just get that ball rolling on the good side again. TSN.ca: You were talking about leaving balls up. Are you referring mostly to your fastball? I was just looking at your splits for your pitches. Your usage of fastball is down a little bit over last year, about five-percent. Usage of your curveball is up three or four-percent. Have you intentionally changed anything or is that just kind of a random act this season? JANSSEN: Well I think it was definitely intentional that I did change. I think when I was going through those tougher times I felt like I was getting hit with my fastball. Yes, my command wasnt where I expect it to be and I think that led to, like you said, some of the struggles was I was getting beat with my bread and butter which is my fastball and my cutter. The only way to get the hitters off of my fastball and my cutter, because my command wasnt perfect, it was I needed to change speeds more often so I think, yes, I mean obviously throwing more offspeed pitches was intentional from the standpoint of get them off my fastball but at the same time I really like the action on my curveball this year. It was still an aggressive pitch. It wasnt that I was pitching scared with offspeed pitches. I was still, what I felt, pitching aggressively. TSN.ca: It seemed like last year, as good a year as it was for you, there was always conversation about your shoulder and there was more conversation about your shoulder through spring training because you missed a lot of time back in Dunedin dealing with some of that stuff. Where is your shoulder at right now? JANSSEN: It feels great. My body feels great. I think the arm stuff is something of the past. The spring training mishap, I think I can change up my offseason routine a little bit to make sure that doesnt happen again but Im really excited about the way my shoulder feels, the way my arm feels, the way my body feels. I cant wait for the offseason to build on what Ive started here throughout the season and continue to maintain a strong body and arm and so none of those injuries or DL time ever happen again. TSN.ca: Youre, I hate to say this but its true, youre pushing into your mid-30s now. Has all of this over the last eight, 10 years happened way quicker than it seems? I mean, youve got so much to reflect on, probably more so than youve got to look ahead. JANSSEN: Yeah. I dont feel 33. The guys keep it young and keep it fun and at the end of the day Im still playing a game so I definitely dont feel 33. But, yeah, saying most of my time here, baseball time, is in the past is crazy to think about but definitely not looking in the past, looking in the future and excited about the future and excited for whatever doors open. TSN.ca: Talk about your ties to Toronto. I know your fiancée is a Southern Ontario girl so youre always going to have links to this area whether you live here or not sometime down the road. For a Southern California kid who, correct me if Im wrong, probably didnt spend a lot of time here in Toronto growing up, what has this city and this area come to mean to you? JANSSEN: Well, its become my second home. Ive enjoyed my time here. Its definitely a city that, if youve never been here, you wouldnt appreciate it as much as I do. Its an unbelievable city. Its fun. Its a great time. I love the downtown area where you can walk everywhere. The people are great and youll have no trouble finding stuff to do in this city. Ive enjoyed every minute of it. Its been great and like I said, you might see me back here next year or you might not but there will definitely be a place in my heart for this place and either baseball or not baseball Im sure I havent seen the last of it. TSN.ca: Youve been through a few eras here so Im going to put you on the spot. This is going to be a tough one to answer but I want you to try to do it. Give me the names of three current or former teammates who youve played with with the Blue Jays who really stand out for you in terms of elite performance on the field or the way that they handled themselves on and off the field, that sort of thing. JANSSEN: The first that comes to mind is probably Roy Halladay. Just with what he was able to accomplish as a front line starter in this division and among baseball. He was as impressive to watch as anyone I can remember and definitely learned a lot from the way he approached the game. Number two, jeez. TSN.ca: Its not supposed to be easy. Youve probably had a few. JANSSEN: I would say the few years that Bautista had here when he was hitting 50-plus home runs was something to really watch and definitely was glad he was on my team and I was getting to watch it as opposed to having to compete against him. But hes a heck of a player. Hes probably right now the face of the Toronto Blue Jays and he deserves every bit of it. Third, let me think of third. Third, Id probably have to go with Vernon (Wells). Although it was more toward the beginning of my career he manned centrefield and held it down pretty well and he had some pretty special seasons as well when I was here. He was a true professional. You learned a lot about him just, like you said, how he carried himself on and off the field. He was there for the media everyday. He was the ultimate pro. Even when he did have a year or two where it didnt go perfectly his way, he was still the same person that … still carried himself the same way as that person that was the three-time Gold Glove winner and however many time All-Star. So I appreciate those guys and being able to watch them and learn from them. TSN.ca: When you assess the market and the needs of the 30 teams and Im sure youll delve more into that when the season ends, is the priority for you to close next year wherever you are? Is it winning? What is it? JANSSEN: Ive always said this, I was given the opportunity to close and I absolutely love to close but its not everything to me. If another team wanted me to pitch in the late innings, if its the seventh or the eighth or even the ninth I just like to embrace my role, whatever my role is and try to be the best at it that I can. So, no, closing isnt the ultimate priority. Obviously I want the opportunity to win and if closing and winning combines itself, great. If it doesnt then I really want to win. I really do. Thats why you play and hopefully somebody out there has seen what Ive done and wants my services. TSN.ca: Well, whatever happens Casey we wish you the best. Good luck. JANSSEN: Thank you very much. Appreciate it. New York Giants Jerseys China . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. New York Giants Dexter Lawrence Jersey . 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Fans in the Jets viewing region can watch the game on TSN Jets at 5:30pm ct and listeners can tune in to TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the ongoing Redskins name debate, a truly dominant pitching performance, the bargain basement standards of the LPGA and MLBs latest fine import. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to the Washington Redskins name debate, and not just because theres any debate at all over the most clearly racist name in sports. No, its because the debates getting dumber by the second, as it ratchets up. A sitting U.S. Congressman - low bar, I know - compared Barack Obama to Kim Jong-Il, or -Un, after a federal trademark case declared the name derogatory. A Fox News host - low bar, I know - compared the name to the New York Giants offending tall people. This happens often, and its always, always stupid, people. Its like the Yankees, or the Lakers, or the Dallas Cowboys of stupid. Calling Dallas the Cowboys, of course, should only be offensive to competent and/or humble cowboys, one and all. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Clayton Kershaw, superstar pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who brought the no-hitter back into vogue with a performance for the ages Wednesday night at Coors Field. And I know what youre thinking: another no-hitter, big deal. Theres been so many of them in recent seasons that weve all grown a little bored of pitchers we didnt know or care about throwing another no-no. But it was different against the Colorado Rockies. This is a big name - Kershaw - striking out 15 batters, walking no one, in total command, only reaching the count of three balls on one batter and had it not been for an error by Hanley Ramirez, were talking perfect game here. Add Vin Scully broadcasting to the ooccasion and baseball doesnt get any better than that.dddddddddddd Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down not to 11-year-old Lucy Li, who qualified for the U.S. Open, but to womens professional golf, whose thimble-deep talent pool made it possible for an 11-year old to qualify. The sixth-grader, who looked like she should be entered in a hopscotch tournament and not slugging it out on Pinehurst no. 2, shot a pair of credible 78s, a score that matched marquee names Natalie Gulbis and Laura Davies but left her far off the cut. Nice two-day story. But rather than celebrate the presence of a sprite in the event, shouldnt the USGA, and by extension the LPGA, be mortified a novice qualified? The kid is precocious, but she isnt exactly Mozart. Dave Naylor, TSN: And my thumb is up to Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees for proving that sometimes a player really is worth all the hype. You may remember how Tanakas transfer from Japan was the major story of the MLB off-season. You may also remember that when the first Major Leage hitter he faced in Melky Cabrera took him deep … some were wondering if the Yankees had just uncovered the next “Dice-K” Matsuzaka. Well right now Tanaka leads the American League in wins and ERA and is among the leaders in innings-pitched, as well as strikeouts and walks per nine innings. And hes looking like a good bet to win both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year honours. Coming off a perfect 24-0 record in Japan last season, experts cautioned not to expect the same thing from Tanaka in the major leagues. And they were right. After all, on May 20th against the Cubs he did something he never did all of last season in japan. He took the loss. 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