behind his net, leaving the puck for Eric Staal,

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Oct 26 '16 | By mary123 | 165 Profile Views | support user content | Comments: 0
OAKLAND, Calif. Ken Daneyko Jersey . -- Bartolo Colon never expected to be pitching at age 40, not in the playoffs, and especially not as the Game 1 starter. And not this well a year after being suspended 50 games for a positive testosterone test. The veteran right-hander will get the ball for the Oakland Athletics in the opener of their AL division series against Detroit on Friday night, his first post-season appearance in eight years. "It means so much to me. Im 40 years old and never thought Id be here," Colon said in Spanish. "It is more special, a lot. The first reason is because of the Oakland organization, and I thank them for bringing me here to pitch another time." A year after Colon missed the playoffs for the As while serving the suspension, he won 18 games and is getting another chance on baseballs big stage -- in his first playoff appearance since 2005 with the Angels. "The things hes done this year, we want him to have another four, five starts this year," catcher Derek Norris said. "Everything he gets, he has deserved. A lot of us may have been a little upset about the suspension, but he came in to spring training and he worked hard. It was noted that it was done with, we wanted to move on. He came in, worked his butt off, had one of his best years since his Cy Young year with L.A. and I dont even think any one of us in here even thinks about that stuff anymore. Hes proven to us that he made a mistake, he was sorry and he apologized, and he came back and he earned back his respect throughout baseball and through all of us." Manager Bob Melvin made the announcement before a workout Tuesday at the Coliseum, where the grounds crew worked to prepare the field two days after the NFLs Oakland Raiders played a home game. "Ah, its an easy one, hes been our ace all season," Melvin said of Colon. "We have that veteran presence thats going to lead us off we didnt have last year." It sure has been $3 million well spent by general manager Billy Beane, who gave Colon another chance in 2013. Eight months ago, Colon apologized to his teammates at the start of spring training, put his head down and went back to work. "He felt like he needed to do that, and he got it out of the way early and has been an integral part since," Melvin said. "It really has felt like since hes been here that he hasnt missed a beat and hes been here the whole time. Very disappointing for him to miss the end of last year for the reasons that have been documented, but hes done everything that he can to be the teammate that he is again. It feels like he was never gone." Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts and 190 1-3 innings. He became an All-Star in his best season since his 21-8 Cy Young Award season of 05. He might have a couple more wins had he not spent a stint on the disabled list with a strained groin. "You could tell how it affected him last year and how he missed out on a chance to be a part of what we did down the stretch," reliever Sean Doolittle said. "To have a veteran presence like that in your rotation, a rotation full of young guys, taking the ball every fifth day and you know hes going to go into the sixth or seventh inning, whenever he pitches, under whatever circumstances, its almost like you know what youre going to get out of him. Hes been a really good stabilizer for us all year long." The Game 2 starter for the AL West champions is rookie Sonny Gray, who will pitch in a ballpark he knows well with the home crowd behind him Saturday night. A.J. Griffin, a 14-game winner, is out with elbow tendinitis that has become worse as he has tried to pitch with the problem. He could be added to the roster for the next round if the As advance. Jarrod Parker will pitch Game 3 in Detroit and Dan Straily goes in a potential Game 4. "They made the decision," Griffin said. "Its a bummer. Hopefully I can bounce back from this in the next week or so and be ready for the next round." Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes said his troublesome right shoulder has improved "not a lot but some," and he joked he will play the outfield "even if I have to throw left-handed." Cespedes didnt play the final two games of the season at Seattle, and could be used as designated hitter if the shoulder isnt ready. "We just want to make sure hes healthy," Melvin said. "At the very least, hell be DH-ing." For Colon, this year will be far from his last as long as he can keep pitching. Then, he will return to New Jersey full-time with his wife and four children. "As long as I can and my body lets me," he said. "One year at a time." Colon notes he has "no idea what Id be doing" if he werent on a pitching mound. And, he doesnt have to be. All of that will come later. "Right now Im not thinking about it," Colon said. "This is my job." Adam Henrique Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Jamie Langenbrunner Devils Jersey . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff.http://www.hockeydevilsshop.us/Martin-Brodeur-Jersey/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.MONTREAL -- Carey Price feels that the Montreal Canadiens are really starting to jell. Price made 24 saves in the Canadiens 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Still, the veteran goaltender likes what he sees from Montreal so far this pre-season. "Its coming along," said Price. "The guys are getting a little more comfortable with each other. Weve been working quite a bit. "Its all positive." It was Prices first full pre-season game. He played well despite taking the loss and felt more confident as the game wore on. "I felt a little bit on my heels at first. Started to settle in probably later on in the second period," said Price. "I started handling the puck better." But by then it was too late; the Canadiens were already down 3-0, and they would only find a late consolation goal. Montreal was repeatedly frustrated by Anton Khudobins superb play in Carolinas net. Khudobin, who played 14 games with Boston last year and is slated to become the Hurricanes backup goalie this year, stopped 41 of 42 shots. "We did this result all together as a team," said Khudobin. "But that many shots and one goal is pretty good too." Hurricanes head coach -- and former Canadiens assistant coach -- Kirk Muller was impressed by his goalie. "Were just getting to know him and obviously were excited to bring him into the organization," said Mullerr. Damon Severson Jersey. "The nice thing is he has a lot of structure to his game and hes a real competitor. Hes been a great addition so far. "We actually feel weve got a pretty strong one-two punch with our goalies." Carolina opened the scoring at the end of the first period when Drayson Bowman fired home his first goal of the pre-season. Price misplayed a clearance behind his net, leaving the puck for Eric Staal, who passed it to a wide-open Bowman. Price blamed the goal on an unlucky bounce off the boards, and miscommunication with defenceman Andrei Markov. Jeff Skinner added to the Hurricanes lead early in the second -- the eventual game-winner -- and Carolina put the contest out of reach at the end of the period when Nathan Gerbe fired a shot past Price on the power play. It was the Habs fourth penalty of the period. Rookie Michael Bournival, whos Montreals leading scorer this pre-season, scored the Canadiens only goal late in the third period. Montreal outshot Carolina 42-27 on the heels of a dominant third period. But it was not to be. This was Montreals second game in two nights against the Hurricanes. The Habs beat Carolina 6-0 in a lopsided match in Quebec City on Friday. The Hurricanes, who have played four pre-season games in as many nights, showed no sign of fatigue after Fridays game. The Canadiens next game is on Monday when they host the New Jersey Devils. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jersey ' ' '

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By mary123
Added Oct 26 '16

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