It was only the seventh goal at home with a man advantage in

Home Blogs Business

Jul 6 '16 | By miao1234 | 141

| Comments: 0

The Blue Jays had some pressing needs in the off-season, including two starting pitchers and possibly a second baseman.http://www.francenationalshop.com/Olivier-Giroud-France-Jersey/ . They decided to put their faith in Ryan Goins at second and either through budgetary constraints or trades that fell through were unable to get the needed arms. Still youve got to give Alex Anthopoulos credit for some of his bargain basement pick-ups that have shored up the Jays in a couple of areas. Lets start with Juan Francisco, who was picked up on waivers from Milwaukee in April. Though not nearly the third baseman Brett Lawrie is, his presence and bat have allowed skipper John Gibbons to shift Lawrie to second, at least for the short term, to give the Jays a stronger all-round lineup. Francisco is hitting .292 and is nearly halfway to his career high of 18 homers of last season. Hes slugged eight so far with 19 runs batted in. Hes also insurance at 1B and DH if Adam Linds back acts up again. Steve Tolleson was signed as a free agent back in December to provide some middle infield depth. On the days, Lawrie is at third (mainly against lefties), Tolleson has done a solid job at second, and even showed a flare for pitching in that 15-4 blow-out loss to Cleveland last week. His presence also allows for more developement time for Goins in Buffalo. Dioner Navarro has been a big upgrade behind the plate over J.P. Arencibia and has developed a great chemistry with lefty Mark Buehrle, whos off to the best start of his career at 7-1 with a 2.11 ERA. Navarro, who was signed as a free agent in December, has also knocked in 17 runs. Erik Kratz, who shares the back-up catching role at least for now with Josh Thole, helped guide Drew Hutchison through the best start of his career Friday night at Arlington in a complete game 2-0 victory over the Rangers. Kratz, who came over from the Phillies along with reliever Rob Rasmussen for reliever Brad Lincoln, keyed a two-run rally against Texas with a bunt single. Hes also shown a little pop in his limited role with two home runs. Another bargain pick-up who might have an impact is 25-year-old Australian-born righthander Liam Hendriks. With Marcus Stroman returning to Buffalo to hone his abilities as a starter, Hendriks is the odds-on favourite to be called up and fill the vacant spot in the rotation on Saturday against Oakland. Hendriks, who went 2-13 with a 6.10 ERA in brief stints with Minnesota, went through a whirlwind two months in the off-season. He was claimed by the Cubs from Minnesota, then by the Orioles and finally in February, the Blue Jays picked him on waivers. He has been off the charts good with the Bisons, going 5-0 with a league-leading 1.48 ERA. Hes also walked just three batters in just over 48 innings. Hes also pitched into the seventh inning three times in his seven starts. So as disappointing as the Blue Jays off-season was in terms of a lack of big-name pick-ups, it clearly wasnt a total loss. Update From The Minors The immortal Cy Young pitched well into his 40s and when he ultimately retired, he said it was nothing to do with his arm. He said he had plenty of pitches left. It was his legs that wouldnt take the rigors of pitching anymore. The same thing may be happening with the beleaguered Ricky Romero, who had stem cells injected into both of his knees back in October. But he told the Buffalo News he still has good days and bad days with his knees and, although he wasnt making excuses, that might explain why his control is getting worse instead of better. On Friday, Romero walked a Bisons franchise record of nine in just two-2/3rds innings in what became a 4-1 loss to Gwinnett at Buffalos Coca Cola Field. In his last four starts, Ricky has walked 24 batters. Hes leaving the team for a few days to go back to California for his younger brothers college graduation at Long Beach State. Hes hoping to rejoin the Bisons this weekend in Louisville, but hoping to is the operative phrase. Anthopoulos told the Buffalo News that numerous options are being concidered, including sending Ricky to Double A New Hampshire, or maybe even extended spring training in Dunedin, or possibly even putting him on the disabled list to deal with his knee issues. Kyle Drabek hasnt exactly turned it around at Buffalo, either. He also pitched in that doubleheader on Friday ande didnt walk anyone, but gave up eight runs, six earned on 11 hits in five innings in a 9-3 loss in the second game of the twinbill. Lefty Sean Nolin, who pitched briefly with the Blue Jays last season, might have been a call-up candidate, but hes on the disabled list with a groin strain retroactive to May 14th. Not Missing a Beat You might have thought the Tigers might stumble a bit this season in the wake of the retirement of skipper Jim Leyland and the Prince Fielder trade to Texas. Not at all. Theyve won six in a row and have the largest division lead in the Majors at 6.5 games over Kansas City. They just finished sweeping a three-game series at Fenway and havent missed a beat under new skipper Brad Ausmus. Ian Kinsler, who came over from Texas in the Fielder trade, is doing a stellar job out of the lead-off spot and is hitting .315. He went 4-for-5 Sunday against Boston. An unsung hero for Detroit is suddenly heathy as DH Victor Martinez is hitting .331 with 10 homers and 25 runs batted in. Hes hitting clean-up right behind Miguel Cabrera and helping Detroit to the best road record in the Majors. All About Timing The Blue Jays might be hitting Boston Tuesday at just the right time. The defending World Series champions have dropped four in a row and have fallen to 20-23, fourth in the AL East, two games back of the Blue Jays. An odd stat, no team in the American League East has a winning record at home, heading into Week 8 of the season. The first-place Yankees have the best mark and they are only 11-11. To take that a little farther, only two teams in the other two divisions have losing records at home: Seattle and Houston. Miami has the strangest home/road splits. They have a Major League best 17-5 record at home, and a Major League worst 6-17 record on the road, for a total record of 23-22, the same as the Blue Jays. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Mathieu-Valbuena-France-Jersey/ . Manager Ryan Nelsen has confirmed Brazilian No. 1 Julio Cesar will be rested for Wednesdays first leg of the semifinal. That opens the door for Bendik, who started 33 games for Toronto last season. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Adil-Rami-France-Jersey/ . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter.DALLAS -- The Stars have their first win of 2014. Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. "Were pretty happy with that one," Garbutt said. "We got some tough breaks in the little slide here, and I think tonight we got some breaks and bounces." Jamie Benn scored a rare power-play goal for the Stars, who had not won since New Years Eve. They entered 29th in the NHL with the man advantage. Benn also assisted on the first goal of the game by Erik Cole, just 14 seconds in. Cody Eakin and Trevor Daley each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which built a 4-1 lead 1:10 into the second period. "Not a good way to start the game," Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins said. "Going through the game in my end, it seemed like we made three mistakes and they ended up in our net and you cant recover." The final Stars goal came on Daleys shot into an empty net in the last minute. Justin Schultz and Sam Gagner scored for Edmonton, with Taylor Hall assisting on both goals. After the opening faceoff, Daley skated in from the left side, drawing goalie Ilya Bryzgalovs attention. Daley then passed across to Cole, who swept the puck into the open right side. Edmonton tied it at 3:20 when Hall passed to Schultz in the lower right circle. He skated across the front of the net and flipped the puck over Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen, who finished with 31 saves. Garbutts third goal in two home games against Edmonton gave the Stars a 2-1 lead at 8:35 of the first. "To get that goal right away was important," Stars coaach Lindy Ruff said.http://www.francenationalshop.com/Samuel-Umtiti-France-Jersey/. "Obviously, if you sit right there at 1-1, a lot of things can happen." A pregame talk between Ruff and Garbutt seemed to help. "I had a conversation with him again about some plays in the previous game that I didnt like," Ruff said. "I thought Ryans play was excellent. Tonight might have been one of his best." Benns power-play goal followed less than 2 minutes later. Tyler Seguin passed from the top of the right circle to Benn on the left. His drive beat Bryzgalov. It was only the seventh goal at home with a man advantage in 81 opportunities for Dallas this season. Overall, the Stars entered with a 12.4 per cent success rate (20 for 161). "Tyler made a great play and (Benn) a great shot. Weve had that same look a few times and havent scored," Ruff said. "Hopefully, that leads to better times ahead for the power play." Dallas fourth goal came at 1:10 of the second by Eakin. Antoine Roussel sent a centring pass to Eakin from the right corner. The Oilers controlled play for most of the second period but came away only with Gagners goal. He got the puck in the crease after Lehtonen got tangled up with Daley. NOTES: Benns goal was his 16th, and third on the power play. ... Halls two assists gave him seven points (five goals, two assists) in the last six games. ... Dallas Ray Whitney played in his 1,300th NHL game. ... The last time the Stars lost seven in a row was in March 2009. ... Late in the game, Edmontons Ales Hemsky was hobbling on a swollen ankle. "The early X-ray doesnt show anything, but I think were going to have to delve a little deeper," Eakins said. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '

Support miao1234's Blog

No comments

You need to sign in to comment

Post

By	miao1234
Added	Jul 6 '16

Rate

Your rate:

Total: (0 rates)

SoChaseMe.com

Please sign in

It was only the seventh goal at home with a man advantage in

Post

Rate

Archives

Categories

Most Viewed

Most Discussed

Advertisement

Share or Sign In to unlock this!