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from a beach volleyball court and a pond to two perfor

in General Discussion Wed Dec 04, 2019 11:35 am
by sakura698 • 46 Posts

TORONTO - For the fourth time on this home stand the Blue Jays enjoyed a lead of at least three runs. Jackie Robinson Jersey . They lost, overall a fourth in a row, while dropping their record to 1-3 in those games in which the offence has gotten off to a hot start. Brandon Morrow and the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins were the culprits in a disastrous third inning which saw the Red Sox score six times to erase a 3-0 deficit en route to a 7-6 victory. "I came in with one goal and that was to pitch late in the game and keep us in it," said Morrow. "I let down the team in a big way today." Morrow flirted with disaster from the get-go, walking two Red Sox in each of the first two innings only to escape with double play ground outs. After two quick outs in the third, it all unraveled as Morrow walked four-straight hitters to force in Bostons first run. Manager John Gibbons had Morrow on a short leash and promptly called for the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins, who immediately gave up back to back home runs, a grand slam to A.J. Pierzynski and a solo shot to Will Middlebrooks. "He just didnt throw strikes, its pretty simple," said Gibbons of Morrow. "Its a simple solution. Weve been walking way too many guys all year. I mean everybody. Thats unlike us. Weve got some strike throwers." The afternoons eight walks ran the pitching staffs season total to 99, second-most in all of baseball. After Morrows brief outing, which felt much longer than its 2 2/3 innings would indicate, Torontos starters have given the club 127 2/3 innings of work, an average of just less than 5 1/3 innings per game. The four clubs which trail the Blue Jays are nipping at Torontos heels and each has played fewer games. Gibbons, with 138 games left to play, isnt about to panic despite his clubs obvious weakness, a starting rotation which was thought to be a problem when everyone reported to Dunedin more than two months ago. The skipper closed ranks. "You know what, I mean this is a team," said Gibbons. "Its not hitters against pitchers. Its 25 guys. Im not going to get caught up in all this … weve been struggling in certain areas. Its no secret. But were going to get better." Theyre going to have to get better. Much better, in fact, with the schedule about to bombard them with 20 consecutive games starting Tuesday until the next off day on Monday, May 19. You dont want your best left-handed reliever pitching the seventh inning when youre trailing by four runs, for example, as Brett Cecil had to on Saturday. Back to Morrow, who has pitched six innings only once this year, reached five innings twice and on two occasions hasnt made it to the end of the fourth. Hes had issues controlling his fastball dating back to spring training. Most of his fastballs on Saturday were up. "Its embarrassing to not be able to command your fastball," said Morrow. "I had decent command of the other stuff. I threw my curveball for strikes, threw the split for strikes for the most part. I was just wild with the fastball, mainly arm side and up. Thats number one which I have to do. Command the fastball to be successful." Pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes during a mound visit with Morrow. Home plate umpire Jeff Kelloggs strike zone was small but it went both ways. "He voiced his frustration a little bit out there," said Gibbons. "Nothing wrong with that." Morrow wasnt looking for excuses. "A lot of my pitches didnt miss by just a fraction of an inch," said Morrow. "I was all over the place for a lot of it. Its not a good feeling when you can take the blame for the game and place it squarely on your shoulders." The offence mounted a comeback, scoring twice off Junichi Tazawa in the eighth and once, on a solo home run by Jose Bautista, off Boston closer Koji Uehara in the ninth. The Jays had the tying run at second and the winning run at first when Edwin Encarnacion lined out to centerfield to end the game. Toronto will turn to R.A. Dickey on Sunday as the Blue Jays look to avoid a Red Sox sweep. The man with the unpredictable pitch is tasked with bringing some predictability to the starting rotation. Wally Joyner Jersey . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. Heath Bell Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/1253m-rollie-fingers-jersey-padres.html . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.LOS ANGELES -- Dan Craig and his crew have been at Dodger Stadium from dusk to dawn every night for the past week, patiently building a sheet of NHL-quality ice in the middle of the iconic baseball field. Theyre just about ready to drop the puck in sunny Southern California. The ice is solid, the fans have bought nearly every ticket, and the two local teams are eager for their historic showdown under the lights and stars. Only a few tweaks remain before the Los Angeles Kings face the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday in the NHLs first official outdoor game in a warm-weather climate. "Its hard not to get excited about it now that its almost here," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "It seems like everybody is talking about it." While the NHL raised plenty of eyebrows with the announcement of outdoor hockey in one of the nations hottest places, Craig has always been confident that this unorthodox game wouldnt turn into a swim meet. The NHLs ice specialist is working a vicious schedule this winter with preparations for six outdoor games, but hes most excited about the chance to do the improbable in Chavez Ravine. "This is the challenge that everybody who works with me wanted to try," Craig said. "The crew thats in New York (for two upcoming games at Yankee Stadium) doesnt want to be in New York. They want to be here." Even with daytime temperatures in the 80s and abnormal humidity in Los Angeles over the past week, Craig is quietly confident about the ice sheet created by his meticulous crew and the huge refrigeration unit in the 53-foot truck beyond centre field. They work at night, building and grooming more than 10,000 gallons of water into a 1 3/4-inch sheet that stays cool under a heat-reflecting blanket during the day. The ice is out of the suns reach by roughly 4 p.m. each day, and thats when Craigs crew goes to work. "We are very patient with what we do,," Craig said. Andy Benes Jersey. "Our guys arent getting a whole lot of sleep. I know I wont be getting a whole lot of sleep." Craig said he could have made NHL-quality ice just about anywhere in North America for several years now, but the league didnt expand its outdoor exploits to a warm-weather city until expanding its series of stadium games this winter. Glycol coolant is constantly circulated from the truck and below the rink, keeping the ice temperature around 22 degrees. The outdoor temperature is likely to be in the high 50s at game time on Saturday night, which would be plenty cold enough for Craigs purposes. "Its a hard concept for anybody thats not in the field to understand," Craig said. "Ive got two very efficient systems that were marrying together." Craig and Kings executive Luc Robitaille skated on the ice Wednesday, with Robitaille pronouncing it ready to go. The Kings and Ducks will hold separate practices at Dodger Stadium on Friday to get used to the rinks peculiarities. The boards, benches and glass were trucked into Dodger Stadium from the Winter Classic at Ann Arbors Michigan Stadium, although they wont need the heaters. The NHL is also embracing the unusual setting with a variety of amusements in the Dodger Stadium bowl -- everything from a beach volleyball court and a pond to two performance stages. The game will be the NHLs first outdoor venture west of Alberta, but its not the first attempt at Southwest outdoor hockey. Robitaille and the Kings played an exhibition against the New York Rangers in Las Vegas in 1991, and everything went fairly well -- except for the swarm of grasshoppers that jumped onto the ice. "These guys know what theyre doing, and the ice is going to be great," Robitaille said. "This is an incredible opportunity for these two teams to bring hockey to a new level in Southern California." ' ' '

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