Dein erstes Forum » guys set great screens and we executed at a higher pace

BOSTON - Pitching. Defence. Culture. Those are the three words which continue to be brought up in various conversations with players, both in formal and informal settings, around this American League Championship Series. Jonny Gomes, a member of the 2008 Rays club that emerged from the abyss to gain a spot in that seasons World Series and whos since played on contending teams in Cincinnati and Oakland before landing in Boston, has seen similar acts play out in different cities. “This is my fourth division title and my fourth team,” said Gomes. “Theyre all very similar. We pitch. We play defence. We play together. We situational hit. We create an identity and win and lose with that identity. “Youve got to have some guys on your team that will nip in the bud in April, in June, in July, when things roll, stop it now. Youve got to get out of the valley, get back up versus letting it play, riding it out.” Spending much of the last 48 hours around Fenway Park, in this atmosphere, around two successful organizations with, for the most part, annual expectations of excellence, its become clearer just how far away the 2013 Blue Jays were from being a playoff-calibre ballclub. It wasnt too long ago, prior to the end of the regular season, that veteran Mark DeRosa shared similar thoughts to Gomes. He would know, having come up in the winning Braves organization, followed by success with the Rangers, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants and Nationals. “I always go back to the first two weeks of the season,” DeRosa told TSN.ca from the visitors dugout, fittingly at Fenway Park, on September 20. “We got off so slow; just put ourselves in such a pessimistic-type attitude where we were expecting things to go wrong. Its just been the tale of many weeks for this team. Its had its moments of playing really great baseball and taking it to some of the best teams and best pitchers in the game and then weve had moments where weve rolled out there and done a lot of things fundamentally wrong and made mental errors that have cost us.” General manager Alex Anthopoulos has identified the need for starting pitching, constantly reminding that no team stands a chance to contend when its rotations ERA ranks second-worst in baseball (4.81,) better only than the dreadful Minnesota Twins and worse than the Houston Astros, essentially a Triple-A-calibre baseball team. Hes right. Nobody could have, or would have, predicted the respective demises of Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson to injury. But those two were pitching in April. So were R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and J.A. Happ and, as DeRosa alluded to, the Jays got off to a terrible start that set the tone for a terrible season. Nobody cried in Boston when Clay Buchholz missed three months with a neck injury before returning in early September. Remember, too, that John Lackeys bicep locked on him in Toronto in early April. At the time of the injury, the way he clenched his arm, onlookers were speculating hed torn his Tommy John-repaired ulnar elbow ligament. The Yankees finished above .500 with a plethora of injuries, seemingly turning to any available former Blue Jay in the process. This statistics-obsessed culture places zero value on cohesion, preferring to individualize each player and position as if he and it work mutually exclusive to all else. Its strange because when you talk to players whove won, in some cases won often, they preach about the importance of accountability and sacrifice for one another. No, there werent deep divisions in the clubhouse, but neither was there cohesion on the field on a consistent basis. Back in April, it was popular to slough off the mounting losses with the tired “Its early” mantra. There were musings about how the standings didnt matter until the seasons final day, when you hoped to be at least one game ahead of the team in second place. True, if not simplistic, but the public lack of concern over the slow start shouldnt be tolerated to the same degree if it repeats in 2014. Some teams dont recover from a bad first two or three weeks. Theres no place for Twitter drama and unnecessary sparring with the media. The pressure of playoff action, witnessed first hand in this ALCS, is no match for the psychologically fragile. The expectation, of course, should be to contend. Nothing less, although its difficult for fans to want to go there in their heads after the season they just witnessed. “They pitch. They play defense. Team chemistry. Situational hit,” repeated Gomes of championship-calibre teams. The strange firing of hitting coach Chad Mottola wont be the only move this winter and its a good thing because, hanging around Fenway Park in October for a couple of days, seeing the anticipation and the expectation and the camaraderie, the Blue Jays have a way to go to get here. Larry Krystkowiak Jersey . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Ray Allen Jersey .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/926t-eric-bledsoe-jersey-bucks.html . -- Ben Bishop had a milestone game against one of the NHLs greatest goalies. Wholesale Bucks Jerseys . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. Bucks Jerseys 2019 . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers will try to press on amidst the on-going controversy with owner Donald Sterling Tuesday night when their series with the Golden State Warriors returns to the Staples Center tied 2-2. After Sterling was allegedly caught on tape making hideous racially insensitive remarks, he did not attend Game 4s loss at Oracle Arena. You can see the action live on TSN2 at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Commissioner Adam Silver will have a 2 p.m. ET press conference Tuesday afternoon, where its expected he will make some announcement about Sterlings punishment. The team has taken the high road to this point, allowing head coach Doc Rivers to speak on the teams behalf. "We are all trying to figure out everything as it goes and just do our best and we hope that it is the right answer," Rivers said in a statement. "Im still going to do my best and do what I think is best for the team and for everybody in this case. It is very difficult because there are so many emotions in this. This is a very emotional subject, this is personal." The Clippers players staged a silent protest prior to tip-off Sunday by wearing their pregame shirts inside-out with the teams logo out of sight. They wore black arm or wrist bands and black socks but appeared stuck in warmup mode when the game got underway. The Warriors blew out the Clippers in Sundays Game 4, 118-97. "Its my job as a coach to get them ready and I just didnt feel like I did the right stuff," said Rivers. "I gotta do a better job. Whatever the distractions, whatever, I gotta do a better job. I didnt do my job tonight. I take that personally." Stephen Curry jumped out to a fast start in Game 4 and thhe Warriors shot 55 percent from the field in rolling to the win.ddddddddddddCurry finished with 33 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, while Andre Iguodala netted 22 points for the Warriors, who had dropped back-to-back games after stealing the opener in LA. Klay Thompson, David Lee and Harrison Barnes all finished with 15 points. Curry raced out with 17 points in the first 8:30, hitting all five of his 3- point attempts as the Warriors opened a 20-point lead in the first quarter. "We tried to come out with a sense of urgency. Thats been a big problem in the first three games," said Curry. "As a team we havent started games off well and theyve gotten a double-digit lead each first quarter. So we moved the ball well, guys set great screens and we executed at a higher pace. When we do that, were tough to guard." Warriors head coach Mark Jackson inserted Draymond Green into the starting lineup in place of Jermaine ONeal. Green only finished with four points, but Golden State got the victory. The Clippers pulled within nine in the fourth but did not climb out of the mammoth hole. Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin led the club with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Chris Paul finished with 16 points, followed by 12 from J.J. Redick and 10 out of Matt Barnes. By Tuesdays tip, the Clippers should know the fate of Sterling and hopefully will get closer to closure. Either way, the series must go on. "I just believe when the game starts, the game starts and nobody cares anymore," Rivers said following the loss. "Golden State surely didnt care." Game 6 will be Thursday night back at Oracle Arena. ' ' '