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| The Blue Jays bullpen is going to have a distinctly different look in 2015 after the drop off the group experienced this year. P.J. Hall Raiders Jersey . GM Alex Anthopoulos fingered the pen as a significant factor in the club missing the post-season by five games. He said if the relievers had just performed at the Major League average, the Jays likely would have beaten out Oakland for that second Wild Card position. Its almost a guarantee that Casey Janssen wont be back as the closer next season. After all, he is a free agent and the Jays so far have shown no inclination to re-sign him. Casey never was the prototypical closer. He got by more on stealth and pinpoint control than power. But over the past three seasons, he racked up 81 of his 90 career saves, good for fourth all-time on the Jays list. It was only a year ago he had his best season, saving 34 of 36 chances. But closers can be great and lose it just like that as Oakland found out with Jim Johnson this year and Tampa Bay learned with Grant Balfour, two free agent signings that didnt exactly work out. Aaron Sanchez, who was so effective down the stretch in a set-up role with a couple of saves thrown in, could emerge as the closer next spring. However, its a better bet that he winds up in the starting rotation. Before Janssen, the last home grown starter I can remember who morphed into a closer was Billy Koch. They drafted the flame-throwing righthander in the first round of the June draft fourth overall in 1996. He pitched in A ball at Dunedin in 1997 and 1998 as a starter and impressed with his velocity but struggled at times with his control and his composure on the mound. After making five starts at Syracuse in 1999, Koch was called up to the Blue Jays and immediately thrust into the role of closer, largely because of his ability to hit 100 miles per hour on the gun. Koch had a solid three-year run as the Blue Jays bullpen stopper, racking up 100 saves in 117 chances, good for the third spot on the Jays list. After the 2001 season, incoming GM J.P. Ricciardi dealt him to Oakland for 3rd baseman and now Cubs coach Eric Hinske, who would go on to be the American League Rookie of the Year in 2002. The As benefited from that deal as well. Koch racked up 44 saves in 2002 for the playoff-bound As and put up an (11-4) record. Unfortunately, that season proved to be his undoing. Koch was burnt out by the playoffs and gave up a decisive home run to the Twins A.J Pierzynski in the deciding game of that series with Minnesota. Koch was never the same and bounced around from the As to the White Sox and then the Marlins before finally being released by the Blue Jays in spring training of 2005 after just four Grapefruit League appearances. He didnt pitch in another Major League game after 2004 at age 30. The point being of course, the Blue Jays want a longer career out of Sanchez, not just the sort of flame-out career that often becomes the lot of a closer. If the Blue Jays are going to look for an experienced veteran closer, there are a couple of interesting names who are going to be on the market shortly as free agents, including Jason Motte of the Cardinals and Sergio Romo of the Giants. Motte, whos 32, has now saved 42 games for the Cardinals when they won the World Series. Then the following year, he underwent Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Motte made $7.5 million this season and the Cards let him walk since they seem to have settled on Trevor Rosenthal as their closer. Romo, whos 31, has dropped off a bit this season, but still has 75 of his career 78 saves in the past three years. He made 5.5 million this season and, like Motte, is a free agent. He also has a wicked slider as an out pitch. If the Jays go the internal route, lefty Brett Cecil might be the best bet. Division Series Picks After lucking out in the Wild Card games and going 2 for 2, I might as well give you my picks for the Division Series. In the American, though Id love to see Kansas City win, Im picking the Angels in four games. In the other series Baltimore in five over Detroit. In the National League, the Dodgers over St. Louis in four and Washington to beat the Giants in four. Id still love to see San Francisco win though, just to see them play the Dodgers in a seven-game series for the first time ever. Jays Streak A strange and unusual Blue Jays streak that I had totally forgotten about: over a stretch of 614 games starting on October 4th of 1980, the Blue Jays did not get a single victory from a lefthanded starting pitcher. Jimmy Key finally ended the streak on May 1st of 1985. This season, southpaws Mark Buehrle and J.A. Happ won 24 between them. Go figure. Rashaan Melvin Jersey . Jackson Houck added a goal and two assists for the Giants (28-23-10), who halted a five-game slide, while Tyler Morrison, Mason Geertsen and Dominik Volek each scored once. Matt Bellerive scored both goals for the Blazers (12-43-5), who are 1-9-0 in their last 10 outings. Tahir Whitehead Raiders Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. http://www.officialauthenticraidersstore.com/authentic-doug-martin-jersey.html . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games.Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Harden scored a season-high 44 points to lead the Rockets in a 113-109 decision over the Sacramento Kings. Harden, who scored 34 points in a loss to Golden State on Wednesday, sent the game to overtime with a deep 3-pointer, then scored the first 10 Houston points in the extra session. That was definitely a tough game. Those guys on the other side definitely fought hard. We had the same energy, Harden said. We fought through it. Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley each netted 15 points and Donatas Motiejunas added 14 points for Houston, which has won five of its last six. Darren Collison had 24 points with seven assists and Ben McLemore tallied 21 points for the Kings. Harden fueled the Rockets comeback in regulation and continued in the extra session as he opened with seven straight points to give the Rockets a 102-95 lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play. The Houston offense ran through Harden in the overtime period. He slashed through the lane for a layup following a free throw from Jason Thompson, then split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to nine. (Harden) made shots when he needed to, Kings forward Gay said. He played great. Gay trimmed the deficit to six with a 3-pointer, but Harden drove on two defenders and skipped a pass over to Beverley, who nailed a corner 3 with 45.3 seconds left. Beverley missed 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch that allowed the Kings to hang around as Nik Stauskas trey made it a three-point game. Collison buried a 3 following a pair of free throws from Jason Terry, but Harden closed his evening with two free throws to account for the final margin. Johnny Townsend Jersey. The Rockets trailed by as many as 10 in the fourth. Harden tied the game at 88-88 with a tough dunk through traffic with 2 1/2 minutes left. Each team traded a basket before Gay drove and kicked out to an open Derrick Williams, who hit a 3-pointer to make it a 93-90 game. Motiejunas was whistled for his sixth foul at the other end, which allowed Thompson to make a pair of free throws and stretch it to a two-possession game. Houston trailed by three when Harden tossed up a high-arching trey that hit nothing but cotton to tie the game at 95-95 with 20.5 seconds on the clock. Gays jumper from just inside the arc rattled out on Sacramentos final chance in regulation. The Rockets grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with under a second left, but Hardens final effort was long. Sacramento led 46-36 at the half. Houston opened the third quarter on a 10-3 run to close the gap to 49-46 just 2 1/2 minutes in. Later in the quarter, Beverley nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two, 55-53, then the Kings ripped off 10 straight as a McLemore dunk off a feed from Collison highlighted the surge. Harden scored the final four points of the third to cut it to 69-61 entering the fourth. Game Notes Houston has won four straight over the Kings ... Sacramento has lost two straight overall ... Williams scored 17 points off the bench in the setback ... Joey Dorsey had a career-high five steals in the win ... Houston went 15- of-44 from beyond the arc ... The Rockets scored 27 points off turnovers, while the Kings netted 20 off turnovers ... Thompson finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Sacramento. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' ' |
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