Frust » . Rollins wouldnt be the firs

Despite losing two in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays will still be in control of the American League East once they close out a four- game series with the Chicago White Sox this afternoon. Toronto, which has posted back-to-back wins only once since the first week of June, is still 1 1/2 games in front of Baltimore for the lead in the division, with just two weeks remaining before the All-Star Break. Yesterday the Jays made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning when they drew to within a single run, but that was as close as the hosts would get in the 4-3 setback. Darin Mastroianni stroked his first home run of the season and plated two of his teams three runs, the other RBI coming from Munenori Kawasaki. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman made it through 6 2/3 innings before giving way to the Toronto bullpen. The hurler allowed just two runs on a pair of hits and two walks, while striking out six. Dustin McGowan was charged with the loss, his third of the season, after permitting three runs on three hits in just one inning of action. "If you could do things over, you leave him in," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Stroman. "But my thinking was, he pitched his butt off, it was kind of uncharted territory, I dont want him to lose the game right there. Thats the way it goes. But you always look back on things like that. I had a plan and it just didnt work." "Its tough, because obviously I want to be out there," said Stroman. "I felt strong but Im also young, so that was Gibbys choice. "Dustin has been great for us all year, so its not like I was mad about coming out of the game. I had 100-percent confidence for Dustin to come in and get that out. Just one of those things and Im sure hell be right back to it." McGowan was charged with giving up a three-run home run by Dayan Viciedo, one of his two hits on the day. Adam Dunn added a pair of hits and two walks as well for a Chicago squad that is fourth in the AL Central, six games below .500 and 8 1/2 games out of contention. Chris Sale was credited with the win for the White Sox as he worked through seven innings, permitting just two runs on four hits, although he did have some issues with his control, issuing five walks. Sale also struck out six on the day. Zach Putnam stepped in late to collect his first save of the season. The Sox now turn their attention toward Jose Quintana, their starter for the series finale today. The left-hander had gone four outings without a win until picking up a much-needed victory on Tuesday versus Baltimore on the road. In that clash Quintana surrendered just a single run on six hits and three walks, striking out eight over the course of seven innings for his fourth win of the season. When it comes to his experience against the Jays, Quintana, now in his third major league season, has a record of 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts. Going up against the Chicago batting order is former White Sox standout Mark Buehrle. Selected by Chicago in the 38th round of the 1998 draft, the left- hander started his major league career with the Sox in 2000 and remained on the staff until 2011. Now just four wins shy of 200 for his career, Buehrle has struggled of late, last earning a victory against Kansas City on the first of the month. Most recently the Missouri native went up against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, permitting four runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, but even though the Jays eventually came away with the 7-6 win, Buehrle did not factor into the decision. Against his former Chicago team, Buehrle is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA. Chicago, which won the season series with the Jays each of the last two years, now owns a 2-1 edge in 2014 battles. Cornellius Carradine Jersey . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. Gareon Conley Jersey . Its the second of three meetings between these teams this season. Vancouver was a 2-1 winner on home ice December 22nd. http://www.officialoaklandraidersfootbal...r-jersey-womens. Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. Tim Brown Jersey . Campbell, playing on loan with Greek club Olympiacos, found the net with a left-footed shot in the 44th minute off a pass from second-half substitute Jorge Rojas to open the scoring at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. Reggie Nelson Jersey . Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game in the sixth inning, following a two-out solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion led off the seventh with a homer to tie the game 3-3 and, with two out in the seventh, Munenori Kawasaki came through with the two-out single to score pinch-runner Steve Tolleson with what proved to be the winning run.For the last couple of weeks, there has been a strange and somewhat sad story unfolding in the Philadelphia Phillies camp. Jimmy Rollins, who should go down as one of the all-time great Phillies, is being questioned about his attitude and whether he is hurting the franchise by refusing to allow himself to be traded. Rollins is 35 years old and has played in Philadelphia his entire career. Hes a three-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glover. He won a Silver Slugger Award and was named the National League MVP in 2007, in addition to winning a World Series with the Phils in 2008. Rollins has one year, plus a vesting option for another year, left on his contract. He is a "5/10" man, that is, he has played 10 years in the Majors and five consecutive years with his current team, so he has the power to veto any trade. Its no secret that the Phillies are an older, veteran team that may have one more shot at glory or, more likely, is heading for a blow-up and a major rebuild. Rollins, perhaps bothered or jaded by the teams struggles the past couple of years, was accused in so many words of not hustling enough or providing enough leadership. At one point, his previous manager, Charlie Manuel, benched him to send a message and this spring, his current manager, Ryne Sandberg, sat Rollins for three days after he said that spring training games were basically meaningless. The Detroit Tigers need a shortstop since Jose Iglesias is likely gone for the season with stress fractures in both of his legs. Rumours began that the Phils might try to deal Rollins to the Tigers. Rollins responded by saying he is unmovable because, at this time, he doesnt want to go anywhere. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. angrily shot down the rumours, saying there never was any talk of trading Rollins in the first place. One of Rollinss motives for wanting to stay in Philly is his pursuit of the franchises all-time hits record. He needs just 60 more to break Hall of Famer Mike Schmidts mark of 2234. Rollins is fourth on the list right now behind Schmidt, Richie Ashburn and Ed Delahanty. Even with a subpar season, Rollins will pass all three as long as he stays healthy. Jimmy Rollins is accused of being selfish for not allowing a trade for the good of the franchise. In Toronto, Mats Sundin and Carlos Delgado took the same kind of heat from Leafs and Blue Jays fans when they refused to be dealt in the final years of their contracts. Rollins is already the Phils career leader in doubles, but the hits record is something special to him. As he put it, only 30 players in baseball can say they lead a franchise in base hits. Is he being selfish? Not if he gives everything hes got to the Phillies every time hes on the diamond. Rollins wouldnt be the first to hang in to attempt to reach a career milestone. Two of the greatest pitchers in Major League history hung in past their primes in order to reach 300 wins. Lefty Grove, in some pundits minds the greatest pitcher of all-time, came back in 1941 needing seven wins for 300. He won his 299th on July 2 of that season. Essentially down to being a once-a-week pitcher for tthe Boston Red Sox at that time, he didnt get number 300 until July 25 and it wasnt pretty.dddddddddddd Grove went all the way in a 10-6 victory over Cleveland giving up five earned runs on 12 hits. He never won again that season and called it a career on December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Early Wynn, Tom Cheeks original partner on the Blue Jays radio broadcasts, went 7-15 with the Chicago White Sox in 1962 and finished that season with 299 victories. He came back with the Cleveland Indians, the club with which he had most of his greatest seasons, in 1963 at age 43 for one last shot at number 300. On July 13, he finally got it , but hardly in grand and glorious style. Wynn left the game after five innings with Cleveland holding a 5-4 lead over the Kansas City Atheltics. Earlys roommate, Jerry Walker, took over and held KC scoreless over the final four innings. Wynn became the first pitcher to have won 300 since Lefty Grove in 1941. There was one other case that I can recall of a player hanging in to get a record. Carlton Fisk, then of the Chicago White Sox, broke Bob Boones all-time record for games caught behind the plate with his 2,226th on June 22, 1993. Six days later, in what was perceived to be a heartless move, Fisk was released by the club. Is Jimmy Rollins selfish? No less so than any of the above three Hall of Famers. As long as the effort and the desire are there, I say more power to Rollins. He has a contract and the rules of baseball say he cant be traded. The one last twist to this story: Mike Schmidt is an icon in Philadelphia and will be working on home-game telecasts on Sundays this season. There are a lot of Philllies fans who dont want to see him lose this record. Rollinss position in all of this reminds of the heat Roger Maris was taking in his successful pursuit of Babe Ruths single season home run record in 1961. Some never forgave him for hitting 61 in 61. Jimmy Rollins doesnt deserve to receive the same kind of scorn. If he breaks the record, hes earned it. - Its hard to get into the idea of the season opening this weekend in Australia. The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks in two games before returning to Arizona for the remainder of spring training. The really strange thing is, thanks to the time difference, the season effectively opens as a day-night doubleheader for us. The first game starts at 4am et/1am pt on Saturday morning and the second one at 10pm et/7pm pt on Saturday night. - One sad note out of the Blue Jays camp: the team released lefty reliever Luis Perez to make room for utility sluggerMatt Tuiasosopo, who was picked up on waivers from Arizona. Two years ago, Perez, for my money, was the best all-around reliever in the Jays bullpen. But then he blew out his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. Perez was supposed to be back this season like Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek, however, he had a set back in the offseason and needed further surgery to remove scar tissue. Now at 29, his career is in limbo. Heres hoping he can make it back all the way to the Bigs somewhere. 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