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Опубликовано 06 Декабря 2016, 14:02:46
MINNEAPOLIS – The Blue Jays won their second game in a row, thumping the Twins 9-3 on Tuesday night but, like Sundays victory over the Orioles, the win came with a cost. Curtis Lofton Raiders Jersey . Adam Lind, who has a history of lower back problems although none recently, was lifted for pinch hitter Josh Thole in the seventh inning after his back tightened on him. It happened, Lind said, in the fourth inning, although he stayed in the game as the designated hitter and singled and scored in the sixth. "I was just running to second base after my walk and it grabbed," said Lind. Lind missed time in 2011 and 2012 with back trouble before embarking on an offseason yoga regimen, meant to loosen his muscles and improve his flexibility, prior to 2013. Lind avoided the disabled list last season, a stated goal of his when he arrived to spring training. He continued to do yoga this past offseason and enjoys it so much he intends to continue practicing beyond his playing days. "I hope I feel better (Wednesday,) that would be a miracle," said Lind. Then, continuing the optimistic trend, he hoped Mother Nature would send some luck his way. Wednesdays wintry forecast suggests the second game of the series could be postponed, creating a doubleheader on Thursday. "Well hopefully it snows, for me, so that way I dont have to … its a day off for everybody," said Lind. Linds noticeable limp, his difficulty bending over to put on his shoes, his tone of voice and the look on his face belied his attempt to be positive. Hes been down this road before and admitted hes been playing with pain for the last four days. Before Sundays series finale in Baltimore, Lind was the first baseman in manager John Gibbons original lineup. By game time, Lind was the designated hitter, replaced by Edwin Encarnacion at first base. Lind wouldnt speculate on his status when asked whether hes recovered quickly in previous similar instances. "Im going to do whatever the trainers want me to do and hopefully in a couple of days Ill be fine," he said. If Lind is lost for any extended period of time, it would be a blow to the Blue Jays. Hes a key part of the middle of the lineup against right-handed starting pitching and is off to a hot start, hitting .324/.465/.500 with one home run, six RBI and nine walks. The Blue Jays lost infielder Maicer Izturis, likely for the season, in Sundays 11-3 against the Orioles. He suffered a complete tear of the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee when he slipped on the dugout steps. Karl Joseph Jersey .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. Denarius Moore Raiders Jersey . As they are wont to do, the Spurs made things real easy. The Spurs signed Parker to a multi-year contract extension on Friday, ensuring that the six-time All-Star point guard will be in the fold whether Duncan and Ginobili are able to continue their careers or not. http://www.proraidersauthentic.com/authentic-brandian-ross-raiders-jersey/ .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence.While the results of this season are obviously disappointing for the Vancouver Canucks -- disappointing enough to cost GM Mike Gillis his job -- this isnt necessarily a team in a terrible position. In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. This isnt to say everything is just fine, but there are teams in far worse situations than the Canucks. A look at some of the positives: Despite this season going off the rails, the Canucks ranked ninth in Fenwick Close, a measure of puck possession. Among the top dozen teams in that metric, only the Canucks and New Jersey Devils (who are an impossibly terrible 0-11 in shootouts) are not in playoff position. So why is that a positive? The Canucks arent going to the postseason, in large part, because theyve been terribly unlucky around the net. Their 7.2% even-strength shooting percentage is ranked 25th in the league this year after it was middle of the pack -- 15th (8.0%) and 14th (7.8%) -- in the previous two seasons. Its very difficult for a team to stray too far from the average over a longer period of time and while this doesnt mean the Canucks can just assume that they will score more next season, its pretty easy to forecast better luck for this group. As low as the team shooting percentage is at 5-on-5, having the likes of Alexandre Burrows, Chris Higgins, Ryan Kesler and both Sedins, their big minute forwards, all under 8.0% makes it likely that there will be some recovery towards more typical production, particularly because the Canucks top forwards still had strong seasons in terms of puck possession and as long as they are controlling play, the odds are in their favour that more pucks will end up in the oppositions net. Add a bona fide scorer to the mix and the odds of recovery would be even better. The Canucks have a solid group of defencemen. The top four of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, Alexander Edler and Jason Garrison is more than capable of anchoring a playoff team. Garrisons possession numbers took a dive this year but, on the whole, this group isnt a primary issue. Even better, they have relatively economical options Chris Tanev and Ryan Stanton to round out the top six. Tanev is also a viable candidate to move into the top four if one of those named above is convinced to waive a no-trade clause in order to upgrade elsewhere. There was a lot of talk around the trade deadline about Edler being available and, while it must be with the understanding that Edler was the unluckiest of Canucks blueliners this past season in terms of percentages going awry, he would be a top pair defenceman for quite a few teams and, since those arent made available often, he ought to bring a significant return. Also, as I noted on Twitter, the Canucks were on a 106-point pace through the first half of the season, but as January rolled around, they had some overlaapping injuries. Ray-Ray Armstrong Raiders Jersey. At some point, it was either Edler, Burrows, Roberto Luongo and/or Henrik Sedin missing time and they didnt have the depth to make up for those absences. That lack of depth brings us to some of the concerns that the new management will need to address. One, their core is older. Among the top six forwards in average ice time, 28-year-old Mike Santorelli, an unrestricted free agent coming off shoulder surgery, is the only one that wont be 30 by the time next season starts. On defence, Edler (27) and Tanev (24) are younger, but Garrison turns 30 in November and Bieksa and Hamhuis are already beyond. This doesnt mean that the moment a player hits 30, that they cease to have value, but age makes professional athletes a declining asset at a certain point and, by age 30, the vast majority are declining assets and most of Vancouvers core is in that neighbourhood now. Their goaltending situation, not-so-long-ago enviably deep, is decidedly suspect. 26-year-old Eddie Lack has had an okay rookie season, though if he had played well in January (1-5-2, 2.95 GAA, .908 SV%), that might have prevented, or at least slowed, the teams fade from contention and then his first couple weeks following the Luongo trade (.882 SV% in 8 GP) were a little rough as well but, on the whole, Lack has given the Canucks more than they had any right to expect from him coming into the season. Lack has played well enough to have a shot at competing for the starting job next year, with a veteran added to the mix to provide stability. There are free agents ranging in experience (Ryan Miller, Jaroslav Halak, Jonas Hiller, Brian Elliott, Ray Emery, Thomas Greiss) or a trade option like James Reimer that could upgrade the position from its suddenly subpar standing and an above-average possession team with stable goaltending is most of the way towards the playoffs. There is also the matter of Ryan Kesler reportedly asking out of Vancouver prior to the trade deadline. If that holds true, then there would be at least one blockbuster move to take care of this summer, but Kesler recently indicated that he intends to return to Vancouver next season. Even if they are capable of returning to the playoffs in short order, and thats possible, the Canucks need to beef up their young talent throughout the organization so that, even if the Canucks arent necessarily Cup-bound in the next couple years, that they have enough to be competitive as the core moves on. Young roster wingers Nicklas Jensen and Zack Kassian still have some potential to explore but may not ultimately be top-six performers. Bo Horvat and Brendan Gaunce, first rounders the past two seasons, could provide solid two-way play when they are deemed ready to play, but the Canucks need more. These are the challenges that come with the job for anyone running a hockey team and, given the Canucks above-average core, they have some easier issues to deal with than some other non-playoff clubs that dont have that foundation in place. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. NFL Jerseys China ' ' '